May 31, 2019

May 2019 Digest & Bookmarks

Not in the mood for a short personal monthly digest? Sure:
🔗 Jump to the bookmarks directly

While my brother was visiting me, we travelled a lot by bike and discovered the most beautiful spots.

The second digest. Would it be possible to call it “format” if only two entries appeared? Might be a bit exaggerated. At least that’s the goal. 😉

May had its ups and downs (which is arguably one of the generic statements), but let me share some of the wonderful events. Maybe I’ll write about how I cope with the bitter experiences that happened in a blog post some other time.

The company conference on 10 May very well. You’re welcome to read my post about it.

I managed to publish two blog articles and enjoyed the wonderful weather with my brother when he visited me in early May. I’m constantly glad to be blessed with such a wonderful brother bond. This is not a self-evident thing. Even though May was quite chilly overall, the sun was warming skin and air throughout the day. At one of the balmy and sunny days, we even went for a first swim.

Local City Run

The minute before I picked up some ice cream! 🍧

Finally this year it was time to participate in the local city run! As a member of the company team, I took part in the relay race. My score was 2.5 km at 11:23. Since I only run for myself and don’t take any time, it was a nice occasion to have a time indicator of how fast I run.

Our team entered the midfield in the results table of all teams. But no matter where we might have been, it’s all about the fun. And it was fun. I’m happy with my result and will continue running in my spare time. 🏃

After the race, there was only one thing left to do: To enjoy an ice cream from a local ice cream factory.

Monthly Project

It is no longer a secret to friends, but why not share it with the world: I’m working on a children’s book. As described in the last digest, my monthly goal is to implement a feasible project. This month I set my goal to write the first version of this book. What I have unfortunately not managed to do… Well, at least I succeeded in typing the first rough half together. The actual writing process is even more unpredictable than expected.

During the month there were so many (beautiful) distractions — including two blog posts — and work to be done that I simply didn’t often found the (inner) calmness necessary for writing.

Speaking of posts. I would not have thought how pleasant drafting smaller texts can be. Drawing up blog content also plays into my hand for the children’s book, since I’m practicing the sheer process of verbalizing my thoughts.

My goal for next month is to revise what I’ve written, continue to put together a first raw version and maybe show it to some friends to collect feedback. During my six-hour train ride today, I continued writing and felt the rising anticipation of completing the text one day again. I look forward to the satisfaction of having written down my story, my values. However, the journey towards it is still a long one.

Motto: just carry on writing!

May Bookmarks

With so many great online resources and so many people adding marvelous new stuff to the web every day, there’s no shortage of people who can’t find what they’re looking for. My goal is not to accumulate everything I’ve found, but to showcase the favorites I really think are essential for one month. Otherwise, this format would become too cumbersome.

I want to deliver curated content, so to speak. 😊

Useful Resource of the Month

A collection of Tobias van Schneider’s favourite colour combinations on one big page. From subtle to bold main and accent color, there is surely something for every project.

Color Claim — Color Claim was created in 2012 by Tobias van Schneider with the goal to collect & combine unique colors he can use for future projects. Thanks for sharing it with the world!

The Case for Doing Nothing by The New York Times
How to Do Nothing: Jenny Odell’s case for resisting “The Attention Economy” by Cory Doctorow
Responsive Roadmaps by Matthew Ström
It’s gradual, then sudden by Justin Jackson
When should you give up? by Justin Jackson
I’m Walking Away From the Product I Spent a Year Building by Derrick Reimer
Down the font legibility rabbit hole by Peter
The Place of UX by Ryan Singer

Perceived Velocity through Version Numbers by Dave Rupert
Switching to variable fonts by Matthew Ström
A Designer’s Guide to Animating Icons with CSS by Shannon Thomann
HTTP headers for the responsible developer by Stefan Judis
Dealing with nested callbacks by Zell Liew
Create a responsive grid layout with no media queries, using CSS Grid by Andy Bell
How I increased this travel app’s booking revenue by redesigning it — a UX case study by Felix Lee
Today I learned by Manuel Matuzovic
Accessibility Insights from Microsoft
Solving a Tricky Layout Problem with CSS Grid by Michelle Barker
Static web – back to the roots? by Brice Berdah

Code Snippets

The more menu by Mikael Ainalem
Flexible, Full-Width, “Justified” Text Blocks by Reuben L. Lillie
46 Flex Layouts – One Markup by Jakob Eriksen
The Call For Proposals Checklist by Jason Rodriguez

Web Design Eye Candy

Kenkashi — Kenkashi incorporates beneficial bacteria and myccorhizal fungi to deliver a microbe-rich compound to the soil through compost acceleration and direct application.
Kenkashi is a product of Windrush, a small family company located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia in Floyd County. They do all of the fermentation theirselves using the clear water of the mountains and organic molasses.

Fabian Michael — Fabian Michael is an independent designer with a focus on graphic design, web design, corporate identity and illustration.

Too lazy to add a comment section…

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Fin.