Delightful Reveal #64

“She’s the Flagrant version of Sharper Image” - overheard at Flagrant

What we did:

• Redesigning a client’s pitch deck to make it more shiny and branded to impress
• Descended a massive PR of Flagrant website changes
• Reflected on Clarity Conf 2024—a conference on design systems. Blog post coming soon!
• Dug through the archive of Figma files to prep more visual studies to showcase on our portfolio (coming soon!)
• Cut through a pile of information to put together a proposal for a potential client
• Figured out how to install chartkick into a Jumpstart Pro app and work with the different graph types
• Found out the exact measurements to print QR codes directly onto Avery94106 labels. Specifically the top margin, bottom margin, left margin, right margin, column gutter, and row gutter.
• Started data modeling for a new client project in the construction/workforce management domain
• Created a stage backdrop, selfie wall, swag bags, badges, and lanyards for Scrum Day Madison.
• Meeting with a possible new insurance broker.
• Played with kamal 2 on a Rails 8 application
• Had a great time reconnecting with #RubyFriends at Rocky Mountain Ruby and loved seeing Stella, the stegosaurus we designed for the conference, all around!

What we’re reading:

• Sensory: Life on the Spectrum: An Autistic Comics Anthology by Bex Ollerton
• Beartown by Fredrik Backman
• America is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo
• The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas
• Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
• Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
• Ark Baby by Liz Jenson
• Temple of No God by H.M. Long
• Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker

What we’re playing:

• Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
• Bandle Tale
• Grow: Song of the Evertree

What we’re watching:

• The new season of Slow Horses
• The new season of Shrinking
• The Durrell’s In Corfu Season 2
• John Carpenter’s The Thing
• NHL
• Heartstopper S3
• Taskmaster
• Mashle: Magic and Muscles
• Laid-Back Camp

What we’re listening to:

• Alan Gogoll
• In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
• Beacon’s Album: They ways we separate
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor
• Birthday by Ateez
• Na by Hwasa
• American Teenager by Ethel Cain
• The First Take: Bling-Bang-Bang-Born by Creepy Nuts

What we’re interested in:

• How fake blood will perform on faux fur
• Chipmunks
• Animal names for various pedestrian walkways in the UK
• The squirrel stashing acorns in the potted plants on our deck
• Over-ordering crab rangoons from multiple restaurants to taste and compare with a rangoon superfan this weekend
• Big pianos
• The Self-Contained Hootenanny
• Stumbled across this design gem this weekend that shows a gallery of old web design: Web Design Museum. The lego years in particular were a throwback.

What we’re struggling with:

• Anxiety +3
• Sleep +1
• Body getting older
• Landlord that hasn’t turned on the heat in the apartment yet
• Mice
• Bleeding air out of a bunch of baseboard heaters
• Finn is licking his butt again so I scheduled a vet appointment to double check and see if he has another tumor growing
• First cold weather of the season

What we’re buying:

• Mooncat’s Pandora Unboxed set
• Foot hammocks for long flights
• Aquarium tickets
• Animal cafe adventures
• a metal detector
• Gas valve for broken furnace
• Mugs from Glynnis
• Super-custom moccasin boots
• 35mm film
• A minor kitchen remodel (deposit made! itshappening.gif)
• Turing Machine board game

What we’re celebrating:

• Going back to Asia for the first time since 2016
• Seeing Jungle (the band) live at a fancy theater
• A casual mention of SkyMall + Hammacher Schlemmer leading to a proliferation of links exchanged to ridiculous goods you can buy
• Next week’s tickets to see Labyrinth: In Concert
• Nearly being done with a baby blanket
• Watching some awesome talks through Adobe MAX and getting inspired to doodle more
• Seeing Manual Cinema’s Frankenstein with my partner
• Getting the furnace up and running finally
• Getting grid power back after Hurricane Helene
• Former roommate getting married and have a custom illustration of them as characters from Kiki’s Delivery Service on their wedding invite
• Getting this response from a client after sending them our updated prototype and helping them out with putting their pitch deck together:
• “This is amazing and completely exceeded my expectations. I can’t thank you enough!”
• All the love we’ve been getting from the Ruby Community regarding our RubyConf swag designs! “Representing the glorious design for #RubyConf2024 by Valenzia over at @be_flagrant ~ We’re obsessed!! You can grab your cool sweaters, shirts, or hoodies over at Ruby Central Store” (quote source: X, image source: X)

If you’re looking for a team to help you discover the right thing to build and help you build it, get in touch.