Software with style, world-building, and a lost 2007 presentation
Plan Your Next #89
👋 Good morning from Los Angeles! I'm Nate Kadlac, and this is #89 of Plan Your Next. A Sunday newsletter that connects design, creativity, and how you prepare for your next thing.
💡 What’s new?
👨🏫 To test your own knowledge and assumptions, try teaching what you’ve learned. This week I walked a few friends through the basics of DeFi. We set up our MetaMask wallets, got some funds deposited, and walked through lending and borrowing. Related, here’s a great thread by Chris Dixon on the importance of Web3.
🎁 I started filming more lessons for those who signed up to Slides with Style, and I’m excited about where this is headed. Since the launch last week, I’ve had 36 people sign up for the discounted pre-sale, so I’m happy we’re off to a good start.
🐦 It’s rare to get feedback on your social profiles. For fun, I purchased Blake Emal’s Twitter profile breakdown, and he pointed out a number of possible ways to make my profile more clear. It was extremely well done and helpful. If you’re curious, here’s my breakdown.
Good morning from Los Angeles!
Look, I can’t sugarcoat this past week.
It’s been emotionally and physically draining since Alie fractured her foot in four places during a freak accident. Thank God we’re all doing fine, knowing it could have been much worse.
The act of writing took a back seat, as I stared into the faces of my writing group while helplessly trying to squeeze out a few words with both hands like an old tube of dried acrylic paint.
Between daycare drop-offs and pickups, carrying Alie up and down flights of stairs, baby baths and bedtimes, this week disappeared.
The silver lining? I read. A lot.
So instead, here are some of the things I found:
Why We Crave Software With Style Over “Branding”: We have been inundated with increasingly bland software branding, and we’re starting to witness the emergence of style and personality in software. “Software has become so integrated into our lives that it is no longer simply a utility. Within this new state of the world, style communicates the software’s values and signals the type of person for whom it is intended — something that many tech brands today consistently fail to do. “—Molly Mielke
World-Building (Via Tom White): World Building is not just about selling an idea to one person, but how well do people who have been immersed in your world, repeat the story to others. “Inside the world, it needs to be really obvious what our goals are, and why we want our push our system into a new state. You fill your world with familiar storylines and tension and characters, highlighted or re-framed compared to the real world, that give everyone a really clear purpose.”—Alex Danco
Tim Ferriss’s 2007 SXSW Presentation: Prior to the launch of his best-seller, “The Four Hour Work Week,” Tim Ferriss was given the last remaining slot at SXSW in 2007. He gave a presentation that he thought was never recorded. Even as someone who has been following him for all of these years, it was astonishing how many of the concepts he talked about still resonate today, and how well he presented them. Fun fact: He practiced his speech over a 100x, many to his friend’s dogs to gauge their reaction.
Blogging vs Blog Setups: Hilarious illustration that speaks to the more complicated you make your blog, the less you tend to publish.
⚡️ Two creative hits for next week
The iOS App Icon Book
A book dedicated to the design of iOS app icons, and how it inspired designers to explore the creative possibilities within a 1024x1024px space. It’s a Kickstarter that ends in just a few days.
This reminds me of how much pride I took in creating my own app icons. Here are some of the favorites I created over the years.
An Analog productivity system
Listen, I’ve used a number of productivity systems to keep my tasks on point. But the problem with software is just that I don’t want to open it first thing in the morning. I just started using Analog, but I use it because it’s out in the open, standing in front of me. The biggest question still is, what’s the most important thing you should be doing today?
👋 See you next Sunday
If you’ve forgotten who I am, here’s a little bit about me. As always, my calendar is open to chat about your next adventure, crazy idea, or if you’re feeling creatively stuck.
Have a great week,
p.s. If you enjoyed this letter, would you please let me know by tapping on the heart below?