Here is your freshly squeezed design inspiration for the week of September 25th, 2023.

• SOMETHING GORGEOUS: Ceramic Twinkies and 90s Nostalgia by Stephanie Shih

• PORTFOLIO OF THE WEEK: Nailing Simplicity and Focusing on Work

• BIGGER Installation by Studio Spass

• Dott by Berriel Brands

• Loot by Seachange

• ONE TOK: Seeing Faces Everywhere

• ONE LESSON: Traveling and Designing

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Resource of the Week

Micro Volume's Gumroad

Microvolume is a resource I found through TikTok. They offer free mockup downloads for your portfolio as well as paid packages for additional variety—a great resource to bookmark.

Get Started with Micro Volume's Gumroad Today

Something Gorgeous

Ceramic Twinkies and 90s Nostalgia by Stephanie Shih

Ceramicist Stephanie Shih creates hand-molded replicas of familiar household items from the ’80s and ’90s using stoneware clay. Her upcoming exhibition, "American Gothic," explores connections and differences between Asian immigrants and their children through these items.

While her website is limited, check out more pieces in this Colossal article. Her work explores nostalgia and teleports me back to childhood, begging my mom to purchase these items during grocery shopping.

View more here

Portfolio Of The Week

Nailing Simplicity and Focusing on Work

Tori Hinn is a freelance designer and creative director based in Brooklyn, NY, currently working with Apple. Previously, she was a creative director at Figma and a designer at Google Creative Labs. Her portfolio shows restraint and lets her work speak for itself.

Portfolio Rating: 7.8/10

Built With: Cargo

View portfolio here

Creative Finds

BIGGER Installation by Studio Spass

An interactive installation built with 264 books for an art book fair in Shenzhen. Stunning result.

View more here

Dott by Berriel Brands

One of my favorite wordmarks produced for a brand identity.

View more here

Loot by Seachange

My second favorite wordmark created for a brand identity.

View more here

One Tok

Seeing Faces Everywhere

This video from Cody reminded me of a workshop with Brian Collins where we photographed doors, windows, and objects to form faces. A great reminder to always keep a sense of play and wonder in creativity.

View more here

One Lesson

Traveling and Designing

For the last month, I’ve been traveling through Europe—visiting friends, exploring cities, trying new foods, and reviewing McDonald's. I’ve visited 4 countries and 6 cities, supporting myself entirely through my career as a graphic designer.

Going fully freelance two years ago and planning for full-time travel has taken 8 years to achieve. If enough people are interested, I might create a series or videos sharing advice.

I hope you have a great start to your week and you're feeling inspired to make some cool sh*t!

PS. Sorry if this week is brief—I’m running on 2 hours of sleep 🫠

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