Design Nuggets March - interactive creativity online

We’ve just passed the one-whole-year-in-lockdown milestone. This feels crazy so we’re congratulating ourselves for surviving it with some fun design escapism (and a couple of oversized chocolate eggs).

Take a moment to congratulate yourself for surviving too by enjoying the nuggets ahead.

Blobmixer

Blobmixer by 14 islands is a fun tool that lets anyone design abstract 3D art. The best part is that you can do it right from your web browser without any prior 3D knowledge.

The mixer (interface) allows you to customise every aspect of your blob: from the colour and makeup of the surface material, to how it moves and animates. You can change the spotlights that shine on it (and it’s not just the light colour you can change but the intensity, position, angle decay and more). You can add your own text and change the background environment, you can even add and tweak distortion effects.

Once you’re finished, you can download it and admire it at your pleasure, share it or even experience it in VR.

Get blobbing: Blobmixer

(Extra)variable type

Independent type foundry Spacetype takes the interactive / variable type concept to the next level with their experiential showcase of Garet. 

What’s a variable font?

Variable fonts are kind of a new concept which give designers infinite control over a font. Instead of being stuck with 4 standard weight variations, italicised and maybe a condensed or extended versions, variable fonts can be infinitely tweaked using sliders to the perfect configuration for the application in mind.

Garet

Garet is a modern, geometric sans serif font family with 11 predefined weights and several artistic style sets. Together as a variable type, the possibilities are boundless.

The experience 

In Spacetype’s interactive experience, you can play around with Garet in a few fun ways, right from your browser.

An Illustrator-esque interface panel allows you to tweak the standard g by moving the anchor points:

‍

Then, a sound activated panel allows you to watch the word change weight by talking into your mic:

‍

Check out interactive Garet here.

IKEA’S SAGOSKATT range inspires young designers

IKEA’S SAGOSKATT range turns kids' drawings of soft toys into actual soft toys (awesomeness overload inside), and then donates the profits to local children’s charities.

This is such a cool concept and the results embody the sort of unrestricted creativity that only kids can come up with. I’m sure the winning designers will be inspired by the experience of having their creation brought to life for years to come.

‍

I mean who wouldn’t want an eggplant car, or a ladybug mouse?

That’s all for this month, remember to take a break and enjoy the fun and limitlessness of creativity once in a while. Congrats for prospering through a year of lockdown!

We’re off to eat some chocolate.