The Hughtrain Mark Two (gapingvoid)
Hugh MacLeod trims his weighty Hughtrain Manifesto down to a svelte 418 words. less is definitely more; this is a document that every marketer, designer, and exec (especially C-level) should take to heart.
(tags:
business
manifesto
hughtrain
creativity
ethics
communication
advice
marketing
)
Design engineering: the next step (Cooper | Journal of Design)
Alan Cooper […]
YSlow for Firebug
The fine folks at Yahoo! have rolled their fourteen front-end optimization guidelines into an add-on for Firebug (itself an add-on for Firefox) that scores your site’s performance in cached and uncached scenarios. Very helpful.
(tags:
performance
javascript
web
development
browser
analytics
)
Steve Souders: “High Performance Web Sites” (Yahoo! Video)
Steve Souders discusses Yahoo!’s 14 front-end optimization […]
White Is the New White (A Brief Message)
Stephen Heller riffs quickly (is that possible?) on white and whitespace and fashion and design. A healthy reminder to include plenty of white, even if it isn’t exactly white the color. Air. Space. Ease. Important.
(tags:
design
color
)
Designing a Color Graphics Page (NASA Ames RC)
This checklist outlines an ordered […]
Photoshop Secret Shortcuts
Web Designer Wall reveals ome Photoshop tricks that, while not closely-guarded secrets, can save those of us who spend time there many minutes each day. They key to navigating Photoshop quickly are key commands and key/mouse combos.
(tags:
photoshop
shortcuts
tips
tutorial
productivity
cheatsheet
adobe
)
As Apple Gains PC Market Share, Jobs Talks of a Decade of Upgrades (New York Times)
There’s a nugget hidden in the third-to-last graf of this article: “there are no ‘verbs’ in the iPhone interface”. While this isn’t strictly true, it does nicely summarize the goal of direct, intuitive manipulation: no choosing to do, just doing.
(tags: […]
Lazy Function Definition Pattern (Peter’s Blog)
Peter Michaux points out a closure technique where a function redefines itself when it is first evaluated. Interesting thinking which could be easily applied to browser capability testing (preventing repeated re-testing of things already known).
(tags:
javascript
programming
patterns
performance
)
CSS techniques I use all the time (Christian Montoya)
Chris Montoya details the tools int he top tray of his CSS toolkit, including browser resetting, percentage finagling (minus 0.4% on column totals, for example), and more good ones. Worth a look even if you fancy yourself a CSS brahmin.
(tags:
css
tips
reference
web
browser
code
)
The Showcase Of BIG Typography (Smashing Magazine)
Smashing shows off 35 (through they claim “over 35) examples of well-executed large type in web design. I’m a big fan of large type and have not used it to the extent I’d like to, thought it is beginning to creep in to my work.
(tags:
design
fonts
inspiration
typography
[…]
Every time I elect to subscribe to someone’s RSS feed I am presented with this well-meaning page:
I have NEVER clicked on “Add to Google homepage.” I ALWAYS click on “Add to Google Reader.” Google probably knows this. I grab and shed feeds rather quickly, so this page is a frequent (and frequently annoying) interruption […]
Corruption Lecture - alpha version (Lessig Blog)
Lessig on point as usual. The refrain: “Three easy cases that governments consistently get wrong.” The common thread: the influence of money on politics and media resulting in the destruction of public goods, i.e. corruption.
(tags:
constitution
lessig
presentation
politics
ethics
corruption
)
A Visual Explanation of SQL Joins (Coding Horror)
Jeff Atwood has a great post revealing visually how SQL joins work. this is an area that even experienced DBAs have trouble with, so his well-executed venn diagrams are especially welcome. Good info, good info design.
(tags:
cheatsheet
database
visual
reference
programming
sql
joins
infodesign
)
Random TinyURL Browser (Unit Structures)
Fred […]
If you use Firefox you should use
Google Browser Sync
. Seriously.
Google Browser Sync (GBS hereinafter, because I’m lazy) is a Firefox extension that caches your cookies, history, bookmarks, open tabs, and saved passwords on Google’s servers for your later use. You can encrypt the data, ostensibly preventing even Google from reading it, and you can […]
“We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.” — JFK
I received an eVite today, the first in a long while. It was not a great experience.
Strike one: lack of context.
The HTML email message was pretty, but nearly information-free: it contained the sender’s name, the name of the event, and a smattering of descriptive text (that the sender deliberately kept short). No location, no […]
Interactive Gestures Pattern Library
Dn Saffer (of Adaptive Path fame) has begun a wiki to collect information abot gestural interface patterns. It is in its infancy, but already inspirational. ‘ve contributed, and plan to do more.
(tags:
design
gesture
interface
interaction
software
computer
)
Replug; save your jack
MagSafe comes to the 3.5mm audio jack. This is sorely needed; a USB A version would be even better. The leverage one can put against one’s motherboard is staggering, especially with Belkin cables. Also, port covers for 17” MacBook Pro.
(tags:
computer
accessories
safety
)
well…: Send. Receive. Period. {5}
Thibaut Sailly (a french industrial designer […]
Keeping track of ideas to let them grow » I think therefore IA (Livia Labate)
Livia Labate details how she encourages her coworkers (and herself) to collect and publish ideas rather than letting them fade quickly away. I’m going to make such a wall RIGHT NOW.
(tags:
ideas
creativity
collaboration
work
design
productivity
sharing
inspiration
)
Experience is the Product: Why designers will never succeed in product design by simply doing product design
Peter Merholz drives home the argument that it is not the design of a product that matters, it is the design of the whole experience using the product, surrounding the product. Definitely worth a read.
(tags:
design
experience
ux
strategy
[…]