Today, in India, we desperately need the force to be with us.

You. Us. All of us.

This is a big fat newsletter No 99 (we're almost at 100), is divided into three parts: Not-Design (mostly curated by Jay), including self care, philosophy and psychology. And Design Leadership (totally curated by Soo), esp Leading Design. And Soo looked beyond to the archives, and even how to use a Pulse Oxymeter 💪

Plus we have a few reminders 👉 Join OpenHour + submit your workspace pics for our Deconstruct Report (scroll down right below)

📌 Also we have updated our list of ways to give and get help at DesignUp 🔥 Issue #98 > Covid Resources 

💬 We have an extension to this Newsletter - our Slack discussion group. As a subscriber to this newsletter, you're invited. So if you're up for a bit of discussion in real time - join us!

May The 4th Be With You (2020)

A quick rewind to last year! A rapid round of lightning sharp presentations (inspired by the lightsaber fights) - a peek into the near future and futures far-far-away. We asked our speakers what will change in 4 weeks, 4 months, 4... it's time to look back to this session of looking ahead

Not-Design...

There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing — www.nytimes.com

The neglected middle child of mental health can dull your motivation and focus — and it may be the dominant emotion of 2021. At first, I didn’t recognize the symptoms that we all had in common. Friends mentioned that they were having trouble concentrating.

How to Be More Hopeful — getpocket.com

We all go through times when we see the world through cloudy-colored glasses. Times when it’s tempting to just climb into bed — or bathtub — and hide out, maybe for up to a month. Fortunately for your loved ones, your livelihood and your life, we’ve gathered together eight tactics from TED speakers to cut through the fog.

Psychotherapy | The School of Life — www.youtube.com

This lovely video explains how psychotherapy can help. "Having some psychotherapy is just about the most significant and interesting thing you could do to improve your chances of contentment."

Counterpoint: 'Toxic Positivity' is a Big Problem During the Pandemic — www.healthline.com

Counterpoint: It can be a meme that tells you to “just change your outlook to be happy.” It can be a friend who repeatedly posts how productive they’re being during lockdown. It can be your own feelings that you shouldn’t dwell on your feelings of sadness, anxiety, loneliness, or fear.

Leading Design

This lovely video from BBC Ideas encourages all of us, including the quiet ones, to take charge...

Moving into design leadership: Finding opportunities to lead — uxdesign.cc

If you are serious about exploring leadership, don’t wait for permission. Instead, look for opportunities to lead now from wherever you are in your organization.

2021 Design Leadership Trends by Adam Fry-Pierce

How are we doing, five months into 2021? How have we matured as a profession? How are we evolving our operational practices? A helpful resource to look up.

📂 From the DesignUp 🚀 archives, 4 years ago!

Secrets of design leadership: Stanley Wood of Spotify — www.invisionapp.com

Stanley Wood shares what he learned from visiting 20 top companies in the software industry.

Quick Reminders:

🖥️ Share your workspace for the Deconstruct Report

For the DesignUp Deconstruct 2020-21 Report, we are collating images of workspaces for a visual essay. So please share away: clean or messy, ornate or minimal, your cosy bed, sofa or that work-from-anywhere hill or beach escape! Send us your with your location (city/area) and, if you wish, a short note (a story perhaps?) By sharing you agree to have it published, that’s kinda obvious, but worth a mention!

Email us 1 or 2 pics max (each under 3 mb please) to [email protected] or post and tag us via instagram, twitter or linkedin! We’re @designupconf everywhere in this galaxy!

💬 Join the Open Hour

A lot of anxiety, anger, frustration, helplessness circulating in the Design/Product/tech tribes that we are close to. We can do little to address the root causes - but we can help people connect, have conversations, offer support or just simply listen.

OpenHour allows small group conversations between 5-7 people. No panels, no experts, no speakers, no themes. Just small groups to share what’s on your mind. Unburden, listen, speak.

Register via http://bit.ly/ZeOpenHr Every Wed/Sat // Beta mode

💛 Self Care

How to use a Pulse Oximeter

🏡 How to be at home

And finally, please please stay at home - as this heartwarming collaboration between two friends Tanya Davis and Andrea Dorfman tells us...

Stay safe, and stay inspired, @soosixty & @jdallcaps