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The notes that you missed
Chances are we didn’t notice. Playing in piano recitals as a kid, any missed note would throw me off entirely. I’d stop to correct it, or smile sheepishly towards the audience, as if to assure them that, yes, I realized I had messed up. The voice of the critic often follows right on the heels…
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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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DND for Deep Work
A common problem for creatives (and most of us, really), is making time for focused, creative work. We all crave that couple hours to dive into a project without being distracted, but this kind of focus is hard to come by. Cal Newport calls this “deep work” and “a superpower in our current economy”. Because…
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Wait, Back Up
One common mistake we make as communicators is forgetting our audience’s context. As we dive full steam into our idea, our audience is still back at the station, trying to figure out which way our train’s going. While you might have been fully immersed in your idea for days (or years), your audience might be…
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The Noise Inside
“Nowadays most men lead lives of noisy desperation.” – Henry David Thoreau Many of us would admit to living noisy lives. Often we’d say that our environment, or our culture are to blame. We look at always-on technology, our crazy schedules, our boisterous kids, but these are often red herrings, distracting us from where the…
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Looking for Trouble
Most of us have enough trouble (thank you very much), we don’t go out looking for it. What we’re looking for is a trouble-free existence, free from responsibility and things breaking down, where the drinks are cold and the water’s just right. But is that really what would make you happy? I had this realization…
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Always Something
Ever pick up your head at the end of the day and think, where did the day go? Did I do anything besides stare at a screen, firing off another email, reacting to the latest ping? Did I take note of one person around me, or even truly listen to those closest to me? It’s…
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Beyond Buzz
Does the loudest voice win in a shouting match? Some people think so, which is why they keep talking louder, re-explaining their point more urgently. Many advertisers think this is the case as well. Their billboards get larger, the ads get brighter, as they try to compete in en ever-noiser space. Even as their audience…
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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…
