A rather randomly curated list of design content for my self-isolating alumni
Hey all! I’ve collected some random resources for you to enjoy while we are all getting cozy on our couches for the foreseeable future. I’m sharing this because some of you might feel better with more ‘design stuff’ to do and see during this time.
However, this is a collective crisis.
So don’t pressure yourself or beat yourself up. It was hard enough finding that first design role after the course, even before we got all locked in. If baking biscuits is what would help you to cope right now, then do that. I did that yesterday, and they taste great.
HOW–methods, technical talks
1. Pablo Stanley’s cute video tutorials on UI, animation and illustration, partly to learn and partly to distract. He brings a strong hat game.
2. Designcode.io video courses, especially learning Figma. I might do that one as well.
3. Mindset over matter: how they went beyond personas. This is an article in three parts.
4. Erika Hall: Design Research Done Right
You can also read the summary here.
5. Katja Forbes talks about coaching others in design (which you will need to do for developers, etc) and generally about communicating your work.
Aaaaand the Adobe CC + Affinity Designer trial periods are extended! No better time to try it. If you do end up buying them, Affinity is the fraction of the cost, the functionalities are probably enough for personal use. Adobe should be provided by your future company anyway if they do need that.
WHY are we even designing?
What is successful and what is good design? What’s the difference between the two?
1. Cameron Sinclair — Designing Life
2. Design is [Messy]–why everything we taught in the bootcamp is also wrong, or your least favorite answer: it depends.
3. On Design Thinking: an article to explain what’s wrong with design thinking, or rather how it can go terribly bad.
4. Design is [Emotion] from one of my favorite designers.
5. And another one, I’m very partial to this topic.
6. I Cut The ‘Big Five’ Tech Giants From My Life. It Was Hell. This is to get a glimpse of what’s behind the scenes and how (in)dependent can we be from these companies.
Job search resources
I hope by the time you’re finished with all this, we’ll be chilling in the park again. If not, just ping me here, on Slack, LinkedIn or whatever, and I’ll add more!
