Well That’s Cool… April 2018 Edition
This story is part of Matter Supply Co’s ongoing Inspirational Site Series. Once a month, we get together to share those experiences, old and new, that pique our interest, inspire us, and make us think.
Everbright
Everbrite is an interactive installation that looks a lot like a Lite-brite. What sets Everbright apart is that each node, or let’s call it a physical pixel, is actually a round, adjustable knob that’s responds to when people turn it, by cycling through the color spectrum. We love interactive design that encourages participation and really, who doesn’t love the idea of a gigantic Lite-bright?
50 Years of Swiss Music Charts
A stunning, immersive deep scrolling page that explores the most popular songs that have been on the Swiss music charts. The site lets you travel through time, moving back and forth through the years and then exploring by catching 30 second clips of the featured songs. It feels somewhere between blasting through lightspeed in the Millennium Falcon and traveling through space No Man Sky-style to trace our shared love of music.
Building Construction: “Framing Floor Joists and Walls” — 1950 US Navy Training Film
With construction at our new office underway, we decided there was no better time to pivot, change career path and learn how to frame load bearing walls. This US Navy instructional video from 1950 is probably the best you’ll find on the topic. We like to imagine R. Lee Ermey was the original narrator.
Reader’s App Reviews
Matter Supply is all about collaboration. iOS Dev Blog ‘RayWenderlich’ is a forum that brings together developers of all skill levels and gives them a space to upload their app builds and present them for critique from others. It’s a great place to get feedback on something you might be stuck on or simply give your app some exposure.
Flutter
Built by Google, Flutter is a full stack tool to create native apps on android and iOS from a single codebase. An extensive library of assets and their layered approach means you can slap together a quick prototype or make it as complex as you want. It’s clean and easy to use. Our favorite thing about Flutter is it’s ability to “Hot Reload” which shows any edits, almost immediately after you save without having to reboot the preview.
Airtable Blocks
We ❤️ Airtable. A lot.
We use it for tracking production, creating collaborative spaces and organizing data (and really, that’s just the tip of the iceberg). Airtable’s strength lies in it’s ability to shift to different views that allow for your existing data to be filtered and displayed, for example, as a calendar, Kanban, a gallery or simply an info grid. Blocks’ new roll out of features adds data visualization in the form of maps, graphs and a 3D model explorer to name a few.
The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes
Netflix’s new documentary has architect Piers Taylor and actress slash property enthusiast Caroline Quentin touring homes we can’t afford, that are built in unconventional locations all around the world. Hearing about the challenges these trailblazing owners and architects endured just reminds us that, they too once were probably watching a 1950’s US Navy instructional video on wall construction.
The new $10CAD Note
Canada’s first vertical bank note incorporates design features that pay homage to human right’s pioneer, Viola Desmond, an influential black businesswoman. The site is an interactive walk-through of the imagery on the new $10 note that feels a lot like browsing the halls of a museum. It gives visitors the chance to understand the meanings behind all the intricate details contained on the bill.
Home RenoVision DIY
If you find yourself knee deep in a hole in your living room, Jeff Thorman of Ottawa Design and Build is your man. Jeff’s channel is a great resource for construction and renovation How To videos. Stay tuned for our before and after pictures of our office fire pit weekend project.
InVision Design Genome
Built by one of our favorite prototyping tools, InVision went out and learned about how design teams run industry giants like: Google, Slack, Netflix and Pinterest. In a rare glimpse into the teams, how they take on big projects and manage to keep all the moving parts working in harmony.
Feel free to join in and share with us some sites you love.
That wraps up our April 2018 Edition of Well, That’s Cool…
We can’t wait to share more things we love. Let us know your favorite experiences or if you like what you see here in the comments below!
Matter Supply Co (formerly Pacific by Northwest) is dedicated to the craft of creating purposeful products and experiences that matter. Say hello next time you’re in Portland, OR or Medellin, Colombia or find us on LinkedIn.
