Aaand hello again! It’s almost the weekend, almost easter – a.k.a. the perfect moment to grab a coffee and ✨enjoy✨ the latest news from your friends at Ponder!

Before we start, we’re super happy to have you as a subscriber! If you enjoy this newsletter, please share it with a friend or colleague! We very much enjoy the process of writing and curating this newsletter. Still, it also takes time – especially since it is 100% ChatGPT-free and comes directly from our founders. So, if you want to support us, sharing is caring! :)  

What we ponder on

We’ve always been fans of doing things consciously and intentionally, with a clear and focused mind. Over the years, we have also learned that many “design problems” often come down to being “human problems” — and that empathy and an understanding of human psychology go a long way in solving complex problems in a group setup. With those learnings in mind, we decided to up our game in this field, and that’s why our co-founder Caro is embarking on a 1-year journey to become a certified Business & Life Coach through a program led by Mindful Projects.

What made us pick this program in particular? Mindful Projects takes a unique approach, combining business coaching with personal mindfulness.

Our minds frequently become cluttered with impressions, thoughts, and patterns, rarely leaving space for new ideas. Recognising that being fully aware of yourself and your environment is crucial before you can act effectively (let alone coach others) is an integral part of their approach. So it was just consequential that the program kicked off with a three-day meditation retreat in Brandenburg last weekend — an intense but very insightful experience!

Let us know if this topic interests you — we’re happy to share updates and insights along this journey from time to time!

Recently at Ponder

What else happens at the only design studio with almost as many water heaters as employees? 

• 💚 We just kicked off a new project, and we’re excited to share more over the following months! We currently can’t tell you more — but let’s just say it’s very close to the centre of our German democracy :)

• 🚀 We’re on the last steps before launching a project with Bündnis 90 / DIE GRÜNEN that has kept us busy since last summer — keep an eye on our Instagram for launch announcements :)

• 👩‍🎤 We’re excited to welcome a new face at Ponder soon: Adèle will join us for a spring internship just after Easter!

• 😩 Our resilience is being tested with quite some initiatives postponed and various promising leads not turning into projects for different reasons. We’ve been in this game long enough to know that these phases are normal, but we’ll be honest: It can still feel frustrating sometimes. Anyway — onwards! :)

• ✊ We’re working on a new format to tie impact even deeper into our project work. We shared some thoughts on this topic over at LinkedIn. If you’re interested, we’re also looking for beta testers!

Noteworthy resources

• 🎧 [DE] Jung & Naiv published a great interview with sociologist Prof. Michael Hartmann on “elites” and the absurd distribution of wealth and power in our society — the podcast is in German and ~4 hours, but definitely worth a listen!

• 🌍 Right up our alley: sustainable.dev is a great resource to design and build low-carbon, more sustainable websites: www.the-sustainable.dev 

• 📚 Not read yet, but on the very top of our stack right now: Decolonizing Design by Elizabeth Tunstall – “a guidebook to the institutional transformation of design theory and practice by restoring the long-excluded cultures of Indigenous, Black, and People of Color communities.”

• 📣 [DE] Martha and Max from Progressive Perspektive are consistently sharing great content about the power and intricacies of language in political communication. We can very much recommend their biweekly newsletter as well as their handbook on progressive communication.

One thing to take action on

You probably know that feeling: So many things are wrong in the world, so many things would be important to do — but where should you even start? Don’t worry, simply start here:

👉 Sign this campaign to protect the German Fed­er­al Con­sti­tu­tion­al Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) against undemocratic right-wing AfD influence. We can’t really judge whether it’d be better to prohibit the party entirely, but we wholeheartedly support protecting the democratic good of independent jurisdiction. Maybe you can, too?

And with this, we’ll leave you for now! Happy Easter holidays, Ramadan Kareem — or just a plain old happy weekend!

Caro and Peter 

PS: Any feedback on this newsletter? Happy to hear it!