I don’t write much these days about the reasons I have unplugged myself from industrial civilization. This is in part because, deep down, we know them too well already, and it’s not for want of information that we continue down that path. I could name a few:
Mark Boyle on Not So Simple
- the mass extinction of species
- resource wars
- cultural imperialism
- climate catastrophe
- widespread surveillance
- standardization
- the colonization of wilderness and indigenous lands
- the fragmentation of community
- the automation of millions of jobs with the inevitable inequality, unemployment, and purposelessness that ensue (providing fertile ground for demagogues to take control)
- the stark decline in mental health
- the rise in industrial-scale illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, depression, autoimmune diseases and obesity
- the tyranny of fast-paced, relentless communication
- and the addictiveness of the hollow excitement (films, pornography, TV series, new products, celebrity gossip, dating websites, 24/7 news) that exists behind our screens, the goal of which seems to be the monetization of our distraction
Author: Brian Dys
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The monetization of our distraction
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Reading List: Week 4, September 2020
- What the ‘meat paradox’ reveals about moral decision making
We know that poverty causes great suffering, yet instead of sharing our wealth we buy another pair of expensive shoes. We fundamentally disagree with the idea of child labour or adults working under horrible conditions, but keep shopping at discount stores. We stay in the dark, to protect our delicate identities, to maintain the illusion that we are consistent and ethically sensible human beings.
Julia Shaw - Disrespectful Design—Users aren’t stupid or lazy
- Not So Simple
- When Technology Takes Revenge
- Take The ACE Quiz — And Learn What It Does And Doesn’t Mean
- Adjacent skills: how to widen your career perspective
- What the ‘meat paradox’ reveals about moral decision making
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Reading List: Week 3, September 2020
- Your career isn’t the only measurement of success — Maurice Woods
For others that may be facing a similar situation, I urge you to find what matters to you most. Life is short and careers are not the only measurement of success. If you are looking for the freedom to do the work you want to do at a company, find the role that suits your needs and let that guide your spirit in the direction that leads to a healthier, productive life.
Maurice Woods - How I Finally Got to Know My Father by Asking About His Past
- Embracing the tension between code and design
- Your career isn’t the only measurement of success — Maurice Woods
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Reading List: Week 1, September 2020
I am attracted to the idea of sharing video tutorials but not the thought of editing it for very long hours. Although I have RE:Creation, I feel like there are intricacies in tutorials that can be captured by video — but also, written documentation can be as intricate. And so, I embarked in searching for streaming apps and also found other stuff!
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Reading List: Week 4, August 2020
- Accordion Icons: Which Signifiers Work Best?
- A clean start for the web
- Use data to think, together @ Observable
- The case against diverging stacked bars
- Usability of Footnotes
- 31 Reasons Why (we should quit Facebook)
- The Creative World’s Bullshit Industrial Complex
They are what philosopher Harry Frankfurt would call “bullshitters.” Those that are giving advice for the sake of giving advice, without any regard as to how it is actually implemented, if it can even be implemented at all.
Sean Blanda - No true Scotsman
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Jaycelle for Curls by Zenutrients
A screen recording of Adobe Photoshop. Since Jaycelle is joining the Curlfriend Ambassadors, might as well try to recreate Headshot Clinic’s design for #curlsbyzenutrients.
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Blue Jaycelle
Jaycelle’s photoshoot for Closeup. 26 July 2020 My wife, Jaycelle, is a social media influencer and brand ambassador. This video was a photoshoot session we had for Closeup (check out her Instagram post about it).
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On Dimensions of CSS in a Style Guide
Absolutes
On the concept of “absolutes”: If a color is the same as CSS named colors, name it as is or use the name itself:
--color-red: #ff0000;If you “invented” a color or base it on an existing brand color, “invent” a name for it, but always attach the name of the basic color:
--color-coagulated-red: #c93434; --color-facebook-blue: #4267b2;Generics
On the concept of “generics”: Use these colors as basis for primaries, secondaries, accents, etc.:
--primary-color: var(--color-facebook-blue);Specifics
On the concept of “specifics”: Use the “generics” to identify colors of UI elements:
.submit-button { background-color: var(--primary-color) }; -
Waiting on the light to change
Put your defense down
Waiting On The Light To Change by Matthew Perryman Jones
Open up your heart and lay
All of it out
I know how hard it sounds
But loneliness will have its way
In feeding your doubtsDriving along a highway. At hundred twenty. It feels like god is watching you. The auto – buck naked – it’s only the chassis, the steering wheel, the seat, and you. You feel invulnerable in that speed because you see the rain speckles streak upwards yet you don’t feel the violent current of air that you’re piercing into.
We Stop and Go