Wow, what a week. I just got back from Portland, where I hung out with tons of great Ruby folks, said and did lots of potentially embarrassing things, and gave a talk on designers and developers, working together. (“You got designer in my developer!” “You got developer in my designer!”) Downloads Grab the goods: Slide […]
There are so many things one could write if one were to, say, formulate a list of rules for design (and designers). I’m going to just stick with one, for now. The very first rule: Don’t insult the customer (Customer/viewer/user/reader/whatever) American Airlines obviously needs to learn this lesson. I mean, where can one even start? […]
In the screencast I did with Miles, we ended up talking quite a bit about how I approach the development and brainstorming process when I’m working on a new project. People seemed intrigued by the topic of conversation, so I’ve been preparing a longer treatise on the subject. In short: pen and paper is your […]
Speaking of pimpin’… Haml is a good example of a well-pimped product. You may not agree with their premise or execution, but doesn’t that site make you want to try it anyway? It’s also a great example of how good pimpin’ doesn’t necessarily require a flash design. (And by flash I mean “shiny” not, you […]
How do you raise awareness about stuff you make? How do you get people to download and try it, or sign up and try it—be it commercial, shareware, open source or otherwise free? How do you reduce the time you spend answering stupid questions which are answered in the FAQ, wiki, README, or whatever (if […]
Bored? Uninspired? Here are some juicy things to mull over. Watch out, tons of video embeds! Multi-touch Systems that are “general” UI, accepting multiple touch inputs: Touch Paint Not multi-touch, and flawed in a number of ways I can immediately point out, but still an interesting tech demo. Music And some specialized ones for music. […]
OK, it’s time to fess up. I want to hear about your worst design mistake. “Design” in this case can mean visual design, user interface design, product design, code design (software architecture)… basically anything you determined how it’d be made or fit together. I’d like to hear about something that made it to “production,” or […]
What better way is there to learn than to look at what you shouldn’t do? Lush isn’t just a nice word for “borderline alcoholic,” it’s the name of a global company. Lush makes its millions selling juicy bath-stuffs, shampoos, lovely soaps, and “bath bombs” which splutter bubbles and foam and tasty smells when dropped into […]
Certain color combinations can make your eyes water, others can make your eyes practically leap out of their sockets in delight. Colors can help instill confidence in a product, company, or design—or undermine it. Color can set the mood, or destroy it. Color can make you fit in, or stand out—and it depends on your […]
