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RR4

September 8th, 2024 · featuring craftsmanship, hard work, showing up and getting to work

Antimo

Antimo

This is the fourth issue of the Red Report, a weekly review on taste and trends. This issue is free to read. To comment or request specific coverage, follow @antimofm on Warpcast. If you're looking for design services, you'll find more information here.


Work

When I say craftsmanship, what's the first thing that comes to your mind?

I'm willing to bet it's not a UX designer in a beanie. You're probably thinking about a ceramist spinning a vase or a tailor cutting fabric to size. Something physical. That is the unspoken, artificial divide between (material) craftsmanship and (digital) design.

It's unspoken because it's mostly anecdotal. Maybe it's because these days, when you approach a cobbler or a woodworker, it's likely to be for a gift or a special occasion rather than something functional—something you need. But to them, it's just work.

The irony is that, while most people consider craftsmanship more artistic than digital design, I have a hard time picturing a tailor in front of a mood board, with his head in the clouds, struggling to find inspiration. No, what a tailor does is take your measurements. A good tailor then will ask about the occasion, the climate, your lifestyle. A tailor will then get to work.

There's this quote by painter Chuck Close I've first come across years ago which always rang true, but I never really understood its meaning until now:

Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightening to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.

Chuck Close produced thousands of paintings. Many of his portrait paintings are 7 feet tall and 7 feet high. He clearly wasn't waiting around. There's a lot we (as designers) could learn from him, but especially from craftsmanship.

Sure, you can have ideas. You can try to be innovative. But none of that is necessary to do good design. What is necessary is material. The best way to improve your design process is to think of inspiration not as some preternatural creative direction that comes from without, but as the timber to the woodworker.

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Chuck Close (1940 - 2021)

Every Sunday these past four weeks, since I started writing this review, I have been tempted to postpone it because I felt like I didn't have the time. But this is not optional. Tomorrow is Monday, and I have client work waiting for me. I can't do my job without this.

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This last piece is a collage by Kelly Maker (@kellymaker); it reminds me that the word "text" comes from Latin "textus", meaning "woven".

Disky.eth 🎩Farcaster
Disky.eth 🎩
Commented 8 months ago

A new incentive to get some clanker made UX tokens ;)

Chukwuka OsakweFarcaster
Chukwuka Osakwe
Commented 8 months ago

this just makes me realise that we have a dearth of farcaster-specific ux resources.

Disky.eth 🎩Farcaster
Disky.eth 🎩
Commented 8 months ago

Yeah indeed. That's the reason why I'm trying to collect more of them. :)

Chukwuka OsakweFarcaster
Chukwuka Osakwe
Commented 8 months ago

does antimo's paragraph count? https://paragraph.xyz/@antimofm

antimoFarcaster
antimo
Commented 10 months ago

The 4th issue of the Red Report is live:

Chic BangsFarcaster
Chic Bangs
Commented 10 months ago

received in my inbox this time!

SidFarcaster
Sid
Commented 10 months ago

Love these

antimoFarcaster
antimo
Commented 10 months ago

Thank you!

RafaelloFarcaster
Rafaello
Commented 10 months ago

This was a good read

baeshyFarcaster
baeshy
Commented 10 months ago

i didnt get mail and i subscribed...

antimoFarcaster
antimo
Commented 10 months ago

you should have this time

baeshyFarcaster
baeshy
Commented 10 months ago

Yeah I did Ty🫡

skantan 🎩Farcaster
skantan 🎩
Commented 10 months ago

inspiration is for amateurs, that statement hit me antimo

antimoFarcaster
antimo
Commented 10 months ago

it's really true

Mgxie 🎩🧚Farcaster
Mgxie 🎩🧚
Commented 10 months ago

this was an interesting read for me and I got educated Funny how i never meet the "good" tailors, the ones i know just want to collect their money and get it over with Thank God you didn't postpone releasing this it came just in time I needed the motivation Keep up the good work antimo Were those some of chuck close's painting in the end? They were so beautiful

antimoFarcaster
antimo
Commented 10 months ago

No chuck close paints huge portraits!

HugglemonsterFarcaster
Hugglemonster
Commented 10 months ago

Would be reading before work tomorrow :)

antimoFarcaster
antimo
Commented 10 months ago

lmao still have not seen deadpool

HugglemonsterFarcaster
Hugglemonster
Commented 10 months ago

Whyy? What’s stopping you?

lostsol🌻Farcaster
lostsol🌻
Commented 10 months ago

enjoyed this one, amazing inspiration for the new ones too nice one antimo🫡

antimoFarcaster
antimo
Commented 10 months ago

:)

Mai🟪🍖🐹🎩🍡Farcaster
Mai🟪🍖🐹🎩🍡
Commented 10 months ago

Will get occupied with this nice piece.

antimoFarcaster
antimo
Commented 10 months ago
Mai🟪🍖🐹🎩🍡Farcaster
Mai🟪🍖🐹🎩🍡
Commented 10 months ago

He had me in mind when this was made 😆 I’d take it that you never press the snooze button when your alarm comes up 👀

Double D🎩Farcaster
Double D🎩
Commented 10 months ago

Seems you were away all day Were you touching grass?👀

antimoFarcaster
antimo
Commented 10 months ago

i tried!

Double D🎩Farcaster
Double D🎩
Commented 10 months ago

😅😅

RR4