Confusion seems to have surfaced around the Confessions piece I posted last week. Some think the article was wishy-washy and were hoping for a more definitive ending proclaiming loyalty to one OS or the other. Questions were asked like, “So which direction are you going?” read more
I’m in Washington D.C. this week, spending time with a few good friends. Since everyone is still working, today is my opportunity to tour around independently and see some sights. I haven’t been here since my eighth grade class trip, so I’m looking forward to a quick whirlwind tour of our nation’s capital. To take maximum advantage of one short day, we decided the best approach would be to focus my time around the National Mall, allowing me to pop in and out of the many Smithsonian museums. read more
New rules govern my play. My professional environment is suddenly different. No one expects me to be “in the office”. There are no looming deadlines. I have no voicemail waiting for response. No conference calls planned for the day. Just the oh-so-minor responsibilities of working out the plans for a new business. Right? read more
After 6 years, 3 months, 3 days, my employment with Wired comes to an end today. What a ride it’s been.
Jumping back in time, I remember picking up an interest in bulletin boards in ’92 while I was still in college. I started at a marketing design firm named Mentus as an intern during my senior year. In my spare time, I spent countless hours exploring the concept of connected computers and online content using the company’s AOL account. Of course, with a 14.4Kbps WinFax modem, the majority of my time was spent waiting for the next screen to load. read more
Anitra Pavka wrote an article for Digital Web a little over a week ago. Accountability of Accessibility and Usability digs into some of the reasons Southwest Airlines was brought to court over their alleged inaccessibility. Anitra explores some basic ways to prevent such lawsuits, and touches on two sides of the debate over whether the ADA covers websites as public spaces.
Somehow, I recently stumbled across the controversial discipline and methodology of XP. Not another lame X-based abbreviation for the new OS from Redmond. I’m talking about eXtreme Programming, which has roots from 3 to 6 years ago, depending on which source you believe. I think I originally saw a brief mention of the concept on Paul Boutin’s log, and followed a link to his Wired magazine article and some results of Googling for “extreme programming” (1, 2) read more
At the very last minute, I gave in to an urge to head down to tonight’s monthly BayCHI program. Ironically enough, I ended up driving down to Palo Alto with Peterme of Adaptive Path and Erika Hall from Mule Design. I had just spent some time visiting Mule’s site last night for the first time. Some of Erika’s simple, to-the-point writing helped spawn yesterday’s post about simplifying writing style. read more
How do we say more with less? When I write, I tend to be wordy. Four long convoluted paragraphs that could probably be summed up in one short sentence. As a designer, I was never trained to be a writer outside of a few college papers. But I know the power of words. And I believe in simplicity. read more
An interview conducted by CSS guru and standards evangelist, Eric Meyer, covering the ins and outs of the conversion to a standards-based design for Wired News. Read the original article here.
(Translated into: Japanese)
Sitting in the Miami airport, waiting for a flight to Chicago. Here’s a few more shots to highlight from this past weekend:
The AIGA I/O Conference wrapped up yesterday. Overall, it was an excellent 2-day conference with a nice range of topics covered. I stuck around in Miami for an extra day just to relax a little. Over the last couple days, I snapped a lot of digital shots in attempt to capture some of the beauty I saw here. As I was taking the night shots, I quickly realized my simple digital camera couldn’t handle low light pictures without a flash. But when I turned the flash off, I discovered I could get some really nice time-lapse effects. I’ll let some of my favorites from the weekend speak for themselves… read more
After listening to Hillman Curtis speak twice today, (once for the opening keynote, and another for a session on design process) I now have nothing but respect for him, and gratitude for the inspiration he provided through what he had to say and how he said it. ![[Thumbnail image: Hillman Curtis, MTIV book cover]](/img/archive/2002/11/tn_mtiv.jpg)
A complete reversal in my opinion of the man and his work. His recently released book, MTIV: Process, Inspiration and Practice for the New Media Designer, is one I’ll have to acquire soon. read more
I just arrived in Miami for the AIGA‘s Interaction Only Conference. A balmy 85 degrees with lots of humidity took my breath away as I stepped out of the airport. I’m excited be here, and am looking forward to hearing some of the speakers lined up (Hillman Curtis, Brian Collins, Paula Thornton …) who will be speaking about the design process, business approaches, and usability techniques. Also looking forward to meeting some others in the field of experience design.
I’ve never been to Miami before, so I also can’t wait to explore the city a little. I’m intoxicated by the total surrounding of Art Deco and post-modern architecture here. Even the run-down apartment buildings I saw in the cab ride from the airport over to Miami Beach have lovely symmetrical flourishes and decorations adorning their facades. And the neon is more prevalent here than a row of Victorians in San Francisco.
It’s late, and I still need to get out and find something to eat. South Beach is just a few blocks away, and there’s bound to be some good Cuban food to sample somewhere.