Visual Scrap #20

Eye Candy

First up is the work by Mernet Larsen which feels like people as architecture in a way that's very satisfying to me. Second is this video by @rtsarchives (Radio Télévision Suisse) that shows different people saying animal sounds in their language. It's from 1990, and we need more of this vibe right now. "Cock a doodle doo" is ridiculous. They have a YouTube page, but the English auto dubbing completely ruins the point of this one.

Third, this series by William Josephs Radford using lenticular imagery to process the death of his father. I love any lenticular, but perhaps this is the best use I've ever come across.

Tools

Normal Tools is a collection of free online utilities – "Open a tool, do the thing, leave. No account, no download, and nothing between you and the answer." Need a random number generator? Need a conversion? A sod calculator? A QR generator? Whatever it is, it's probably here.

Hero of the Week 🏆 "If you're like every other InDesign user, you've either created shapes or placed images that have ended up in many different sizes. Most users think there's no way to get them in sync. But there is..."

Shade Map shows you where the shadows are anywhere at any time of day. I feel like cinematographers I've worked with had some kind of specialty app for this, but now you can use it to plan a photoshoot or your garden. Or see if you need a hat.

Recipe Tables takes any recipe – URL or copy/paste – and turns it into a Cooking for Engineers-style table. This format just makes so much sense to my brain – being able to see the order and organization at a glance.

Games

I love a quick game for switching mind gears or that weird five minutes between things. New faves are 🦐 Krillion (trivia) and 🐸 Ribbit (word). 🧑‍🌾 Clues By Sam (logic) is a little more involved, and for pete's sake, don't start on Sunday – they are easiest on Monday and get harder during the week.

Advertising

Consumer Reports' Grandfluencers. I love a product review, and this is the best format I've seen. You could do this with a group of any age. It's basically MST3K for roasting, ahem, reviewing products. The IG video is the best. Would 100% trust their picks. All electric can openers are ugly. You could argue that as a bunch of 90-year-olds, they are an edge case, but edge cases often make suggestions that are great for a wide range of folks.

And the Japanese reaffirming their place at the top of the packaging design chain with the 2027 Packaging Design Award winners.