High Five #11 - Quick catchup 🍅
[2 min] A few short updates from my end (more to come)
Hey, everyone!
My schedule has been insane these past few weeks. 🤯
I'm currently moving into a new apartment, and I was lucky to find a charger to write this short post. Btw. Did anyone see my sketchbooks somewhere?
Plus, I had to prioritize client work to meet some specific deadlines set up for this month. Simply craziness all around!
I won't be sharing one of those full-scale design posts this time because I need a bit more focus to finish those (and properly build my desk setup first).
But I thought I'd at least do quick catchup (ketchup? 🍅) this time to give you a few updates about what's up on my end lately:
First of all, the moving. Our new apartment is going to be amazing. But it currently looks like a total mess, haha. My girlfriend made a few rough SketchUp models in the meantime. This is what our living room will look like (couch to be replaced, color stays). Other rooms with a similar vibe are coming soon too. I can't wait to share some real photos as we build the space!
I lost my Behance profile with 14+ followers. Sucks. Sad. Having a hard time trying to figure out what to do next. But it should be fine. I wanted to rebuild my portfolio anyway, so what an excellent opportunity to start fresh!
When I have some free time (from building furniture), I work on a new set of personal UI kits and "start files" in Figma. It has a codename "Base" because I want to have something solid to build on in future projects. I may offer it for sale later on as well.
I have one more Figma product in the works called "Spec." It's related to design specifications (ex., usually part of design systems). But I don't want to reveal much about this one yet since it's too early.
Before I packed all my things for moving, I also began doing some writing and research. I have a presentation/talk in progress related to case studies, agency sites, and how to do design team promo. I'm planning on using it as a part of my consulting for design teams soon. If you'd be interested in this session for your team, feel free to reach out.
I also found out that Notion used one of my Unsplash photos in their latest promo video (0:09). What an honor! Btw. The photo itself has more than 35M views as of today and growing. I wonder where it ends.
Feedback results
In my previous post, I asked three simple questions about this newsletter to collect feedback. First of all, thank you for voting and sharing your comments. I appreciate the input and interest in helping me to make things better.
Regarding the results, the tl;dr is that everything is going well, and there may only be minor adjustments for the future. The highlights/takeaways are:
You seem to enjoy the current format of my posts as is
You'd like to know more about the design process
You'd (ideally) like me to post more frequently
It all makes sense to me, and I'm glad we agree:
I also enjoy writing in this "direct" and "personal" format (story-like).
I'd LOVE to talk more about the design process. It is my no.1 fav topic.
I wish I could post even more often. But sometimes, it's tricky (ehm, client work, ehm). Let me see what I can do here.
If I'd sum up what we both want next in one sentence, I'd probably go as:
"Ales, sitting next to you every two weeks as a friend and writing/talking about the design process or how to be a better designer."
Am I right? It sounds like fun, so let's do that!
But perhaps we could push it further. I mean, there is something I wanted to try once I unpack the rest of my moving boxes... 🔜🎙
Have a great week, and talk again soon!
A.
Links & inspiration
Stuff I'm currently digging:
💻 Website - Gustav Nordebrink Portfolio - I love the minimal vibe of the site and unified thumbnail style. While each project is different, they all fit together.
📁 Figma - macOS Squircle Icons - A collection of modern macOS app icons for most-used apps. Looking to make your dock icons look consistent? This may be the answer.
🧩 Figma - Table Creator - Huge time saver for creating tables or grids in Figma. I wish I had known this one earlier. I literarily finished a complicated table design a few days ago!
⚙️ Hardware - Lumina Desk - Standing desk with built-in display and wireless charging? One part of me says, "wow" the other one is like, "more distractions"? But overall an interesting idea I'm definitely rooting for.
🛠 Tool - Checklist.design - A collection of the best design practices created as simple checklists. This could be a great resource to follow when designing specific screens to ensure you don't miss a single detail.
🔤 Font - Libertad Mono - A new dynamic and industrial display font with an octagonal shape and rounded inner contours. Six weights included!
You wouldn't believe bro every morning i checked substack for your article and today it's here. I can't wait for the next article. Much Love 😀