There are tons of prototyping apps out there suitable for every level of detail – from very rough sketches to high-fidelity previews of the final result. ProtoPie sits at the latter end, making it easy to build highly interactive, sensor-aided prototypes.

I use Pocket to save so many interesting articles I come across that I often fret about opening the app, and so that humongous list just keeps growing. Reading Queue is trying to reduce that pressure by, for instance, showing you one article at a time and encouraging you to discard older items on your list.

While we’re on the topic of not getting through long articles: Audm wants to be to journalism what Audible is to books. The subscription service uses award-winning narrators to turn long articles into audio stories. Participating publications include The NY Times, Wired, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and many others.

I want to try this app because of its name alone: with YAC (short for Yelling Across Cubicles) you can simply click on one of your team members through a menu bar app and start talking instantly. No calling, no texting, just YACking.

Emotionally Intelligent Design →

Designing for emotions

A new book about a fascinating area of design: ‘As technology becomes deeply integrated into every aspect of our lives, we’ve begun to expect more emotionally intelligent interactions. But smartphones don’t know if we’re having a bad day, and cars couldn’t care less about compassion. Technology is developing more IQ, but it still lacks EQ.’

Twist Shelf →

Sculptural object and shelf in one

I love simple yet functional furniture that makes a thoughtful statement: uniting two functions by a twist, this wooden shelf hides a magnetic board on one end, perfect for pinning your notes – or storing your knives if used in a kitchen.

Six years ago, Jake Knapp acknowledged his addiction to and mindless use of his iPhone and took some ‘radical’ steps to counteract it. He started with deleting social media apps, followed by his email and other work-related apps until there were barely any icons left on his smartphone. Six years later he’s still largely app-free and more productive than ever. Here, he shares some easy-to-follow practical tips to reduce screen distraction.

Relevant not only as part of the discussion around AI taking our jobs, this essay looks at the role work plays in our lives and ponders the question: ‘How would human nature itself change as the ancient, aristocratic privilege of leisure becomes the birthright of human beings as such?’

This eye-opening TED talk completely changed the way I think about the non-profit sector: ‘We have a visceral reaction to the idea that anyone would make very much money helping other people. Interestingly, we don't have a visceral reaction to the notion that people would make a lot of money not helping other people. You know, you want to make 50 million dollars selling violent video games to kids, go for it. We’ll put you on the cover of Wired magazine. But you want to make half a million dollars trying to cure kids of malaria, and you’re considered a parasite yourself.’

The disturbing reality of what it’s like to be a content moderator, underpaid digital workers in the developing world ‘who scan, assess, and delete media of everything from beheadings to child pornography uploaded to services like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter each day.’

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