Welcome to this week's edition of our Quality Linkage column. Please enjoy this week’s collection of interesting and entertaining links. Brew a fresh cup of coffee, find a comfortable place, and relax.
??: What would a desktop-style main menu look like on iPad? That was the question recently explored by UX designer Alexander Käßner (aka Alex Kaessner) as part of his university thesis, and there are some really interesting ideas here. I'll put the video down below, but I'd really recommend looking at the site itself for the best experience.
?☕️: There's something remarkably calming about Anna Dorfman's “pick-me-up” coffee station. Love the photos.
???: Amy Azzarito, writing for Smithsonian Magazine, presents 10 fascinating historical facts about everyday objects that we take for granted today. Did you know the fork was once considered “immoral, unhygienic, and a tool of the devil”? That's a new one on me.
??: Illustrator and animator James Gilleard was asked to create urban concept artwork for the new BNA: Brand New Animal series by Japanese animation house Studio Trigger* and the results are stunning.
* You may have seen some of their other shows on Netflix, like Little Witch Academia [TV-Y7],Gurren Lagann [TV-14], and Kill la Kill [TV-MA]
??: Need some ideas for things to do at home while social distancing with your kids? Here's a giant list on Google Docs of great stuff to try, like doing stop-motion with Play-Doh, using all of your LEGOs to make one giant structure, having a board game day (or tournament, building an indoor "tent" (aka reading nook) with blankets and chairs, and much more.
+ Also worth checking out along these lines is the beautifully designed Bored Solutions site.
You *never* need to apologize if your child or pet jump into the video conference. We’re all human beings, just trying to hold it all together during extraordinary times. I LIKE seeing your life. If we’re going to do business together bring your whole self.
?: Need some more fantastic illustration work to pore over this weekend? Calvin Sprague / Union Haus has you covered. Lots of eccentric, colorful, retro-style compositions here. I'm particularly liking the Faceless, Garage Sale Treasures, and Behaviorist collections. Might need to make myself some iPhone/iPad lockscreen wallpapers out of these.
Fun fact: The background color of this week's hero image above, taken from the Faceless series, uses the hex code #FACECE. Clever.
??: Samuel Reilly of Apollo Magazine compiled a handy list of open-access artwork image libraries shared from the archives of numerous museums. There should be some kind of Unsplash-style search engine that draws from all of these; that'd be killer.
??: Feeling a bit of wanderlust while being cooped up at home? I absolutely feel you. That's why I'm enjoying these relaxing videos that take you on “walking tours” of cities, markets, forests, and more. I'm realizing as I type this just how far we've all sunk, where videos of people simply...walking around places have become a lifeline to the outside world. A bit depressing really.
Not going to stop me from watching them though.
+ Somewhat on the inverse side of those videos is this stunning drone footage of the empty streets of San Francisco. A bit post-apocalyptic, isn't it?
Neat Stuff We've Published Recently
- Designed to power a wide range of small gadgets and medium-sized appliances yet weighing only 12.9 lbs, the Yeti 500X power station is the perfect blend of utility and portability.
- Keep all your various coffee filters on deck at all times with the Unibene Bamboo Coffee Filter Holder.
- This mondo-big organic cotton tote has plenty enough room for basically anything you can think of.
- With its low-profile 360° swivel base, the solid aluminum Rain Design mStand360 Laptop Stand creates a stylish and and stable workstation so you can work comfortably, then share ideas with others spontaneously at the push of a finger.
- Romantic and curvy, like a roadtrip should be, “Voyage” is a very seductive yet bold display typeface.
- Umbra's “Cubist” floating shelf is a creative combination of storage and display that's designed to be functional while adding a modern decorative touch to any room.
Got any suggestions for articles, videos, stories, photographs, and any other links you think we should be posting in our weekly Quality Linkage? Please do let us know on Twitter.