I’ve been missing from the internet for ages. Or at least that’s how I’ve been feeling. Since my issue on burnout, it’s felt like I’ve been playing catch up. I’ve taken on a few clients and I’m trying to make moves on my portfolio while everything else has fallen to the wayside. I make a lot of promises and keeping all of them is a feat no creative wants to commit to.
One thing I don’t talk about enough is how difficult it can be to balance healthy habits with depression. I want to make all of these positive changes to my life and I want to do them all at once just to get there faster. Then the problem becomes a balancing highwire act and spinning plates on a stick. How many plates can I spin before I fall and die? Luckily, the work that I do isn’t life or death. The falling and dying part is actually just a net. It catches me but it bruises me too.
I was telling my therapist last week that I feel like I’ve come a long way since we first started meeting. She’s equipped me with the tools I need to fight back against depression and so far, it’s a stalemate. Most days I gain some ground, some days I lose an inch. The thing about depression is that it doesn’t care how much progress you’ve made. It remains a constant and unrelenting force that acknowledges your effort and carries on anyway.
So this week’s issue is light on story and big on content links that I really want you to see. I’m gonna get some solid sleep, continue working out, take my vitamins, and spend time outside with my partner and our dog. I’ll see you next week with a real attempt at content.
Link Roll
Dgrees Studio
Dgrees is a Spanish studio doing websites and visual design. Their site isn’t doing anything revolutionary but their strengths lie in their ability in using bright and bold looks with a simple design system. There’s nothing here that you can’t do too but they’ve balanced everything perfectly.
Instrument
Instrument doesn’t need another shoutout but their new website feels like they’re taking a much-needed vacation from serious town. At this point in their agency’s age, the new identity is telling everyone that they’re done with the pretentious messaging. They’re chill now and they’re ready to be friends with everyone. I would be foolish if I didn’t also mention their custom typeface to go with the new identity. They put it on Google Fonts too so everyone can use it. See? They wanna be friends!
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Instrument+Serif
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Instrument+Sans
Raw Materials
https://www.therawmaterials.com/
At first glance, Raw Materials feels like a Google Slides presentation that your parents could make. Then you start scrolling and they show you a masterclass in telling a story in bite-sized pieces. Case studies aren’t just links, they’re folders that fan open when you hover and reveal their contents. Once inside, the case studies continue the short-form format with animations contextualized for that particular project. Even the team pictures are these uncanny valley 3D models of each person. They make me uncomfortable in a Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 kind of way. There are so many tiny details on this site like those few. I encourage you to scroll through the whole thing.
ED Studio
ED Studio is doing one of the coolest project switchers I’ve seen on a site. When you hover over a project, it shows the entire page for that project and all of the projects next to it. As soon as you click, it dives right in without loading. The whole thing feels like a native app that works perfectly. I only wish the performance was better, otherwise, I’m in love.
Uncut.WTF
Uncut is a no-bullshit typeface catalog site with contemporary and free fonts. There isn’t much to say about it besides how nice it looks, how easy it is to browse, and how cool that chatbot is.
Studio Freight ASCII
Studio Freight ASCII Generator
Is there anything Studio Freight makes that isn’t cool? They made a drag-and-drop ASCII generator tool that lets you customize the colors, letters, and even density of the art. All you have to do is provide the art. I wish there was some documentation because I’d love to do something 3D like their example.
Edifis
Edifis is a real estate developer with a website that is more impressive than it has any right to be. I recorded the intro and keep watching it frame by frame to see how it’s broken down. The site is stuffed with interactions and small animations. The menu itself is a top-down view of a quad of buildings. Even the links with images of buildings have animated clouds to give it more character. Tux is the studio responsible for this beauty.
DivDive
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Buh bye.
“...trying to make moves on my portfolio...”
→ Repeat ad infinitum.
Hope the day’s going well Devin.