📝 Issue #434: 20 Unmissable Websites, Why Zoom Calls Are Exhausting, YouTube Sans, The Visual Language of 2021, and more…

Art Deco was a design style that peaked in the early 20th century. Over time it was stripped down, and became more and more functional until we ended up with minimalism. Now, according to Tobias van Schneider, Art Deco is set to make a return as the world searches for humanity in its design output.

Every month we pull together a roundup of 20 unmissable new websites released in the previous four weeks. In May’s edition we’ve got a load of fresh new portfolios, contemporary Japanese design, vintage USSR design, tons of color, and a truly inspirational approach to responsive illustration.

TonyDoorAI is an incredible AI assistant that records, transcribes, and even summarizes meetings automatically via Zoom or Google. Key points can be highlighted, and Tony can even identify your specific voice in the throng. Best of all, there’s a free forever plan that gives you up to four hours of transcription.

Like many of the web’s largest sites, YouTube has deployed its own typeface, creating a visual voice for the brand that is consistent, and appropriate. Design director Chris Bettig discusses the process of designing and deploying YouTube Sans, from high concepts, to revisions, and future plans.

Has lockdown resulted in you experiencing the new psychological phenomenon known as “Zoom fatigue?” It seems that with limited sensory input over video, our brains are having to work much harder to interact. Andre Spicer shares some essential tips to help you cope with the cognitive demands of Zoom.

If you’re stuck in lockdown and craving some creativity then check out Affinity Lockdown 2020, a free set of videos, posted to YouTube, with a new episode every day this May. In the series designers, artists, photographers, and illustrators give us an insight into their creative process using Affinity.

For the last decade blog posts have been all but unanimous in their view that the web is becoming increasingly homogenous, and now science has proven that correct. Using data mining that examined 10,000 websites, PhD students from Indiana University have established that websites do all look the same.

Kitemaker is a free, simple, issue tracker that’s great for keeping your team on track, especially if they’re working remotely. Discussions and decisions are grouped together and there’s a helpful overview board. Development teams can integrate with GitHub and design teams can integrate with Figma.

Do you miss The Office? And no, we don’t mean your pre-lockdown workplace, we mean America’s favorite paper-supply professionals at Dunder Mifflin. The team at MSCHF recreated every episode of NBC’s comedy hit, live in Slack. Sign up and watch the team’s messages post in real time, it’s genius.