Nicole Nikolich crochets the Early Internet
The links just informed me that we’re already in the month of May, in the month of May, in the month of May. This time we’re colliding a cursed clock, your personal Wikipedia, Charlize Theron, a potato font and three design books that should be on your shelf. More on that last one next.
Please skip around, read what you want to. Find something interesting in your own internet travels? Send me a link
—JH
From the Bookshelf
I’m writing this to you right here
I’m moving away from Pinterest boards, saves on Instagram, etc. for design references. Platform content disappears unpredictably. The platforms themselves have became increasingly antithetical to the creative process (mine, anyway). They feel almost unusable to me now. It’s not a moral thing—they just don’t work creatively.
My work spot at home is built into a wall of bookshelves. Above me sits a full-length row of volumes collected over many years for reference and inspiration. Here are three books that I think belong in your collection too.
With a page devoted to each day of the year, this shiny volume will introduce you to 365 unique human beings’ approaches to designing the visible world. I use it to keep my mind from fencing itself in too much about what “my thing” is.
From Brutalist blocks to organic-looking spaceships to cathedrals of careful intent, Weird Buildings gives you one gorgeous spread after another with just enough information on each project. I flip through this when I need to wind down after focusing on a screen for too long.
Data visualization has never been so fun. Come for the graph of how dangerous each situation actually was when Han said “I have a bad feeling about this”, stay for the minimalist shapes and bold colors. If you’re a Star Wars fan, some of the pages are genuinely insightful!
Whether you’re building your offline collection or just want to pick up something interesting to flip through this summer, consider these three. Invest in a collection you can hang onto, no digital content required. To quote Your Friends & Neighbors, it’s not yours if you can’t keep it.
—JH
10 curious links that would have killed the cat
🕒 The Accursèd Alphabetical Clock. It turns out that if you arrange the numbers on a clock alphabetically, it will nearly kill you to read it. Truly a hellscape of chronography.
Ryan Bateman ∙ Experiment
📖 Whoami.wiki turns your uploads into a Wikipedia of you. AI agents turn your digital archives of photos, chats, documents, location history, and different types of data into a living encyclopedia about your life. Okay I do like this.
whoami.wiki ∙ Web App
🔨 Maintenance of Everything: Part 1 explores radical (and unglamorous) acts of upkeep. It’s $32 on Amazon right now, which seems like a bargain for the beautiful hardback cover alone. Maintenance is from Stripe Press.
Stripe Press ∙ Book
🎬 An interview with Charlize Theron. What a fascinating, strong person. Theron’s personal history explains her intense presence on-screen.
New York Times ∙ Article
🤖 AI agent deletes entire company database (and backups) in 9 seconds. “Please follow a thorough backup regimen and be careful out there,” concludes the columnist ominously.
Tom’s Hardware ∙ News
A collection of transit tickets
🎟️ A compendium of transit tickets collected by a brand designer. See also: Milwaukee Bus Passes.
Transit Tickets ∙ Photos
🧶 Crocheted early web textile works by artist Nicole Nikolich. Ever want to see Neopets, a T-Mobile Sidekick or the win state of Solitaire rendered in thread? The wait is over, my friend.
Nicole Nikolich ∙ Textile Art
🔤 HVD Bodedo is the timeless font Bodoni but made with potatoes. “Type design is mostly precisely drawing vector curves, printing proofs and [judging] the grey value with a minus lens. But it can also be … 8kg of potatoes.”
HVD Fonts ∙ Font
⚙️ The Lunch Feeding Contraption. Amazing potential for disaster. Very fun to watch.
Joseph’s Machines ∙ Video
✊ Wikipedia wormhole I went down: Critical Mass (cycling). Based on the adage “there’s safety in numbers”, cyclists band together to ride from A to B, often to protest unsafe biking paths in city centers.
Wikipedia ∙ Article
in Greenville, SC
Last week Joe shipped a behind-the-scenes update to Discussions that makes them faster, more oops-proof, and live:
⚡️ Faster: Creating, editing, or deleting a message is now instant.
🛟 Oops-Proof: Forgot to hit "Post"? Any unsaved post or response is now stored locally in your browser so you don’t lose it.
🟢 Live: When someone responds to a discussion you’re subscribed to, the new response appears automatically without requiring a reload.
This week we began a new 6-week cycle of projects at Pathwright. I’m already filling up my notepad at a pace that would make a ballpoint-and-legal-pad-toting character in a John Grisham novel sweat. Between projects, I’ll be relaxing in my backyard if you need anything.
High five,
Justin Hall
Editor, Partner at Pathwright