Listening Now: Typeface, Social Media and Avoiding Burnout

This week in our "Listening Now" series, we're featuring 3 podcast episodes that we enjoyed listening to over the last week. Dive into each episode below and be sure to let us know what you think of each one.

Ellen Lupton: Thinking With Type (Design Better Podcast)

Ellen Lupton discusses the latest edition of “Thinking With Type” which has become a staple in the designers bookshelf. From fundamentals to practical benefits of typeface for non-designers, this is a fun episode about every designers favorite topic.

Our Takeaways

• Typography is an essential part of effective communication
• The history of typeface is a fascinating one and there are some great snippets in here about the origins of some of the most fundamental parts of type
• “Thinking With Type” provides guidance to writers, editors, students and everyone in-between in the imact of typography on effective comms

Jonathan Haidt on Adjusting to Smartphones and Social Media (Conversations with Tyler)

In "The Anxious Generation," Jonathan Haidt examines the rise in teen mental illness, linking it to a shift from traditional play-based activities to a reliance on smartphones around the early 2010s. He argues that these changes could exacerbate mental health issues unless society adopts new norms and more stringent regulations on social media.

• Whether the screen time problem will be positively or negatively impacted by the rise of AI is a fascinating discussion and one worth paying attention to
• Jonathan Haidt makes a rather compelling case for the impact of smartphones on the growth of young children, encouraging parents to prevent letting the smartphone replace play
• Fewer Gen Z members are starting companies which raises the question of where that creativity is going?

‍

How to be Productive Without Burning Out (RE:Thinking with Adam Grant)

Adam Grant sits down with Cal Newport sit down to discuss Cal’s new book “Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout”. This conversation offers great insights on productivity and the benefits of doing more by doing less.

• “Slow Productivity” emphasizes the importance of quality over quantity when building sustainable work habits
• The ways we measure productivity have not kept up with the ways we work and it leads to burnout
• Email can be one of our great productivity killers and setting boundaries can be a great way to prioritize effectively