Archive for May 2006

Generation M

In Geek, Technology, Weblogs on 31 May 2006 with Comments Off

I’m 33. That means I’m stuck somewhere in between Generation X and Y. Generation X was stereotyped as lazy postmodernists, too comfy with our liberal arts degrees to get off the couch and do anything. Generation Y was defined by being, um, younger than that.
Frankly, I never saw much connection between myself and those labels. [...]

The Importance of Creative Procrastination

In Design, Geek, Internet on 22 May 2006 with Comments Off

Coders and designers, we’re from different tribes. Name any issue and we’ll neatly divide into sides: form and function, information and experience, oil and water. Of course, no good website happens without both. So it’s worth noting when we find a piece of common ground on our own.
Exhibit A: Deane Barker, writing at Gadgetopia. He’s [...]

WWSD? (What Would Swearengen Do?)

In TV on 19 May 2006 with Comments Off

My friends all know that I loves me some Deadwood. The award-winning HBO western is one of my favorite shows ever, and probably only second to Sci Fi’s Battlestar Galactica in my current TV obsessions.
So what a bummer it was to learn that HBO has not yet renewed the cast’s contracts for a fourth [...]

Back in Black

In Apple, Design, Geek, Technology on 18 May 2006 with Comments Off

My first laptop was a black Apple Powerbook G3, aka the WallStreet. I dragged the ten pound sucker across Europe in a backpack. I’ve had many computers before and since, but this was the one I pecked out stories on while riding trains through the European countryside, the one I fell asleep next to in [...]

33

In Life on 16 May 2006 with Comments Off

Today I am 33 years old. 33 years of troublemaking behind me. Hopefully 33 more to go.
Today I find myself smack dab in the middle of the most amazing moment in my career ever (if I can even apply the word “career” to the list of antics and misadventures that make up my resume). [...]

What Would Google Do?

In Design, Elsewhere, Google, Writing on 15 May 2006 with Comments Off

Google and I, we’re old friends. I’ve written about them here and there for years. Google, as a web innovator, has done just about everything right.
But as a designer, I’m tired of hearing clients and associates ask, “What would Google do?” as if every move they make is pure gold. When it comes to visual/exerience [...]

Thanks a lot, Apple

In Apple, Geek, TV, Technology on 12 May 2006 with Comments Off

I’ve used Apple computers since high school. If it wasn’t for the Mac, I probably wouldn’t have wound up working for newspapers, getting into the web, moving to San Francisco, and living the life I have now. I’ve sung the Mac’s praises to friends and family for almost twenty years.
And now I know what, [...]

Calling All Designers: Learn to Write!

In Design, Elsewhere, Writing on 9 May 2006 with Comments Off

I recently had the good fortune to work with a client who asked me to, in addition to doing my usual experience design / visual design thing, also write much of the text that appeared on the site. And it made me realize that I’ve often done this for clients – it just wasn’t an [...]

Abdicatechnology

In Technology on 7 May 2006 with Comments Off

I’ve been thinking about something lately. What do you call it when you voluntarily give up control of some piece of your life, because technology makes it easier? For example:

Automatic transmission cars. Give up a little control, gain a little less to worry about.
Email filters. Save me from spam, even if it’s not always perfect.
TiVo. [...]

The Art of No

In Communication, Design on 2 May 2006 with Comments Off

Being a designer is all about embracing the word “no.” When we sit down with a blank slate and a job to do, we have to say “no” over and over again. Choosing a primary audience means saying “no” to all the others. Picking a task to enable means saying “no” to all the other [...]