Design

Watched a First Look video about Slate Auto’s upcoming modular truck. It’s expected to come to market in 2027 and the base model is under US$20,000 (after government incentives).

Essentially, it’s a 3D-Printed truck with many add-on options. You start with a “blank slate,” which is a bare-bones pickup, but you can make it into an SUV, an open-concept beach truck, a ute, etc. The add-ons don’t commit you to one design. You can later swap out the add-ons for others. So, assuming you’ve got a garage, you could have one truck with designs you can swap out by season or utility. It’s an electric-only vehicle with a limited range, but seems ideal for local commutes.

My powerbar of choice is the RX Bar. I tried my first one in Santa Monica in the late 2010s, drawn to it by the blunt and bold packaging. Today, I learned that that packaging was created by Nicole and Mike McQuade. Their work is consistently striking.

Much more at TheMcQuades.com.

I always find the videos by Bill Hammack (a/k/a EngineerGuy) explaining everyday items to be fascinating. He consistently manages to explain the complex ideas behind simple items in an understandable way.

Here's one on the common soda can, which he calls ingenious:

And one on the soda bottle ("Masterful"):

Terrific 20 min Artbound documentary on Sister Corita Kent, The Pop Art Nun, who came up with the above rules and created the poster they're displayed on:

A few more examples of Sister Corita's work can be found at the Casual Optimist, which is where I found the video.

Stanislaw Lem's novel Solaris has been made into two films, one by Andrai Tarkovsky and the other by Stephen Soderbergh. Honestly, I cannot stand either one (though the Cliff Martinez score for the Soderbergh film is delightful).

The novel has been published in numerous languages in dozes of editions. The Hype & Hyper site has cataloged a ton of them. Wonderful to see how one title can inspire so many different interpretations.

"Kyiv Type Foundry is conserving the architectural heritage of Ukraine by pulling typefaces out from underground." It's Nice That explains.

Over the course of his prolific and varied design career, Jens Quistgaard created a series of peppermills for Dansk Designs.

The Peppermills of Jens Quistgaard is an exhaustive look at his designs.

The Nokia Design Archive is a graphic and interactive platform that allows you to explore behind-the-scenes design processes at Nokia.

There’s a resurgence of small, handcrafted sites challenging the current trajectory of the internet. Joining the movement is as simple as making your own.

from Chia Amisola's excellent essay, Making Space for a Handmade Web. Just one of the Six Memos for the Future of Digital Creation.

Studio.Neat makes expensive but gorgeous notebooks (and other things).