Most of you will know know the deal with this newsletter by now and I can’t believe we got to update 020! For those of you just joining (and a very warm welcome to all 69 new subscribers this month), I’m Ben, a product designer and design educator based up in Aberdeen, Scotland. This newsletter is a space to share behind the scenes access to my latest products in development as well as my top 5 finds each month.
Driving my own practice forward alongside a busy work life and a young family - this newsletter is a means to keep myself focussed and share my journey openly. It also is an invaluable tool to gather your feedback to shape my products before they hit production - so please do share your thoughts!
This month we take a sneak peak at my latest project (one of my most ambitious yet!) as well as launch a small drop of a product I announced back in update 004.
Want to listen to this update as a podcast?
A few months ago I discovered notebooklm (a new AI that can distill information down into a podcast format).
Try out listening to this month’s update as a podcast below and let me know what you think.
Don’t forget, help me to spread the reach and get more products off the ground by getting your friends and family to sign up below :)
Set yourself up for 2025
As a designer that was taught to reduce friction, I am now passionate about adding friction back into our lives. Too often we find ourselves in autopilot, trying to complete the never ending to do list we really don’t stand a chance of ever getting to the bottom of.
By focussing on producing beautifully crafted products that don’t compromise on quality and prioritise heightening everyday rituals, I aim to encourage more opportunities for disconnect.
Why not kickstart 2025 with intention. Start as you mean to go on, invest in your rituals and empower yourself to take more breaks next year.
As a thank you, you can use this discount code at checkout (available site wide): SubstackCrew (20% off).
Last months most clicked link: Magsafe docks… the reality
My top 5 pieces of content I have found helpful/inspiring:
1.
Bambu Labs the end? Some shady changes in the latest software update for Bambu Labs printers - inevitably leading them down the path of putting everything behind a paywall. Not cool!
2.
Mara X. I upgraded my 10 year old espresso machine over the festive break and have absolutely fallen in love with the Mara X. Making coffee is by far my favourite everyday ritual and gives me a proper time out from everything else going on.
3.
Tsunami. When I saw this National Geographic mini series pop up I wasn’t sure if I could bare watching it - I’m so grateful I did though. I remember this happening when I was younger and seeing the human stories relived is incredibly powerful
4.
Changes at Meta. No doubt you have been bombarded with the news of Meta’s changes since Trump coming into power again. Platformer is an awesome newsletter that has been providing invaluable updates on what these changes are and what they mean.
5.
The Cure: Song of a lost world. The cure are peak nostalgia for me, I grew up with my parents playing the Cure and have always loved Robert Smith’s voice. This new album felt left field at the time but has been slowly growing on me.
This was one of my favourite product concepts that I announced in the early days of this newsletter. Having used various prototypes around the house for the last year, they have proved so helpful in my everyday life, I have made a small batch of 15 which are available to purchase today.
It was one of those classic lightbulb moments where you suddenly see the world in a slightly different way. As a creative, my desk is always in a state of flux and having tried just about every productivity tool out there, I have come to realise my desk space is prime real estate and I often need every last nook and cranny. I still need to be able to see my to do list though… or find my business bank card. That’s where FOCUS came in. Inspired by how Chef’s manage orders.
Voice overs is new territory for me and this has always been a space to test the water with new ideas. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the video in the comments. Does it work?
If you’re interested in finding out more about the origins of FOCUS, scroll to the bottom of update 004.
Buy yours now:
I don’t normally apply for funding calls but when I saw an opportunity come up in December I just couldn’t resist. It aligned so many of my passions and provided an opportunity to develop a product that is on every product designers bucket list. My application was totally left field so I had no expectation of hearing back but I made the cut and I have been developing this concept since early December.
I genuinely cannot wait to share more but for now I’d like to share a bit of Aberdonian history that up until a few months ago, I knew nothing about.
When looking back at Aberdeen’s long history with ship building I was drawn immediately to the tea clippers, an incredible period starting in the 1840’s and lasting only a few decades before steam power took over. The demand for tea, resulted in the fastest sail ships ever made. This developed into the annual tea race, where ships set sail to bring back the first harvest from China to London with the winner being able to sell their tea at a premium.
AI video created from the iconic painting of the Thermoplae by Tim Thompson.
These ships were the fastest sail ships ever made and the Thermoplae (built in Aberdeen) is still the fastest sail ship to date. When I grew up imagining pirate ships, this is what I thought of… infinite number of sails, huge bow and incredible wooden craftsmanship.
The essence of the tea clipper and the history of the Thermoplae is something I want to be able to celebrate. This project is an opportunity to:
Celebrate local industries (laser cut folded sheet metal / locally milled hardwoods / CNC machining)
Showcase craftsmanship (highlight foundational wood joinery: carlin joints)
Be commercially relevant (inspired by the past but relevant to the world today)
Be a statement
Testament to the region’s heritage: introduce the story about Aberdeen’s history with the Clippers
Celebrate Sustainable design practices
innovative materials: combine wood with steel experimentally, similar to the experimental Thermoplae
Have I peaked your interest? Any ideas what I might be designing? let me know in the comments and make sure to tune in next week!
I love the video!