We dive into our titular question with Nate Grubbs, a multidisciplinary designer with expertise in UX, Visual & Product Design; Motion Graphics; and storytelling.

MEET NATE – 01:18

THE AGE OF AVERAGE – 04:19
Alex Murrell: The age of average
The tyranny of the algorithm: why every coffee shop looks the same
How Khruangbin’s Sound Became the New Mood Music (paywall)

SOUL, FLASH & OLD MAN VIBES – 06:36
A Farewell to Adobe Flash—and the Messy, Glorious Web
Donnie Darko website
Félix Lapointe: Remembering Kai Power Tools
Artist at Play: An e-mail exchange with Kai Krause

A PERVASIVE FEAR OF FAILURE – 17:49
Please, Please Don’t A/B Test That
Study finds 268% higher failure rates for Agile software projects

SIGNS OF HOPE & BREAKING THROUGH – 23:27
Massimo Giunco: Nike, An Epic Saga of Value Destruction
The Father of Grunge Typography Calls Out Lazy Design
Paula Scher: Great design is serious (not solemn)
Kintsugi

CONSTRAINTS AS A CATALYST – 34:08
Why Constraints Are Good for Innovation
Daft Social
Start-Ups Surge in the Great Reset
Gnuhr
Physical music sales on course for first increase in 20 years

RECOMMENDATIONS – 45:45
Nate: Yoto
Ernest: A Different Man; related: The rise and rise of A24, a champion of storytelling on screen (paywall)
Joachim: I Saw the TV Glow; What You Are Looking for is in the Library

CLOSING – 56:57
NateGrubs.com

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Rant, rave or otherwise via email at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.

CREDITS
Theme: Vendla / Today Is a Good Day / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Drum hit: PREL / Musical Element 85 / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

We go off-the-cuff again, sharing product learnings from Miele vacuums, Snow Peak’s modular IGT system & Ableton’s singular vision for music creation.

OFF-THE-CUFF – 00:59

JOACHIM RECOMMENDS: MIELE C3 VACUUM – 01:38
Miele Complete C3 Calima PowerLine
Behind Dyson’s cyclone
Dyson Stick Vacuums Lose CR Recommendation
We’ve Recommended Miele Canister Vacuums for Almost a Decade
My Middle-Aged Miele C2 Canister Vacuum Has a Long Life Ahead of It
Ernest’s now discontinued Miele Cat & Dog Vacuum
James Dyson: From Brexit to Singapore
Yes, Portland’s Stark’s Vacuums is still in business!

ERNEST RECOMMENDS: SNOW PEAK IGT SYSTEM – 13:36
Ali George Hinkins: History of Snow Peak
An Introduction to IGT
Comprehensive “IGT 101” primer
Live the Slow Art of Japanese Camping
Examples of Korean-style Camping
Tom Bihn bags
Eames Storage Unit
The Eames Modular House
Modular Cabins Inspired by Minecraft
Snow Peak’s New Portland Flagship Store
Vitsœ 606 Universal Shelving System
USM Haller System
Legibility
Framework laptop

JOACHIM RECOMMENDS: ABLETON LIVE – 35:39
What is Ableton Live?
The Untold Story of Ableton Live
Reason’s skeuomorphic interface
Eating your own dog food

CLOSING – 44:31

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Rant, rave or otherwise via email at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.

CREDITS
Theme: Vendla / Today Is a Good Day / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Drum hit: PREL / Musical Element 85 / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

In another short(er) format episode, we examine Apple’s recent “Glowtime” event. Please do let us know what you think of this new format at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or @LearnMakeLearnShow on Threads.

OPENING – 00:00
Suttle Lake
Suttle Lodge

HELP US NAME THIS NEW FORMAT! – 03:12

APPLE’S ‘GLOWTIME’ EVENT – 05:08
Apple Event
The Verge: iPhone 16 event in 16 minutes
John Gruber describes his feelings after the event on Threads

JOACHIM’S TAKE – 05:48
Smartphone innovation is dead, and that’s fine
Revisiting the iPod
Light Phone

ERNEST’S TAKE – 11:07
Made by Google ’24
Steve Jobs introduces “Think Different” (intro to the campaign at 3:05)
Steve Jobs introduces iPhone in 2007 (b-school 101 chart at 3:55)
The Very First ‘Stevenote’
The Glorious Return of a Humble Car Feature
Boomer Apple

RISKS OF SHIFTING TO SERVICES – 27:31
Hilda
Brainchild
Why the Baby-Sitters Club was Cancelled at Netflix
Alexa Is in Millions of Households—and Amazon Is Losing Billions
Steve Jobs: Get Rid Of The Crappy Stuff
Existential thoughts about Apple’s reliance on Services revenue
Jeff Bezos Explains Why Amazon Makes No Profit (2014)
The Birth of an Icon: Susan Kare
Halt and Catch Fire (TV Series)
Drops of God on Apple TV+
Slow Horses on Apple TV+

CLOSING – 49:00

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Rant, rave or otherwise via email at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.

CREDITS
Theme: Vendla / Today Is a Good Day / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Drum hit: PREL / Musical Element 85 / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com