Back to basics.
Ten laws do design by is an article which refers to 10 truths that run design and make our work simpler and more fulfilling for the visitor. An excellent resource.
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Apple moves on with a new device which changes the way we interact with our computers.
Ladies and gents, here’s Magic Trackpad.
It’s a decent move and Apple obviously wants to be a pioneer in this area too. I’m looking forward to touching it.
W3C just announced the new era of file validation: Unicorn.
Go ahead and play with this modern and intelligent web service.
Jason Santa Maria talks about our need to use a new application focused to Web design. In his article he explains why current tools are bloated with features we don’t need or features that don’t work well.
What’s more interesting is how he sees designing in the browser:
But I don’t think the browser is enough. A web designer jumping into the browser before tackling the creative and messaging problems is akin to an architect hammering pieces of wood together and then measuring afterwards. The imaginative process is cut short by the tools at hand; and it’s that imagination—or spark—at the beginning of a design that lays the path for everything that follows. Without it, you’re at best able to make a website that looks like a website—rather than a design that tells a story in the form of a website.
I think designing in the browser is the best way to design websites these days. I think it’s the best medium to start telling a story and creating emotions as long as you forget for a while that it is a real browser. Train your mind to forget markup when you have to markup and concentrate on the visual advances it provides. It is not easy.
However what Santa Maria suggests would be revolutionary.
You knew it was coming.
Gusto is a full-featured website development environment designed exclusively for the iPad with a focus on workflow and usability.
I don’t have an iPad, but if I had I would give Gousto a try.
If you are an Expression Engine developer/designer/curator you’ll definitely want to take a look at iExpression, the first iPhone app for our beloved platform.
I believe we will soon see the app for the iPad too.
There’s this bitter conflict between marketers and content curators.
Both groups argue they care about content but in reality they have a different perspective. And, yes, content should bring money - we all agree on this. However:
Content shouldn’t be a marketing tool.
Content should be a reader engagement tool.
So, read the simple yet insightful Why I don’t much like the phrase, “content marketing”. Then show it to your marketing friend and let the fight begin.
You’re a big find-me-a-way-to-be-a-leader hunter, aren’t you? I’ve got good news.
Solitude and Leadership is most probably the best article/lecture I have ever read on the subject.
The secret of leadership is how to learn to be alone, to invest on your own thoughts and stay concentrated on them.
The position of the leader is ultimately an intensely solitary, even intensely lonely one. However many people you may consult, you are the one who has to make the hard decisions. And at such moments, all you really have is yourself.
Vector Stories is the new home of Helen Gizi.
Helen is a Greek illustrator and the person who designed the cities of this website along with the icons and other design elements. She is extremely good at her work but more importantly is a great person.
Vector Stories is neat. And elegant. And fresh. It is so beautiful it makes me jealous.
Fontfonter provides an easy way to test a series of fonts on your website in seconds.
All the available fonts are good, so it deserves a visit. And it’s kinda funny to see Google run in FF-Tisa.