Andy Payne—architect and software developer at McNeel—on Grasshopper 2's latest features. Andy Payne is a licensed architect and software developer at Robert McNeel & Associates, the company behind Rhino and Grasshopper 3D. He is a Doctor of Design graduate from Harvard's Graduate School of Design (2014). Andy has lectured and taught workshops thro…

Andy Payne—architect and software developer at McNeel—on the origins of Grasshopper, Grasshopper 2, Rhino.Compute, teaching, learning to code, generative AI, open-source code, and his journey. Andy Payne is a licensed architect and software developer at Robert McNeel & Associates, the company behind Rhino and Grasshopper 3D. He is a Doctor of Desig…

Ian Keough—CEO and founder of Hypar and the father of Dynamo—on how Hypar is creating the next-generation platform to design, generate, and share buildings, and thoughts on open-source software, visual programming, authorship, monetization, and generative AI. Connect with Ian Hypar Hypar Elements Hypar on Discord Favorite quotes “What would we have…

Alex O’Connor—researcher and ML manager—on the latest trends of generative AI. Language and image models, prompt engineering, the latent space, fine-tuning, tokenization, textual inversion, adversarial attacks, and more. Alex O’Connor got his PhD in Computer Science from Trinity College, Dublin. He was a postdoctoral researcher and funded investiga…

Zach Kron, senior product manager at Autodesk, on making and selling pen plotter art, evolving with your projects, capturing ideas, and remote work. Zach is a Senior Product Manager at Autodesk, a global provider of design software. Since 2007, Zach has been involved in the research and implementation of digital tools that drive real world building…

Nono Martínez Alonso shares tips on producing a podcast, building an audience, booking guests, content formats, motivation, and goals. Here's my recent conversation with Steve — who wants to build a YouTube channel about the joy of making and listening to music, emphasizing health and well-being — where I shared tips and insights from five years of…

Leire Asensio Villoria and David Mah on decoding and upgrading design systems, reverse engineering the creative process, knowledge dissemination, the long tail of niches, Erwin Hauer and associative models, book writing and publishing, and much more. Leire Asensio is a senior lecturer in urban design and architecture and Co-Director of the Advance …

Frank Harmon on the purpose of writing and sketching, what makes great writers, artists, and architects, and the importance of giving people a sense of place. Frank Harmon, FAIA, is a nationally renowned award-winning architect, a professor of architecture at NC State University’s College of Design. and a popular mentor to four decades of student a…

Experiments with OpenAI’s text-to-image generation AI system DALL-E 2, mini-essays on the creative process and being done, and blogging tools you can use. Links DALL-E 2, Explained by Nono (video) Variations of "A minimalist 3d render of a balloon car" plus "A sunflower" by Edward Hopper by Nono x DALL-E OpenAI’s DALL-E 2 publication Google Imagen:…

Thoughts on traveling and meeting people in person after the COVID-19 pandemic. Favorite quotes "You can do anything that you set your mind to, but you don't have time to do everything.” —Frank Harmon Links It’s nice to see you, in person (post) Back from Atlanta (post) Nono’s blog Nono’s sketches and stories YouTube channel Kean Walmsley’s blog po…

My current habits, the podcast, the blog and sketches, the YouTube channel and the live stream, my new recording studio, monetization, crypto, and the importance of learning and play. Books Essentialism by Greg McKeown Links My ‘atomic habits’ (podcast) My writing habits (podcast) Nono’s blog Nono’s sketches and stories Which one would you like to …

Andrew Witt, associate professor at Harvard University and author of Formulations, on how mathematics and computational methods transform the way we think, design, and make art. Andrew Witt is co-founder, with Tobias Nolte, of Certain Measures, a Boston/Berlin-based office for design futures and an Associate Professor in Practice of Architecture at…

Adam Menges is a founder at Lobe and a former Apple employee, currently working on something new. Adam Menges is a product designer, entrepreneur, and engineer located in San Francisco who specializes in artificial intelligence and visual programming languages. He’s a former Apple employee and founder at Lobe, a company acquired by Microsoft that a…

Nate Peters on being intentional, digital art and generative NFTs, the advantage of established creators, and the fast pace of artificial intelligence & crypto. Nono hosts the Getting Simple podcast, sketches things that call his attention, writes stories about enjoying a slower life, and records live streams and tutorials on creative coding and ma…

A conversation with an anonymous guest on how new technologies can help promote positive moral behavior, blockchain and crypto concepts, digital art and NFTs, the convenience of centralization, online identity, impostor syndrome, the ever-newbie, and lots more. Favorite quotes “Writing code is talking to computers, but you also have to talk to peop…

Jordan Gray on creative friction, the fine line between passion projects and work, storytelling in design, and overcoming the beginner feeling. Jordan Gray works as a Visualization Specialist at Hanbury. Architecture and design always have a narrative—an evocative, deeper meaning. From napkin sketches, to drawing sets, to post-construction marketin…

Podcasting, live streaming, sketching, and writing highlights of 2021, and why you should start writing in public. 2020 has been an incredible year in many ways. Yet I didn't expect COVID to be as present in 2021 as it was in 2020, honestly. Wherever you are, I hope that you're staying safe and healthy and can be, at least, in contact with your clo…

Host Nono Martínez Alonso and Aziz Barbar on how complex machines work, technological polarization, and the growing need to make algorithms understandable. Nono hosts the Getting Simple podcast, sketches things that call his attention, writes stories about enjoying a slower life, and records live streams and tutorials on creative coding and machine…

Host Nono Martínez Alonso and Jose Luis Garcia Del Castillo on teaching and coding live. Nono Martínez Alonso hosts the Getting Simple podcast, sketches things that call his attention, writes stories about enjoying a slower life, and records live streams and tutorials on creative coding and machine intelligence. Jose Luis García del Castillo y Lópe…

Host Nono Martínez Alonso replies to audience questions on the evolution of the live stream after a year of weekly streams. Books Atomic Habits by James Clear Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport Deep Work by Cal Newport Links Nono.MA Live Playlist Suggestive Drawing (and an in-depth tech dive) CATIA, Digital Project and Gehry Technologies Harvard GSD…

Host Nono Martínez Alonso and Aziz Barbar on non-fungible tokens (NFTs), blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and digital art. Listen to this episode to learn about non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Note that cryptocurrencies and stock options are highly volatile markets, and you shouldn't make financial decisions based on this episode. Nono hosts the Getting S…

Host Nono Martínez Alonso and Nate Peters on the machine learning-based audio-editing solution this podcast is being produced with, web components, React and UI libraries, the effects of COVID-19 in our work lives, NFTs and cryptocurrencies, and the new informal catch-up conversation podcast format we're testing out. Nono hosts the Getting Simple p…

Reclaiming time to be human. I'd love to hear from you. Submit a question about this or any previous episodes. Join the Discord community. Meet other curious minds. If you enjoy the show, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps. Show notes, transcripts, and past episo…

Host Nono Martínez Alonso and Aziz Barbar on StyleGAN, NVIDIA's state-of-the-art machine learning algorithm that generates convincing images. Listen to this episode to learn about StyleGAN. Nono Martínez Alonso hosts the Getting Simple podcast, sketches things that call his attention, writes stories about enjoying a slower life, and records live st…

Host Nono Martínez Alonso and Jose Luis García del Castillo on the mindfulness of breath-hold diving and being deep underwater, best practices, equipment, and techniques, equalizing your middle ear pressure, scuba versus freediving, and recommendation systems. Before parting ways at the boarding gate, Jose Luis and I captured our first impressions …

Runway's co-founder Cristóbal Valenzuela on the need for new creative interfaces to control complex algorithms that focus on results (not technology), the freedom of being a startup, and how machine intelligence is changing how we think, design, and make art. Cristóbal Valenzuela is a technologist, artist and software developer interested in the in…

Illusionist Héctor Ruiz on getting started and standing out as a magician, how COVID-19 changed his world, his take on talent, effort, creativity, success, and entrepreneurship, and more. Héctor Ruiz is an illusionist from Spain that performs over the planet with his show amazing and amusing audiences. In the last years, Hector has performed at som…

Host Nono Martínez Alonso and Aziz Barbar introduce the Bytes series—concepts at the intersection of digital technology and culture in a language we can all understand—and talk about cloud storage. Listen to this episode to learn more about the series, its name and format, co-host Aziz Barbar, and what's coming. Nono hosts the Getting Simple podcas…

Luis Ruiz Padrón on the creative process behind his sketches, writing, and publications, seeing the world as an Urban Sketcher, identity, teaching, technology, life, success, and more. Luis Ruiz Padrón is a PhD architect. He teaches Architectural Graphic Expression at the University of Málaga; drawings of cityscapes is his main interest as a schola…

A practice to focus by listening to the same songs, over and over again. Chapters 0:00 · The compact disc and streaming services 0:56 · The walkman and repeat mode 2:51 · Looping playlists, the practice 8:09 · Repeat one 9:38 · My playlists 10:35 · Focus Zero 11:07 · Focus A 12:14 · Focus B 13:56 · I'd love to hear from you I'd love to hear from yo…

Techniques, challenges, and reasons to live as if you were retired. Chapters 0:00 · Intro 0:28 · Marc's question 1:12 · What are mini-retirements? 3:56 · Challenges 7:04 · Vacation slack 8:38 · How much money do you need? 10:17 · Financial independence 11:42 · Creating your own products 12:54 · Passive income, freelance, and full-time 14:02 · Money…

James Melouney & Selene Urban on how to get started with meditation, self-discovery, building trust and connection with your audience through a humane and authentic message, and key learnings from their entrepreneurial journey. James Melouney is an eclectic mix of mathematics, finance, strategy, marketing, meditation and self-discovery. He graduate…

Strategist, investor, community builder, and NGO founder Mike Gabour on mindfulness and attention, meditation and dark showers, the multiplier effect, minimizing time in front of the screen, the contents of his backpack, and falling in love with the ocean. Mike Gabour is a first generation immigrant, born on the Mediterranean ocean in Alexandria, E…

Harvard's Jose Luis García del Castillo and host Nono Martínez Alonso on teaching, live streaming, the guilt of postponing things, the difficulties of delegating tasks and micro-management, the fear of shipping creative work, and lessons learned after forty podcast episodes. This episode opens the ALGO series—conversations between Jose Luis García …

During your commute, do you listen to music or podcasts? Books Deep Work (and productive meditation) by Cal Newport Links My Podcasts Not Music blog post (2014) Oak meditation and breathing app Hurry Slowly podcast by Jocelyn K. Glei Deep Questions podcast by Cal Newport People mentioned Adam Menges Cal Newport Chapters 00:00 · Intro 03:38 · Why no…

Modelical's Roberto Molinos on the benefits of being patient and embracing uncertainty, a series of techniques, theories, and books that can help you rethink your company and market your products, and his 4-day workweek. Roberto Molinos is an architect and holds a Master of Advanced Studies in Structural Design from Madrid Tech - Madrid (ES). He ha…

Celebrating a year of weekly sketches and stories. Today, I bring you an episode that celebrates a year and a half of weekly sketches and stories. At the time I published this essay on my blog, I was at fifty-three publications. But as I write these lines, I'm at seventy-one posts. Happy Newsletter-versary! Repetition, repetition, repetition. It wo…

Microsoft's Adam Menges—founder at Lobe.ai and a former Apple employee—on helping people build intelligence into their apps by making it simple and understandable, his unconventional education, having death present, regret avoidance, grit, and his daily routine for note-taking, file management, meditation, and much more. Adam is a product designer,…

Director Daniel Natoli on the making of Sisyphus, Getting Simple's first short film. A man is condemned to repeat a useless task day after day. It's easy to fall into the trap of mindlessly repeating the same routine over and over again. Every once in a while, we need to be reminded to stop and reflect; To meditate on whether what you’re doing make…

How to create good habits and break bad ones. This episode is part of the Habits series. In this excerpt from my interview with Scott Mitchell (episode 29), Scott and I discuss what atomic habits are, how to use them to create good habits and break bad ones, how I started implementing them in my daily routine more than a year ago, the difference be…

Generating lots of ideas might help you achieve originality. Notes Skill and expertise let you judge your own ideas to better identify the good ones and discard the bad ones. "Many people fail to achieve originality because they generate a few ideas and then obsess about refining them to perfection." —Adam Grant, Originals I'd love to hear from you…

Portfolio careerist Carmen Chamorro on the benefits of working in different fields, managing multiple interests, and how recognizing a potential Renaissance-like profile might positively influence your career. Carmen loves change and disagrees that we must define ourselves in only one single and exclusive way. She is a natural learner and can draw …

Insisting Simplicity's author, JR, on crafting your own routine from scratch, writing, blogging, frugal practices to achieve financial independence, permaculture design, the struggles of making a living as an artist, and more. Insisting Simplicity is a blog about simple living, minimalism, and adventure travel that JR writes to celebrate life, our …

Autodesk's Kean Walmsley (@keanw) on prioritizing fun, freedom, and flexibility, traveling and working around the world with family, blogging, teaching, remote work, and the post-COVID world. Kean Walmsley works at Autodesk Research, based in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Kean joined Autodesk in 1995 and has worked in a number of Autodesk offices around …

Here's an episode in memory of Patrick Winston which opens the new Sketches series with a short piece on story understanding with artificial intelligence and my experience attending Winston's 6.034 lectures at MIT. "Don't just tell me it's a school bus. Tell me why you think it's a school bus." I've sketched for the last 365 days. A year ago I deci…

Scott Mitchell jumps in time to dissect his own experimentation life philosophy, his efforts to remove creative friction, and his worldview. An experimental episode on Scott's metaphor of the arena, experiments he's carried out over the past years, and his current solo adventure. Scott Mitchell is a designer and software engineer currently working …

What I've learned and what's changed over the past year, and new habits that seem to be here to stick with me for years to come. We're more virtually connected than ever before. Yet, we seem to be more disconnected from one another than any former civilization. We've created shallow ways of communication (say, email or instant messages) which gener…

Technology whisperer Tatjana Dzambazova on asking the right questions to avoid the waste of talent, connecting and inspiring others, becoming vegetarian, and the myth of a better life. Tatjana is Director of product management, software solutions, at Bright Machines, a software-driven-manufacturing start-up based in San Francisco. Tatjana's career …

Nono's daily writing process, tools, and techniques. I believe the ultimate goal of writing is to touch others; to make our words resonate with our readers. Today my spoken words are for you. This episode is part of an experimental series titled Habits in which I share how myself (and others) do certain things and why, hopefully unveiling workflows…

Nono Martínez Alonso on his story, his worldview, how and why he started Getting Simple, and the struggles and joys of making a podcast about simple living, doing less better, and crafting your own lifestyle. Nono Martínez Alonso hosts The Getting Simple Podcast—a show about how you can live a productive, creative, and simple life, in the form of f…