Welcome to another issue of “Vinita-dumps-her-brain”. I’m two months behind so June and July coming up for ya.

• [Culture] Coke Studio is Pakistan’s Multicultural Identity. I have been listening to Coke Studio since college. I love this article just because it captures in media what I think many nations experience but don’t have an outlet for.
• [Design] Why maple syrup bottles have small handles.
• [Design] Huge fan of Active Voice and ran across this page of resources they provide for leadership.
• [Design] Typefaces for knitting. Enough said.
• [Design] I went to a Ladies That UX Meetup in Melbourne as part of Design Outlook. Really enjoyed Julia’s presentation and she graciously captured it in a Notion format. With all these questions around AI taking over our jobs, I really loved how she talked about using AI / tech tools to do the parts of our jobs we dislike, and still doing the jobs we enjoy (i.e. flow through pixel pushing if a person craves that).
• [Design] The secret behind inspiration. I like this one a lot because it’s just real. Inspiration doesn’t just strike. And usually it’s lots of dot points you’ve put together over time (like contextual literacy).
• [Design] I’m a fan of Mansi Gupta’s Women-Centric Design and maturity models. You can see why I thought this was really well thought-out.

• [Design] How to spot a strategic designer. This diagram!!!
• [Design] Mapping the Human Condition. The Isle of Knowledge on this one is my favorite. This article is old but I love how it’s totally still relevant.
• [Design] The Death of Personas. I could give a whole talk on this but here’s a short piece with better words.
• [Design and Culture] Last year, I made my first rangolis from scratch for the first time. I started reading about kolams and then found this!
• [Linguistics] As someone who is trying to clean up their language, this one was great.
• [Productivity] Upping your Google Calendar game.
• [Psychology] I am a massive fangirl of Priya Parker and wanted to share her latest newsletter around adjusting space for better conversation.
• [Psychology] Since it’s mid-year, we see lots of reports coming out. Loved this well-designed one by Bruce Daisley around workplace culture.
• [Psychology] I was doing some reading on grief and found some really interesting resources:
  • Cemetery technology provides new ways of memorialising the dead, but there are calls for caution
  • The Living Urn
  • Melbourne cemetery
• [Psychology] How to get 7th graders to smoke.
• [Psychology] How our sense of humour change with our age.
• [Psychology] I have my eyes on this Kinship book. Sounds like Sapiens but from a much more human-centric perspective.
• [Psychology] The GROW framework for coaching.
• [Random] As a kid, I used to watch this series on PBS (Public Broadscasting Service). I have been referencing it quite a bit for random reasons but putting it here as documentation!
• [Random] Went to an event with a friend and came across someone that pointed me towards this resource: a gathering of First Nations and black creatives in Australia.
• [Tech] The dark side of Apple Tags. Florida woman’s Apple Watch traces lost luggage to airport worker’s home.
• [Tech] Seeing a Cybertruck. I found this really funny to read. Also felt quite normal in the Bay Area which probably says a lot about the place.
• [Tech] Bringing together two of my current loves: VR and Muji.
• [Tech] A guide to an 8-day data detox kit.
• [Tech] Dark patterns finally getting policied. US sues Adobe for hiding termination fees and making it difficult to cancel subscriptions
• [Tech and Psychology] no hello. A great guide to interpersonal communication when you want something!
• [Urban Design] Came across this in Melbourne: NaviLens. Looks like their testing it out at the moment and curious to see the results.
• [Urban Design] A funny but accurate read of why mums should run for city council.
• [Urban Design] Greater Melbourne City Portrait.

Finished Reading:

• A Court of Thorns and Roses
• Bookbinder of Jericho

Finished Watching:

• The Boys Season 4. Unfortunately I think this series is on its last legs.

New Vocab:

• Mechanical garrote - a device used in strangling condemned persons
• Sibilant - making or characterized by a hissing sound
• Saccharine - excessively sweet or sentimental
• Servile - having or showing an excessive willingness to serve or please others.
• Drolly - in a curious or unusual way that provokes dry amusement
• Tepid - lacking in passion, force, or zest
• Weasel word - word or phrase aimed at creating an impression that something specific and meaningful has been said, when in fact only a vague, ambiguous, or irrelevant claim has been communicated
• Hidden curriculum - lessons which are learned but not openly intended
• Syrniki - Russian cheese pancakes