Talking about databases
Last month, I was invited to Eric Li’s Parsons class Instructions for Use to participate in tutorials and give a talk about my tool of choice: databases. Here are a few slides for posterity.
![Title slide. Text reads “Databases”.](/media/parsons-databases_001.png)
![Three Notion databases: Clients, Tasks, and Projects.](/media/parsons-databases_011.png)
![A drawing of connected nodes. Text reads: “Everything is deeply intertwingled”.](/media/parsons-databases_014.png)
![Notion’s “Share to web” UI.](/media/parsons-databases_021.png)
![“Type Foundry Directory” website and corresponding Airtable base.](/media/parsons-databases_033.png)
![Gemma Copeland’s personal website and one of the Arena channels that powers it.](/media/parsons-databases_034.png)
![Raw code from a single artwork in MoMA’s collection data next to photograph of said artwork.](/media/parsons-databases_048.png)
![An artwork label inside MoMA and a screenshot of the artwork’s webpage showing identical information.](/media/parsons-databases_050.png)
![Before and after code, showing how structured data enables better typography.](/media/parsons-databases_053.png)
![The various taxonomies present on Nick Sherman’s “Variable Fonts” website.](/media/parsons-databases_062.png)
![Fraser Muggeridge studio’s homepage, showing works tagged ”yellow”.](/media/parsons-databases_055.png)
![Fraser Muggeridge studio’s homepage, showing works tagged ”rainbow”.](/media/parsons-databases_059.png)
![Fraser Muggeridge studio’s homepage, showing works tagged ”centered”.](/media/parsons-databases_061.png)
![A project page on the architecture practice OMA’s website.](/media/parsons-databases_065.png)
![A book spread showing a project by OMA. The content comes from the same database that powers the practice’s website.](/media/parsons-databases_066.png)
![A group of books sharing the same base design, with slight variations in colour and shape. The designs are generated from data.](/media/parsons-databases_068.png)
![Three people in boilersuits working next to a conveyor belt, dismantling items.](/media/parsons-databases_073.png)
![A man in a boilersuit stands in front of a printed database, wallpapered on to a gallery wall.](/media/parsons-databases_075.png)
Thanks to Eric Li, Knut Melvær, Matthew Smith, Piper Haywood, and everyone who helped on Mastodon.