Noise Between Stations

I’d like an iPod, but can’t seem to justify the cost. A friend at work has two, a 15GB for spoken word and a 40GB for music, both of which are full. ‘It has changed my life,’ he says. Thems strong words. Funny that we so easily find ways to fill up 55GB of hard [...]

There’s so much good art in galleries and museums in New York, the public art pretty much sucks, having put our resources into nifty architecture and parks instead. The rare exception is Tom Otterness, who has installations all over town. Many, like the figures sprinkled throughout the 14th St IND station, carry a clear political [...]

Ohmigod, totally fucking brilliant: This Might Be a Wiki, a wiki for all things They Might Be Giants. How better to connect a community of music fans who are also nerdy then to let them make a website together? I was able to find the lyrics to the rare Tiny Doctors, so I’m happy.

OXO Good Grips are often cited as examples of insightful design. Having worked with someone who helped design them, it seems to me a case of someone actually designing, rather than just cobbling together the same old thing. OXO’s a great example to use when explaining the design process and its benefits because the improvement [...]

What’s the essential difference between informational content and marketing content? I decided it was an objective tone vs. a subjective tone, respectively. I had to get that clear for myself as it can become very subtle when adjusting language and people can be rather passionate about wanting one or the other without actually knowing what [...]

Lately Peterme is posting lots of interesting thoughts related to HITS, About With For, and the Power of Design conferences.

Speaking of groovy IA peeps, Jess McMullin has just launched nform, a user experience consulting practice, in Edmonton. Jess is one of the best people ever, hire him.

We just assembled a great lineup of design folk for this year’s AIfIA Board of Advisors. I’m expecting great things.

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There’s a classic Seinfeld episode where Kramer’s new phone number is one digit from Movie Fone’s, so, surrendering to the misdialed calls, he imitates the automated voice. When he can’t interpret the key presses he improvises, ‘Why don’t you just tell me the name of the movie you want to see?” Which is kinda what [...]

James and I attended Why Games Matter, centered on celebrating Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, called by Warren Spector the only current book to focus on game design, as opposed to merely the mechanics of making games. Somewhat ironically the most interesting commentary came not from Salen or [...]

I’m working on a content management application – the part of the content management system the authors and administrators use – and jotted down a few principles to follow. They may not be applicable in every case, but expanding along these lines might lead to some design patterns. Manage content, not pages. This makes content [...]

Challis Hodge has launched Experience People, a user experience search firm. I have to respect the moxie he has to launch a recruiting practice in this economy. It makes sense to pick a niche he knows – design practitioners who get it and employers who get it – and he probably doesn’t need to fill [...]

Saw Gus Van Sant and Diane Keaton on Charlie Rose yesterday discussing Elephant (trailer), their new film about a high school shooting reminiscent of Columbine. It looks awesome, telling the story as a documentary instead of what was the only viewpoint available previously, the victims’.