oio news
Posts
we need your fridge

we need your fridge

oio news #35

Matteo Loglio
18 Nov

Your monthly non-spammy-gif-heavy newsletter from your friends at oio.

Hello friends of friends! Welcome to the 35th issue of your favorite bundle of nonsense from the oioverse!

It’s been a while, we know. Hopefully you haven’t missed us too much, but we’ve been busy! Working on a few things we hope to share soon, and rolling and spinning our very own Hot Air Factory. We’ve been holding workshops, giving talks, hopping on and off planes… but now we’re here, live from your inbox. As the winter season approaches, we’re trying some new things, so take a deep breath and let it roll.

oio team corner

corner

Introducing a new corner of oio news: the oio Team Corner™, where we highlight each of oio’s team members, in a corner. Take a sneak peak of the brilliant minds of oio, their roles and missions, as well as fun facts and personal inspirations.

First off, please welcome our latest addition to the team: ᴘɪᴇᴛʀᴏ!

“It all started with dusty computers and the need to make posters for my DJ sets at house parties with friends…”

Meet Pietro Martina, UI/UX designer at oio 🧑‍💻 Pietro originated from Olgiate Molgora, a very small country town near lake Como in Italy. After traveling far and wide across Europe for work and studies, he set base in his hometown, back to his roots. Pietro joined us in March 2025 (yes this intro is very long overdue) and brings his fresh design perspectives and Figma wizardry to the team, defining user experiences, designing interfaces and making them functional in a solid, complex system.

As a remote working team, everyone has their own tricks and routines. Pietro likes to start his day munching on a good breakfast while daydreaming of what to cook for lunch. (Have we mentioned that he loves cooking? He even had his own cooking show debut in our first oio Bite Club 🍳) Currently set up in his living room, Pietro will soon be moving to a co-working space in Milan. “One of the best things about working remotely is the freedom to change your environment and let it shape your mood. Co-working spaces are great when you want to feel the energy of others, while working from your bedroom can be perfect for long, focused sessions.” he shares.

Pietro’s live cooking show

Pietro provides us a positive testimony on our team dynamics. 🫂 Being able to build bonds while working remotely has been comforting, the team always finding ways to have fun on Discord and making screenshots as little keepsakes of moments worth remembering. Nothing feels more rewarding than delivering the final files to a client and walking them through the work together. Those kinds of moments really feel good.

happy halloween from team oio 👻

When asked where he draws inspiration from, Pietro mentions a few different sources: from old catalogues and zines to retro tech or even knowledge from his old IT school days. “I like it when a reference seems distant from a project, it keeps things fresh and surprising.” His particular go-to when it comes to graphics and branding would be Asian mini-markets and small shops, simply the best places to find wild, unexpected references. (check out his instant noodles package reviews on his Insta highlights! 🥢)

the factory keeps spinning 🍃

puff puff

It has been a little over a month since we released our very own Hot Air Factory into the wild (remember the small, domestic AI with a pinwheel that shows the hidden energy cost of every prompt?), with features on It’s Nice That, then Creative Applications and a mention in Caffè Design. Our wish to inform more people about the excessive use of AI has resonated with some, while others have raised the concern of whether or not such a fun, friendly looking device would actually encourage more use of prompting (and thus, more energy consumption). No matter the perspective, our project has definitely helped stir up the conversation on the conscious and transparent use of AI.

Missing out? Find out more about the project on the website.

gettin’ famous

hot travels ✈️

catch us in your city next time?

Fall season has been travel season ✈️ touchdown France, Italy, the UK, doing projects, teaching workshops, giving talks.... Stay tuned! Open lectures going live very soon.

We need your fridge

F takes

We need your help!

We are working on a project, not for profit and open source, and we need images of fridges. Lots of them. So please be generous. Snap a picture of your fridge and

good karma awaits

don’t be stingy send us your fridgy

Could Should Might Don’t

will books still exist in the future?

Nick Foster, celebrated futurist and designer, just released his new book Could Should Might Don’t, inviting us on a thoughtful journey through how we think — and don’t think — about the future.

Nick is also a good friend, and he’s been supporting and helping us for a while, and when he told us about his new book, we were super excited. Here’s what they say about it:

“With over twenty-five years of experience helping shape the world’s most innovative companies including Apple, Nokia, Sony, Dyson and Google, Foster now steps out from behind the scenes to ask a deceptively simple question: how should we approach what’s next?

Rather than offering bold predictions, the book traces four dominant mindsets — Could, Should, Might, and Don’t — that define how we imagine what lies ahead. Foster examines their histories, their strengths, their blindspots and cultures, inviting us all to refine how we approach the unknown.

Ultimately, this is not just a book about future-thinking — it is a call to sharpen how we think about the future, so that what we build, plan, and leave behind matters.”

Have a taste yourself: couldshouldmightdont.com

oio open mic 🎤

anything and everything is welcome 🍱

The oio open mic™ is our monthly gathering where we share everything but work — shows, talks, fun facts, life hacks, sometimes even pizza. 🍕 Get a glimpse of what fuels our passion: