I've recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Khoi Vinh of Subtraction about our shared interest in design criticism. We discuss everything from my origins to critical discourse and controversy. Head over and give the interview a read.

The fascination with tubes, or pipes, was introduced to the digital realm with the 1993 release of Windows NT. Included in the OS was what would become one of its most enduring designs, the "3D Pipes" screensaver, which would remain in the OS until Windows XP. This hypnotic screensaver was etched into the minds of everyone who used PCs in those days, at home, at work or in school.

One of the primary pillars of Instagram's philosophy for their new icon was an intention to "Honor Instagram’s identity while reflecting its growth."

In the spirit of honoring this heritage, the team first struck off any possibility of retaining anything even remotely resembling the previous icon. Then they set about preventing the use of the recognizable Instagram glyph by Tim van Damme. Their solution: make an icon that requires a lengthy artist's statement to be understood.

Since Instagram launched their rebrand, there has been a predictable pattern of people dismissing all discussion of their icon as navel gazing decadence.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you are by now aware that Instagram has updated their app icon. Since the brand launch last Wednesday, there has been an explosion of negativity toward the redesign. There was a buffet of memes about the rebrand, though you've probably seen enough of them by now. Nearly every designer (and even some non-designers) had a redesign to share, and that's a great thing.

The topic of racial signifiers in UI design has been heavily discussed ever since the introduction of multiple shades of emoji skin tones in 2015 by the Unicode Consortium.

Waving Windows

Microsoft's foray into abstract forward slashes began in February 2012 when Paula Scher of Pentagram was tasked with the redesign of Microsoft's Windows brand.

Sam Moreau, the Principal Director of User Experience for Windows recounted an early meeting with Scher and Bierut:

Part I concluded with Moving Brands' redesign of the HP logo mark. Undeterred, the agency continued on in their quest for reduction. In their 2014 corporate redesign of DeviantArt, they ennoble the company in the same mission of "boldly facing the future" by making a similar "Progress Mark" to the one they implemented for HP.

One of the central aims of the modern minimalist project is to remove as much visually representational information as possible, despite the inherent contradictions that implies for the design practitioner. Abstraction is one of the primary tools modern minimalist designers needlessly corrupt in order to prevent meaning from being made of what otherwise might be communicative visual signs. This preference for intentional obscurantism brings status to a class of would-be elite designers and their sycophants.

iPad Drag and Drop

In recent months, many have called for a renewed emphasis on the iPad platform in the hopes that with further refinements it might become a replacement or worthy supplement to the OS X desktop paradigm.