🏁 Raise your hand - we're reloading the stage at DesignUp! The DesignUp'22 Call for speakers is open - if you are a young professional here's your chance to share your stories/insights/views in a lightning talk - Sign up here. Hurry, entries close Aug 1.

To help you get started, we've shared some links to help you craft the right talk for your content and some awesome eye candy for inspiration!

Dystopian design: How brutalism, cyborgs, and the metaverse are shaping today’s designs — 99designs.com

Dystopian worlds are becoming more influential in design, as creators use stark images and menacing tech. So what exactly are dystopias, and why are we seeing them more and more? Here’s our guide to dystopian design from the first dystopian stories to their recent revival in a modern world.

🧰 Your toolkit

How a talk begins — austinkleon.substack.com

How Austin Kleon prepares a talk, trying to figure out what he want to say - ideas, the audience, imagination, creativity and timing.

Writing and Speaking

Paul Graham advises on preparing for a talk: Having good ideas is most of writing well. With speaking it's the opposite: having good ideas is an alarmingly small component of being a good speaker.

Returning to craft

Aly Blenkin reflects on her recent switch from management to product designer: "It's easy for leadership to forget what it feels like to deliver a live product or service. Returning to the craft also restored my empathy for practitioners and my energy to learn as if I were seeing things for the first time.

How do you turn inspiration into skill?

Apparently looking at cool stuff isn’t enough to increase your skill. When you’re fresh starting out, you have no fear of diving in and copying something directly.

💖 Eye Candy

Claes Oldenburg, Whose Sculptures Transformed the Everyday, Dies at 93 — hyperallergic.com

Oldenburg seduced viewers with his iconic, foam-filled “soft sculptures” and massive public artworks that made mundane objects suddenly magical.

Polaroid Motion Identity by Woodwork Amsterdam — www.behance.net

The studio took inspiration from the original Polaroid designs from the 80's. The new Polaroid rainbow stripe is a modern, minimal expression of the iconic Polaroid rainbow, connecting to the visual heritage of the brand without being overly nostalgic.

Shake Shack Macau - Opening ceremony visual identity — www.behance.net

Indego Macau partnered with local illustrator and artist Kun Lam for the Shake Shack opening ceremony visual identity. Lam’s creative work portrays the culture of Macau by incorporating the pattern of Azulejos (Portuguese tiles) and street signs with Shake Shack elements.

📅 Mark your calendars!

🚀 Call for Lightning Talks

DesignUp 2022: Call For Lightning Talks — docs.google.com

Got a great story or insights to share about your work? If you are a young professional here's your chance to share your work/views/stories with peers, industry leaders, influencers, and new talent in a lightning talk of ten minutes. For inspiration on crafting your proposal, watch previous DesignUp talks on Youtube. Hurry, entries close on August 1st!

🌿 Stay healthy and stay inspired,

@soosixty & @jdallcaps