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Rob Walker
Rob Walker

8.2K Followers

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Apr 12, 2021

A note to my Medium followers :)

In short: Please keep in touch! — TL;DR version: I’ve left Marker, but I hope you’ll keep in touch, and consider following my Art of Noticing newsletter. (It’s free.) As many of you may know, Medium recently announced a change in its editorial strategy that included a buyout offer to editorial employees, and I am among those…

Medium

3 min read

A note to my Medium followers :)
A note to my Medium followers :)
Medium

3 min read


Published in Marker

·Mar 31, 2021

An Ode to the Whiteboard, Corporate America’s Least Appreciated Office Tool

Why the symbol of corporate creativity will survive the remote-work era — Chances are if you’ve spent time in offices, you’ve spent time around whiteboards — and, perhaps, you’ve spent time dreading them. But where did these things come from, and how did they become a physical symbol of the mandatory brainstorming session? Fittingly, the precise history of the whiteboard is somewhat…

Everyday Design Icons

5 min read

An Ode to the Whiteboard, Corporate America’s Least Appreciated Office Tool
An Ode to the Whiteboard, Corporate America’s Least Appreciated Office Tool
Everyday Design Icons

5 min read


Published in Marker

·Mar 25, 2021

The Hottest New Pasta Shape Was Born From a Podcast

Bucatini is so 2020 — Object of the Week is a column exploring the objects a culture obsesses over and what that reveals about us. The 21st century has been a time of constant technical innovation — and a time for ridiculously overthinking food. These seemingly unrelated meta-trends have now coalesced in cascatelli, a brand…

Object Of The Week

4 min read

The Hottest New Pasta Shape Was Born From a Podcast
The Hottest New Pasta Shape Was Born From a Podcast
Object Of The Week

4 min read


Published in Marker

·Mar 23, 2021

Krispy Kreme Found a Way to Make Vaccine FOMO Even Worse

Brands rush in to help end the pandemic with vaccine doughnuts and other marketing stunts — Skeptical about the Covid-19 vaccine? Or too lazy to get jabbed even though you’re eligible? Well perhaps you can be persuaded by… free doughnuts. This is apparently the thinking behind a new promotion from Krispy Kreme: Present your vaccination card at its U.S. locations, the Wall Street Journal reports, and…

Offbrand

3 min read

Krispy Kreme Found a Way to Make Vaccine FOMO Even Worse
Krispy Kreme Found a Way to Make Vaccine FOMO Even Worse
Offbrand

3 min read


Mar 20, 2021

The Weekly Thingdown: Sparkly jets, bulletproof school desk, Ken, etc.

7 Objects that mattered this week Thingdown is a weekly roundup of things — objects, products, stuff — that are lately in the news or otherwise of interest right now. The crisp and shiny optimism of the Breeze Airways A220 jet — and why this might be the perfect time to launch a new airline. (My…

Design

1 min read

The Weekly Thingdown: Sparkly jets, bulletproof school desk, Ken, etc.
The Weekly Thingdown: Sparkly jets, bulletproof school desk, Ken, etc.
Design

1 min read


Published in Marker

·Mar 19, 2021

How Our Year of Isolation Changed Entertainment

Staggeringly low ratings from the Grammys and Golden Globes prove the traditional mass-audience awards spectacle is over — If an organization started handing out trophies for the most astonishing collapse in cultural relevance, this year’s top prize would have to go to — awards shows. The ratings plunges for recent awards shows are staggering, suggesting a major turning point for a ritual that has been vital to the…

Grammys

3 min read

How Our Year of Isolation Changed Entertainment
How Our Year of Isolation Changed Entertainment
Grammys

3 min read


Published in Marker

·Mar 18, 2021

This Is Secretly the Perfect Time to Launch a New Airline

After more than a year of travel being ground to a halt, timing is everything — Object of the Week is a column exploring the objects a culture obsesses over and what that reveals about us. A year deep into a deadly pandemic that crippled the travel industry — U.S. passenger traffic is down by half — does not sound like the best time for a…

Object Of The Week

4 min read

This Is Secretly the Perfect Time to Launch a New Airline
This Is Secretly the Perfect Time to Launch a New Airline
Object Of The Week

4 min read


Mar 12, 2021

The Weekly Thingdown: Candy bars, Oprah chairs, cassettes, etc.

11 Objects That Mattered This Week — Thingdown is a weekly roundup of things — objects, products, stuff — that are lately in the news or otherwise of interest right now. The pathetic absurdity of the limited-edition HerSHEy’s bar. (My latest Object of the Week for Marker.) “5G Conspiracy Theories Are Fueling an Entire Economy of Scammy…

Design

2 min read

The Weekly Thingdown: Candy bars, Oprah chairs, cassettes, etc.
The Weekly Thingdown: Candy bars, Oprah chairs, cassettes, etc.
Design

2 min read


Published in Marker

·Mar 11, 2021

Why Are We Picking Vaccines Like They’re Toothpastes?

An angsty public is turning the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines into a dangerous brand battleground — Worldwide, there are 11 vaccines available to combat Covid-19. And according to some observers, this has led to a problem: “People are doing what they do with cars and peanut butter and Tinder profiles — comparison shopping,” an On the Media segment this weekend declared. Host Bob Garfield noted that…

Offbrand

5 min read

Why Are We Picking Vaccines Like They’re Toothpastes?
Why Are We Picking Vaccines Like They’re Toothpastes?
Offbrand

5 min read


Published in Marker

·Mar 11, 2021

Hershey’s Repackaged Chocolate Bar Is Peak Performative Feminism

At a time when women have been hit hardest by the recession, brands are making International Women’s Day about themselves — “There is no Hershey’s without ‘SHE,’” the candy behemoth announced recently. The occasion for this, uh, insight was International Women’s Day, this past Monday. To mark the day — and March as Women’s History Month — the company “developed a small batch” of its flagship chocolate bars, with the package…

Object Of The Week

4 min read

Hershey’s Repackaged Chocolate Bar Is Peak Performative Feminism
Hershey’s Repackaged Chocolate Bar Is Peak Performative Feminism
Object Of The Week

4 min read

Rob Walker

Rob Walker

8.2K Followers

Author The Art of Noticing. Related newsletter at https://robwalker.substack.com

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