Designs of my dreams — From the Desk of van Schneider — Edition №256

Many new subscribers joined over the last week, welcome everyone to DESK (:

In case you missed it: In my last essay I wrote about why we are taking steps backward in a world that keeps moving forward. From vintage Instagram filters to the resurgence of vinyl records, there's a curious pattern of choosing inconvenience over efficiency, especially with the younger generations who never had to overcome the limitations of old technology.

Read the full essay below ↓

One step forward, two steps backwards — From the Desk of van Schneider — Edition №255

A design publication written by designers, for designers — by Tobias van Schneider

The DESK MagazineTobias van Schneider

But for this week, I got a very personal essay, something I wanted to write about for a long time.

The projects of my dreams

⏱️ Estimated Reading time: 5-7min
🎵 Soundtrack for this article: Listen here (a classic)

I'm part of a generation of designers who chose their path purely out of passion, or stupidity, depends how you look at it. When we got started, none of us was chasing riches and wealth. In fact, it was a pretty bad idea to become a designer from a purely financial perspective, since those jobs weren't very well paid back then.

Instead, we were driven by the desire to create something beautiful, unique. For those of us from that era, and those who came before us, design wasn't a career choice — it was an obsession we couldn't resist.

While the industry has transformed dramatically since then, my core motivations remain unchanged. Yes, I appreciate the financial rewards of my profession today, but what truly drives me is still the childlike pursuit of that "perfect project."

To this day, I still have a mental list of dream designs and projects I hope to bring to life one day.

I have to admit though, I've been fortunate in my career so far. I had the opportunity to work for prominent clients like RedBull and SONY, and I fulfilled a personal dream of working at Fantasy Interactive, my absolute favorite design studio at the time (if you remember Fi in their prime, you know what I mean).

Then I've had the privilege of designing software used by millions at Spotify, and helped design multiple logos for NASA space missions, amongst other things. One of these logos even appeared on a LEGO box – something that would have likely impressed my younger self even more than seeing my work on an actual space rocket.

Just with all this, you might say that many of my dreams have been fulfilled. But let me tell you, I never stopped dreaming and still am today. My list of dream projects continues to grow, and some of them might be weird to you.

But because I believe in the power of putting your aspirations into the universe, call it manifestation if you will, I want to share some of these dreams with you today (:

Designing a postal stamp

Designing an official postal stamp has always been a dream of mine. Not just any commemorative or specialty stamp (although that would make me happy too), but one of those everyday stamps you find in post offices nationwide, the kind that gets printed by the millions.

Why? Well for one, I'm curious about the creative challenge of working within such a tiny space. It's kind of like the opposite magic of designing a billboard. There's something special about distilling art down to that intimate scale. And even better, knowing that millions of people will end up "licking your design," that's just priceless to me (:

But there's something even more beautiful about it. Despite the internet, millions of letters still travel across the world every year. The thought that a stamp I designed could grace a love letter, a graduation announcement or a beautiful thank you note, that's the kind of stuff that gets me excited.

I think this dream was born out of my passion as a child to collect stamps (I still got a couple hundred with me).

Designing a commercial airline

Getting my work into space was already a personal milestone, but I still find myself daydreaming about creating a complete airline brand identity. I mean just imagine it for a second: My designs wrapping around the curves of an Airbus A380? How can there be anything better? (The A380 is my favorite plane btw).

The real interesting challenge to me is designing every touchpoint and visual element a passenger might encounter. From the flight attendant uniforms to the way the tickets look, it would be a never ending project.

Some of my current favorites are Lufthansa, Emirates and Singapore Airlines. To me, commercial airline branding needs to ooze with competence and professionalism, something that should be reflected through the entire experience.

Designing a way-finding system or metro map

The complexity of way-finding systems fascinates me. It's an immensely complicated challenge, but the outcome has to be so obvious that you don't even notice it, because it works so well. I dream of the sweet challenge of designing a complex way-finding system for larger spaces like airports, museums or perhaps even entire cities. I think I'm attracted to the permanence of it.

And what makes it even more compelling to me is that a well-designed system would influence millions of people as they navigate or interact with a space everyday. It directly influences their quality of life.

Even more romantically put: If you design a way-finding system for a city, you are essentially choreographing the movement of the entire population. It's pretty fascinating.

Designing a new visual language for a country

Almost too unreal to even think about it. It's such a rare opportunity that I will be jealous of whoever has the opportunity in their lifetime. Such a project would likely only happen once in a generation, if even.

Imagine crafting every visual element that defines a nation's character — from its flag and currency to a unified design language of all government communications and documents. I get goosebumps even thinking about it.

However, given how rarely new nations are just "born" into our new world, I'll have to expand this dream into humanity's next frontier: space colonization.

This means, designing the visual identity for the first permanent settlements on Mars or other planets would be an acceptable alternative for me ;-D

Designing a car dashboard

Another unfulfilled dream would be designing a car dashboard. Every time I sit behind a wheel, I find myself mentally redesigning the dashboard, I just can't stop it. I imagine all the ways I'd do it differently, and how much I'd enjoy doing it (even though, I think it's a pretty good challenge).

I've also been mildly obsessed with vintage car dashboards, in particular the ones that experimented with digital experiences back in the 70s and 80s. Just seeing the interfaces from today I can imagine it to be a tedious task, mainly due to regulations and internal stakeholder politics, which I tend to blame for the bad quality of today's car interfaces (most of them feel outdated on arrival).

Designing universal signs

The STOP sign stands as one of design's most remarkable pieces of design — imagine a single visual element that transcends language and cultural barriers across the entire globe. As far as I know, it wasn't the work of one particular designer, in fact there may have been not a single traditional designer involved and it was likely a collaboration between traffic engineers, local politicians and safety officials. But one can still dream!

I just love to think about this unique opportunity. To create a universal symbol that is understood across languages and cultures in emergency situations. It would be a massive responsibility and opportunity to design something like it.

Designing a spacecraft UI

Back in 2013 I received a full-time job offer from SpaceX as Creative Director to lead design on the GUI for the Dragon space craft. After much deliberation, I chose to remain at Spotify (my job at the time) and continue developing my personal projects, which was ultimately the right decision because it got me to where I am today, running my own companies.

But still, the dream of designing a digital UI dashboard for a spacecraft is still haunting me to this day. Or alternatively, I'd also be happy with a nautical/maritime UI for large vessels.

Designing a watch

I'm a big watch fan and aspiring collector myself. I just love the fact that in 2025 we're still designing and building mechanical, analog watches. There's something profound to it. In an age of smart devices and digital technology that is way more accurate and "better" in every way, we still continue to craft these intricate mechanical marvels.

I dream of designing my own analog watch one day: the case, the typography of the dial, the intricacies of the movement. There's something special to perpetuate your own design language in a functional object that can and will likely outlive yourself. Unlike digital products that become obsolete, a well-crafted mechanical watch can span generations. I just love that idea.

Designing a video game

One of my earliest career aspirations was to work at Blizzard. I was completely in awe by their game design. Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo... you know what I mean.

While that specific dream has faded (working for Blizzard), the desire to create my own video game is still with me to this day. What attracts me most is the possibility of crafting something definitive and complete, similar to a book or a movie. It's the exact opposite of the perpetually evolving nature of websites and apps which are never truly "finished" and constantly evolving.

The permanence of a video game (if done well) is what makes it particularly appealing. There's just something special about fully devoting yourself for a couple years and creating this perfect piece of a game that people can experience from start to finish. I'd love the idea of designing the story, the UI, everything about it.

It's a true Gesamtkunstwerk, a total work of art.

Thank you as always for reading. I hope this essay inspired you to think about your own "big bucket list". Even if you're not a designer, I am sure there's an equivalent for everyone personally.

Yours truly,
Tobias

PS: Very inspired by Joan Miro’s studio in Mallorca (Spain). Especially as I am stuck in the cold NYC winter which seems to know no end.

PPS: A gentle reminder by mymind which I believe is even more true today.

PPPS: Another beautiful find from deep inside mymind

PPPPS: A friend of mine sent me "Person of Interest" last week as a TV show recommendation. So now you know what I will be watching the next couple weeks (: I will keep you posted on how I like it.

Have a great week!