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Complain by Creating
Complaining about the broken things in the world can be enjoyable, but at the end of the day, it’s not very helpful to yourself or those around you. As James Murphy said, the best way to complain is to make things. Some of the best tools we use today were built out of a frustration…
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The Designs of Tractor Trek
Last weekend I participated in the annual Tractor Trek, driving my grandpa’s 1954 Super W4 tractor across the countryside for a day in what has become a family tradition. Together with my grandpa, uncles, and brother-in-law, we joined a group of 46 vintage tractor enthusiasts in driving over 50km, hearing the stories that these tractors…
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Hospitals, Websites, and Design for Public Spaces
The re-design of our regional hospital’s entrance recently began. This re-design was necessary because the previous design, ironically, made it difficult for sick or disabled people to actually get into the building! This “epic fail” underlines the importance of user-centered design in any public space. Here are a few takeaways for designing for the web:…
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Your Very First Idea
Your first idea often isn’t the best idea, but it’s easy to get attached. Even if the constraints change, it’s often difficult to scrap that first beloved idea in favour of a new or better one. Michael Bierut, a legendary New York-based graphic designer, shares an experience that’s familiar to many of us. End Tables…
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Invisible
Jared Spool once told us, “Good design, when it’s done well, becomes invisible. It’s only when it’s done poorly that we notice it.” Just like the sound guy goes unnoticed till a mic doesn’t work or feedback screams out of the speakers, a good designer’s work goes unnoticed (except by other designers), precisely because she’s…
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Start Small
The internet is all about connection, and if your website is successful it will do just that. Your site’s main objective is to connect with your customers, and for them to connect with you. If you’re just getting started in creating a web presence, think of your website as a business card. Unless you’re selling…
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Nine Design Lessons From Quartz’ New App
Quartz released their iPhone news app this week! Because of recent design projects, I’ve tried to become a student of other app designs, particularly news apps. This one struck for its unique take on news. Here are some of the takeaways from Quartz’ take on news on the mini screen. Start a conversation. The app…
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“Mobile first” is more than screen size
Mobile devices change everything about how your users interact with your website. When I was first introduced to “mobile first” as a web design principle, I thought it meant sketching designs for a small, narrow screen. I was proud when I had internalized the philosophy enough to create my first mockup file in “iPhone 6”…
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Your Life’s Work
David wrote a great post about what’s important in life. But what affected me is the PS at the end of the post: “My life’s work is Basecamp.” Such a profound statement. In recent years Basecamp (formerly 37 Signals) has focused their efforts on their collaboration software, so much so that they changed their company’s…
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Small Things
Behind every graphic you see, there’s a graphic designer. It’s easy for designers to point to their work when it gets projected in Time Square, but this isn’t the reality for the daily work of most designers. Most designers sweat over dots and pixels that are seen by only a handful of people for a…
