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Be At-Home Good
A while back I read REWORK, written by the founders of 37signals. Lately I’ve been reminded of this idea of “Be At-Home Good.” The idea is that, while a product can be bright and shiny and amazing in the store, a truly great product also is amazing once you bring it home. That’s the real…
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What Do You See?
You know all about optical illusions in colour if you’ve ever tried to pick a paint colour for your house. Or if you’ve had an argument about whether your shirt is black or blue or purple. In his TED talk, Beau Lotto shows us some fascinating optical illusions that reveal just how much what we…
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Off and On
We got back last night from three weeks in Holland. Three long short weeks away from our routine, enjoying family, walks and bike rides, good food, playing, seeing sights. In a resolve to fully unplug during our vacation, I left my laptop behind. My tendency to be “always on” is only compounded by the possibilities…
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Building a Cathedral
…the story of a man who saw three fellows laying bricks at a new building: He approached the first and asked, What are you doing? Clearly irritated, the first man responded, What the heck do you think I’m doing? I’m laying these darn bricks! He then walked over to the second bricklayer and asked the…
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The Human Element in Design
As kids on family vacation, our mom would make us stand in the picture when she took photos of the sites. As much as I disliked being in photos at the time, I understand the value of capturing memories of the people, not just the places, on vacation. Putting people in the picture is not…
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Make It A Story
I’ve been reading Frank Chimero’s The Shape of Design lately, and today read a story today that’s well worth retelling for what it teaches us about turning our messages into stories and connecting emotionally with our audiences. As the story goes… One morning during his walk to work, David Ogilvy, one of the original “mad…
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Words or Pictures
You either say this (word), or you show this (picture), but you don’t (show both word and picture), because this is treating your audience like a moron, and they deserve better. – Chip Kidd In his TED talk, Chip Kidd shows us how fascinating designing a book cover really is. A book’s cover is important…
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One… Two…
Olivia, ever since she first sat on my shoulders and ran up the stairs, giggling the entire way, has been learning the magic of the number “Three”. One and Two contain all the suspense, the winding up and taking a deep breath. Three is where the magic happens. Of course, for her it’s pronounced “fwee”,…
