Weekly Design Links – 08/22/23

I was getting started on assembling this week’s post and I suddenly found myself deep down a web rabbit hole that I couldn’t escape. It started simply enough–I got an email from the fine people at LEGO. They updated their loyalty program and wanted me to move over to this new thing. I complied. That reminded me of a recent thought, “I really like LEGO minifigs,” (the little LEGO people) and I’d love to have more but they are so expensive to buy with all of the sets. YouTube had the answer. You can buy the parts to LEGO minifigs and assemble the characters at a fraction of the cost (over eBay or buying the sets). This took me to Bricklink, a site that LEGO has authorized as a place to buy and sell LEGO parts. Deeper and deeper I sunk. Soon I was cross-matching parts, comparing the prices on eBay, digging and digging, and making all kinds of useless discoveries. For example, in 2013, as part of the LEGO minifig series 10 blind bag offering, there is a character called Mr. Gold and he sells for about $4000 in good condition. After exploring the many fine offerings on Bricklink, I had to stop myself, finish this post and get some sleep.

Work

Who has the credentials to deliver design feedback?
Feedback limited to people with perceived “credentials” only goes so deep

Is the New Deal for business leading by design?
Designers are actually equipped with a really beautiful ability to solve problems creatively, and that turns out to be like a generally useful skill

Web Design/UX/UI

5 things I learned as a product designer: a 10-year journey at Amazon, Walmart and startups
A few of the nuggets of information that I have gleaned over my 10 years as a product design leader

Indeed’s Design Principles and How We Made Them
Inside the collaborative approach a content designer used to get a UX organization of hundreds on the same page

Illustration

Transhumans
A collection that’s more than just illustrations—it’s a celebration of breaking free, transcending limitations and embracing a future filled with endless possibilities by Pablo Stanley

Industrial Design

Naoto Fukasawa Colors Gogoro Electric Scooters in MUJI Style
Fukasawa has returned to lend his distinct perspective in the form of a pair of battery powered 2-wheeler

Ring-Sized Casio Watches
Non-functioning toys, but still

Door Handles “Semantically Designed to be Clear” on Push/Pull
Made of porcelain, no less