Day 1 Theory Lecture • #Hashtag Cyberstar
push the letters around ↑ then scroll ↓
Day 1 Theory Lecture • #Hashtag Cyberstar
push the letters around ↑ then scroll ↓
Where websites have personality, communities thrive, and technology serves people, not profits.
The web is magic—but it's magic we can learn. It's just text files talking to each other. No app required. No company in the middle.
Big tech controls the platforms. Most people only visit 5-10 sites. Design trends homogenise. "Professional" = corporate. Dark patterns manipulate users everywhere.
It wasn't designed this way...
The very concept of "branding" comes from burning marks into cattle—a claim of ownership. When we talk about "personal branding," we're adopting the language of capitalism, turning ourselves into products to be marketed.
Branding smooths out the weird. It demands a 'legibility to capital'* --> measuring everything by reductive, quantifiable metrics. It dehumanises --> reducing human labour to "units," creativity to "content," people to "audiences" and "markets." YOU become a product to be optimised.
*'legibility to capital' is a fascinating term (but an anathema to our purposes) --> further reading
Consider: Every tech startup looks identical. Gradient logos. Sans-serif fonts. "Friendly" illustrations of diverse cartoon people. This is branding doing its work—making difference illegible, making everything safe for investors.
That is not our goal here in #Hashtag Cyberstar
What if your website wasn't a brand, but a garden? A space you tend, that changes with seasons, that grows in unexpected directions? What if inconsistency was not a bug, but a feature, evidence of quirky, messy, human authenticity?
𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊𓋼What dies when a platform dies?
_______________
/ \
/ \
| |
| |
| 💀 GRAVEYARD |
| |
| Vine (2017) |
| Google+ (2019) |
| Orkut (2014) |
| MySpace † |
| Tumblr † |
| Yahoo Answers |
| GeoCities |
| |
| All that |
| content. |
| Gone or |
| orphaned. |
| |
| R.I.P. |
| |
|___________________|
|___________________|
/\
/ \
/ \
/ ⚱️ \
/________\
/ \
/__THE_ARCHIVE__\
| | | |
| 🏛️ | | 🏛️ |
| | | |
| Internet |
| Archive's |
| Wayback |
| Machine |
| |
| Digital |
| archaeology |
| in action |
| |
| 580+ billion|
| pages saved |
| | | |
|____|____|____|
/________________\
/__________________\
web.archive.org →
Your Instagram isn't yours. Your TikToks aren't yours.
Your tweets weren't yours. Only your domain is yours.
"If you don't control the server, you're just a tenant."
Western design assumptions aren't universal truths. Density isn't clutter. Maximalism isn't chaos. Community-first interfaces exist everywhere—we just don't see them from Silicon Valley.
(drag the stars to rearrange the constellation)
ABC Indigenous · AIATSIS (Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies) · Creative Spirits · BlakDance · Koori Mail · IndigenousX · First Australians (NMA) · GAMBAY (First Languages Map)
What if "good design" looks completely different depending on where you're standing?
Hint: It's not just a website.
╔═══════╗
║ .---. ║
║ | | ║
║ '---' ║
╚═══════╝
/\_/\
( o.o )
> ^ <
┌──────┐
│ ▓▓▓▓ │
│ ░░░░ │
└──────┘
Your presence doesn't have to live in one place. It doesn't have to look like anyone else's. It just has to be yours.
Reclaiming digital spaces for creativity, community, and weirdness.
Right-click → View Source → It's all just HTML
A response to the attention economy
Like the Slow Food movement resisted fast food culture, the Slow Web resists the hyper-optimised, attention-harvesting, platform-controlled digital environment. It's not about dial-up speeds—it's about intentionality, durability, and craft.
| 🐢 Slow Web | ⚡ Fast Web |
|---|---|
| Durability Content is preserved, maintained, yours |
Content is ephemeral, algorithm-driven, platform-owned |
| Deep Engagement Designed for thought and reflection |
Maximizing clicks, scrolling, time-on-site |
| Ownership You control your space |
You're a tenant in "Walled Gardens" |
| Craft Handmade, intentional, unique |
Templated, homogenous, "efficient" |
"Fast" serves platforms. "Slow" serves people.
Typography = the art of arranging letters so they:
→ Can be read
→ Communicate a feeling/tone
→ Look intentional (not accidental)
Same words. Completely different feeling.
(hover to reveal font name)
The WORDS are identical. The FEELING is completely different. That's typography.
You don't have to pick a side. You can move along the spectrum. The choice IS the design.
Not brand guidelines. Not a style guide.
A living document about ethics of maintenance:
What do you value? What will you tend? What will you let die?
This afternoon: you'll create your first webpage.
This week: you'll learn the tools to join the weird, wild web.
By course end: you'll have your own platform to experiment.