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You should see my sketchbook
It is truly one of my favorite design “tools:” A good notebook. Personally, I like the full size Moleskine models, but whatever you can manage to carry around will work best. I carry mine everywhere with me, always with a pencil attached. Check out these notes, if you dare, which preceded my recent talk with…
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Bill Buxton Inspires Me
The greatest lesson I learned at Interaction08 last weekend was from Bill Buxton, during his keynote talk. Here’s his list of things that, as a designer, you must know: What makes you distinct. Your value lies in your distinctiveness. That makes you a minority. There will be pressure to conform. Your value is lost in…
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Super Tuesday 2008 Infographic Design
As I’ve mentioned before, election night is one of my favorite nights of the year. All the big media outlets pull out their infographic design “big guns.” One of my favorites for the Super Tuesday 2008 Primary results is at the New York Times: It simply describes the current situation in the largest states that…
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The Potential of Bathroom Air Dryers
It’s a really nice bathroom sign. It really is. But seriously, can we do something about the air dryers in this country? I appreciate the fact paper towels are a complete and total waste of resources, but the hand dryer situation is…well…out of hand. If those things could blow just 2 or 3 times harder,…
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Hello strange little popup friend
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Civil Twilight and User Observation
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Aloha Hulu
I’m giving Hulu a shot. So far it’s pretty sweet. Don’t be mistaken, the success of a service like Hulu is greatly dependent on one thing: the programming. And I don’t mean software programming. It’s all about the shows, baby. When it comes to programming, Hulu’s got a great start. There’s a bunch of shows…
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The Story of Stuff
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Buying New Technology: Blackberry Pearl Edition
I’ve long held the opinion that it’s important to think long and hard before upgrading to new technologies. Often a single technology purchase causes a daisy-chain of purchases, as illustrated below: Nintendo Wii > Big, giant, flat TV > Cable > Premium Channels (Total upgrade cost = $250 + $1,000 + $60/mo + $10/mo =…
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Experiencing the power of Java
So this evening I’m reinstalling Java. Not by choice, but because the annoying little balloon keeps on popping up in the corner of my screen. Then, while it’s installing, the installer has the audacity to say something extremely stupid like: By installing Java, you will be able to experience the power of Java…” NO WAY!…