New Blue Sun

https://open.spotify.com/album/33Ek6daAL3oXyQIV1uoItD?si=eZQmBdP-Q2eCrRq4eURQeg

https://www.bennybowden.com/playlist-new-school-christmas-classics

Job Application for Sr. Product Designer at hims & hers

https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/himshers/jobs/7599272002

https://journal.lapse.app/friend_request?user_id=d64f22c5-1214-4353-a00e-6b2498bbdf58&name=Benny%20Bowden&invite_code=ig3

after you finish the first 90% of a software project, you have to finish the other 90%

This is what happens when a creator allows themself to be led by intuition and inspiration.

Go listen to the new André 3000 album: https://open.spotify.com/album/33Ek6daAL3oXyQIV1uoItD?si=eZQmBdP-Q2eCrRq4eURQeg

Every year at Thanksgiving time, I speak this piece of poetry over myself in the same way it was written: with simultaneous sarcasm and sincerity.

Saw a physical billboard with an obviously AI-generated image for the first time today and... ew.

Just used ChatGPT to help me figure out where I took this photo. Wow, I love living in the future!

(The building is Storm King Ranger Station near Lake Crescent Pier in Piedmont, Washington)

I ran my first marathon on Saturday. I’ve never seen a more beautiful side of Kansas City.

Repeat after me:

I will not make a scene.
I will not make a scene.
I will not make a scene.
I will not make a scene.
I will not make a scene.
I will not make a scene.
I will eat my mashed potatoes in peace.

//
A Thanksgiving Meditation
by Benny Bowden

If our minds are always stuck where we could be, we miss out on being where we are

If I was a Thanksgiving dish, I'd be Creamed Spinach...

Not everyone likes it (or is even willing to try it), but that just means there's more for those who do! #IYKYK

What’s your color picker of choice?
1️⃣ HSL
2️⃣ HSB
3️⃣ Hex
4️⃣ Other

Why?

A coworker just said this about the Open AI drama:
"Feels like we’re watching episodes of both Succession + Silicon Valley in real time."

...and that is the best take/summary I've heard yet.

“Chip clip” companies have everyone fooled. There’s not a chip clip in existence that can outperform a good old binder clip.

Tired of hearing the same old Christmas music year after year? 

The problem isn't Christmas music. The problem is you're listening to the same 12 songs from 70 years ago.

Playlist: New School Christmas Classics
https://www.bennybowden.com/playlist-new-school-christmas-classics

Diving into the subjective world of design career ladders. Appreciate your t’s and p’s.

I have been working on a poetry book for a while now.

While I've procrastinated finishing it (as every writer does), I've daydreamed about building a website for the book.

Recently I put down some pixels and made a prototype to explore that.

Am I the only one that thinks Procreate has an extremely confusing user experience?

The GameCube menu is such an iconic interface. Brilliantly simple, yet fresh and innovative.

"Get out of bed.
The day has been
asking about you.

It dragged the sun into your
room this morning,

pulled an entire disco of light
through your curtains,

hoping that all of this gleam
would be enough to get your attention.”

- Rudy Francisco

A Poem for a Math Teacher on Their Birthday
by Benny Bowden

Whether Xitter is dead or not doesn't matter. The important shift happening is that people are now publicly engaging with each other, in real time, in places *other* than Xitter — and that's a big deal.

Activity Pub can’t come fast enough!

When they send you a piece of paper to notify you that you’ve enrolled in “paperless document delivery.”

13 years later, the UI design of the OP-1 is still a masterclass

So much to love - minimal use of color on the black OLED screen, fun illustrations that pack in lots of technical information yet remain legible, color coded parameters that reference the physical knobs…

💙💚🤍🧡

Outdoor seating at a new coffee shop in Kansas City called Penrose.

My wife recently got a heated coffee mug.

It's a well-made physical product, but the mobile app is not nearly as elegant. I took a stab at improving the design of the settings screen.

What if THIS is how AI destroys the world?

Maybe the OpenAI drama is just a recursive loop of ever more surprising twists and turns. Maybe it keeps us glued to our phones and the “news cycle,” just watching and scrolling until we all go mad. Seems plausible to me!

*Tech bros dissing each other*

“Founder mode? More like FLOUNDER MODE!”

This week’s big news in the ongoing notes app war is… checks notes (app)… a debate over which is more original: the profile picture of one app’s CEO or the pfp of another app’s new AI persona. 🤦‍♂️

You can’t make this stuff up.

Do we share live reactions during Apple events on Posts? Is that a thing here?

If it has a “For You” page, it’s not for me.

For the book I am releasing in 2024, I am going to be very “out-in-the-open” with the process. Here’s why…

my team at hims&hers is searching for a sr product designer! If you've ever worked in or have been interested in consumer health, slide into my DMs <3

https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/himshers/jobs/7599272002

"X (Formally known as Twitter)" 😂

Greatest grammar error ever.

Will never understand how regular AirPods stay in anyone’s ears.

As the famous poet T-Pain once said, featured on Maino’s modern masterpiece, All the Above:

“The struggle is nothin’ but love.”

The AI Pin from Humane is basically a smart pager. It even has its own phone number.

Okay friends — I need your design podcast recs! Looking for something deep and pragmatic. *Bonus points for content on building design leadership chops!*

If I’m already confused about which Apple AI features I can use when, non Apple nerds are just going to give up and lose interest.

As your life begins to resemble the
Unremarkable stories you've heard of
Regular people,
You must decide:
Will you be at peace or at war with that?
//
Regular
by Benny Bowden

This coffee shop is playing Bon Iver and has a Bob Ross episode on the TV. Expert-level vibe curation.

Flying Southwest was a vibe today! ❤️💚

The one thing Humane’s AI Pin makes clear is that OpenAI (and ChatGPT) is most likely going to fuel everything.

Some of the stuff from this week.                                        To see more, visit: https://www.behance.net/delfinagatti

Enjoying the experence over on the Lapse app so much. The “disposable camera” effect requires photos you take to “develop” over a span of a few hours.

https://journal.lapse.app/friend_request?user_id=d64f22c5-1214-4353-a00e-6b2498bbdf58&name=Benny%20Bowden&invite_code=ig3

We’ve moved on
from:
“Software is eating the world…”
to:
“AI is eating the world…”

This is the set list of poems I
performed at the showcase a couple nights ago.

9 poems in 15 minutes — 3 of them are from my upcoming book (but I'm not telling which ones). 🤭