Here is your freshly squeezed design inspiration for the week of October 10th, 2023.
- SOMETHING GORGEOUS: You Thought You Could Throw Me Away by Thandiwe Muriu
- PORTFOLIO OF THE WEEK: Chris Kalaftis
- Generation Vimeo 15 Years of Staff Picks
- Pazzesca by FAENA Studio
- Windows Paint Supports Layers and Transparency
- One Tweet:
- Goodbye Ui/UX Designers
- A Game of Solutions
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Resource of the Week
Webflow
Webflow had its keynote recently announcing a ton of new and really exciting features coming to the platform soon. If you've read this newsletter for a while then you should know by now how much I love Webflow and how much value it has added to my career as a graphic designer. I am actually building a website right now for a client using Webflow!
Anyway I wanted to share this keynote video as a way to convince you if you haven't already to learn the tool! This is not sponsored and I'm definitely not getting paid to share this, but I truly believe in this tool and know that if you are a designer or creative struggling to get clients to pay you more than a couple of hundred dollars for odd tasks here and there. Webflow is a tool that can change all of that.
Give it a try and if you have any problems while trying to learn how to use it or make something, just send me an email and I will do everything I can to help 🤘
Get Started with Webflow Today
Something Gorgeous
You Thought You Could Throw Me Away by Thandiwe Muriu
Kenyan photographer Thandiwe Muriu has put together these gorgeous and hypnotizing images exploring ideas of disposability in her exhibition titled "You Thought You Could Throw Me Away." Displayed at the 193 Gallery in Paris.
I mean I just can't help but stare they are soooooo gooooooooorgeous.
Portfolio Of The Week
Chris Kalaftis
\Cues Smooth Operator by Sade while reviewing this portfolio\
Chris Kalaftis, out of the bay area has constructed a superb portfolio website including a ton of unique and beautiful interactions from his loading screen to the page transitions. I am throwing many chef kisses with one hand while feeding myself cheese in another.
I feel like I'm in the future viewing this portfolio website...
Homepage, let's talk about it. A wonderful animation in the header section with tons of visual heiarchy and little micro interactions that keep the eyes entertained. Even the little line at the bottom flexes and bows as you hover over it! I like his short about section and when you hover over the image of Chris there is some black magic css going on where the cursor reveals a splash with some mosaic interaction happening over the image. My mind has exploded already...
Loving the project section and the hover interaction that happens here showing the names of the projects. Well done. Below that is a section with the project types Chris likes to work on and I really enjoyed the dropping of the orbs here. If you click one it's like it shoots off within the container. And then to end it off a nice little footer that has a very smooth animation to cap off the page.
I won't go into the project pages here but have a look. A ton of great descriptions and interactions throughout the pages. I really really love the page transitions from one project to the other. Again my mind is blown by this black magic css that Chris has put together.
Job well done Chris!
Portfolio Rating: 9.6/10
Built With: Not sure but I can see this done in Webflow
View Chris Kalaftis's portfolio here.
Creative Finds
Generation Vimeo 15 Years of Staff Picks
Staff picks have always been a source of creative inspiration for me so this is a lovely website to revisit some of the greats from the last 15 years.
Pazzesca by FAENA Studio
I've been in Italy for the last week and have eaten nothing but pasta and pizza so this felt fitting.
Windows Paint Supports Layers and Transparency
Photoshop better watch its back because Microsoft Paint is catching up!
One Tweet
Goodbye Ui/UX Designers
I have felt this way for a long time now when it comes to the hiring of digital/product/ui/ux designers. For a good couple of years I would meet with companies that were hiring for a 'UX' designer, and even though I had completed many a times 'UX' tasks and responsibilities under the title 'product designer'. Hiring managers and HR teams could not fathom hiring someone like myself who never had the title 'UX designer'. Now that companies are looking to get the most 'bang for their buck' as the markets go through this moment of tightening, 'product designers' have come back into fashion.
Regardless, an interesting thread of opinions on this topic. If you are a designer in this space, definitely a couple of comments here worth looking at.
One Lesson
A Game of Solutions
This last week I have been visiting friends in Italy and during this trip I have learned a lot about great pizza, how to eat pasta everyday without gaining weight, and how to aperitivo. While out one night having a drink after work, my friends and I were discussing the dating and marriage culture within Italy as humans in their mid 30s do. During this discussion I learned that in Italy it is rather normal to not be married till your later thirties which I was quite surprised about. Coming from the US of A, I have very few friends left who are not married. I mean I have two younger sisters who have beat me to the punch on this one and I am in fact the one holding out when it comes to this topic lol.
\If you're reading this, you're prolly asking yourself what does this have to do with design or being creative\
Well I'll tell ya right now!
In the world of design, there is no one size fits all! Just as my Italian friends looked at me surprised for such a thought, designers often find themselves in similar crossroads. What may seem intuitive and "right" in one design context or for one audience, may seem completely out of place or even alien to another.
This world of diversity is the core of design. Just as in life, where what's right or typical in one culture might be contrary in another, design is no different. Multiple solutions can emerge from the same problem, each uniquely tailored to a specific context or need. Embracing this multiplicity not only broadens our horizons but also enriches our ability to communicate, resonate, and truly design with empathy. Whether it's in deciding the color palette of a website or choosing what stinky cheese we'd like to have for an aperitivo later, diversity in thought and approach is what makes this life we live so beautiful.
Hope you feel inspired to make some cool sh\*t this week!
Sorry for the delay 🙏
xoxoxo
–J
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