This week in design (WK35)

@dribbble tries to bounce back, @fonsmans and @rogie jam on a Figma plugin, @thejoshloh opens a design gym, @contra continues to help freelancers, and a Model 3 facelift.

01 Sep

Happy Friday!

Welcome to the 7th issue of TWID - the only design newsletter on the internet written by me.

No drawn out sappy intro this time, just a small PSA. TWID is growing, so naturally it was time to set up a dedicated Twitter account.

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Thanks for being here, let’s get into the sauce 🥫

WK35

Dribbble is trying to bounce back

This week, Dribbble dropped a new logo.

I think most designers would agree that Dribbble has kind of fallen into obscurity over the years.

The platform that every designer once used (& used to love), has been on a steady downtrend in quality - both in terms of content & inbound leads. Change is definitely needed, but is a new logo enough?

As always, design Twitter is divided on whether or not the new logo is any good.

Lots of people also pointed out that the “b’s” written in the new typeface resemble the mark of the beast 😈

Personally, I don’t really feel too strongly one way or another. I think @darylginn put it best ↓

I don’t know if Dribbble will ever make a comeback, but some serious changes are needed for them to even have a chance.

You can read more about the new logo (& some other things) here.

@fonsmans & @rogie build in public

Always nice to see design twitter come together for something positive. This doesn’t happen often, so we gotta cherish these moments when they do happen ✨

This week, Fons shared an idea for a Figma plugin to quickly generate bentos, and the community was quick to sound off with their support.

Rogie replied with a vibe check …

And within a few days, the first draft was public.

I’m super stoked to play around with it whenever it drops, but in the meantime I’ll be watching two goats build something I’m incredibly excited to use.

@thejoshloh’s design gym

Josh recently launched a new venture called The Digital Third – a design community focused on “turning inspiration into action through creative play”.

You might have seen his YouTube channel, where he brings on design legends like @joeybanks, @niccolomiranda, @jstrelioff, and many others to share their mindset and habits for success.

I’ve been a huge fan of the series so far, but the YouTube channel is seemingly just the beginning.

Design Gym

This week, Josh announced the launch of “Design Gym” – a series of 1-hour design sessions modelled after CrossFit classes.

I was lucky enough to get a chance to speak with Josh about his plans & get a tiny peak behind the curtain. The Design Gym is such a clever & engaging idea, and I’m really hyped to see how it turns out.

Based on what we’ve seen with the Relume Design League, I think it’s safe to say that Josh knows how to entertain and educate.

The Design Gym is still in early access, but you can find more info here.

@contra launches Project OS

Contra has been on a real tear lately, and is quickly becoming the go-to place for all things freelance.

This week, they launched Project OS - a freelancer management system built for managing your team’s project based hiring.

Oh and the new site was built in Framer (love to see it) by the talented Adriano Reis.

This isn’t sponsored - but I’m a massive fan of what Contra’s team is doing and really want them to win.

Design Dopamine 💊

I usually pick some kind of digital design to highlight in this section, but this week I felt like making an exception.

Tesla Model 3 Refresh

Tesla just dropped a pretty slick update to their Sedan. As an owner of a 2020 M3 (which now feels even more dated), I’m definitely a little partial, but this refresh looks amazing.

Tesla just unveiled a major update to its Model 3 electric sedan in Europe. The broad strokes and much of the body are the same, but Tesla says that around 50% of the new Model 3's parts are new, making this a bit more than just a facelift - CNET

As @socoloffalex hilariously pointed out, it’s difficult to believe that this refresh was green-lit by the man that also approved the new (& terrible) X logo.

Kinda funny to think about.

That’s a wrap for WK35

Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed this issue (or hated it), please let me know in the comments (or tweet at me)

If you have an idea for how I can improve TWID or want to suggest something for next week’s issue, be sure to tag @twidfyi on twitter

Love you all, have a great weekend