I thought I should clarify some of the comments I made in the intro of the previous issue. I might have given the impression that both sides in this conflict have equally legitimate arguments. I don’t believe that at all. I also would never dismiss the anger expressed by women on social media. To be clear, I’m also furious and deeply concerned about what’s currently unfolding.

The more general point I was trying to make: there’s a real gap between the opinions most of us express online and the actions we choose to take in the real world. Let’s be more proactive in closing that gap.

Here’s one idea I came across a while back that you can do right now: create a giving portfolio. Here in Australia, there is a platform called MyCause. You can choose from 2000 charities and make regular donations to the causes you believe in through one simple interface. You’re able to adjust the mix and the amount of your portfolio any time depending on what issues need your support most urgently. I’m sure there is a similar tool in your country. In the US, I know of one called Givolio which works similarly.

It’s one small step that everyone with a bit of disposable income can take. For me, my giving portfolio is a little hack that helps me offset some of the helplessness and anger I get from social media. – Kai

At Made by Many, instead of making assumptions, we prefer to make things. We’re a company of thinkers and makers – experts from varied backgrounds: technology, design, product, and business strategy. We use the process of product creation to build momentum, explore different product strategies, discover new ways of working, and engage people along the way.

With Dropshare you can upload files and notes, take screenshots and screencasts, and share it all online instantly. After using Droplr for a long time, I made the switch to Dropshare last year because the latter lets you use your existing online storage accounts, such as Google Drive or Dropbox.

Prototyping tools are the new project management apps: everyone is building their own. Interplay is yet another one and puts special emphasis on working with a shared UI/brand component library.

The people behind Lyft built this handy little app that helps you calculate the optimal steps in colour gradients. A great addition to your branding toolset.

Blink →

Minimal note-taking app

Blink is note-taking for minimalists. The iOS app strips away all non-essentials and focuses on just a few smart gestures to help you get ideas down as quickly as possible.

Three questions for: Charles Adler, co-founder of Kickstarter and founder of Lost Arts

What have you learned about success so far?

That it is forever fleeting, and just beyond my fingertips.

What’s the best money you’ve ever spent online?

Difficult, but to strictly narrow to one option, I would say air travel. I deeply desire cultural exploration.

What personality trait of yours has been the most useful in your career so far?

Internalisation. I find I need to reflect deeply, wring my hands, before I race forward for any given project.

15 Min Timer →

A beautiful hourglass...

...that serves as a visual reminder to take a fifteen minute break every now and then. Or use it to divvy up your time at work pomodoro-style to split what you do into quarter-hour chunks.

The Messy Middle →

The less glorious parts of any project

Behance founder and Offscreen alumnus Scott Belsky has a new book: “Creating something from nothing is an unpredictable journey. The first mile births a new idea into existence, and the final mile is all about letting go. We love talking about starts and finishes, even though the middle stretch is the most important and often the most ignored and misunderstood.”

Field Notes Coastal →

Limited edition memo books

I almost missed these gorgeous special edition Field Notes: “Each Coastal Pack displays an American coastline mapped across three memo books in two bright holographic foils, stamped and debossed into Neenah Classic Crest ‘Cadet Gray’ 100# cover stock.”

“In a way that we rarely appreciate, the demands of excellence are at war with what we call freedom. For to permit yourself to do only that which you are good at is to be trapped in a cage whose bars are not steel but self-judgment.”

A practical guide on how to bring more sustainability to the company you work for – written by ClimateAction.Tech, an employee-led group of technology professionals from across the industry.

“Product managers are problem finders and problem solvers. But what happens when we become problem creators? In her talk from #mtpcon San Francisco, Mariah Hay, VP of Product at Pluralsight, challenges us to think about our ethical responsibility as product managers.” A great talk worth watching, or just read the summary below the video.

Five creatives provide their own perspectives and practical tips on how to avoid losing yourself/your sanity on social media.

Berlin-Grotestk is a modern grotesk alternative with some interesting little quirks.

The Book Cover Archive has been around forever and it remains a fantastic source of graphic design inspiration.

Fathom Analytics provides simple and useful website stats that focus on user privacy (GDPR compliant). Available in two delicious flavours: open source/free and hosted/paid.

The UX Compendium is a collection of templates and libraries for Sketch to broaden your design process and help you create thoughtful, inclusive experiences beyond the interface.

Spring is a practical journal for life, work, and wellbeing. Interviews from businesses and entrepreneurs accompany a 28-day journal and a set of tools, to help build resilience.

Looking for people to join your team? Book a classified ad in Dense Discovery to advertise your job opening and reach thousands of thoughtful, tech-savvy creatives.

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