They lose luster.

A hose nozzle left in the sun, snow, and rain all year will corrode because the metal oxidizes. And like all our other products we’ve owned, it will need a replacement before long.

But corporations pollute more by far.

Most water is not consumed by homes, it’s used for agriculture.

That’s all people have with products. We pick something up to use it and once it’s set down we don’t think about it. People don’t actually want to think about what our products can do for us or what problems they solve like designers want. People want plug and play.

It isn’t as popular as it once was, but pinball games are getting better as a whole. Games have modern visuals and more ball saves. It’s more approachable to new players. It looks more appealing and most newer games do a better job of guiding the player through the game. Better lighting, a screen to guide you, and familiar themes. It offers better stimulation than video games or tv. And it’s more social by offering better ways to compete with people on scoreboards.

One of the best ways to improve everyday design skills is to be precise. Align and place components exactly where they need to be.

Ergonomic handles. Margins on a page. Pictures on a wall.

There are free online ai tools that are instrumental in some design processes. Midjourney and Notion are big names right now. Photoshop beta needs to be in the toolbelt, without doubt. For background removal alone, it’s horrifyingly easy to make rapid mockups.

Different questions come with different answers. A good way to come up with new ideas is to ask more questions.

Then the appearance of weight is more important than knowing one thing right now.

They’re full of different mechanics and lights. But that’s not what makes a good pinball machine.

A good pinball machine has clear paths, is generous, and has a strong playfield. New mechanisms are fun, but never required to be a crowd favorite.

“Knocker-uppers” would go door to door to wake up people. They would knock on doors and tap on windows before dawn. Who woke up the knocker-up though, no one knows.

There’s so much out there. These are some (of many other) good ones to know about.

It seems like everyone has one, but few people I know use it often.

Yesterday, Instant Brands filed for bankruptcy protection. Their sales are 50% of what they were in 2020.

It’s a good product, but there are flaws that hold it back from reaching a wider audience.

It’s like digging through a treasure chest.

The stop sign shape is a good example.

If you shower for 10 minutes, you use about 20 gallons of water. That’s 2 gallons per minute, or 2 gpm.

Modern, clean designs are fun and easy to look at. They’re best for generic hotels and restaurants. But a homey feeling doesn’t share the same aesthetic, it doesn’t try as hard. It’s more natural, more rustic. It embraces aging and imperfections. It feels more relaxing because it’s relatable.

When the iPad was released, it was a joke. Naysayers said it was an expensive, large, novelty iPhone. But it was a huge success the first few weeks. For those few weeks. And then it was a paperweight.

When the iPad was released, it was a joke. Naysayers said it was an expensive, large, novelty iPhone. But it was a huge success the first few weeks. For those few weeks. And then it was a paperweight.