BABE+

by Gijs Rempt

MEDIUM

With a wide range of topics and articles, Medium offers just about everything you could possibly be interested in reading. A mix of amateur and professional writers share their viewpoints about design, tech, politics and many more topics. From little stories that brighten your day, to manifestos that change the world, there’s something here for everybody.

www.medium.com

ALONE TOGETHER

In this book Sherry Turkle, MIT professor and expert on the psychology of human relationships with technology, paints a worrying picture of our changing relationship with technology and each other. From the impact of using robots to take care of our elderly to the way our online social interactions lead to increasingly shallow relationships, Turkle leaves no stone unturned. Using fifteen years worth of research and interviews, she creates a vivid depiction of where our dependence on technology might take us.

PRISONERS OF GEOGRAPHY

The leaders of the world are all constrained by the hand dealt to their countries in the form of mountains, rivers and seas. Tim Marshall provides an interesting look at how the past, present and future of world politics are shaped by the unshapeable geography of nations, explaining why Russia had no choice but to annex Crimea and its warm water port Sevastopol and why China was always bound to overwhelm Tibet.

TATSUYA TANAKA

Tatsuya Tanaka has been uploading a picture every day since 2011 as a part of his MINIATURE CALENDAR project. The dioramastyle figures are full of creativity and humour, as if his mother never told him to stop playing with his food. The Japanese art-director creates fun little scenes using everyday objects and miniature figures, from a band in concert with Lego blocks as speakers to a BMX rider jumping off a block of cheese.

www.instagram.com/tanaka_tatsuya

REPLY ALL

Reply All is a podcast hosted by PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman. The show features wellresearched stories about how people change the internet and how the internet changes people. One episode tells the story of how Goldman booked a flight to Delhi after getting a scam call to track down the caller and hear him out. Another tells the story of a 17-yearold who created a Facebook group to role-play a fake company, which spirals out of control when someone brings in a swarm of imaginary iguanas. Yes that actually happened.

https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all

I AM SUN MU

A documentary film about Sun Mu, a former propaganda artist for the North Korean regime who fled to South Korea to create satirical art parodying the propaganda he was once tasked with creating. The film follows him as he prepares for a solo exhibition in China. Undercover, mind you, as China is North Korea’s greatest ally. As the artist is afraid of repercussions against his family, his face remains a mystery.

GARBETT DESIGN

Sydney-based design studio Garbett Design works together with clients in the art, design and cultural sectors to create playful and bold packaging, illustrations, posters and branding. Their diverse style will surely brighten up your day and inspire you to create, so go ahead and drop them a like and a follow.

www.instagram.com/garbettdesign

99% INVISIBLE

99% Invisible is a podcast created by Roman Mars that tells the story behind often unseen or overlooked parts of design and architecture. Each episode focuses on a different topic, from the origin of the fortune cookie to the feud between two business-partners-turned-bitterrivals about who could build the biggest skyscraper in New York. Mars is often joined by designers and architects who help him tell the stories you’d never hear otherwise.

www.99percentinvisible.com

INSIDE BILL’S BRAIN

A three-part documentary series about Microsoft found Bill Gates and the way he thinks about the world’s biggest problems. Despite the director’s reluctance to dive into the darker aspects of Gates’ way of doing business, the documentary still provides an interesting look at his life after Microsoft.

BUILT

It might surprise you to learn that the Chinese added sticky rice to the mortar of the Great Wall, or that the Taj Mahal is held together partly by a mixture of shells, fruit juice and egg whites. In Built, Roma Agrawal looks at how our built environment has evolved from the ancient huts of our ancestors to towering steel behemoths reaching into the sky. Through colorful stories from her own life, hand-drawn illustration and interesting facts, construction becomes accessible and engaging to people other than just Civil Engineers.

SMART PRODUCT DESIGN

Smart technology is rapidly changing the way we interact with products. From smart thermostats and air purifiers to emergency cell phones and whiteboards, Smart Product Design looks at almost 100 smart products, explaining the choices made throughout the design process through concept sketches and interviews with lead designers.

BABE+ | Turn The Page #72 | April 2020 | Artichoke