Fun, quirky, useful things I stumbled upon last week: the matrix voting system, a collection of vintage control panels, and the concrete calculator. It's time to get ready for new iOS 12 and of course if it's October then it's time for DesignUp 2018 - just 21 days (or 3 weeks) away. Here's a collection of the pragmatic, the thoughtful + some DesignUp updates!

The Pragmatic...

The 5 types of mentors you need in your life — ideas.ted.com

Here’s how to assemble your personal dream team, with tips from business expert Anthony Tjan. Everyone can use a mentor. Scratch that — as it turns out, we could all use five mentors.

React for Designers

"A 6-hour course for designers, by designers" for you to "learn how to build and animate your site from scratch. Create highly customizable components for your design system."

Never Ever Just Design Pretty Little Apps

Superficial app designs that follow the latest fads and blatantly ignore basic usability conventions, UX best practices, and fundamental principles of interaction design would most likely fail in the real world! Luckily, they usually don’t go beyond the generally ridiculous, self-parading fantasyland...

The Thoughtful...

Creating Users, Not Addicts — medium.com

The bottomline likes addicts: We’re more anxious than ever before. Just typing that makes me anxious. Technology, for all of its benefits, can create a sense of claustrophobia. All of our devices make us feel like we’re trapped…

The strange creatures called “Designers”

Most people find the Designer to be a rather friendly looking fellow. Usually cheerful, wearing his/her stylish poplin shirts, gently distracted by creative fantasies, mumbling fondly about Apple products and always up for a good doodling.

The Case for Slow Design — medium.com

The driving mantra of fast-moving tech companies is out is better than perfect. However, a seismic shift is happening in the way consumers think about products and what they’re willing to pay for. The shift means we may need to rethink that mantra.

DesignUp Up-dates

We're gearingUp for the biggest DesignUp Conf yet... This year, we have 450+ workshop seats available (no separate workshop pass this edition) and the selections open up on 8th October. Stay tuned and check your mailboxes - hope the chappie who bought the passes entered your email 😬Also remember to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Insta and MightyNetworks (wherever you are), and to never miss out on any updates, ever! If you haven't registered yet, limited passes remain.

What's DesignUp? The origin story

This year will be our 3rd edition - here's a peek behind the super short journey of DesignUp: why we started (more important than how) and what keep us going and the community growing. It's a short 30 min interview with Kedar of Audiogyan and a quick listen (a little less embarrassing than my earlier podcast).

And the DesignUp track is on at YourStory's TechSparks Conference (Fri 5th and Sat 6th). We've have a veritable addition—Akshar Pathak of Zomato! And the DesignUp community has a massive 55% discount available. The detailed schedule is here!

That's all for this week - see you layer 😉

@JDallcaps