Five for Friday: Explore this
Hey everyone,
Here are 5 things I thought were worth percolating on this week ☕.
“The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why” - Mark Twain
Enjoying this? Subscribe for free to get insights straight to your inbox.
1. The beauty of constraints
There’s a common belief that more options equal more creativity, but often, constraints are where the magic happens. I came across the work of Windy Chien and fell in love with her knots project. I really enjoy constraints and love and she has taken an really accessible and utilitarian concept (making knots) and turned it on its head.
2. Modem + Mouthwash studios
“The emergence of AI agents lets us reimagine the ways we interact with our digital devices. Modem and Mouthwash teamed up to explore the next phase of user interface design, as enabled by AI. General Purpose Interfaces presents a set of principles for designing a single interface that can replace many”. - Mouthwash Studio
I’ve been thinking along the exact same lines and it’s exciting to se this explored so beautifully.
3. AI-Generated Art
Google DeepMind’s ongoing project Visualising AI is all about to engaging and fostering public understanding of AI through approachable communication. I really love the work they produced.
4. Shail Patel’s work
I love the work of Iranian architectural designer, Shail Patel, who never ceases to surprise and inspire with their works created with Midjourney There’s something fun and peaceful about them.
5. Record recommendation: A love supreme
I loved reading this beautiful piece by Ted Gioia on John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” as it turned 60 recently. This is one of my favourite records and I strongly recommend finding yourself a vinyl copy and a record player: No skipping through, no messing with the track order…as he meant it.
Explore…
Take 10 minutes today to build something that doesn’t serve a purpose. Stack some rocks. Doodle without a plan. Write a nonsense sentence. Let your mind wander. What happens when we stop optimizing and start exploring?
Be playful. Stay curious. See you next week.
Get all my best thinking on Slow Design & AI – subscribe for free.
