How to build a Wunderkammer to collect resources and get inspired
In the digital age, we are surrounded by a vast amount of information. We can’t process it all, and yet we want to be as informed as possible. The internet has made it easier to find inspiration and resources, but it is also hard to organize these findings. That’s why designers should start building their own Wunderkammern— collections of information that are visually appealing and organized invaluable ways.
What’s a Wunderkammer?
A Wunderkammer is a German word for “cabinet of curiosities,” an old way of displaying objects of curiosity, specimens, images, drawings, and texts, usually with the intent to evoke the feeling of looking through a cabinet of wonders. It was popularized by René Descartes in 1674 when he wrote Discourse on the Method. It was then used extensively in Europe throughout the 17th century until it fell out of fashion around 1750.
The benefits of having a Wunderkammer (even if you’re not a designer!)
A Wunderkammer helps collect resources and inspirational pieces. They allow UX designers to explore a variety of new ideas and better understand what different types of styles and concepts they might consider using in their design process.
Not only that: Wunderkammern can be the one (re)source of truth where you can collect everything related to professional and personal life. These collections allow designers to find inspiration from various sources that would have been difficult or time-consuming to find. And they can easily be shared between people!
How to build a Wunderkammer
Step 1: Understand the purpose of your Wunderkammer.
A useful Wunderkammer is one you can quickly consult and navigate. For this reason, I suggest creating different collections for different topics or areas. Not mixing domains can help you avoid ending up with an unstructured, quite confusing array that will make it impossible to find what you’re looking for.
To give you a real-life example, this is my Wunderkammer (WNDR-K for short) list:
- UX Design WNDR-K: where I collect all the resources and links related to UX Design and Research. I usually put here everything I stumble upon while working to quickly go back and read it once I have some spare time. This way, my process does not get disrupted by continuous interruptions.
- Self-improvement WNDR-K: here, I collect routines, books, and inspirational resources I want to keep at hand to consult every day
- Shopping list WNDR-K: this one is shared with my husband so we can understand at a glance what we need to buy for the household
Step 2: Think of a structure ahead.
For each Wunderkammer, you want to create, try to think and plan a rough structure ahead. I suggest having sub-categories that will help you have a clear division.
Taking my UX Design WNDR-K as an example, this is how I decided to structure it:
- Design Systems and Frameworks
- Knowledge Systems
- Learning Spaces
- Readings
- Resources
- Tools and Softwares
- WNDR-Ks and collections (from other Designers)
Step 3: Test and use different tools
There are many ways to build curated lists. I suggest you test and use different tools to understand which one fits your taste and needs better.
The list below comprehend the tools I used/see used by other designers:
- Trello — Useful since it allows you to easily create sections and cards to structure your content
- Asana — Very similar to Trello, you can structure your list with paragraphs and cards in it. You can also opt for a different type of layout since their library has many.
- Airtable — Many templates to pick up and start your collection from. It is easy to sort columns and find contents, but be sure to structure the list ahead.
- Pinterest — (kudos to Martina Cavalieri for the suggestion!) Being a platform largely based on a visual approach, it is perfect to build a curated list with a “at-a-glance” effect. Just as old, original Wunderkammern were!
- Google Sheets — Can help you if you’re just collecting articles.
Step 4: Use it and keep it updated
A useful Wunderkammer is the one you keep updated through time. If you work in a Company or Team with other Designers, I suggest you create a space to share the valuable resources for the group, so you can just refer to that as a sort of internal Wiki.
Some tips to keep your list clean and alive:
- Have a look at it regularly: you could do it once a week or once a month, but be sure to use it since the main goal is to keep you inspired.
- Add resources when you find them: don’t wait and rely on your memory to put links in your collection. You will forget, and to go through your navigation history to fetch that correct link will be painful, believe me.
- Share it: if the collection does not contain personal and sensitive data (or topics you want to keep private), share it with fellow professionals and collaborators. It will help the space to be used and stay fresh.
Example of other Designer’s Wunderkammer
Do you need a little inspiration before starting to build your Wunderkammer? I got you covered:
- My personal UX/UI WNDR-K: https://trello.com/b/ARTIlWCh/ux-ui-wndr-k
- Luisina Romero’s curated list (I took massive inspiration from her space to build mine, thanks Luisina!): https://trello.com/b/HycFjbYw/ux-ui-toolkit
- An extensive and remarkable list made by gregjw: https://github.com/gregjw/ui-ux
- A collection of bookmarks, resources, articles for product designers by Awesome: https://project-awesome.org/teoga/awesome-product-design
- Collection of valuable resources and links by Design Resources: https://www.designresourc.es/
