Last week slipped away — but not without reason. I’ve been rebuilding the engine under the hood of this newsletter, and the new process is already paying off. I keep my links in Airtable (this isn’t new), but in a new table. I’ve added a slew of new fields to track and prepare these for publication. When it’s go time, I’ve got a few scripts (also in Airtable) that move these to my permanent Creative Links database, and a second script converts these into HTML markup that WordPress can read. I copy that code into WordPress, and then I make some tweaks to polish it visually. Less copy-paste, more creative links — though I still need to tackle the LinkedIn newsletter formatting and the sharing-out component. It may not sound like much, but it’s a big step forward for my sanity.
Work
Closing the Loop: What to Do After a Design Critique Ends
Most designers invest in running critiques but skip the followup. That missing step is often why feedback culture breaks down.
Graphic Design/Branding
Aperture Capital: Typography by Numinous Agency®
Numinous Agency® designed Aperture Capital as a typography project. Project designed by Numinous Agency® located in Portland, ME, USA. The result reads as deliberate work where typography, color, and material choices carry equal weight.
By exploring the sonic universe through line and movement, Panorama’s identity is expressed through a dynamic grid that celebrates the connection between music and territory.
Architecture
Ecopark Ciénaga de Mallorquín / DEB + El Equipo Mazzanti
The Ecopark acts as a transitional intermediate layer between the chaos of the city and the stillness of the swamp.
KLE School, Sankeshwar / Shreyas Patil Architects
The floor plans adopt a decentralized, courtyard-centric layout organized around a prominent central Open-Air Theater (OAT), which functions as the civic and social anchor of the campus. This central void acts as a dynamic focal point, stitching together the surrounding academic and administrative zones.
Packaging
Starville Goods: Constellation Packaging Design by MAUM STUDIO
MAUM STUDIO’s constellation packaging for Starville Jeju gives each zodiac sign a flat color field and cartoon creature across keyrings, boxes, booklets.
Coaltown Coffee set up in Ammanford in the 2010s to turn a coal town into a coffee town and put production back at the centre of local identity.
Industrial Design
From Japan, a Sexy Matte Black Sledge
Made by tool brand Tsubaki Model, the double-headed hammer features a faceted steel head and a glass-fiber-reinforced polypropylene handle.
The DADO System by AKO Takes Responsibility Seriously
The DADO System by AKO, or Allen Kaufmann Objects. No hardware, no glue, no fastening — the system is meant to slot together with friction, precision, and finesse alone.
Tools
Boneyard: Skeleton screens. Automatically generated.
No manual measurement. No hand-tuned placeholders. Wrap your component in <Skeleton> and get pixel-perfect skeleton screens that stay in sync with your actual layout.
Free, Fast, and Real-Time Dither Image Generator. Transform Your Photos with Instant Retro and Pixel Art Effects.
Motion/UI
If I take a screenshot of your app at any moment, you should be able to explain what I see