I’m Arun Venkatesan, and this is the arun.is newsletter, where I share my current obsessions, inspiration from around the web, behind-the-scenes content, and more. 

In this week’s issue:

• More tiny books with enormous impact
• Recent hit essay: Two perspectives on the designer who Steve Jobs could not hire
• Upcoming essay: Tools for professionals, tools for amateurs
• We’re hiring!

More tiny books with enormous impact

In the last issue, I described a few books that follow my favorite formula for non-fiction. These books are short yet dense. They get right to the point while not adhering to page minimums. I’ve got a few more this issue.

The Elements of Style

The first is a must-have for anyone who writes. The Elements of Style is around one hundred pages of pure gold. The fourth edition can be found for just a few dollars used. It covers everything from the usage of words and punctuation, composition, style, and more. I page through it occasionally and learn something new and valuable every time. If you want a more visually interesting copy, there is also an illustrated version.

Show Your Work!

The next book on the list is Show Your Work!, yet another gem from Austin Kleon. While his previous book, Steal Like an Artist, is all about being creative, this one is all about sharing your work. My favorite sections remind me not to be precious with my creations. It helps me avoid procrastination due to perfectionism.

Are there any tiny books that you’d recommend?

Recent hit essay: Two perspectives on the designer who Steve Jobs could not hire

I published my latest essay a few weeks ago. Like I wrote in previous issues, it was initially supposed to be a review of a documentary about Richard Sapper. Soon enough, I was reading a book about him, and I fell deep into a rabbit hole. By the time I climbed my way out, I had a lot more to write about. The essay seems to have resonated well with folks, and even spent a day on the front page of Hacker News (probably due to my choice of click-bait title).

It’s my first time visually organizing my thoughts before writing. I previously listened to writers who said they never outline and believed that was the only way to go. Clearly, I’m a visual thinker, and an outline makes it much easier to write. I hope you had a chance to read it and, even more importantly, either watch parts of the documentary or read the book.

Future essay: Tools for professionals, tools for amateurs

I’ve recently been thinking a lot about tools — why I’m drawn to some versus others and what I look for in them. I had a realization that my relationship with tools is very different depending on if they are used for professional or amateur pursuits. 

In the spirit of Show Your Work!, I made a quick Twitter thread with those observations. I’m cleaning that thread up and adding more context as part of my upcoming essay. I’d love to know if you’ve put some thought into the subject as well. 

We’re hiring!

Lastly, if you know any talented designers looking for their next gig, send them over! My team is hiring a product designer. The role reports to my coworker Phil (I’m planning on staying on the individual contributor route for now). Feel free to send them this job posting or intro them to me via email. I’m biased, but Carrot has the best mission, design problems, and people of any company I have worked for.

That's it for this issue. As always, this is my personal email, so feel free to respond directly.

Stay curious,
Arun Venkatesan