The five best design links, every weekday

Wednesday04/02

1

blunarova.com

How I use generative AI in branding

A designer's observations and experience with using AI-generated assets in branding work.

2

715-999-7483.com

(715) 999-7483

A phone-powered multiplayer website builder. By calling the phone number, anyone can update the homepage by describing the changes they want.

3

jarango.com

Don’t let the drawings distract you: AI is not about the output

AI’s real value isn’t in generating flashy outputs; it’s in making sense of unstructured information to support better decisions.

4

historicborders.app

Historic borders

Visualize country borders from different times in history (123,000 BC - 1994).

5

serce.me

There is no vibe engineering

This article explores the relationship between vibe coding and software engineering.

The Sidebar Newsletter

One, two, three, four

The daily Sidebar newsletter is unlike any other you've seen before!

5 Design Links in Your Inbox Every Weekday

Tuesday04/01

1

metastable.org

Five things AI will not change

The dramatic diversity of opinions about AI tells us we truly and deeply do not know what’s going to happen next.

2

fancycomponents.dev

Fancy components

Ready to use, fancy React components to make the web fun again. Free & Open Source.

3

seths.blog

The name doesn’t matter (that much)

Busy people in important organizations waste a lot of time naming things. It could be that once a name is good enough, you’re done.

4

figma.com

Futuristic UI kit

A collection of 200 Futuristic UI design elements to give your project an extra Sci-Fi look.

5

creativelivesinprogress.com

Strategy and copywriting: where’s the line?

How copywriting and brand strategy differ and overlap—and why the best work happens when copywriting and strategy come together.

Monday03/31

1

jeremymikkola.com

A UI might not make it easier

Making a task self-serve, no-code, in a UI, shouldn’t be applied when the unavoidable complexity of the task exceeds what a UI can handle.

2

stripe.press

The scaling era: an oral history of AI

Microsite for Dwarkesh Patel's new book—an inside view of the AI revolution, from the people and companies making it happen.

3

newsletter.dancohen.org

Asking good questions is harder than giving great answers

The tests we are using to assess the intelligence of AI are missing an essential aspect of human inquiry — the query itself.

4

itsnicethat.com

Futuristic typefaces that shift to make new forms

At this Amsterdam-based foundry, things go from readable weights to “decorative extremes” with imaginative methods of integrating motion.

5

paulrobertlloyd.com

Bored of it

We're all bored of it. The pervasive, all encompassing nature of it. The inevitable, dehumanising consequence of it.

Friday03/28

1

maxburnside.com

Maintaining screenshot quality and color profile in Figma

Steps to ensure that the final exported image retains all of the high quality aspects of the screenshot(s) used.

2

polygonjs.com

Polygonjs: WebGL design & animation tool

Node-based design and animation tool for the Web.

3

wepresent.wetransfer.com

The type designer celebrating the richness of Arabic script

How type designer and lettering artist Kristyan Sarkis is celebrating the rich diversity and history of Arabic script.

4

viggle.ai

Viggle AI: controllable video generator

Bring your characters to life with AI—from professional motion capture to viral memes.

5

personas-prototype.herokuapp.com

Accessibility personas

HMRC's team have created and adapted the GDS accessibility personas as part of their accessibility awareness raising work.

Thursday03/27

1

shirleywu.studio

What killed innovation?

How interactive data visualization has gone from bold experimentation to polished, predictable formats.

2

same.new

Copy any UI

Prompt URL to make pixel perfect copies via AI.

3

figma.com

Figma plugin: Perspective toolkit

Put UI or images into perspective using non-destructive isometric skewing, 3D with full perspective and FoV control.

4

itsnicethat.com

F* around and find out

One philosophy underpins designer Ji Park’s eclectic practice.

5

blog.scottlogic.com

AI’s biggest flaw? The blinking cursor problem

AI’s potential is immense, yet clunky user interfaces and a lack of discoverability are holding it back from seamless adoption.

Wednesday03/26

1

bit.ly

Leadership over measureship

If you’ve ever had an app randomly interrupt your day to ask if you love it. That's measureship.

2

frontendpractice.com

Frontend practice

Take your frontend skills to the next level by recreating real websites from real companies.

3

kupajo.com

Stamina is a quiet advantage

The ability to sustain focused effort despite pain or discomfort (or to stay true to your values especially when it’s hard to do so).

4

nngroup.com

Discoverability of AI features and Amazon’s mistakes

Even AI features that offer value won’t be used if people don’t notice them.

5

smustafa.blog

Software development has too much software in it

The complexity around tooling has increased, for reasons that were more in the interest of the company than delivering what users needed.

Tuesday03/25

1

jenson.org

Design for a small planet

UX Design is going through its own “you cost too much” phase right now. How can we have our “Design for a Small Planet” shift?

2

colormatch.polarr.com

AI color match: a free color transfer tool

Instantly apply the color and tone of any image to your own.

3

bjango.com

Matching drop shadows across CSS, Android, iOS, Figma, and Sketch

If you’ve ever tried to implement consistent shadows across multiple platforms and design tools, you may have noticed that they don’t look the same.

4

paulstamatiou.com

Browse no more

How today's AI-powered search tools sacrifice the beautiful chaos that once made the internet so captivating.

5

accessiblegames.com

Accessible games initiative

A project to improve players’ gameplay experiences by clear information about the accessibility features available in video games.

Browse Archives