15 Posts in “Design”
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The Tyranny of the Default
Its difficult to talk about virtual tyranny when real tyranny is knocking on the country’s door — if its not already made itself very comfortable in our favorite chair. But this feels relevant to me as I think more about being...
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Personalization might be the Biggest Problem
A recent article in my feed communicated something that I have been thinking pretty well, so I reproduce it here: …modern maps put everyone at the centre of the world. […] countries put themselves at the centre of world maps....
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The Internet, what sustains it, and Future-thinking
Been thinking about the future of the web quite a bit lately. I am not a futurist, so it is difficult to see what is happening now and then project that into the future. While I can be an optimist...
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Seeking the best To Do app for me
I’ve been on the hunt for To Do list management for some time now. I come back to paper lists again and again. There is something so satisfying about crossing something off, and then copying items over to a new...
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Gentrified by design: Reflections on the role of algorithms in creative work.
Quotes and takeaways “[A]lgorithm-based curation leads us to consume content that is less diverse and more generic. It also shapes the content we create, whether we fully acknowledge that or not.” “[C]ulture has become increasingly homogeneous” and the homogenity of...
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Tips for presenting design case studies in an interview?
“Any tips for presenting design case studies in an interview?” a friend recently asked. Most certainly. ✦ Don’t bury the outcome with a big reveal. Many times I’ve watched patiently as designers wait until the end to share the final...
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Tina Seelig — Constraints Drive Creativity
Tina Seelig, author of “inGenius,” “Creativity Rules,” and recently “What I wish I knew when I was 20.” Quotes & ideas When you challenge assumptions, you open the aperture of what is possible. Example: Gave students each $5. Think about...
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Distractions as Processing Time
Thinking and reading about distractions, whether or not they are good or bad. When someone talks about technology (i.e. mobile phones), distraction is bad. Yet when someone talks about creativity, a certain amount of distraction is good. Or at least,...
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Reactions to David Carson 30 years later
I had a coincidence happen recently where a friend mentioned something that sparked “that makes me think of…” David Carson and she said “Who’s that” which led to some Googling and a stumble upon an article from 2017 about what...
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Digital Patina is Still on my Mind
The challenge to find a way to integrate “Digital Patina” into virtual objects is still very much on my mind. Like many things, though, it has not occupied a place of priority. It comes back to me when I encounter similar...
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Design from the Inside Out
The digital design process needs constant refinement. One of the most impactful refinements we have made to our design process has been to wireframe and design the homepage last. After many years of thinking about the homepage as the hub...
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Lessons on design from Charles Moore
I like to compare web design to architecture. I think it is an apt metaphor and will expand upon that idea later in a full article. For now, though, I’d like to share a quote from Mark Simon about the...
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More Power to the Users
If 2013 was the year of Content — or was it Content Management — then 2014 should be the Year of the User. It’s been a long time since a web designer could design a site for one mobile device...
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The Challenge of Digital Patina
I challenge designers and developers to start to integrate “digital patina” into their application design and UIs. What is digital patina? Let me give you a few examples: Your smartphone’s homescreen may display “trails” from where your finger has touched...
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Font-size Controls
are Relevant AgainHave Always Been RelevantI wrote this in 2012, and am republishing it because I find it interesting as a historical artifact — plus, I find it even more interesting that there is still no way to detect an iPad Mini and simply increase the...