Let’s face it, 2022 hasn’t begun on the kind of positive note as we’d hoped. Though there's a different kind of positivity around: surge of covid+ cases!

With India being in the midst of a third Covid wave, it feels like 2020 yet again. In all this it can be hard to stay motivated and optimistic. So this issue is about finding the bright sparks in our work 💥 whether it’s having fun making useless things, or using existing tech to make tennis matches more enjoyable for challenged users - those little things that make our users’ days brighter and give us a sense of fulfilment and purpose. And life being what it is, there will be times when things don’t go our way, so how do we respond, what do we take away from those situations?

📣📣 Also a call to share your side projects with us, so we can feature some of these in an upcoming issue! 📣📣

Simone Giertz: Why you should make useless things — www.ted.com

A joyful TED talk featuring wonderfully wacky creations by Simone Giertz. "The true beauty of making useless things [is] this acknowledgment that you don't always know what the best answer is. It turns off that voice in your head that tells you that you know exactly how the world works," she says. Watch on days you need to keep your optimism and creativity high.

What it means when our projects fail

Tanner Christensen shares examples of some of his failed projects and why. And that even when we fail, we learn. Read on.

Your responsibility preference

We love what Seth Godin talks about in his latest posts about responsibility and control. How we respond to situations are choices we can make.

Disapproval Matrix — www.annfriedman.com

Anne Friedman shares a way to separate haterade from productive feedback that can be used in work and life.

🌿 Design is in the details

3 button designs from 3 different decades that almost results in catastrophe — uxdesign.cc

Pulkit Verma shares examples of design details gone wrong, with literally catastrophic results!

Wordle's Viral Success is Based on Design — thehardcopy.co

Meeta Malhotra looks at the design and psychology behind the word game's popularity and organic growth

Australian Open debuts sound design intervention for blind tennis fans — www.designweek.co.uk

Action Audio by AKQA uses real-time ball monitoring technology and spatial sound design to give low-sight audiences insight into what is happening on the court, using very little new technology.

🍏 Eye Candy

Whimsical Sport Illustrations — www.behance.net

A casual sports fan, Rafael Alvarez shares his favorite illustrations made over the last few years.

From Over Here (On Stuttering) — vimeo.com

A 10-min beautiful and imaginative journey by Patrick Buhr through the experience of not completely owning a language.

Forever immortal

🌱 Call for Side Projects

What are you up to? Are there projects you're exploring outside your main job? We're planning an issue on side projects from the DesignUp community, and yours might be featured! Drop a link, or a screenshot, or even a few lines of text, to either of us @jdallcaps or @soosixty.

🌿 Here’s to more mindfulness, creativity, and exploration this year.

Stay safe, stay inspired

@soosixty & @jdallcaps