Podcast guesting, fake design agencies & Tetris (March 2022 Newsletter)
Each month(ish) I send out a newsletter around design, innovation, art or just what piques my interest.
Thanks for stopping by!
This content is from my March 2022 Newsletter. If you’d like to sign up to receive my monthly(ish) newsletter, here’s the link. If you'd like to look at the archive, here’s the campaign URL.
Pictured above: Inside the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris in October 2021. View the full photo on Instagram
In this edition, I'm happy to share my first time as a podcast interview guest and various links that resonated with me this month including stories about fake design agencies and Al Roker's previous short stint as a cartoonist. Let's dig in.
Nowhere is Perfect: Guest on The Reset Podcast
Every February, my friend and colleague Laura Mignott does a 28 (or 29) Days of Magic podcast series where she interviews a different Black woman a day about their career paths to commemorate Black History Month. After 2 years of us wrangling schedules, we finally sat down last week to dish.
Listen in to my conversation with Laura Mignott on The Reset Podcast: #29DaysOfMagic. On it we explore my career journey and my path to design. I talk about my time living in and around Western Europe where I noticed when people realize that I'm an African American, they treat me much differently than before when thinking that I was just from Africa. Laura and I touch on my family escaping a coup in Nigeria, becoming an artist again, and we take a deeper dive into thoughts on inclusivity, empathy and much more.
Click below to listen or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Madbird: The Fake Design Agency
Madbird created an elaborate con that tricked dozens into working for a fake design agency.
Most of the 40 people on the all-hands Zoom call were fake with the exception of a few real employees. Fake LinkedIn profiles, company email addresses, everything. The whole thing was fake - the real employees had been "jobfished". The perpetrator and design agency “founder”, Ali Ayad, is an inspirational Instagram influencer.
The BBC spent a year investigating what happened.
Using Travel Posters to Tackle Anti-Asian Hate Crime
“Where are you really from?” I’m sure some of my readers have had that question asked of them or at least heard it in the ether. It sucks when people question your identity.
In order to address this, some folks in the AAPI community teamed up with the AA Federation, community members, and designers of Asian American backgrounds to create travel posters for the cities they’re really from. One of my favourites is for Seattle by Bianca Austria.
View all the posters and the campaign | Check out more of Bianca’s gorgeous illustration work
h/t Creative Review
Interview with Tetris' Creator
I remember playing Tetris for the first time maybe in early/mid 90s in 7th grade “Computer Class”. Mind you, this was after playing Oregon Trail at 6 years old in school with large 5” floppy disks. When did you first play Tetris?
In 1984 Tetris, one of the most popular computer games ever, was invented in Moscow by a bored research scientist who wasn't challenged enough in his job. In this 9 min interview, BBC reporter Chloe Hadjimatheou spoke to its creator, Alexey Pajitnov, and to Henk Rogers, an American businessman who helped bring Tetris to the world.
Did You Know Al Roker Was a Cartoonist for the Syracuse New Times?
How cool is that? Turns out America’s favourite weatherman had a short lived career as a cartoonist while finishing his degree at SUNY Oswego way back in the day. His comic strip called “Salt & Pepper” debuted in 1976 in the now defunct Syracuse New Times and featured a political Doonesbury-esque theme of taking jabs at local Syracuse politicians and community leaders.
Its main characters were two roommates Gregory Salt (a visual alter ego for Al Roker himself) and his White roommate McFarland W. Pepper. The strip only lasted 10 weeks before Roker got a job in a Washington DC TV station and properly launched his meteorology career.
Below is one of Roker’s very mid-70s comic strips including a Ralph Nader reference. Read the other comic strips if you want a hyperlocal politics flashback.
Another one in the bag, y'all.
Going forward, I'd love to share more links to interesting items I've found around the web. What did you think of this edition? Also, please share any cool newsletters you're subscribed to currently. Email newsletters and their design are something I'm geeking out on right now.
Also, just a quick note. There was a lot of wonderful response from January's email around the Writers' Hour. So many people reached out about it being a helpful tool and it passed it on to others. I'm so happy it was a useful resource for so many people.
Want to swap resources or team up on projects? Drop me a line. Schedule some time in my calendar for a quick chat.
Go find me around the web as well:
Website | LinkedIn | Medium | Twitter | Instagram
Have a good week y'all,
Tricia
Share your serotonin. What kept you going through 2021?
Happy new year! What happened with you and what did you discover last year? Here are three activities that carried me through 2021.
Pictured above: Doors on Newbattle Terrace, Edinburgh, Scotland. June 2021. View the full photo on Instagram.
Hi there.
Happy new year. We made it, most of us. I can’t believe we had to collectively pour one out for the inestimable Ms. Betty White on the last day of 2021. That had me tearing up for real, I’m not going to lie. Nonetheless, she would have wanted us to live our hearts out.
Last year was one of stretching for me. One of the big mind shifts I had was to simply experiment with different approaches, to well, everything. I tried various workshops and courses, took up some exercise, pushed myself career-wise, moved country, bought a house, and climbed a few (Scottish) hills.
What happened with you and what did you discover last year? Below are three activities that carried me through 2021.
What Kept You Going Through 2021?
The Writers' Hour
Can I tell you how wonderful this is? You're on this call with 100 – 200 other writers (and non-writers) of every single stripe working on their day to day work as well as their passions. There are people writing novels, academic papers, manifestos, the whole lot and it is absolutely inspiring to be one body together writing and supporting each other. They start each session out with a quote from a writer to inspire you and get your mind turning.
Sprung out of the London Writers' Salon during the 2020 lockdown, the Writers' Hour is a free virtual, hour-long writing sprint held each weekday, 4 times a day. They run 8:00am sessions in 4 different time zones: London, NYC, Los Angeles, and Sydney, Australia. Some days I tune in multiple times depending on what I want to knock out for the day.
Some people are working on their poetry before running off to their jobs as lawyers. I tend to work on journal pages or planning my to do list for the week. Other times I work on things like proposals or UX reports, so honestly it doesn't matter what you're writing as long as you write and think. And be nice to yourself. On one of my first sessions, I even spotted someone in her cute little writing shed with the requisite writer's cat walking all over her desk! Please check it out if you can.
Focusmate is online virtual coworking. If you missed people over the last year, this helped dramatically when not being able to head to coworking spaces. Choose a time slot, start a video session, and knock your tasks off your list. These could be client work, house decluttering, exercise, academic research or homework, you name it. The base service is free for 3 sessions per week and a meagre $5/month for unlimited sessions each month. Sessions come in 50 minutes or pomodoro friendly 25 minute sessions.
Focusmate helped me concentrate and work through tasks while also having the fun unexpected aspect of being able to "travel" during the past year by talking to new people around the world. I've co-worked with people in Illinois, California, Latvia, Australia, India, Hong Kong, Poland, Sri Lanka, South Africa, UK, Ireland, France, Jordan, and my good old New York City as well. I've even formed a wonderful art buddy relationship with a lovely woman named in Doris in western Germany. Which leads me to the last but not least…
Making Art Again
"Unknown Place" Risoprint
Finding those two prior resources led to me developing an art making habit once again. I can even say that I'm beginning to have a practice once more. My approach last year was to try anything even though I may be scared. One of my blockers about making art again was the feeling I had somehow lost my conceptual mojo and the ability to put complex ideas together via a visual medium.
The irony behind this of course is that whenever I was teaching UX courses, I drove home the point to my students that drawing is thinking, it’s processing and by the act of making, we were refining our ideas. It’s difficult to take your own advice, huh? Remembering that as someone who tends to learn by doing, with a bit of handholding, I sought out short courses that could chip away at the anxiety and artist block I've had for years. With the help of my new friend, Doris, I played a lot last year and will continue to experiment.
Last year I took a risoprinting workshop and produced a small set of posters. More about my experiment process in next month’s newsletter.
Risograph printing is a technique best described as 'digital screen printing'. The process is similar to screen printing, but with the convenience of an office copier. It's known for its vivid colours (that other printers can't produce) and its specific textures. – Definition by Risopop
Untitled Monoprint
In the small Scottish town where I now knock about, I’ve discovered a very inexpensive print studio. There are several print presses along with a UV exposure unit which means I can try out screen printing and cyanotypes. This came in handy when I took an online monoprinting course which led me to print on a press for the first time in 20 years.
Early in December I tried my hand at cyanotypes again, after another 20 year hiatus, and am going to continue playing and refining my ideas and process. Next up this month is a Modern Sketchbook online course at the 92nd Street Y that I’ll use to create a more formal art practice and making marks on paper/surfaces. Join it with me!
So, tell me, what got you through 2021? Was it a particular course, routine, people, place you loved or discovered? I’m genuinely interested because I want to let more good things into my periphery this year. Just hit reply to this email and let me know.
A Fun Thing
Seeing as how we're all paranoid now about colds versus Covid this winter, at least have a laugh, and take care. Link: https://xkcd.com/2535
Peace for now…
Y’all know the drill. This year I’m trying to show up more and connect with people more. So, please do schedule some time in my calendar for a call or virtual hot beverage or wine.
Go find me around the web as well:
Website | LinkedIn | Medium | Twitter | Instagram
Have a good week y'all,
Tricia