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Hi! I'm Jake

Rise of the App Bots!

Published over 2 years ago • 2 min read

Hello!

First off, THANK YOU for reading this newsletter. I get so many emails from people telling me how much they enjoy it and I try to get back to everyone, but sometimes my weekend gets away from me. Just wanted you to know I do read them, and I appreciate them.

Hope you all had a good week, and that the next couple days offer some kind of recharge for you.

With that, here's 5 things I thought you'd appreciate as we roll into the weekend:


1) If Apps were Robots

From the Art Department

These have been a fun project this week. I did Twitter Bot over a month ago, and thought I should just do Instagram bot on Monday as a warmup. The post went on to get almost 40,000 likes. that's about 30,000 more than I usually get. I decided to bang out some more. They take about an hour each. It's good for traffic, and I think I'll make a sticker set out of them. A print set possibly.

Let me know if there's an app that needs a robot design and I'll put it on my list.


2) Abandoned Powerplant

From the Architecture Desk

Photos by Tim Knifton

I found a great photoset on Flickr for this insanely cool abandoned power plan in Kelenföld, Budapest. It has in the past been a destination for people who love creepy old buildings. I read somewhere that it's permanently closed now, so we can only experience it through photos.

This place is rich in patina, texture, and MOOD. You know some Bond villain totally used this place to interrogate someone at some point.

You can see the more photos here: LINK


3) The Dream Tractor

From the Office of Wheels

Look at this sweet ride. Kubota proposed this idea back in 1970 as the future of tractors. Here's what they had to say about it on their website:

The “Dream Tractor” which was exhibited in the pavilion was a concentration of the most sophisticated technologies, and the excellent functionality, comfort and easy usability that it offered are still being put to use in products today.

Man, Japan has always had the edge on cool vehicles. That front component looks contemporary, not almost 50 years old.


4) A Half-Baked Analysis of Calvin & Hobbes

From the Department of Video Works

I don't know if I bring anything new to the discussion around Calvin and Hobbes, it's just been MASSIVELY influential in my art style, and I wanted to give you a glimpse of the comic through my eyes.

Back in the 90's I would clip my favorite strips out of the newspaper and save them to study and draw from. I recently found this stack of strips in a box in my storage unit and HAD to make a video with them.

I love seeing these strips on old newsprint. Gives them a cohesive color and texture that you don't get from the nice reproductions we see in published books.

Hope you like it.


5) 100 Simple Truths

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

Don't know how I ended up on this mysterious black webpage, but I found these simple truths to be edifying. A designer who who goes by the name Traf has rounded these up and shared them for all to ponder.

I can't read them in one sitting because I end up thinking about the few I've read and that's about all I can handle before I move on with my day.

Read all 100 here: LINK


That's all for this week. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake


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Hi! I'm Jake

My newsletter gives people a 5 minute infusion of inspiration to help them stay motivated to create.

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