Robert Vidaure

Symbols for a Public World From hand gestures to national identity systems, design that bridges differences

This week's Friday Finds in the world of Civic Design.

How much has the war with Iran cost US taxpayers so far? Six billion two hundred thirty-seven million 💰

“No new wars…" –DJT

What does the “designer” job title mean to you? 🤔

Artist Howard Smith sitting on an a bed with an American flag sheet.

An art museum space with the work of artist Howard Smith. The work featured is of floral tapestries.

A geometric painting by artist Howard Smith.

An abstract three dimensional collage by artist Howard Smith.

Walking into Howard Smith’s exhibit knowing almost nothing about him and walking out completely changed. Grateful for the chance to discover a voice history tried to keep quiet.

I’m proud to be an American that’s willing to protect and stand up for any good hardworking human being regardless of their immigration status. #StateOfTheUnionAddress

Modernism Sunday in Palm Springs.

I’ve been going to Adobe Max for years, so I can’t imagine the sale pitches being more than that conference, but good point. I’m new the the code and product design world, and vibe seems a bit more community focused. So we’ll see.

I’m thinking about checking out Figma #Config for this first time this year. Is it worth going to?

Impressed with luna display, it turned my 11 year old iMac with 5K Retina display into secondary display for my M4 MacBook Pro.

Happy Lunar New Year! 🐴

Big Balls reposted it. Original source from Noah Sofio, advisor to Dr. Oz.

Not sure, but they sure are a diverse bunch.

Most of the time I post-process in Lightroom, but had to do very little. It’s a powerful little camera.

I love my GRIII. It produces some amazing images: www.inprnt.com/gallery/rvid...

Love me a good colophon page.

Is there another social newsletter platform out there that’s not Substack? I’m currently on Beehiiv, but I have no interest in monetizing my newsletter. I just want to create community and have discussions.

Please share your honest opinions about the National Design Studio. Are their websites raising the bar or missing the mark?

A New Chapter Shifting from Curation to Conversation

Shifting from curation to conversation.

newsletter.thecivicdesigner.org/p/a-new-chap...

For the Love of Craft: Vectorize Images in Figma Design and Draw | Figma Blog With our new AI image editing tool, Vectorize, you can turn raster images into editable vectors, allowing you to tweak, refine, and scale designs directly in Figma.

It could use a few more path adjustment slider options, but overall great for on the fly stuff.

Adobe Animate is shutting down as company focuses on AI | TechCrunch Adobe Animate will be discontinued on March 1, 2026, as Adobe shifts its focus to AI.

Adobe Animate shutting down doesn’t surprise me at all. They haven’t made any serious updates in years, and now there are quite a few free and open source alternatives that are better. techcrunch.com/2026/02/02/a...

Today’s weather prediction.

Always be building.

The problem isn’t a lack of training, it’s a lack of humanity.

Happy Friday. Stay optimistic.

Stand with Greenland.

An MLK quote that constantly reminds me to be resilient for what’s right.

Typeface: www.vocaltype.co/history-of/m...

It’s always fun connecting my local creative people.

If this represents the future of Apple’s new UI design language, then I’m all about it. 🙌🏼

Hot take: these are the best icons Apple has done in awhile.