Just over a year ago, we introduced you to a new series of posts here on Beautiful Pixels that we titled ‘The Platter‘. This was our way of sharing all the interesting & must-see design-centric links with our readers. We published our first Platter back in February 2013 and since then, we’ve served 38 Platters so far. We’ve received some tremendous feedback about this series and have continued to make improvements to it.
Starting today, we’ve made some modifications to the format of the Platter. Don’t worry, we’re still sharing some of the best stuff that we come across — we’re only changing the ‘how’. Starting today, you’ll be seeing a lot more ‘other’ design stuff in the Platter. There are numerous talented designers out there who release icon sets, wallpapers, single-purpose websites and these often go unnoticed. Our new Platter will highlight these wonderful projects. Moreover, you’ll also see a summary of what posts we’ve published in the week leading up to the Platter. So here’s a nice collection of assorted links for you to enjoy on a Sunday.
If the Moon Were Only 1 Pixel
The title pretty much sums up this website perfectly – anyone even marginally aware of basic astronomy knows that space is absolutely massive. This website demonstrates the vast bleakness of space in a way that not only makes this readily clear, it does so with some witty one liners about the travel time. The size of the moon is fixed at one pixel on your screen, and everything else is drawn to that scale. A Time Machine-line scale at the bottom shows you how far you’ve travelled, and a handy section at the top shows the planets (including Pluto, whom ‘we still love’), as represented by their symbols. Click on any of the symbols to warp to the location of that planet. You should probably avoid that and take the time to scroll the distance, though… Not just for truly appreciating the vastness of space, but also to read the hilarious one-liners in between, a sort of positive reinforcement for taking the time to fully explore the website. Bookmark this page!
(Thanks, @kaleb_butt)
THREEJS — A Tiny Browser Clone of Threes
If you haven’t already heard of Threes, the fantastic numerical puzzler on iOS and Android, where have you been? It is an incredibly addictive game, whose simplicity, ease of play and design have captured imaginations (and burned tons of productivity) the world over. ThreeJS captures the essence of the game and ports it to a browser, the better to burn even more of your time, presumably. You control tile movement with the arrow keys, and the physics of two tile merging is admirably captured. The website even allows you to stream the game music (or download it). Be prepared to spend a LOT of your time on this site. Bosses, beware.
2048
Keeping with the Threes theme, Gabriele Cirulli made a game for fans of the number two. 2048 is a similarly minimalist game with one simple mission – keep combining tiles until you make one with a value of, you guessed it, 2048. The mechanics are quite similar, but different enough that we can comfortably suggest you invest some of your time in this game. Personally, I found it a LOT tougher than Threes, but your mileage may vary. You can also play 2048 on your mobile device.
Staccal 2 Redesign
Staccal 2 is a Calendar and Reminders app for iPhone. The Developer, Go Ando, released it recently, and made a video on how he designed the icon. The video offers a fascinating insight into the mind of an iOS app developer, and how much effort goes into something seemingly as innocuous as an app icon. You can see the icon emerge from the basic outline all the way till the final result, with individual details built up, step by step, presented like a story. The video itself will only take a minute and seven seconds out of your day, and we heartily recommend you check it out.
What we published this week
– The Side : Redd
– The Side : Finish To-do Manager goes Free
– The Dialogue : Marc Edwards
– Verbs IM Updated for iOS 7
– Writing Aid
– SquareOne for iPhone – Gentrify your Mailbox
– The Side : Ni No Kuni – Familiar Guide 2.0
– Balllin – The Beautiful Dribbble Appp for iOS 7
– The Side : Coolson’s Pocket Pack
– Flight is a Beautifully Minimal Flight Tracker