I'm honored to be working on a new project within Google focused on Matter - a game-changing technology that simplifies the setup and control of ALL smart home devices using a single app or voice assistant, regardless of which brand you buy from. After a year working on Nest, I'm excited to apply my experience on this exciting journey to transform the way we live with IoT, intelligent homes, and smart products! 😊
Project for Google Nest
Currently, I’m a consulting as a design lead at Google Nest, where I envision future tablet and smart display hardware and software interfaces through human-computer interaction.
Wrapped up NYU Female Founders
I wrapped up a second round having the amazing opportunity I had with NYU Female Founders. Along with a select handful of other female entrepreneurs, my mentors at the Leslie Entrepreneurship Institute at NYU went through a startup methodology and provided guidance along the way. My venture, Design Life Well, launched: a 6-week program enabling creative professionals to achieve business success, mindfully.
I’m super grateful to have been accepted and have had the chance to connect with other women who were dedicated to business, entrepreneurship, and the creativity involved in launching something new!
Figma Play
Have been exploring a few different things in Figma lately! Really trying to keep up with the latest and greatest tools / plugins / shortcuts and so I just spent the day playing.
Auto Layout (Playlist)
Mockup Plugin (Mockups)
Icon Plugin (Iconify)
Avatars Plugin (Avatar Generator)
Huge shoutout to the Figma YouTube channel for amazing content and tutorials. I’ve been blown away by how every single little question I have is so well documented!
Accepted into another round for NYU’s Female Founders!
Very excited to have gotten into another round of NYU’s Female Founders Circle through May 2022. I’ll be working on my startup, Design Life Well: Enabling creative freelancers to achieve financial freedom, mindfully.
A 6-week course and mindfulness toolkit aimed to help you confidently freelance and earn.
So far, I’ve advised creative students + professions at:
NYU Tisch School of Arts
Parsons School of Design
Pratt Institute
CultureHub
Looking forward for what’s next to come.
Part of Y Combinator
Really thrilled to be doing Y Combinator’s Startup School. I got a new mentor through NYU-ITP, who I’m SUPER thrilled about … and she mentioned Y Combinator is doing a Summer YC Build Sprint which is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to intensely focus on your startup or side-project for a specific period of time. It's from 8/2-8/29 so could help with my September deadline we’d talked about. Her studio will be joining the sprint to help us build their next MVP. So I signed up! I’m super excited about it, and already met with a few other entrepreneurs. It’s really cool to meet virtually with other startups, and really work to build each other up. Super excited for the opportunity!
Accepted into Female Founders Circle
Feeling very blessed to have been accepted into NYU’s Female Founders Circle! I will be granted 1-year of fellowship, community, and coaching from NYU’s Entrepreneurial Institute. I’m particularly excited that I’ll continue coaching with Rebecca Gard Silver, who’s the Associate Director at NYU Entrepreneurial Institute and former Product Design professor at SVA. I’m thrilled to continue on this journey with NYU, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity.
As a group, we actually met up once in Brooklyn over the summer. As a cohort, I was able to visit TALEA Beer Co., a female-founded Taproom & Brewery in Williamsburg brewing easy-to-love beers! We got a special behind-the-scenes peek of the brewery, and the founder was I believe a former alum of Female Founders. I found out that she got awarded like around 1.2-6 million in funding from 40+ people which is incredible.
I was able to meet with other founders as well. I was very pleasantly surprised by a focus on about 5 other women on the well-being aspect of things, whether that’s through veganism (health bar, handbags), getting $ gamified for young women, or tea ceremonies. I felt like there was generally this idea of holistic wellness for women, and I definitely vibe with that 😊
Spoke at Parsons
Had the honor of speaking with a cohort of design students at Parsons. We talked about portfolios, what it means to be a creative professional, and emerging media. Thanks Anselm for having me!
Won a Webby!
SO HONORED to say we’ve won a Webby (equivalent to an Oscar for the internet) at the Google Creative Lab for our project "My Storytime" in remote experimental learning, gaming and voice technology in collaboration with Instrument and the USO for connecting families of active-duty Military service members.
There are no words to express how proud I am of this one! Holy vegan hot dogs am I excited!
Attending NYU-ITP
Friends, for the next 2 years I've decided to pursue the deep study and development of converging the worlds of emerging technology, design and engineering to aid people and this planet.
In August I'll design my own Master's curriculum at NYU ITP's Tisch School of the Arts housed within the Tandon School of Engineering. I'll be mashing the worlds of code, machine learning, art and design for the purpose of deep seated well-being under the umbrella of my own creative studio practice.
This has been made possible by a very generous scholarship awarded by the Tisch School of the Arts which I'm deeply grateful for, and I'm very excited (and nervous in a good way!) about this next chapter!
Please wish me luck! 🤗
MIT - Knowledge Futures Group
The MIT Press announced today the launch of the Knowledge Futures Group (KFG), a first-of-its kind collaboration between a leading publisher and a world-class academic lab to transform how research information is created and shared.
View the full post about the exciting news here!
Sonic Pendulum with AI
Sonic Pendulum a sound installation using artificial intelligence that processes sounds from around the space to create an endless sound space.
Combining Meditation + Technology
INSPACE: A new meditation studio in Manhattan teaches New Yorkers that your "zen" can come with a side of technology.
Current Design Vibes
This season's palette is all about clean lines, bold colors and organic textures.
The Fastest Way to Success
Here's the secret sauce right now: it's about humility. A delicate balance between talent, hard work and charisma. Most importantly it takes being a nice human being who always sees the bigger picture (how one provides value to others) while being self-aware of what one's strengths and weaknesses are because this is for the long-term game not a short-term win.
Let's say it's you who's looking for success. You're looking to up your game by getting a higher role in your current company, for example. This goes for if you're at the top of your firm or just starting out as an intern. Assuming you've already been working hard at your craft, what about your behavior with those around you? Have you been willing to notice and act on where others might have needed help that may not fall into your job description? Let's say someone is writing a big and important research paper on something and they're hitting a wall. You might be grabbing lunch with them and they say something about it. Do you say "oh man I hope you get your creative juices flowing soon" or do you jump in to say "let me take a look and see if I find anything I could help you out on!" It's this initiative that sticks...why? Because you're changing that energy around others not just in perception but also reality, you're basically putting yourself in the SEAT of leadership. That value exchange will pay off dividends in the long run.
Another example...let's say you walk into a conference and you notice everyone on their phone. Do you pick yours up to because you feel awkward, or do you purposefully start to talk to other people about how they're doing to break the ice? Are you going to ask your coworker how their sick parent is doing because you saw something they posted on Facebook? Are you going to be a human being and be a nice person, despite the fact that they're checking Instagram? It's a point of humility and humanity to try to connect to people. It's being a nice person with a little charm.
Let's also talk about talent. There's a great quote I posted the other day that seemed to get to people, I love it:
Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.
- STEPHEN KING
I love this quote because it's simply not enough to have the talent, you have to back it up with a lot of hard. serious. work.
Too many people are running around thinking they have the next big "app" idea or venture to start, and the thing they don't realize is YES you can do all those things, but don't think that success will automatically fall into your lap because it most likely won't. Don't expect stuff to get handed to you. You have to work for it and grind on that every day.
My dad taught me about grit. He's in his late 60s and still hustles unlike anyone I've never seen. He taught me that despite the fact that you might have a propinquity to be good at something, if you're not putting in the sweat you won't make the LONG RUN game. And life and career are long-term games, not short term wins. Never settle for thinking you've made it because the second you do, someone younger/faster/better will run past you and laugh in your face. Stay nimble, humble, fast and keep your head on right.
So full circle: focus on the end game. Be the person who is always helping others, it's not about you and it's not about your ego, and it's not about you one-upping someone else because it's really that dynamic between you and others that will help you excel. Other's are your *mirror* for success. You gotta be a team player and focus on how you can help others, because in the end you'll get your "reward" from this life of money, people liking you etc but DO NOT focus on that because if that's what you want in the first place you'll never get it. Don't expect that, it's the value you give to others and if you're so lucky to be rewarded then so be it, and that's the kind of focus you'll need to get ahead. It's about the balance of everything and the humility of being a human being.
Love you guys, Tündi*
The Joy of Less
About six months ago, I went through a pretty significant purge and from that, a lot has shifted. I'm not sure where it started...probably from the fact that my new place has limited closet space. But suffice to say, I've never felt more spacious...both mentally and physically.
I've always been somewhat of a minimalist, but lately I've kicked it into high gear. I've completely shifted the way I see objects now. I now buy things strictly if I find use for it, or I'm just so insanely love with it that I can't leave it waiting another day. In essence...if I don't see value that will last for a year +, it's not coming home with me. Even small things like hoarding photos has to go. I'm still guilty of this to some degree (see my pinterest for instance), but I'm making a huge effort to scale back and be pickier than ever.
Also, I found that having less significantly improves my mood. I've struggled sometimes with anxiety, overwhelm and depression (as most of us do), and walking into a home where there wasn't stuff overflowing all over the place totally lifted my spirits.
In terms of design, minimalism and white space is such a big part of my work. I like to keep things simple, it's something that I pride myself on. And now having that seep into every little part of my life feels so much more in line with who I am. It feels like simplicity, minimalism and space is my *thing* and I can actually own that and say that's my just a part of me.
Now tell me.
What could you do away with? Do you think that having less could improve your life, and why? Would love hear your thoughts.
With love,
Tündi
New Moodboard
My moodboard for fall. Loving the colors, patterns and moodiness of these images.
Some keywords:
Minimal | Edgy | Simple
***
Please note all of these images were pulled from Pinterest, Tumblr and Google and I claim no rights to any photos
How I Start Every Design Project
Ever project starts with what I consider my *absolute favorite* part of the whole design process: gathering inspiration.
Whether it's going through a previous collection or looking for new places to get content, I always make sure to spend a few days refining the feel right.
A few places I can't get enough of:
1. Dribbble
2. Pinterest
3. Muzli
4. Tumblr
5. Magazines/objects
Each platforms has it's benefits and pitfalls. Pinterest, for example, would require me to begin pinning several items before the algorithm gets the vibe right and serves up similar content. Dribbble is more specifically for design and really cool graphics, and less general inspiration (which is necessary sometimes). Muzli is great in so many ways, but generally is more for articles and individual stories. Tumblr is very much a hodgepodge of content but gets me to open up my mind a bit. And lastly, looking at mags/objects sometimes puts a limit on all the potential on the internet but the tactile nature of it is exactly what a brand requires. Overall, all of them have different ways to find awesome nuggets of beauty to craft the right "mood". So my recommendation is to grab a little from all.
Here are a few examples of moodboards.
Tight on time? Feel free to grab inspo from me:
Craving freedom? Read this.
Ahhhh, freedom. We all want it. Freedom from being stuck in an office against our will, freedom from location, freedom from mean people, freedom to create more happiness. Of course, I could talk about how technology has allowed more freedom in our lives. But I don't want to talk about that, because there's a big elephant in the room around what really prevents us from feeling free.
I'm talking about freedom from yourself. Freedom from the incessant chatter of your mind, telling you to go in a million different directions but ultimately leading you to nowhere. The you who's not where you want to be, and isn't happy with anything.
Have you ever traveled somewhere and coming back and realized that the hyenia in your everyday life, in your "normal mind and life" are still living there, much to your demise? Have you ever woken up one day and asked yourself, how on earth did I get here? Of course you have, we all have been there. Myself included.
The key point here is to not continue to blame your past or look downwards upon your future. The past is long gone. Those decisions you made in the past have led you to where you are now. The future has not yet happened so there's really no reason to dwell in that space.
The key of course, is to focus less on the past or future, and more on the here and now. Right now, you're reading this. Right now, you can look about you and see your marvelous body and the light shining through this incredible invention we call a computer. You simply need look around and rather than see all the kitchen plates piling up, or your significant other's weaknesses, or your friend's who are flaking on you, to see what you actually HAVE right now in your life and feel grateful for the little things. It's all the little things that make up the big things (your body included...just consider that you're made of atoms!). The point, my friend, is to seek the beauty in these tinier moments and realize that this is life...this is the flow of life and you're very much a part of it.
The first trick is when you're going down that rabbit hole of negative self talk, to catch yourself. You simply NOTICE that you're thinking these negative thoughts. And you don't stop it, you don't talk down on it, you simply watch it and follow your thought. You continue to watch how you think and quickly you'll realize how unbelievably ridiculous it is. Then, once you've gone along for the ride long enough, ask yourself if you're willing to see everything differently. To say that yes, you're capable of freedom right now. You're capable of peace right now. You're capable of happiness right now, you need just consider the possibility.
Also, if you have something huge in your life that's preventing you from moving into a state of happiness, consider the small things (break it into small pieces) and find more freedom in accomplishing those tasks one at a time. Be willing to tackle the beast by going after its tail first. One thing at a time. Small things at a time. Noticing the pleasure of one thing at a time. Just look about you...beauty is everywhere.
The little willingness to see it is all you need.
How To Take a Month Off + Travel the World
30 Days. No laptop. No work. Total freedom.
Traveling without strings for a month was no easy feat, but not only was it possible, I did it while continuing my client relationships and booking five new clients in the process.
I decided to go two weeks in advance, roughly planned out how to get from country to country, and reserved half the hotels just a few days prior to leaving. I landed without a plan and it was awesome. Total adventure travel. And…why not? But the question I get asked most is: Tündi, how did you do it? My answer: how could I not?
Since I started freelancing, my goal was to live life on my terms. That meant taking vacations when I chose to. For however long I chose. Going with clients I hand picked. And doing it without fear of money or not having work when I came back. And yes, I made it happen.
So. How was I able to travel for a month, and get booked out for most of the year, and grow a waiting list of clients 6+ months out?
There were no easy tricks. But here’s how you can do it too.
1. Make it a priority.
I wrote it down incessantly, and had to remind myself that work is now a choice. I could work, or I didn't need to and it was really up to me. Adventure travel was something I decided to do at the beginning of the year, and I knew I’d like to go for about a month. By writing it down and keeping it in mind throughout the year, I stayed focused on my goals.
2. Realize that the time is NOW. Mini-retirements are in.
What are you working for? Because if you're just waiting to retire and then travel, let me tell you friends...you'll be super let down. The time is now when you're able. Why wait? Take the experiences when you're young and use them as lessons in your life now through retirement and beyond. Waiting when you’re older is risky. I can't imagine have pulling this trip off when I'm already retired…there's too much to explore and that requires a ton of energy. Energy that I have now, but not necessarily later.
3. Tell everyone you're going before you're ready, and get past the judgments.
Nothing like a bit of social pressure to get you going, huh? Most people rolled their eyes, as if to say yeah right...you wish. Joke's on them now, huh.
4. Marketing, Marketing, Marketing!
I made sure that people kept me top of mind. That meant meeting with the right people, making the phone calls that needed to be made prior to the trip, getting recommendations, keeping up on all social channels and blog posts, and making sure everyone knew when I was returning and ready.
5. Don't put it on a calendar too far in advance.
This is where the spontaneous part came in. With freelancing, sometimes it’s easy to plan in advance, but most of the time it doesn't work that way. I had to push off a LOT of work in order to go on this trip, which stung. So I set myself up with work BEFORE I left, and only departed after wrapping up a major launch. Timing was key.
6. Live minimally. Save.
For those who don’t know me, I’m a minimalist. That means, if I don’t love it, it’s going to get donated. My home is filled with an extremely curated collection of clothes, personal items and books that I absolutely adore. I decided not to buy new clothes for a year. People waste so much time and money buying stupid shit, ever wonder where all that stuff goes once it used? It’s not good for the environment or my peace of mind. It was time I was way more conscious with my purchases.
7. Think of the craziest place to go...then DO it.
A month is a really long time, so I thought of the farthest destination that would make me feel uncomfortable and went for it. I just jumped for the opportunity, instead of mulling it around in my head forever. I made a list, then chose, then went.