The five best design links, every weekday

Tuesday07/15

1

makingsoftware.com

How does a screen work?

From electron guns to tiny electric crystals - digital displays have always been the unsung hero of computing.

2

designarena.ai

Design arena

Global crowdsourced benchmark for design—a framework for evaluating AI design capabilities.

3

kigen.design

Color generator

Generate beautiful color palettes for your design system.

4

youtube.com

The era of experience & the age of design

Dr. Richard S. Sutton explores a pivotal shift in Artificial Intelligence: moving beyond learning solely from human data to an era of experience.

5

smashingmagazine.com

The Wizard of Oz method for UX research

Simulating real interactions to uncover authentic user behavior.

The Sidebar Newsletter

Just like a podcast

But daily, in written form, and made of links. So not really like a podcast actually.

5 Design Links in Your Inbox Every Weekday

Monday07/14

1

nngroup.com

Designing scroll behavior

Save scroll position when users are likely to compare content in a long static list.

2

dixonbaxi.com

C the signs

Branding work for C the Signs: a movement to make early cancer detection a right, not a privilege.

3

figma.com

Figma plugin: Magic Animator

Add motion to your static Figma designs with one click.

4

buildmytransit.nyc

Build my transit

A web app to design, visualize, and simulate New York City subway systems—to explore what-if scenarios.

5

yidingjiang.github.io

The era of exploration

The next breakthroughs in AI may hinge more on how we collect experience through exploration, and less on how many data points we have.

Friday07/11

1

uxdesign.cc

Designers: we’ll all be design engineers in a year

AI makes it easier for anyone to turn an idea into something real. There’s no limit to who’s allowed to have ideas.

2

booooooom.com

The no BS guide to drawing tablets

A comprehensive guide to finding the perfect drawing device for your workflow and your budget.

3

maalvika.substack.com

Why are we lying to young people about work?

Hard work isn’t the tax you pay for living, it’s the tuition for a life worth having—your fav gen z philosopher x.

4

smashingmagazine.com

Design guidelines for better notifications UX

Let’s see how we could make the notifications UX slightly better.

5

figma.com

Figma plugin: AI mesh gradients

48 dark and light gradients for banner backgrounds and more—generated with Midjourney.

Thursday07/10

1

aresluna.org

Frame of preference

A story of early Mac settings told by 10 emulators.

2

inkandswitch.com

Malleable software

Restoring user agency in a world of locked-down apps.

3

holovaty.com

Adding a feature because ChatGPT incorrectly thinks it exists

Should we really be developing features in response to misinformation?

4

youtube.com

100 years of history in 100 films

A look at the past century through a cinematic lens.

5

evanhahn.com

How I build software quickly

Know how good your code needs to be for the task at hand.

Wednesday07/09

1

2earth.github.io

On Dyson, techno-centric design and social consumption

Our role as designers, how design should interact with society and what even constitutes design.

2

how.studio

Visual identity for Jupi

How&How rebranded Jupi—an AI-powered decision making OS. They also designed and built the website.

3

colormoods.co

Color moods

Generate pairs of colors based on the amount of stimulation you select.

4

andybudd.com

Why designers sound negative

Just as the meeting is wrapping up, a designer tentatively raises a hand and asks:“Have we thought about what happens if…?”

5

fliiipbook.com

FliiipBook animation tool

Draw frame-by-frame animations and create GIFs directly in your browser. Simple, fun, and powerful animation tool.

Tuesday07/08

1

designsystems.international

When Figma starts designing us

The subtle ways in which design tools shape how we think and what we make.

2

futureguessr.fr

FutureGuessr

Thought you knew planet Earth? Wait until you see what it'll look like in 2100.

3

seangoedecke.com

Everything I know about good system design

Even good system design advice can be kind of bad.

4

jamie.ideasasylum.com

You're all CTO now

The manager’s unbearable lack of endorphins—something many more developers are going to encounter in the age of AI.

5

garros.gallery

The art of Roland-Garros

The complete collection of iconic Roland-Garros tournament posters. Decades of artistic expression from renowned artists.

Monday07/07

1

elenaverna.com

The rise of the AI-native employee

An AI-native employee isn’t someone who “uses AI.” It’s someone who defaults to AI.

2

adhdexperience.com

Experience ADHD

Get a small taste of the ups and downs of ADHD, including hyperactvity, impulsivity, and time blindness.

3

cacm.acm.org

An algorithm for a better bookshelf

Drop in at a library, and you’ll likely notice that most shelves aren’t full—librarians leave some empty space on each shelf.

4

cghnyc.com

America250 branding

July 4, 2026 marks America's 250th anniversary. This branding project aims to create the most inclusive commemoration in American history.

5

morrick.me

More assorted notes on Liquid Glass

Discussing icon design, and commenting on some passages of Apple’s Adopting Liquid Glass document.

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