13/08/2026
I've been thinking about the "small" things we design.
We see so many posts about huge rebrands, beautiful packaging systems and ambitious identity projects that I wonder if we've started to think those are the only projects worth asking a designer for, or sharing with the world.
But really a lot of the design we interact with every day isn't like that. It's the sign we read. The form we fill out. The a menu we pick up. The map we reference. The little package sitting on the counter. Not always part of a complex system, sometimes just little bits and pieces.
This morning I read a post on LinkedIn by Phil Barrera, where he explained how he framed a ketchup packet he'd designed and has been in use for something like 25 years! Probably the most physically touched thing he ever designed.
Am I the only one getting goosebumps over a story about ketchup packets? I think it’s because maybe all the small things aren’t small at all (accidental Dr. Seuss vibes). But our lives are made up of all these tiny moments and touchpoints.
These might be the things people see, use and remember the longest.
Hope you notice something small and beautiful today!
