Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.

The story of scents ist die Fläche im Erdgeschoß des KaDeWe, auf der die weltweit exklusivsten Parfums präsentiert und verkauft...

I like to try different apps. What makes trying different apps incredible is a layer of interoperability — standardized protocols, data formats, etc. When I can bring my data from one app to another, that’s cool. Cool apps are interoperable. They work with my data, rather than own it. For example, the other day I was itching to try a new RSS reader. I’ve used Reeder (Classic) for ages. But every once in a while I like to try something different. This is super easy because lots of clients support syncing to Feedbin. It’s worth pointing out: Feedbin has their own app. But they don’t force you to use it. You’re free to use any RSS client you want that supports their service. So all I have to do is download a new RSS client, login to Feedbin, and boom! An experience of my data in a totally different app from a totally different developer. That’s amazing! And you know how long it took? Seconds. No data export. No account migration. Doing stuff with my blog is similar. If I want to try a different authoring experience, all my posts are just plain-text markdown files on disk. Any app that can operate on plain-text files is a potential new app to try. No shade on them, but this why I personally don’t use apps like Bear. Don’t get me wrong, I love so much about Bear. But it wants to keep your data in its own own proprietary, note-keeping safe. You can’t just open your notes in Bear in another app. Importing is required. But there’s a big difference between apps that import (i.e. copy) your existing data and ones that interoperably work with it. Email can also be this way. I use Gmail, which supports IMAP, so I can open my mail in lots of different clients — and believe me, I've tried a lot of email clients over the years. Sparrow Mailbox Spark Outlook Gmail (desktop web, mobile app) Apple Mail Airmail This is why I don’t use un-standardized email features because I know I can’t take them with me. It’s also why I haven’t tried email providers like HEY! Because they don't support open protocols so I can’t swap clients when I want. My email is a dataset, and I want to be able to access it with any existing or future client. I don't want to be stuck with the same application for interfacing with my data forever (and have it tied to a company). I love this way of digital life, where you can easily explore different experiences of your data. I wish it was relevant to other areas of my digital life. I wish I could: Download a different app to view/experience my photos Download a different app to view/experience my music Download a different app to view/read my digital books In a world like this, applications would compete on an experience of my data, rather than on owning it. The world’s a big place. The entire world doesn’t need one singular photo experience to Rule Them All. Let’s have experiences that are as unique and varied as us. Email · Mastodon · Bluesky

Showcasing how easy it is to breathe new life into home accessories with Edding spray paints. From refreshing decor to...

I learned a new word: ductile. Do you know it? I’m particularly interested in its usage in a physics/engineering setting when talking about materials. Here’s an answer on Quora to: “What is ductile?” Ductility is the ability of a material to be permanently deformed without cracking. In engineering we talk about elastic deformation as deformation which is reversed once the load is removed for example a spring, conversely plastic deformation isn’t reversed. Ductility is the amount (usually expressed as a ratio) of plastic deformation that a material can undergo before it cracks or tears. I read that and started thinking about the “ductility” of languages like HTML, CSS, and JS. Specifically: how much deformation can they undergo before breaking? HTML, for example, is famously forgiving. It can be stretched, drawn out, or deformed in a variety of ways without breaking. Take this short snippet of HTML: <!doctype html> <title>My site</title> <p>Hello world! <p>Nice to meet you That is valid HTML. But it can also be “drawn out” for readability without losing any of its meaning. It’ll still render the same in the browser: <!doctype html> <html> <head> <title>My site</title> </head> <body> <p>Hello world!</p> <p>Nice to meet you.</p> </body> </html> This capacity for the language to undergo a change in form without breaking is its “ductility”. HTML has some pull before it breaks. JS, on the other hand, doesn’t have the same kind of ductility. Forget a quotation mark and boom! Stretch it a little and it breaks. console.log('works!'); // -> works! console.log('works!); // Uncaught SyntaxError: Invalid or unexpected token I suppose some would say “this isn’t ductility, this is merely forgiving error-parsing”. Ok, sure. Nevertheless, I’m writing here because I learned this new word that has very practical meaning in another discipline to talk about the ability of materials to be stretched and deformed without breaking. I think we need more of that in software. More resiliency. More malleability. More ductility — prioritized in our materials (tools, languages, paradigms) so we can talk more about avoiding sudden failure. Email · Mastodon · Bluesky