March 9, 2012
I don’t take unsolicited redesigns very seriously because they by their nature they avoid all the issues and interchange that come with a true designer/client relationship, but Sputnik8’s proposed design for Windows 8 is fantastic. It is a lost future, in the same way that old illustrations of the hover cars we were sure to have by 1950 are lost futures. Nevertheless it is beautfiul and worth paying attention to on its own merits.
March 2, 2012
Mark Willis wrote about a couple of things Apple should do to improve their products. The first has been a constant frustration for me since the first release iPhone.
February 28, 2012
The finale of Kirby Ferguson’s Everything is a Remix is up and, true to form, it is fantastic. If intellectual property sounds boring, this might just convince you that it is the one of the more important issues of our time.
February 14, 2012
A beautiful video remembering Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
February 8, 2012
Picking a CMS is a daunting, but necessary, task. The platform that powers a website will influence how it is built, maintained, updated, and more. It is a significant investment in time to learn a new CMS and an investment to maintain. I just read an article that very clearly lists the factors to consider in this decision at Web Designer Depot. I cannot say which single CMS is best for every situation. I doubt anybody could, but this article is a great start for finding what is best for your project.
February 1, 2012
Following up on SOPA/PIPA the Freakonomics folks give Hollywood’s estimates of loss to piracy a second look and it is not flattering.
January 25, 2012
This presentation from Build by Wilson Miner will grab you and not let go. Clear 40 minutes of your day and watch it.
January 20, 2012
Marco Arment brings a well-reasoned end to the celebration over the temporary SOPA/PIPA defeat…
January 17, 2012
Gruber linked to this earlier:
All I can think is: we gave you the Internet. We gave you the Web. We gave you MP3 and MP4. We gave you e-commerce, micropayments, PayPal, Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, the iPad, the iPhone, the laptop, 3G, wifi—hell, you can even get online while you’re on an AIRPLANE. What the hell more do you want from us?
Take the truck, the boat, the helicopter, that we’ve sent you. Don’t wait for the time machine, because we’re never going to invent something that returns you to 1965 when copying was hard and you could treat the customer’s convenience with contempt.
This sums up the disconnect between DRM in all forms and the forward march of technology. Embrace tech or die, people will pay you if you make it easy for them to do so.
January 13, 2012
Shawn Blanc wrote one of the best posts I’ve read it recent memory. It is an excellent reminder for anyone who defines themselves by materials things.
January 2, 2012
This article by William Deresiewicz has been getting noticed quite a bit over the last couple days. I wholeheartedly recommend reading it. Here is a sample:
We have a crisis of leadership in America because our overwhelming power and wealth, earned under earlier generations of leaders, made us complacent, and for too long we have been training leaders who only know how to keep the routine going. Who can answer questions, but don’t know how to ask them. Who can fulfill goals, but don’t know how to set them. Who think about how to get things done, but not whether they’re worth doing in the first place. What we have now are the greatest technocrats the world has ever seen, people who have been trained to be incredibly good at one specific thing, but who have no interest in anything beyond their area of expertise. What we don’t have are leaders.
Go read it, you will be happy you did.
December 14, 2011
A great video about Protect IP from the maker of one of my favorite series Everything is a Remix.
December 9, 2011
Twitter revamped their user interface yesterday on their iPhone and Android apps, as well as their website. It is a pretty significant change and I am of two minds about it.
December 6, 2011
Mills Baker wrote a great post about why compromise can be such a dirty word when it comes to getting things done.
November 15, 2011
William Gibson on technological externalities:
We’re increasingly aware that our society is driven by these unpredictable uses we find for the products of our imagination.
November 10, 2011
Thomas Brand’s review of Pixelmator:
I like to think of Pixelmator as the version of Photoshop Adobe would have made if they still cared about designing great creative software for the Mac.
My thoughts exactly. I love Pixelmator, and I’m finding new ways to use it every day.
November 6, 2011
Microsoft has released a video showing it’s view of the future. Let’s take a look, comparing it to Apple’s view of today.
October 29, 2011
Stephen Fry on Steve Job’s design focus, characterized by some as showmanship:
August 27, 2011
John Gruber linked to this as well. What a great video of Jobs explaining the computer.
August 17, 2011
What a cool project. Aggregating such a massive data set in such an appealing way is always a treat to watch.
August 6, 2011
Technology is not an invisible force; it is not still air waiting to be blown hither or thither. No, technology is the work of people, and insofar as technology “values” anything, it reflects the values of its creators and users. Technology is born with intent. We ignore that intent at our peril. Alex Payne — [...]
July 6, 2011
I’ve mentioned this a couple times on Twitter, but really wanted to point anyone I can to my favorite internet video series, Everything is a Remix. The latest edition ends with this inspiring quote from Henry Ford:
February 26, 2011
I recently started using a Tumblr blog to post things that I like as I find them throughout the day. Check it out and let me know what you think.
February 10, 2011
I ran across this blog a couple of days ago (I can’t remember who referred it to me, sorry) and immediately knew I’d be a frequent visitor. Katie Quinn is a self described foodie based in Sydney, Australia and her photographs are stunning. It makes my mind turn on a cook book design project I’ve been slow cooking for a while now.
December 1, 2009
I first became familiar with Dieter Rams when I recently watched Objectified. His design sensibilities really resonate with me and today I found out about two online interviews with him from some timely tweets. He has a lot to teach when it comes to the objects that make up our lives. After watching these videos I was struck with how much Dieter’s ideas apply to interactive design as well. Check them out, if you’re anything like me, you’ll really enjoy them.
April 15, 2009
Letterpress has been on the brain the lately. In class we recently toward the Hatch Show at Seattle’s EMP. Their catalog of work is really impressive. We were also able to tour and see a demonstration at Sev Shoon, in Ballard. The craftsmanship and hard work that goes into creating these pieces really impresses me. I found the video below that discusses a reprinting of the Bible in Letterpress in the tradition of Gutenberg. Arion Press’ efforts are especially impressive today. Their craft is slowly being phased out for cheaper and quicker means of production. I suppose it is the natural progression of things but it is also impressive to see Letterpress practitioners at work.
April 1, 2009
One of my favorite books for design inspiration is Pictograms, Icons and Signs by Rayan Abdullah and Roger Hubner. One of the discoveries within that I find most interesting are the Olympic pictograms, the little figures that represent the different events.
