12.03.22: Episode One. Goodbye & Hello.
Intro to Design Yourself... Designing Cities, Arguments and Albums
3 years ago, at the start of the pandemic, I started a Newsletter called Stroke of Genius, and up until now, it's been my favorite creative accomplishment.
What started as simply sharing a "List of genius finds" and fighting off boredom. Quickly morphed into an exhilarating writing exercise exploring philosophy, personal truths, and other random things that stoked the creative fire.
It was inconsistent and far from perfect, but every time I hit publish, it was an honest expression from the heart and a sincere attempt to move the needle for folks searching for inspiration.
For a while, I was terrified that my words were falling on deaf ears. However, to my surprise, even after months of nothing new, folks still randomly ask, "Whatever happened to your newsletter thingy!?"
Amid so many life, work, and creative transitions, I had to put it on hold, but today, after some refinement, I'm excited to launch Design Yourself.
A Newsletter highlighting the invisible impact of designs scattered throughout the world and, along the way, teach some design principles that can be leveraged in your everyday life.
Thinking like a Designer…
One of my favorite things about Design is the number of beautiful books on the subject. I highly recommend grabbing this one for folks curious about Design as a career or those who dig cool Coffee Table books.
Educating yourself on the game changers in the Design field reveal countless gems about life and the craft, and for Michael Beirut, it's especially true.
I recently grabbed the Revised copy of How To… and only read a few pages at a time to soak it all in.
Each chapter is a short "How To" lesson on a specific Design Principle, doubling as a mini Case Study of a Project he's worked on.
The most important thing I've learned from the book so far is that developing as a designer has less to do with the colors or tools you use and more with intent and communication.
This presentation is from 2015, when the book was originally published. Consider it a watchable SparkNotes version of the book.
Designing a City…
Living in a walkable city makes every other design feel silly. Hopefully, instead of just pushing for electric cars, we can push new ways to approach city planning.
Designing an Argument…
In the age of Podcast, it seems like folks are talking and debating more than ever, but that doesn’t mean we’re getting any better at it. Check out this fallacies breakdown to help navigate your timeline's minefield and strengthen your defenses.
Designing an Album…
A Beautiful conversation led by Rick Rubin going through the ins and outs of Stormzy’s creative process for his most recent album. The design prowess of top-tier rappers isn’t discussed enough.
We’re going to crawl before we run with Design Yourself, so that’s it for now.
Any questions or suggestions? Don’t hesitate to reach out or leave a comment. This is infinitely a work in progress, and I’ll need feedback in order to design the most impactful newsletter possible.
As always, I appreciate your time and energy. Don’t forget to like and/or share with your favorite peeps.