The drive for hyper-efficiency, seen in targeted ads or ghost kitchens, eliminates the valuable "slosh" that funds culture and journalism. This friction and inefficiency are essential for creating vibrant cities and healthy economic ecosystems, as they provide the space for creativity and community to flourish.
The "99% Invisible" podcast subjects every script to a live table read where the entire staff provides hundreds of written comments in a shared document. This process is intensely rigorous but culturally gentle, focusing on elevating the story without personal criticism.
While convenient, the decline of physical cash risks locking the economy into tech platforms and creating barriers for the unbanked. Cash represents an open, uncontrolled system whose loss has significant societal and class-based downsides, concentrating power in the hands of platform owners.
The podcast "99% Invisible" broadened its definition of "design" by empowering its staff to pursue their varied interests. This allowed the brand to evolve organically, as the host chose to follow the creative instincts of his team rather than rigidly adhering to the show's initial thesis.
The "99% Invisible" team uses shorthand phrases like "CWGHF" (Can We Get Here Faster?). This coded language transforms potentially harsh criticism into a shared, objective problem to solve, depersonalizing feedback and protecting creative morale during intense group edits.
The California state flag, with text on it, violates a key principle of good flag design. It's considered a great flag because the text "California Republic" powerfully communicates the state's identity. This shows that breaking design rules is essential when it serves a higher, meaningful purpose.
A viral TED talk outlining principles for good flag design inspired hundreds of cities to create new flags. However, this created a design orthodoxy where new designs adhered so closely to the rules that they lacked unique character, demonstrating the risk of any widely adopted framework.