In true VInita fashion, I did not end up finding a better way to document things I’ve been reading and rabbit holes I’ve been down… so we are returning to this long-form format. I am slo 5 months behind (even though I have collected all my resources) so we’re going to play catch-up.

Special thanks to a friend who inspired me to do more writing. Gave me the push I needed to catch-up (and hopefully do other kinds of writing as well).

• [General] Enjoyed reading this roundup of interesting things from 2023 from the Atlantic.
• [General] In the same vein of learning and publishing lists of interesting things, Kent Hendrick’s list of interesting things from 2023.
• [Design] This is a super simple but ingenious way of looking at workflows and different tech: Someone has created barilla X spotify playlists to tell you how long you should cook your pasta
• [Design] Love this little reflection on learnings within design
• [Design] My alma mater (Grad School) built this! A good example of bringing academia and industry a bit closer together: A fossil object for future moon landings
• [Design] Ethical Designers is a French association that explores digital design practices. We work to empower designers and digital professionals to produce emancipatory, sustainable and desirable digital technology.
• [Design] Consequence Scanning! As we begin to think about second and third order impacts of our work. We shouldn’t be starting but you have to start somwhere.
• [Design] I was doing some catch-up on WWDC videos and things I have had bookmarked for ages. I came across this Life of a Button video from 2018 but thought it was a great UX explanation alongside code. This is what Apple is known for - making great quality design and code more accessible (IMO).
• [Linguistics] As someone who regularly gets asked where my accent is from while subconsciously trying to develop an Aussie accent, this piece brought to light the variety of Aussie accents growing.
• [Productivity] As someone whose bathroom has been called “The Third Reich” in level of orgnization, I personally use the Pile Method a lot.
• [Psychology] I actually signed up for Workout Witch’s Somatic Exercise class (Release your Jaw) in January. I saw some results, but it was hard to maintain for me. I think the push I needed to take the class (which I don’t regret) was from this article about trying to pay off emotional debt.
• [Psychology] I love me a reframe of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Here’s one I came across for emotions.
• [Psychology] I love love loved this piece by the Out of Office Substack on Rhythms of Work. I’m a big believer in seasons and variety and this hit the nail on the head for me.
• [Urban Design] I posted the Inner West city branding example a while back that was by the same studio, but came across their Launceston one as well.

Finished Reading:

• Becoming. I am not a huge fan of autobiographies or biographies, but I quite enjoyed this one. I thought the conversational tone of the book and the way the story was told made it quite enjoyable.

Finished Watching:

• The One. Sci-fi nerd series about code finding your perfect match. I had watched this previously but re-watched it.

New Vocab:

• Fastidious - very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail.
• Meted - dispense or allot justice, a punishment, or harsh treatment.
• Pernicious - highly injurious or destructive, tending to a fatal issue, deadly.
• Desultory - lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm.
• Overemote - to express emotion to an excessive degree especially in acting, to emote excessively.
• Ribbing - the act of harassing someone playfully or maliciously (especially by ridicule); provoking someone with persistent annoyances.