Tools
This tool uses a neural network to generate color palettes tailored to you. You start by choosing 50 different colors to train the model. After that, the algorithm makes an infinite amount of color combinations that you can use. I was surprised by the results, giving me combinations that I would've never tried, but I loved. This kind of tools makes me think that machine learning can be used just like any other tool for designers. I imagine a future in which AI is a type of creative director that help us choose a path from the infinite possibilities we can pick. The robots are not here to take our jobs—they're here to help us do better work. But I wonder, how do you feel about all this stuff?
Additionally, I recommend reading George Hastings' case study about the project.
Inspiration
I like it when products show a bit of humor or personality in empty or fail states. The only problem is that these pages usually blame the user, stating that they made a mistake arriving there. When in fact, they might have gotten a 404 error because the site removed that page or link, or it's a state that the user flow could've avoided. So, it's refreshing to see a 404 page that assumes responsibility and invites you to report the error. Do you have an example of a product or service that does something like this?
App
This app uses natural language to calculate stuff for you. For example, you can type 10 dollars to euro -5% or Today + 12 days or 180lb to kg divided by 10 Even if you're not looking for a new calculator, I still recommend trying this tool (while it is still free) to admire how elegant and beautiful it is. Since you have to type what you need, the app relies on your intuition to use it. That can also make it hard to try in the beginning. There are no menus, no tools, and it has a minimal UI. It's not apparent what you can do with it right away. I wonder, how would you have designed a more approachable first experience? How would you strike a balance of clarity and simplicity? Or am I wrong assuming it's not as obvious?
Illustrator
Karan Singh is a freelance illustrator based in Melbourne, Australia. His work ranges from typography to apparel, to illustration. I love his use of vibrant and flat colors with shapes that feel like they have volume—popping from the canvas.
Typeface
Eczar is a calligraphic serif typeface by Vaibhav Singh. It's available for free on Google Fonts. The family offers five weights, giving you a wide expressive range. I especially like the heavier weights for display purposes.
Maybe you've noticed—I figured out how to import custom fonts on emails, so I'm using Eczar on the headlines of this newsletter. What do you think? Do you like it? Or should I go back to using Arial?
Oh, you can't see the new font? That might be because you're using an email client that doesn't support web fonts like Gmail which, ironically, doesn't support Google Fonts. Lol.
Inspiration
This site has a curated collection of the best-designed emails. What I like the most is that you can see the code of the emails. Inspecting the HTML is particularly dope because when you write emails, you pretty much have to do it like if you were a webmaster in the '90s. Not all email clients have updated to modern web standards, so you have to be a bit creative to make emails render well everywhere. Seeing the code shows you how others have solved typical problems.
News
Yo, twitter got a design update on the web to make it more consistent with the mobile version. I felt it was clear and easy to navigate. What do you think? Do you like it? Or do you not even care? You might be like Pablo... are you still using Twitter?
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