Dense Discovery

From:Subject:

3 / A HTML-based CMS and a minimalist watch


As some of you may know, I'm currently on a long walk through Germany. I've started 24 days ago in the southern city of Passau and yesterday I crossed the state border into Thüringen, now heading for Weimar as the next bigger stop. I'm not yet sure how far north I can go before the autumn weather gets in the way but I'm aiming for Hamburg as a general direction, making up the route as I go.

If you're based somewhere in the vicinity of this path, get in touch and join me! I'd love some company, even if it's just for a day or for a quick drink at the end of the day. I'm also open to any tips on towns to visit, cheap places to stay at, and things to do along the way. 🙌 – Kai

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Apps & Sites

A very promising, minimal CMS: “Vapid is an intentionally simple content management system built on the idea that you can create a custom dashboard without ever leaving the HTML.”

Are you sharing a lot of links? The Short Menu app for Mac allows you to run various URL-shortening services (or your own) through one convenient, highly customisable, and fast interface.

Some of you asked me whether there is a RSS-feed of Dense Discovery issues. Unfortuantely, that's technically not possible with Mailblast. However, if you use Feedbin you can get newsletters sent to a dedicated address and it converts it into a feed. As a paid app, Feedbin also values your privacy.

Printed Matter

Four creative print magazines to add to your stack.

Doll Hospital →

Doll Hospital is a bi-annual art and literature print journal on mental health.

Eye on Design →

The official print magazine of AIGA, the professional association for design in America.

MacGuffin →

A biannual design and crafts magazine featuring fabulous stories about ordinary things.

Delayed Gratification →

A quarterly publication that revisits the events of the previous three months to see what happened after the dust settled.

Goods & Accessories

NU:RO →

Minimalist analogue watch

A minimalist watch design that actually lets you tell time: “The watch has two dials, one with hours at the top and the other with minutes at the bottom. When they rotate, the current time is shown inside the hourglass. The watch will be manufactured in a limited edition of 500.” (Currently still looking for backers on Kickstarter.)

Moment Case →

Case & battery pack for photographers

Mobile phone lense maker Moment now also offers a case with a built-in battery pack. Not only does this case allow you to mount Moment lenses (of course), it also comes with a big red shutter button for easy snapping and video recording. It also supports wireless charging.

Dango Pioneer Wallet →

Wallet, pen, and notebook in one

This handy little bi-fold wallet made from leather holds a notebook, an aerospace-grade, refillable pen made from aluminium, and of course your credit cards. RFID-blocking keeps your personal information secure.

Overheard on Twitter

Everyone my age is making a baby or a podcast or both and I can‘t seem to give them all the attention they deserve.

@jossfong

Food For Thought

“Is the solution to our winners-take-all economy lavish giving by the winners – or reforms that would force winners to take less? Is it better to run a business pitilessly, paying low wages and avoiding taxes and, after gaining wealth, giving back – or better to pay workers and taxes fulsomely and perhaps end up with less to give away?”

Nodding so hard it hurts: creative director John Spencer says jargon and bullshit are getting in the way of people understanding and valuing design.

A long, disturbing read about how Facebook undermines the political system and the media in the Philippines. Of course, we now know that this is happening in almost all countries where Facebook has a strong presence. How much longer can Facebook pretend that a herd of underpaid fact-checkers and an algorithm tweak can fix this?

Turns out the idea that creative or intellectual work makes you tired because your brain needs a lot of energy is – most likely – untrue. It's psychology, stupid!

Aesthetically Pleasing

The Logo Archive is a logo recovery, research, and restoration project by Rich Baird.

Love the colour palette of the Hotel Emporium brand, a hotel amenities manufacturing company.

Simone Hutsch's Candy Rotterdam gives urban architecture photography a candy-coloured makeover.

Classifieds

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Creative Minds' curated collection of books and resources helps creatives and entrepreneurs think big about small business. Save 10% with code DISCOVERY.

Apply Pixels is a resource platform with lots of great design files that will help you do better work — faster. Icon templates, UI kits and freebies for Photoshop and Sketch.

Classifieds are paid ads that support DD. Use them to promote your project, advertise a job opening, find beta testers, etc. Book yours →

The Week in a GIF

♥︎ Thanks to Simplecast for sponsoring this issue! ♥︎