Design Entries
07.21.2008
Vintage Elements
One of my favorites, though a limited source, for vintage elements is Chank's dingbat font, CrapMagnet Bonus. Visit Chank.com/freefonts.php for more free fonts. [+]
07.21.2008
Vintage Clip Art Collection
Abundant collection of ornaments, objects, fleurons, decorative borders and mortices with a vintage feel -- most are available for free. Via BriarPress.org [+]
06.22.2008
Design for Ugly
I ran across this tearful and inspirational story about Ugly that reminded me of what I detest about most design. Rather than focusing on our very basic need for meaningful interaction, most designers spend time unnecessarily on superficial elements. Look deeper inside. Focus on the emotional interaction. Design for Ugly. [+]
05.31.2008
Keeping Up With Social Tagging
An Adobe Connect-based screencast of a presentation on Social Tagging, Social Bookmarking by Thomas Vander Wal, commonly credited for coining the term folksonomy. [+]
04.22.2008
God is in the Details
...and lately she's been busy at 37 Signals: Designing Details: Autoscrolling the edit state. [+]
02.09.2008
Obama Posters by Shepard Fairey
Shepard Fairey designs Barack Obama's posters. [+]
01.28.2008
Vector Illustrations of People SIlhouettes
Sure you can try using Illustrator's auto trace feature to get a quick silhouette (that is, if you're lucky enough to have a background-less image to begin with) but why bother? Get free full-length vector illustrations of people silhouettes via StylizedWeb.com.You may also want to look into Subeve, a font option for silhouettes of women, from an earlier post. [+]
01.24.2008
Helvetica The Movie
First-time director Gary Hustwit's much-lauded documentary, Helvetica, is available to view -- in its entirety -- online for free. For reals! Fall in love with typography again. [+]
10.07.2007
Search Different
Nice markup tip on styling search boxes to look like OS X search boxes: OS X style searchbox. [+]
07.18.2007
Covet this: Grid Paper
Not just any old grid, these notepads use grids from renowned newspapers. Art of the grid [+]
07.18.2007
Lessons from Facebook's Redesign Fiasco
Jared Spool analyzes Facebook's mini-feed fiasco and offers recommendations for keeping users happy after a redesign... [+]
06.19.2007
A vacuum for kids of all ages
Adorable vacuum designed so little kids can sit on it and ride. If only my chores were like this when I was a kid... Rideable Vacuum Cleaner by Kristina Andersson [+]
04.30.2007
Chopstick Meets the Fork
Another one to add to my ongoing fascination with chopstick design -- The Chork is a cross between a fork and a chopstick. [+]
04.29.2007
Stapler that doesn't use metal staples
If you're stapling just a few sheets of paper, consider using the Staple Free Stapler. Really nice design staples sheets by tucking the paper into itself. No more prying off staples with your fingernails or choking the shredder by accidentally feeding it metal staples. [+]
04.29.2007
Comprehensive Table of Visualization Methods
Not sure why the author(s) decided to present these as a pseudo periodic table (there's no connection with the logic behind how chemical elements are arranged in periodic tables) but it's a handy collection of useful visualization types, nonetheless -- and it makes impressive cocktail napkin sketches! A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods [+]
03.09.2007
The Difference Between a Designer and a Production Artist
A designer's role is to solve problems; an artist's role is to execute solved problems. From jeffcroft.com, Bring me problems, not solutions [+]
03.09.2007
Free Fonts from exljbris
Beautifully crafted, complete families—all free ! My favorites: fontin and the aptly named delicious. exljbris [+]
03.09.2007
Grids and Web Design
Because most sites largely rely on text to communicate, applying well-thought grids and typography are the most critical building blocks to site design. As one commenter put it, "If a web designer gets the grid and typography right thats 90% of the battle." I agree. Here's an excellent roundup of good articles on grid systems on the Web: Grid systems in Web Design [+]
03.07.2007
The Fun Factor
“Simplification is a non-negotiable must, but really good user interface design has to offer other qualities too. One is fun...” from The digital challenge: Making easy-to-use devices. Sure, a lot of designers and product managers require their products to be simple and fun to use. The problem is making buttons puffy or glassy does not ... [+]
03.07.2007
Repeat after me: Web users scan...
You can never collect enough tips about effective copywriting for the Web: Does Your Copy Hold Up To A Quick Glance? [+]
02.06.2007
Free Font from Font Shop: Preface Light
A gorgeous, curvy typeface -- and it's free for a limited time! Font Shop Free Fonts Download [+]
02.02.2007
Judging a Book by Its Cover
"On average, a bookstore browser spends 8 seconds looking at a book's front cover and 15 seconds looking at the back cover. " Hmm, seems like we truly are a Blink society. Some book statistics. [+]
02.01.2007
Visual Patterns for Browsing
As I suspected, the content presentation affects how people scan a page. If you liked Nielsen's F-pattern analysis, you'll love this: Eye Gaze Patterns while Searching vs. Browsing a Website [+]
01.06.2007
Redesigning Private Labels
BusinessWeek's The Revenge of the Generic features a slideshow of private labels (aka generic brand) and how they are gaining ground with consumers through package design. Too bad they missed Publix in their feature which boasts the nicest private label package designs I've seen lately. [+]
12.10.2006
Don Norman's Heresy
Don Norman makes a rather provocative assertion: Simplicity Is Highly Overrated. "Given a choice, [people] will take the item that does more. Features win over simplicity... [+]
12.08.2006
Free Itty Bitty Little Things
Free (as in beer) 113 incredibly well-crafted 10x10 greyscale icons from Brand Spanking New. [+]
11.30.2006
Forms up the Wazoo
I really heart Smashing Magazine's well-curated collections of practical resources for designers. This time around, I stumbled upon a treasure trove of web forms resources: CSS-Based Forms: Modern Solutions. [+]
11.18.2006
Flags of the World, Redesigned
What if all the flags in the world underwent a redesign? This funny Flash movie walks us through flag redesigns through the client's commentary. Flags of the World. [+]
11.16.2006
Iterative Process
Great article on NetFlix's "release early, release often" philosophy. It's something I also try and get clients to embrace, to see the design process as Product Evolution (lots of small, yet constant improvements over time), instead of Product Development (as a large set of changes rolled out in a single event over a longer schedule). The Freedom of Fast Iterations: How Netflix Designs a Winning Web Site [+]
11.13.2006
Newspapers and Redesigns
It's been widely lamented that print newspaper circulation is on the decline. NewsDesigner.com recently examined what happens to circulation after the newspapers undergo a redesign: Redesigns and Circulation. (Sadly, it seems that design alone... [+]
11.13.2006
Draft Widget Spec
The W3C have published an initial working draft spec for Widgets. Via http://virtuelvis.com. [+]
11.08.2006
Visualizing the Art of Complex Problem Solving
The Art of Complex Problem Solving visually disentangled in a series of rollovers. Okay, so maybe it's still not that comprehensible. (Via Design Observer) [+]
11.05.2006
Site Adjustments for IE7
Etre analyses sites from the FTSE 100 to determine IE7's effects on page display. IE7: Were they ready? [+]
11.05.2006
CSS Forms
Stumbled upon this nice collection of stylesheets for enhancing web forms A CSS Stylesheet Collection for Web Forms. I especially like the repeat behavior and the input validation. [+]
11.04.2006
Motorola's Usability Issues
Of 55 Motorola customers surveyed, 78% said they wouldn't buy a Motorola phone again due to poor usability. Ease-of-use dogs Moto [+]
10.28.2006
IE7 CSS Bug
Rather ugly rendering bug discovered in IE7:IE7 bug 1: nested list (abs. positioned) is overrun by preceding link’s background colour. Via UX Magazine. [+]
10.25.2006
Great Scott
Interview with Si Scott, typographer with flourish: Type for you. If only you could do this in CSS. Dang. [+]
10.21.2006
Katrina Cottage Wins People's Design Award
The Katrina Cottage, designed by Marianne Cusato, wins the Cooper-Hewitt People's Design Award. (PS: The comments make for an interesting read.) [+]
10.14.2006
Shoes for Little Growing Feet
Great idea for children's growing feetsies, Inchworm Shows can grow up to 3 sizes up with a simple push of a button. Via Gizmodo [+]
10.05.2006
Ellen Lupton's Call for Free Fonts
In her Free Font Manifesto, Ellen Lupton urges foundries to offer good free fonts because they "have an explicit social purpose...[offering] the basics for maintaining literacy and communication within a society." [+]
10.05.2006
The Case of the Client and the Splash Page
In case you have a client who's been living under a rock for the past five years, here's nice read on why splash pages don't work from an SEO perspective: How to Convince a Client They Don't Need a Splash Page. (Also another tip if that client insists on a splash page: fire that client! ) [+]
10.01.2006
The Rise of a New Creative Class
Jared Spool on the Birth of a New Specialty: Social Networking Design. Speaking of which, if you haven't already, watch Danah Boyd's talk at iBiblio on social spaces. Yup, it's definitely an important niche. [+]
10.01.2006
Project Runway Meets Hack Day
All Women Team Takes Yahoo Hack Day Top Prize for their entry, Blogging in Motion, a photoblogging system in the guise of a handbag. For fans of Project Runway, you'll notice that one of the team members is Diana Eng, the season 2 wearables mistress who is clearly no stranger to 24-hour deadlines with crazy creative constraints. [+]
10.01.2006
The Meaning of Dashed Lines
Wonderful illustrated essay on the language of the dashed line (though far from complete): The dashed line in use. [+]
09.27.2006
Designing for Older People
Usability News offers 12 quick points to remember when designing for older folks though, I think, the first pointer pretty much says it all: "Older people are the same as younger poeple (sic). You don't change when you reach a... [+]
09.15.2006
Jonathan Ive: Design Rockstar
Very good, in-depth article about Apple's SVP for Industrial Design: Who Is Jonathan Ive? [+]
09.10.2006
Slightly Sharp
Tip on incrementally controlling Photoshop's Image Sharpening filter: Controlled Image Sharpening with Photoshop CS2. In case you missed it, here's an earlier post on demystifying Photoshop's sharp vs. unsharp mask. [+]
09.08.2006
Using Screenshots for Color Reference for Page Tweaks
Funny enough, I had a conversation wtih someone a couple of days ago about why designers shouldn't use screenshots as a reference template for page tweaks because of color management issues. This post talks about those issues on OSX though the real meaty gems of wisdom are in the comments #3, #5, and #10. [+]
09.07.2006
Screen Type Preview Tool
Easily visualize, compare and generate the CSS markup for screen typography with Font Tester: preview screen type. It has pretty hideous default settings but, hey, it's effective, comes with a good number of customizable properties and it's free! [+]
09.04.2006
Free Dingbats
Loads of free dingbat fonts are available at Dingbat Depot. Also a couple of nice dingbat fonts... [+]
08.31.2006
Great Typography = Design
I really relished SvN's commentary on Penguin’s Great Ideas = great design. I love great typography and am sickened when a client (or two) look at type-only directions as being bereft... [+]
08.29.2006
Smart Letter Opener
Epistola is no just a gorgeous sliver of a letter opener, it can also determine the weight of your mail. [+]
08.27.2006
WDW Presentations
Google videos of presentations from Web Design World 2006, Seattle includes Jeffrey Veen on Designing Next Gen Web Apps and Molly Holzschlag on Designing for Web 2.0: From Markup to Microformats, from Semantics to Ajax. [+]
08.25.2006
Packaging Font ID, part 2
Another FontShop instalment on identifying fonts used on product packaging. This time around, they roam the aisles of Target: Design Outside the Box. [+]
08.24.2006
PMS to RGB Decoder Ring
A lookup table for converting Pantone colors to Hex values. Color Codes Matching Chart HTML (Pantone, CMYK, RGB Hex). Now if only someone would do the same for TOYO. [+]
08.24.2006
Six-Sided Design
My favorite mentor calls it "six-sided design". BusinessWeek's sensible tips on package design, The Art of Boxing, applies to just about anything in a box -- not just games. [+]
08.22.2006
Boxes and...not much else
A few popular websites shown with their contents stripped: Internet Soul Portraits. Sad thing is, some sites are just ugly right down to their bones. [+]
08.22.2006
IE7 CSS Changes
IE has made "over 200 behavior changes" which includes fixing a number of bugs from Position Is Everything. Oh joy! Well, that is, if only folks would stop using earlier versions of IE altogether. IE Blog: Details on our CSS changes for IE7. [+]
08.18.2006
CSS3 Sneak Peek
I got pretty excited about the proposed CSS3 column spec. Here is a sneak peek at a few more proposed features in CSS3: CSS3 Preview. Especially exciting: rounded borders! But, do we really need CSS support for text drop shadows? [+]
08.17.2006
CSS Optimizers Tested
Blogging Pro does a great job of testing a handful of free CSS optimizers so you don't have to: CSS Optimization: Make Your Sites Load Faster for Free [+]
08.17.2006
del.icio.us Thumbnails
The popular bookmarking site, del.icio.us, now sports thumbnails. Nice technical feat but I'm not sure if it helps clutter and other usability issues. [+]
08.16.2006
DIY Heatmaps
Create your own heatmap based on user clicks. The Definitive Heatmap [+]
08.12.2006
Quotes on Design
For those who think knowing Photoshop automatically makes one a designer then, please, read Thoughts on Design and be enlightened. For the rest of us, read on and reaffirm what you already know. As Jane Jacobs put it so beautifully: "Design is people." [+]
08.08.2006
More Fun in the Supermarket
Earlier, FontShop identified a number of popular magazine typefaces. This time, they've hit the supermarket and uncovered the typefaces found in packaging. Tasty Type. Also, if you missed it last time, Typographica identified a handful of Threadless T-shirt fonts. [+]
08.08.2006
Free Font
FF Milo Regular available for free this month from FontShop. Also, Charriot Deluxe bitmap font available for free August 8 only via MyFonts.com. [+]
08.08.2006
Ode to Helvetica
The ultimate tribute to that ubiquitous typeface: Helvetica, a documentary film by Gary Hustwit. [+]
08.03.2006
Saffer's Intro to Interaction Design
An interview with Adaptive Path's Dan Saffer offers a historical tour of the evolving field of interaction design. Interaction Design: An Introduction. [+]
08.03.2006
Lost in the Supermarket
While shopping for food at the supermarket the other day, I was surprised to hear The Clash's "Lost in the Supermarket" being played on their Muzak selection. I certainly appreciated hearing a tune that I could identify with but also began to wonder why supermarkets in general haven't changed in decades. First, there's the shopping cart. Certainly IDEO has considered that shopping carts can be improved upon. Then, In Austria, MPREIS, billed as the "seriously sexy supermarket" has really upended... [+]
07.29.2006
Users Are Opting for More Dynamic Interaction
Interesting study from University of Hamburg which reveals that, over time, the use of the browser's back button has decreased by half suggesting a trend toward increased interactivity and form submission... [+]
07.27.2006
Happy Users Oversimplified
PingMag's article on 5 Web Design Patterns for Happy Users is attention-grabbing though somewhat presumptuous about the universal preferences of all users... [+]
07.22.2006
Sustainable Cardboard House
Add The Cardboard House to the list of affordable kit homes with style. [+]
07.21.2006
More on Baby Product Design
Earlier, I pointed out a smart design solution for the dropped pacifier problem. Coincidentally, I ran into a BusinessWeek feature today on The New Baby-Gear Boom, a slideshow of redesigned products for babies. Except for one, the Philips DECT Baby Monitor, the products they featured were frightfully overdesigned and... [+]
07.20.2006
Taskonomy-Based UI
The inimitable Don Norman on Logic Versus Usage: The Case for Activity-Centered Design. He cites the findings of anthropologists Dougherty and Keller and their observation of task-based organization, or taskonomy, for how humans structure their tools according to activity. [+]
07.18.2006
Typographic-Speak
So, you at least know that leading is pronounced LED-ing (you do, dontcha?), now here's your chance to really impress others at the next typographic cocktail party. Great thread on how to pronounce those typographic luminaries' names such as Ed Benguiat and Zuzana Licko: How do you say "Tschichold?" and Pronunciation Question. [+]
07.18.2006
Smart Design Pacifier
About time someone solved the issue of keeping pacifiers clean every time they're dropped: Always Clean Baby Pacifier. [+]
07.17.2006
Client-Designer Relationships: The Abridged Version
In this day and age, I'm surprised to find the occasional client who still thinks a designer is no more than a (insert graphical application here) monkey. Seth knows otherwise and this is one of the many reasons I respect this man: How to live happily with a great designer. I'm inclined to include this in my proposals as a guideline for client-designer relationships...some clients can really use it. [+]
07.14.2006
Magazine Fonts Revealed
Font Shop goes to the newsstands and identifies the typographic mixes that make up a number of my type favorites including Wallpaper, Real Simple and Icon. Glyphs in the Glossies. [+]
07.12.2006
Eyetracking Forms
Take an eye-tracking setup plus a bunch of forms and you have one set of interesting outcomes on optimal label format and position for online foms. Label Placement in Forms. My only quibble here is I don't know how long the form was that was used in the test (which is one reason why a designer may want to opt for applying labels beside their respective fields). Interesting read nonetheless. [+]
07.10.2006
Chopstick Design
I'm especially fond of chopsticks as they are the embodiment of simplicity and minimalism. (I even made a circuit-based chopstick game that's a little over-engineered.) So I was delighted to see PingMag's article on portable chopsticks: Portable Chopstick Designs. I love the Muji design (natch!) most of all. [+]
07.08.2006
Microsoft's Vista Fonts Pose CSS Headaches
Folks at NeoSmart Files take Microsoft's new fonts (see previous post on MSFT's new fonts) for a spin in the real world and find some prickly issues. CSS & Vista's New Fonts [+]
07.08.2006
W3C's Draft Spec for Columns in CSS3
The proposed spec outlines a more simplified approach to defining columns with new column properties such as column-count, column-width, column-rule and column-gap: Multi Column layout in CSS. [+]
07.07.2006
Impulsive Color
According to a brief article from Dr. Stephen Juan for The Register, Red-orange, black, and royal blue attracts impulse buyers. Interestingly enough, when I worked in magazine publishing, red-orange covers often did outsell other color covers in newsstands. [+]
07.06.2006
Reading Behaviors on the Web
Is reading on the Web really different? It's not all that different from offline reading behaviors, according to Caroline Jarrett, though, once again, context is the key. [+]
07.04.2006
Hot Dates, Geek-Style
Christian Montoya's tips for getting hot dates with CSS. [+]
07.03.2006
How I Spend My Workdays and Holidays
A pretty accurate pie chart of the time breakdown for web design/production: The breakdown of Modern Web Design. [+]
06.28.2006
FontShop's Freebie
Download FontShop's featured free font: URW Grotesk Extra Light Extra Wide -- clean, thin, geometric and elegant. [+]
06.28.2006
Name That (Threadless) Font
Next time you're caught staring at someone's chest, it better be because you're trying to identify their T-shirt font: Threadless Tee Shirt Fonts. [+]
06.26.2006
Banner Blindness
People ignore things that are irrelevant (and, in my case, fugly) -- so why do many businesses still insist on peppering websites with banners? Research: Internet Users Plagued by 'Banner Blindness'. [+]
06.25.2006
Majority are at 1024 x 768 resolutions...now what?
Nearly 80% of all Web users worldwide are at 1024 x 768 resolutions or higher and more than half are at 1024 x 768 according to OneStat. While it's tempting to start designing pages that occupy the full 1024 width, don't. Keep in mind that most folks typically don't expand their browsers... [+]
06.23.2006
AmEx Butterfly Card
AmEx's new Butterfly card design has been receiving a lot of press lately though I fail to see how this is a better design? It's thicker, unnecessarily uses more materials and doesn't fit into a wallet or pants pockets. I'd file this under gratuitous design. Via Cool Hunting. [+]
06.19.2006
50 Tips on The Art and Business of Design
Very helpful tips (if not reminders) on ideation, execution, best practices and minefields for designers: Computer Arts: 50 ways to become a better designer. [+]
06.16.2006
Spiekermann Uncensored
Erik Spiekermann, esteemed designer, typographer and founder of MetaDesign, openly criticizes the World Cup design as "Just Embarrassing". [+]
06.16.2006
Link Love
Jared Spool extols the merits of link-rich sites: Lifestyles of the Link-Rich Home Pages. [+]
06.14.2006
Re-Branding Mistakes
Great list of tips that brand stakeholders (not just marketers) often make when re-thinking their brand: ReBrand's Top 20 Mistakes Marketers Make. [+]
06.12.2006
Car Design: Luxury and Complexity
According to a study by JD Powers, the high price tag for premium features on many luxury cars apparently don't include usability. How Do You Turn On The #@!&% Air? [+]
06.10.2006
(Re-)Design Observer
Their old Trendy MT template allowed them to "focus on the content first." Now, form follows function. Redesign of Design Observer [+]
06.07.2006
Accessibility for the Elderly, Visually-Impaired
Two interesting products that address accessibility for the visually impaired and the growing elderly population. SpeakOn, developed by blind entrepreneur Chris Mairs, is a new device that challenges the paradigm of current screen readers such as JAWS to make the web accessible to the blind. According to Mairs... [+]
06.06.2006
More Goofy Military Wear
Another one to add to the list of goofy military attire...this time, they get German-designed strap-ons: Special Forces Get 'Strap-On Wings' via The Raw Feed. [+]
06.06.2006
Paper Prototyping Resources
Download a handful of resources for conducting paper prototypes for usability testing: paperprototyping.com downloads. [+]
06.04.2006
Hospital Features All Rooms with Sunny Exposure
Smart solution to sunless windows! Patients in Revolving Hospital Have Sunny Rooms All Day via Modern Mechanix. [+]
06.01.2006
The Homepage Challenge: 20 Words, 27 Seconds
According to Jakob Nielsen, people read only about 20 words on the homepage. Most don't scroll to look at additional content below the fold (we already know this one, right?). And that users spend about 27 seconds on a homepage, mostly scanning for links (of course, they've already formed a first impression in the blink of an eye). [+]
05.29.2006
UNIQLO SoHo
UNIQLO -- the Japanese clothing company that's a cross between Banana Republic's affordable, casual yet refined aesthetic and the Body Shop's socially responsible raison d'etre -- will be opening a retail store in NY City's SoHo. They have launched a... [+]
05.29.2006
Skeet Shoot: The General Theory of Design
I empathize/commiserate with Brian Sooy's poignant General Theory of Design: "Design consists of creating things for clients who may not know what they want... [+]
05.27.2006
Times New Roman
As previously posted, Microsoft plans to include newly-crafted fonts in their next OS and Office releases. What wasn't known at the time was that apparently they will be sunsetting Times New Roman and will replace it with Calibri -- a sans serif... [+]
05.25.2006
Book Cover Design
A site dedicated to book cover artwork: Book Covers. Among my favorites... [+]
05.15.2006
Affordable Homes with Style
Thanks to some well known-brands that include Dwell and Ikea, streamlined, modernist style have now made their way into prefab homes. Just bring your own land and labor, and you're all set. Prefab Homes Get Fabulous. [+]
05.12.2006
PDF Versions of Current Magazines for Free!
Free PDF eMagazines of popular newsstand titles including Make vol. 5, the May 2006 edition, Step Inside Design, April 2006 issue -- even the current issue of Harvard Business Review -- and much more. (Yes, you read it right -- FREE!) [+]
05.12.2006
Kill Them with Laughter
US troops complained that their new government-issued protective armor suits make them look "too goofy". Bwhahahahaha...indeed, they look like a putty-colored Michelin man! Telegraph | News | Armoured suits are 'too goofy' say US troops. [+]
05.11.2006
As Seen On...The Big Screen
Curious about the name of the typeface used on a movie title? Linotype has identified a few of them for you: Movie Fonts - Linotype Font Lounge... [+]
05.08.2006
Five Days, Five Eyetracking Studies
Etre is publishing an eyetracking study over a five-day period beginning today: Five days: Dixons.co.uk. [+]
05.05.2006
McDonald's Makeover
McDonald's unveils a revamped look for their franchises. But, the clean, simple lines and iPod aesthetic are the antithesis of their food which is superfluous and unrefined. Do they really think you can change customer perception that easily through store camouflage? [+]
05.05.2006
Forms Design
I am irked by eCommerce sites that require you to create a member account first before you are allowed to make a purchase. Why not simply integrate the new member registration process seamlessly into the checkout process? EGM Strategy offers... [+]
05.02.2006
Poor Usability for Mobile TV
Research conducted by Amberlight reveals that while consumers want mobile TV, they are "put off by poor design and user experience." picturephoning.com: Poor user experience puts consumers off mobile TV in droves. [+]
05.01.2006
Design for Invisibility
Good design disguises the complex mess that runs behind things. "To be truly successful, a complex technology needs to 'disappear'". Now you see it, now you don't | Economist.com. [+]
04.30.2006
Death & Information Graphics
Somewhat macabre, but it seems that artists/designers have found interesting ways to convey death statistics. The New York Times, for instance, recently ran a graphical map showing homicides in New York City's five boroughs between 2003 and 2005: Homicides and Crime in New York City - New York Times Interactive Graphic. Instead of their typical... [+]
04.29.2006
Site Usability for Kids and Teens
"Teens prefer a simple and clean design and feel that functionality often gets lost in the more elaborately designed sites where download speed is also often compromised." This reaffirms what I discovered in my thesis research as well as observations on usability conducted for a number of children's sites. for A number of tips on designing for a young audience: Content Matters: Designing Usable Sites for Children and Teens. [+]
04.28.2006
Eye Tracking Case Study: Virgin Megastore
Eyetracking study of the Virgin Megastore homepage showing how users change their visual focus with a simple banner change: Blog - Etre. [+]
04.25.2006
Photoshop Browser Templates
If you ever need to show mockups within specific browser environments, then you'll want to download this free Photoshop template: Free Photoshop browser templates for webdesigners and screendesigners | webdesignerstoolkit.com. [+]
04.24.2006
Design Gestalt
An essay from IDEO's Diego Rodriguez defines Design as a sum of many parts: It's the Ecosystem, Stupid. As I pointed out previously with Joel Spolsky's essay, designers should approach and view Design holistically rather than fragmenting it into artificial, myopic sub-practices. [+]
04.15.2006
Samsung's Virtual Screen for Mobiles
Samsung has applied for a patent on a virtual, projected screen as an alternative input mechanism to QWERTY thumb keyboards, according to a report from unwired.com. View illustration of proposed concept [+]
04.15.2006
Demystifying Photoshop's Sharpen, Unsharp Mask
Helpful tips from the stock.xchng community on when to use Sharpen vs. Unsharpen mask without sacrificing color fidelity: stock.xchng: Sharpen/Unsharpen. [+]
04.12.2006
Joel on Design
Finally, a cogent essay on the importance of design -- particularly in how he defines design and distinguishes it from decoration: Joel on Software - Great Design: What is Design? (First Draft). You know the folks who have been peddling Experience Design as the new black? Guess what folks, it's redundant. Design = Experience. It always was, always will be. [+]
04.01.2006
Good Magazine
Beautifully designed magazine, GOOD MAGAZINE | What Matters, done by Area 17. It has the typical impeccable typography and gridwork of Arnaud Mercier. What a good magazine, indeed. [+]
03.28.2006
Usability for Geezers
Tips on improving usability for web users aged 60+. Improve Usability for Older Users [Usability and Information Architecture]. [+]
03.10.2006
MSFT Origami
Microsoft finally released official product shots of the much-ballyhooed Ultra-Mobile PC (aka Origami Project). Ultra compact computing: great idea. Execution: butt-ugly... [+]
03.05.2006
Sanscons Icon Set
Nicely executed bitmap icons for general web/blog functions are available for free download and use at Sanscons: SOME RANDOM DUDE. Aside from being free, these icons' background colors can easily be customized via CSS. Nice work!... [+]
02.28.2006
The New Laws of Digital Technology
Great report from the ACM on the "Rules for the Age of User Experience". Among my favorites: You can't make things easier by adding to them. Any feature that requires learning will only be adopted by a small fraction of... [+]
02.27.2006
Drunk Driving Ad Campaign
Brilliant. From Advertising/Design Goodness.... [+]
02.23.2006
IDEO Seeking Design Interns
From IDEO: “IDEO helps companies innovate. We design products, services, environments, and digital experiences for organizations seeking new ways to provide value to their customers. IDEO creates visible and tangible strategies for innovation and executes all aspects of design and... [+]
12.07.2005
21st Century Garanimals
A little fashion-challenged? Maybe you're even a bit colorblind? The wearable fashion design team at Keiko University is working on a wearable prototype that changes its LED color display depending on biofeedback (such as body temperature).... [+]
12.01.2005
Double Entendre Logos
Examples of logos not done by Paul Rand. Oh internet, why do you provide me with a constant source of amusement?... [+]
10.09.2005
Google, please take some design lessons!
Google Reader made its public debut this week and I was unimpressed. They seemed to have focused on AJAXing everything in their dev queue without much regard for UI. Not that there's anything wrong with AJAX but, it does seem... [+]
09.29.2005
MIT Media Lab Laptop
Now, I love Macs but this MIT Media Lab $100 laptop is loaded with enough thoughtful details to make me platform-agnostic. The laptop is the proposed design for the OLPC campaign spearheaded by Nicholas Negroponte, MIT Media Lab co-founder, Joe... [+]
09.19.2005
Logo Mashup
Great analysis of re-designing identity for merged organizations.... [+]
09.18.2005
Bingo!
From a branding viewpoint, the site is almost entirely functional in layout and does not generate much emotion. BusinessWeek's article, Petsmart Needs Fixing, hits it right on the head. The trouble with many usability groups is they don't know how... [+]
08.21.2005
Flippin' Mattress
A recent piece on the mathematics of flipping your mattress on American Scientist Online made me think of bed simplification. I not only make my bed every morning, I also flip/turn my mattress seasonally. And I do this by design.... [+]
08.19.2005
Websites Designed for Boys?
According to this study conducted by the University of Glamorgan, most websites are designed to appeal more to men regardless of the site's target audience. 94% of the sites displayed a masculine orientation with just 2% displaying a typically female... [+]
08.06.2005
Use as directed!
Append the exclamation mark to anything and it metamorphoses the banal and lifeless into something that bounces with zeal and passion. Take a look at Yahoo! and tompeters! as examples. And, then there's the interrobang: how the superimposition of the... [+]
08.02.2005
Minimalist Billboard
Sounds like an oxymoron, I know, but I did stumble upon a billboard ad with a witty concept and minimalist execution. Winner of the Cannes Lions Live Bronze award for outdoor advertising, this billboard for a suntan lotion was meticulously... [+]
07.01.2005
Temporarily Disable Curly Quotes in InDesign
In InDesign, you do want to set curly quotes on as a default. But what happens if you want to use non-curly quotes for inch (") and foot (') marks? Here's how! From InDesign Magazine's Tip of the Week: Sometimes... [+]
06.09.2005
Ask Metafilter
Mark Hurst pointed out to me this thread from Ask Metafilter where the following question was posted: The pdf manifestos over at Change This are gorgeous! How are they doing it? Before I could add my two cents, I was... [+]
03.20.2005
Easy, Breezy Favicons
Wow, not too long ago, creating favicons required tinkering with obscure graphics converters and resampling palettes. Now, it's this easy.... [+]
03.19.2005
MSFT to Introduce New Fonts in 2006
Sick of verdana and trebuchet? Well, coming in 2006, Microsoft will be releasing six new typefaces -- including one by Luc(as) de Groot -- as part of their OS. Luc de Groot designed one of my favorite typefaces, Thesis. And, not so surprisingly, Calibris, one of the six new typefaces to debut in 2006, looks very similar to Thesis Sans... [+]
03.17.2005
Amaztype
Latest viral Flash application from Yugop: Amaztype. Amazing indeed.... [+]
02.28.2005
Mac's Interface Design Originator Dies at 61
Jeff Raskin, Apple's employee #31, died today. He is credited for designing the Mac's revolutionary graphical user interface. Thank you, Jeff, for your gift. Read the Wired story.... [+]
02.13.2005
Fontifier
A few folks have complimented my handwriting and have suggested that it would make a nice font. Enter Fontifier -- just download the template, scribble, upload ... a few internet winks later ... voila! Your own penmanship as a font!... [+]
02.02.2005
Most Unusual Blog
Not your run-of-the-mill blog. I found myself flipping through the collections of ... oh, I don't even know what to call it. You'll just have to see for yourself! http://www.3580.com/... [+]
02.02.2005
Delicious Book on Type
New book from Ellen Lupton, Thinking with Type, set with my favorite type family, Thesis. (As an aside, I selected Thesis to be the official AOL typeface). With sections titled, "X-HEIGHTS 'Do I look fat in this paragraph?'," this promises... [+]
02.02.2005
Pramulator
A Hummer of a pram made of hand-shaped aluminum. Uggh! It's like school in the summer: no class.... [+]
01.07.2005
Color Picker
Color Wheel is a neat color picker tool that includes websafe and websmart selectors.... [+]
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