On Second Thought with Komal Mirani

This weeks Notes of Nuance comes from Domingo Betancur (@veletagram ), a creative director and cultural researcher based in Medellín. I’ve been interacting with Domingo on Instagram for a while now. Mostly through the language of the internet: supporting each other’s work, noticing the same references, ending up in the same corners of culture. But I also kept seeing him in the likes of the most interesting posts online, which somehow became its own form of curation. Through that alone, I found new rabbit holes, artists, archives and ways of seeing. What strikes me about Domingo is that he feels deeply online without feeling consumed by it. There’s intention to his curiosity. Precision to his taste. And a genuine care not just for his own work, but for the creative worlds other people are building too. He leads @veletagram , a practice that moves between branding, visual storytelling, and emerging technology without treating any of them as separate disciplines. Really excited to have him on Second Screen and even more excited for you to step into his mind a little. Notes of Nuance w/ Domingo is now live💌📮 [culture, design, branding, substack, new media, culture]

I asked @senorica what cultural shift or movement is making her feel hopeful right now and her responses were as delightful as they were inspiring 🌀🐚 Scroll through for a creative doze of wonder, truth and soulfulness 🔮 Full conversation is live on Substack. [new media, substack, AI, taste, judgement, craft, Singapore, friction]

Notes from the Frontier: on visual monoculture, the adoption curve, and how distribution shapes both🎟️🫆 @claudeai @sarahfrier @meetgranola @runwayapp @vercelhq @emergentlabs @repl.it @higgsfield.ai @trycursor

This week Notes of Nuance come from Rica Facundo (@senorica ), Managing Editor of @makeitwarc APAC. I first came across Rica through @futuresfriends (cc: @agaaalia 🫶), and have been following her work closely since. While she’s a recent addition to my world, @makeitwarc has long been a constant. So this felt like the serendipity I was looking for. Rica is a strategist and editor exploring how we make sense of choices, meaning, and growth in a fast-changing world. Her work translates culturally nuanced insight into thinking that travels across regions, disciplines, and contexts. A sought-after speaker and moderator at Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia, SXSW and more, she’s known for asking better questions - ones that reframe conversations and open up more expansive ways of seeing. Notes of Nuance w/ Rica is now live! Dive in📮🥰 [design, strategy, futures, foresight, WARC, Singapore, human]

I asked Namrata (@n__goyal ) who she thinks is pushing culture forward right now and her answers are as thoughtful as they are expansive. 🐇🕳️ From the coziest YouTube corners where artists share their process, to the most comforting cooking pods, to books that stay with you long after, you can feel the care in every reference. If you’re curious to go deeper, the full feature is up on Substack. Link in bio. 📮 [artist, creative, type, cooper union, gastro pod, seseragi studio, arrow type]

What do Sherlock Holmes and behavioural design have in common? 🕵 What even is behavioural design? Why do we often need an external lens to point out what we’ve become habituated to? And what does habituation even mean in the first place? This is an excerpt from my conversation with Pratyush Pillai (@thebluereverieproject ) from @tinker_labs , titled On Irrationality, Nuance, and Behavioural Design. The full episode is now live, link in bio! 📮📡🔮📍🧩🪐🫆🎙️ (Podcast behavioural design tinker labs Sherlock Holmes ideo inspect Spotify habituation Mumbai don norman)

I’m so excited to share that the next guest on @secondthought.fyi is Pratyush Pillai (@thebluereverieproject ), Head of Behavioural Design at @tinker_labs . I first came across TinkerLabs about two years ago, when I was searching for organisations practising behavioural design. There were very few - which can mean many things but in this case, it felt like I had found something rare. I bookmarked it and kept it aside. Recently, I came across them again and spent more time with their work. Even just through their website and fragments of what they’ve built, I felt incredibly inspired. There’s a clarity and intentionality to it (s/o @kritikatrehan , @studiopingpongindia ). As always, I had to reach out. And am I thrilled I did!!!🥹 Pratyush is one of the most genuine, calm, and sharp people I’ve spoken to. And this episode feels like a personal win because I wanted to take a slightly different approach - to go beyond a personal or professional journey and really get into the specifics of the practice itself. And he made it so, so easy! We talk about what behavioural design actually is, his personal journey, the work at TinkerLabs, irrationality (a fav), AI (duh), their work with the government and clients, stereotypes, and so much more. We unpack the gap between what people say and what they actually do, why organisations often misunderstand behaviour, and what it really means to design for people as they are, not as we assume them to be. There’s radical candour, warmth and lots of learning through and through. And I can’t wait to share this with you. The conversation goes live this Saturday, stay tuned!!! 🎙️🌀🥰☕️🛰️⚙️🧬☀️

Everyone wants to build taste right now. So, why does everything look the same? There’s a memetic loop at play. The shift isn’t to have more output but better inputs. From people who understand image-making, not just interface-making. Culture-trained eyes AND screen-trained systems. The differentiation will come from reference. From what you’ve seen, studied, and chosen to carry with you. More on Substack, link in bio. 🔗 anthropic, ai, creative director, Amazon, ye, stripe press, new media, a16z, runway ai @hipcityreg @a16z @generalcatalyst @runwayapp @notionhq

This week’s Notes of Nuance come from Namrata Goyal (@n__goyal ) Namrata is a type designer and founder of A Letter Atelier, a space for experimentation, education, and research in typography. I first came across her work through @universalthirst : what stayed with me was the precision of her practice and the attention she brings to detail, material, and form. Namrata’s responses reflect a deep commitment to observation and a deep love for the process. They move between embracing intuition and discipline, toying between digital and analog, structure and play. Dive in! Notes of Nuance w/ Namrata Goyal is now live. 📮🥰 (Typography, type designer, substack, new media, analog, culture, design)

Narratives make markets. So where is GLP-1 in India? Right now, the story is singular: clinical, careful, and built for the patient. But there’s another user already here: one thinking about their body in terms of refinement, optimisation, and evolution. We’ve seen this pattern before. Crypto expanded faster than the language around it, leaving an entire cohort without a clear way to see themselves in the category. GLP-1s in India feel similar, a market moving ahead of the narrative meant to hold it. The gap is cultural - shaped by identity, aspiration, and how people locate themselves within the story. For brands entering now, this is where the opportunity is. More on my Substack soon. Stay tuned. [peptides, GLP1, lily, ozempic, web3, crypto, narrative]

Have you heard of Jevons Paradox? Why is everyone in suddenly obsessed with it and what does it actually mean for how we work? [AI, Jevons Paradox, Compute, Frontier Models, Industrial Revolution, Economist]

Can you ever actually opt out? The attention economy captured our time. But in doing so, it also created the conditions for a new market… 🌀the friction economy🌀: products and services that promise to give us our time back. I’ve used apps like @getclearspace and they do work. I’d love to try @getbrick as well. In many ways, they’re thoughtful responses to the attention economy. But it’s worth remembering that both systems are still monetising the same thing: your time. So maybe the question isn’t just whether we can opt out. Maybe it’s about becoming more intentional about where our attention goes. [friction, attention economy, brick, digital detox, friction maxxing]