northtempletag:2008:northtemple2009-01-05T21:33:00-07:00Ty Hatchtag:2008:northtemple-45422009-01-05T21:33:00-07:002009-01-05T21:33:00-07:00The trailer for Gary Hustwit's ...Videoobjectifiedgary hustwitfilm(flash video content)<br/><p>The trailer for Gary Hustwit’s next film <a href="http://www.objectifiedfilm.com/">Objectified</a> hit the interwebs today. I really enjoyed <a href="http://helveticafilm.com/">Helvetica</a> (twice at screenings and on <span class="caps">DVD</span> several times) and am looking forward to enjoying this one as well.</p>Gilbert Leetag:2008:northtemple-45412009-01-05T21:27:00-07:002009-01-05T21:27:00-07:00I just read a couple of great p...Blurbrecession design<p>I just read a couple of great posts for designers during these hard economic times. Both offer great advice: Michael Beirut’s <a href="http://www.designobserver.com/archives/entry.html?id=38880">Designing Through the Recession</a> and Greg Storey’s <a href="http://www.airbagindustries.com/archives/airbag/goldfish.php">Goldfish</a>.</p>
<p>One of my favorites (from Beirut): “And don’t forget that recessions are a great time for the kind of research and development that manifests itself in self-initiated projects…”</p>Gilbert Leetag:2008:northtemple-43862009-01-02T23:50:00-07:002009-01-02T23:50:00-07:00This is a good reminder when de...Photodesign-for-old-people<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/080211_cartoon_i_a12708_p465.gif" class="type-img" /><br/><p>This is a good reminder when designing interfaces, no? Cartoon from the <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/2009/01/05/slideshow_090105_year_end_cartoons_2008?slide=11">New Yorker</a>.</p>
<p>Via Chris Willis, who hasn’t updated his <a href="http://www.hypergene.net/blog/weblog.php">site</a> in ages.</p>Rick Mooretag:2008:northtemple-43812009-01-02T17:14:00-07:002009-01-02T17:14:00-07:00Here's a fun little information...Photoeconomic crisisinfographics<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/Picture-2.jpg" class="type-img" /><br/><p><a href="http://blog.mint.com/blog/finance-core/a-visual-guide-to-the-financial-crisis/">Here’s a fun little information graphic</a> outlining our current economic situation from Mint.com.</p>Jason Lynestag:2008:northtemple-43692008-12-31T22:22:00-07:002008-12-31T22:22:00-07:00A person who works six hours a ...Quoteworkinternetattention"A person who works six hours a day but with total focus has an enormous advantage over a 12-hour-per-day workaholic who’s ‘multi-tasking’ all day, answering every phone call, constantly checking Facebook and Twitter, and indulging every interruption. <br/><br/>
It’s time we upgraded our work ethic for the age we’re living in, not our grandparents’ age. Hard work is still a virtue, but now takes a distant second place to the new determinant of success or failure in the age of Internet distractions: Control of attention." ~ Mike Elgan, in <a href="http://www.internetnews.com/commentary/print.php/3793561">Work Ethic 2.0: Attention Control</a>Jason Lynestag:2008:northtemple-43682008-12-31T18:42:00-07:002008-12-31T18:42:00-07:00The Making of LittleBigPlanet t...Videovideo games(flash video content)<br/><p><a href="http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/12/gamelife-vide-3.html">The Making of LittleBigPlanet</a>, the uncontrollably cute game for Playstation 3.</p>Cameron Molltag:2008:northtemple-43642008-12-30T15:17:00-07:002008-12-30T15:17:00-07:00House Industries redesigned ...Photo<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/houseind.jpg" class="type-img" /><br/><p>House Industries <a href="http://www.houseind.com/">redesigned</a>.</p>Aaron Cannontag:2008:northtemple-43582008-12-29T14:25:00-07:002008-12-29T14:25:00-07:00Here's a great recap of the acc...Blurb2008accessibilityariawcag<p>Here’s a <a href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/schwer?entry=web_2_0_accessibility_recap">great recap of the accessibility advancements made in 2008</a> written by a high-level <span class="caps">IBM</span> engineer.</p>Ted Borentag:2008:northtemple-43102008-12-26T12:48:00-07:002008-12-26T12:48:00-07:00Design Lesson:Shovel Smart, Soon, and OftenCase StudyDesignprocesssnowshovelingagile development<p>Here in Northtemple Land, as in many parts of the United States, we’ve received slightly more than our fair share of precipitation in the last week. I have a long driveway to deal with and no snow blower (something I may need to remedy this year with Grandma’s Christmas check). The combination of heavy snow and a long driveway has resulted in an inordinate amount of time spent outside, with nothing to do but shovel and think.</p>
<p>What I’ve learned: Shovel smart, shovel soon, and shovel often. And what’s more, I think this applies to design as well as driveways, and maybe to any problem-solving effort.</p>Tadd Gilestag:2008:northtemple-42592008-12-23T14:56:00-07:002008-12-23T14:56:00-07:00Make sure that the essential ne...Quotesimplify magnify"Make sure that the essential needs are met, but do not go overboard in creating so many good things to do that the essential ones are not accomplished. . . . Remember, don’t magnify the work to be done—simplify it." ~ Elder Dallin H. Oaks, <a href="http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-775-38,00.html">Good, Better, Best</a>, October, 2007John Dilworthtag:2008:northtemple-42472008-12-23T10:08:00-07:002008-12-23T10:08:00-07:00Dr. Josh Silver, professor of p...Blurbdesign sight<p>Dr. Josh Silver, professor of physics at Oxford University <a href="http://bit.ly/O7Lm">designed a pair of spectacles</a> where the optical power can be tuned individually by the wearer, eliminating the need for the optician and the whole process of lens grinding. He hopes to bring 20/20 vision to 1 million people in India next year, and has a bigger goal to offer perfect vision to 1 billion of the worlds poorest by the year 2020.</p>
<p>His presentation on the topic and results of their initial study can be found at the <a href="http://www.affordable-vision-correction.org/ppt1/index.htm">Affordable Vision Correction</a> conference web site. It appears that there were a variety of potential solutions presented there, Josh Silver’s brilliant solution being one of them.</p>Alan Taylortag:2008:northtemple-42222008-12-22T11:39:07-07:002008-12-22T11:39:07-07:00Where We Do What We Do is a col...Photoworkspace<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/where_me_do1_medium.jpg" class="type-img" /><br/><p><a href="http://wherewedowhatwedo.com/">Where We Do What We Do</a> is a collection of agency and personal workspaces to inspire and perhaps motivate you to do a makeover of your own space during the holiday break.</p>Ted Borentag:2008:northtemple-42232008-12-22T09:58:00-07:002008-12-22T09:58:00-07:00LDS Maps is now live in 16 lang...Photointernationalizationlanguagesmaps<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/search-multi.png" class="type-img" /><br/><p><a href="http://maps.lds.org"><span class="caps">LDS</span> Maps</a> is now live in 16 languages! The site should detect the browser language automatically, or if you want to poke around, there is a language selector at the bottom of the screen. Most of the work for this minor release was on the dev and translation teams, but props are due to <a href="http://www.northtemple.com/designers/aaron">Aaron Barker</a> for helping define a new standard for language selection and <a href="http://www.northtemple.com/designers/foster">Rob Foster</a> for the soon-to-be-universal (?) language icon.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> <a href="http://ldsmediatalk.com/2008/12/22/upgraded-lds-maps-site/">Larry Richman</a> provides some additional info about the release, including how to link to a specific language-version of the site.</p>Ted Borentag:2008:northtemple-42212008-12-22T09:08:00-07:002008-12-22T09:08:00-07:00If anyone is interested, I'm th...Quotetypography"If anyone is interested, I’m thinking of doing a type poster representing the Church Office Building, set in Hobo and Impact. $200? Let me know if ur interested." ~ Jason, commenting on the fact that Cameron’s magnificent <a href="http://cameronmoll.bigcartel.com/product/letterpress-poster-16x24">letterpress poster of the Salt Lake Temple</a> has sold out after only a couple of days.Aaron Barkertag:2008:northtemple-41512008-12-17T23:40:00-07:002008-12-17T23:40:00-07:00We are looking to hire two fron...Blurb<p>We are looking to hire two front end developer types <span class="caps">RIGHT NOW</span>. As in, interview on Thursday with a potential hire on Friday.</p>
<p>We are looking for two Senior level front end gurus who seriously know their <span class="caps">HTML</span>/CSS/JS stuff. One of those could be a more Junior level person with lots of potential and a sparkle in their eye.</p>
<p>If you or someone you know fits the bill and want to come work at the church <a href="http://www.northtemple.com/jobs">send your resume to us <span class="caps">ASAP</span></a>.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> The time has passed on this. Thank you to those who submitted your resumes. We will keep them around for future opportunities.</p>Tadd Gilestag:2008:northtemple-41482008-12-17T21:08:00-07:002008-12-17T21:08:00-07:00Interesting read: the Uncanny V...Blurbinterface design<p>Interesting read: <a href="http://billhiggins.us/weblog/2007/05/17/the-uncanny-valley-of-user-interface-design/">the Uncanny Valley of user interface design</a></p>Rob Fostertag:2008:northtemple-41142008-12-16T08:11:00-07:002008-12-16T08:11:00-07:00Uncle Mark's Gift Guide and Alm...Blurbunclemarkgiftguidealmanac<p><a href="http://unclemark.org/unclemark2009.pdf">Uncle Mark’s Gift Guide and Almanac</a>. A yearly publication with great gift ideas and other cool information.</p>Jason Lynestag:2008:northtemple-41082008-12-15T22:12:00-07:002008-12-15T22:12:00-07:00Pitchfork's posted 51-100 of th...Blurbmusicpitchfork<p>Pitchfork’s posted 51-100 of their <a href="http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/147998-the-100-best-tracks-of-2008">100 Best Tracks of 2008</a>. This isn’t only a great list, they’ve finally added handy little <span class="caps">MP3</span> players to hear or download tracks on the list. I guarantee you haven’t heard of over half of these artists. Go explore and find some new faves.</p>
<p>My tops: The Veronicas (87), Justice (76), Sigur Rós (71), The Whitest Boy Alive (64), Q-Tip (61), and some freakin’ Vampire Weekend at 56.</p>Ted Borentag:2008:northtemple-41022008-12-15T14:01:00-07:002008-12-15T14:01:00-07:00Nielsen/Norman Group is offerin...Blurbreportsusabilityflashria<p>Nielsen/Norman Group is offering a free report on <a href="http://www.nngroup.com/reports/flash/">Rich Internet Applications”</a>. It’s from 2002 and most of the apps reviewed are Flash-based—but hey, it’s free :-) And most of the findings focus on the interaction itself, not the technology. Quick skim looks promising…</p>Craig Hobsontag:2008:northtemple-41012008-12-15T12:43:00-07:002008-12-15T12:43:00-07:00Oh yeah, that's the stuff....Quotecss3advanced selectorseric meyer"Oh yeah, that’s the stuff." ~ Eric Meyer, after explaining the greatly sought after power of <i>advanced selectors</i> in <span class="caps">CSS3</span>. (<a href="http://sixrevisions.com/interviews/six-questions-eric-meyer-on-css3/">six revisions</a>)Tadd Gilestag:2008:northtemple-40982008-12-15T09:59:00-07:002008-12-15T09:59:00-07:00Meetup's Dead Simple User TestingArticleuser testing<p>As the second member of the NorthTemple Alumni organization (<a href="http://brian.sweeting.net/">Brian Sweeting</a> being the founder, I believe), I’m going to set a precedent here that I hope will take, Alumni posting. Yes, that’s Alumni with a capital A. If you don’t like it, get someone to kill my login.</p>
<p>It’s not a new idea, but Clay Shirky reminds us today of the value of simple user testing. I always get big value when I do this.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2008/12/13/meetups-dead-simple.html">Meetup’s Dead Simple User Testing</a></p>Ted Borentag:2008:northtemple-40732008-12-13T17:00:00-07:002008-12-13T17:00:00-07:00The art of architecture is real...QuoteDesignconstraintsarchitecture"The art of architecture is really the art of constraint. It’s the art of compromise in many ways. It’s not about a brilliant man or woman working in his or her studio and producing a design and then getting it built. It’s about negotiating a whole series of constraints or challenges, whether those have to do with budget or site or the community." ~ Christopher Hawthorne, architecture critic, quoted in an interesting <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97965115"><span class="caps">NPR</span> piece on modern museum architecture</a>. This reminded me about a great design discussion we had sometime last year about Bryan Lawson’s great book, <a href="http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=lPvqZJNAdG8C&dq=lawson+%22how+designers+think%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=Y7_zjI5jZp&sig=VwkQJOu8a4KDci903DGnbpNRk8Q&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result">How Designers Think</a>. Negotiating that series of constraints and challenges is hard… but <span class="caps">FUN</span>! Rob mentioned this same concept as he worked with me on some map icons that needed to work well on widely varied map backgrounds in a 10X10 pixel space. (Thanks Rob!)Emmy Southworthtag:2008:northtemple-40542008-12-12T11:49:00-07:002008-12-12T11:49:00-07:00Netvibes just released several ...Photonetvibesdashboard<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/Picture 2.png" class="type-img" /><br/><p>Netvibes just released several <a href="http://blog.netvibes.com/?2008/12/08/223-new-layouts-opensocial-and-leweb-08" target="blank">upgrades</a> to their personal dashboard product.</p>
<p>Several of the <a href="http://www.netvibes.com/#General"> features</a> I’ve enjoyed have been the customizable layout into various grid-based designs. They’ve also improved their thickbox modal experience by allowing the modal box to be draggable, and making the 70% opaque background become lighter if I need to view changes made in real time to the screen behind the modal (specifically when I’m choosing my template design). I also enjoy their <span class="caps">RSS</span> feed reader and inline podcast for both audio and video.</p>
<p>Thanks to <a href="http://cameronmoll.com/archives/2008/02/gtd_with_netvibes/">Cameron</a> for the tip on Netvibes earlier this year, it’s been a great resource.</p>Jason Lynestag:2008:northtemple-40282008-12-10T22:37:00-07:002008-12-10T22:37:00-07:00iPhone loverz, here's a nice se...Photoiphone<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/iphonetipstap.jpg" class="type-img" /><br/><p>iPhone loverz, here’s a <a href="http://www.taptaptap.com/blog/10-useful-iphone-tips-and-tricks/">nice set of non-obvious tips & tricks</a>.</p>Clifton Labrumtag:2008:northtemple-40232008-12-10T11:57:00-07:002008-12-10T11:57:00-07:00It looks like you can use XHTML...PhotoCSStextwrap<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/csstextwrap.jpg" class="type-img" /><br/><p>It looks like you can use <span class="caps">XHTML</span> and <span class="caps">CSS</span> to wrap and flow text just like you would do in InDesign. I don’t know how useful something like this would be, and I haven’t looked at the cleanliness of the code, but it’s nice to know this is programmatically possible (and in <span class="caps">IE6</span>, no less). <a href="http://csstextwrap.com" target="_blank">Check it out</a>.</p>Ted Borentag:2008:northtemple-40112008-12-09T10:26:00-07:002008-12-09T10:26:00-07:00Another great use of the video ...Photobroadcastchristmasdevotionaltemple lightslanguagesinternationalizationaccessibilityASL<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/devotional.png" class="type-img" /><br/><p>Another great use of the video player designed by Chris and company: the annual <a href="http://www.lds.org/move/index.html?type=Christmas&event=2008&lang=english">First Presidency Christmas Devotional</a>.</p>
<p><i>Designerly things to note: loved the opening shots of the lights on Temple Square; not in love with the title text, but oh well; and loved the family room “set” behind the podium, though the flickering fireplace got a little distracting at times. Finally, note that the <a href="http://www.lds.org/broadcast/christmas/0,6609,4617-1-81-1561,00.html">broadcast site</a> offers audio in 29 languages</a>, and video in 4 languages. The Church’s committment to the international audience is nowhere more apparent than in its broadcasting efforts…</p>
<p>A nod to accessibility as well—if you’ve never watched anything in sign language before, check out the <a href="http://www.lds.org/move/index.html?type=Christmas&event=2008&lang=asl"><span class="caps">ASL</span> version</a>, through at least the first Mormon Tabernacle Choir number (“Once in Royal David’s City,” which incidentally was written by a member of the Church). I love watching musical performances in <span class="caps">ASL</span>…</i></p>Ted Borentag:2008:northtemple-40102008-12-09T10:18:00-07:002008-12-09T10:18:00-07:00You have to tell [them] your jo...Quotesign-inregistrationusability"You have to tell [them] your job role twice, your
job title once, and the language you prefer to speak 3 times—all
in English." ~ Jared Spool, dazed by the number of hoops needed to pass through just to get to <strong>see</strong> (not buy) a product catalog of branded merchandise for a major technology company. (From a re-print of a year-old post on <a href="http://www.uie.com/articles/sign_in_process_reprint">sign-in mistakes to avoid</a>.)Ted Borentag:2008:northtemple-39612008-12-05T22:19:00-07:002008-12-05T22:19:00-07:00Funeral services for Elder Jose...Photofuneralmedia playerwirthlin<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/wirthlin.png" class="type-img" /><br/><p><a href="http://www.lds.org/move/index.html?type=conference&event=178&lang=english&articleid=091">Funeral services</a> for <a href="http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/joseph-b-wirthlin-oldest-apostle-dies-age-91">Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin,</a> of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, available in the new media player designed by Gilbert and company, which seems particularly well–suited to the dignity and solemnity of the occassion…</p>Wade Shearertag:2008:northtemple-39552008-12-05T12:14:00-07:002008-12-05T12:14:00-07:00Emtype, a small foundry in Barc...PhotoFontgeogrotesque<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/geogrotesque.jpg" class="type-img" /><br/><p><a href="http://www.emtype.net/about_01.php">Emtype</a>, a small foundry in Barcelona hosuing the solo designer Eduardo Manso, has released a new font family entitle <a href="http://www.emtype.net/geogrotesque_01.php">Geogrotesque</a> and it is gorgeous. I try to reserve that word for only the truly beautiful but believe that this example deserves such praise.</p>
<p>From the press release: “Although the type family has a geometric or ‘technological’ construction, the rounded finish provides it a warm appearance, making the typefaces nicer and nearby. Geogrotesque has been conceived to be used as a display typeface in publications or intermediate length texts, most of all the Thin and Ultralight weights which were meant to be used in big sizes.”</p>Cameron Molltag:2008:northtemple-39522008-12-05T09:33:00-07:002008-12-05T09:33:00-07:00A prototype iPhone case for bli...Photo<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/0invisual_case2.jpg" class="type-img" /><br/><p>A prototype <a href="http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/iphone_case_enables_the_blind_to_access_touchscreens_11982.asp">iPhone case for blind users</a>. “The silicon[e] case has debossed, tactile logos, icons and characters, yet is still thin enough for the screen to register touches. Used in conjunction with text-to-speech features, it opens up a world of possibilities for those without sight.”</p>Wade Shearertag:2008:northtemple-39382008-12-04T16:48:00-07:002008-12-04T16:48:00-07:00Designers need to stop thinking...Quoteinteraction designuser experience"Designers need to stop thinking that they’re creating experiences. They’re allowing them to unfold with sound design decisions." ~ <a href="http://www.zurb.com/team/bryan-zmijewski">Bryan Zmijewski</a> on why <a href="http://www.zurb.com/article/155/user-experience-design-does-not-exist">user experience design does not exist</a>. I think he is spot on. We do not create experience, we design applications that allow experiences to happen. We are interaction designers. Just semantics? I don’t think so. It’s important to remember that the user isn’t a marionette.Ty Hatchtag:2008:northtemple-39312008-12-04T13:21:00-07:002008-12-04T13:21:00-07:00What happens when a dragon and ...Phototale-of-rockguitar-duel<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/guitar-duel.png" class="type-img" /><br/><p>What happens when a dragon and a demon go head-to-head in a <a href="http://mos.futurenet.com/resources/3dworld/TaleofRock.mov">guitar duel</a></p>Aaron Barkertag:2008:northtemple-39302008-12-04T13:00:00-07:002008-12-04T13:00:00-07:00In the month of November, Firef...Photobrowsers<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/browsers.gif" class="type-img" /><br/><p>In the month of November, <a href="http://www.getfirefox.com/">Firefox 3</a> finally became the #2 browser on <a href="http://www.lds.org">lds.org</a> passing Internet Explorer 6. <b>hallelujah</b></p>
<p>It’s interesting to see how the audience at lds.org appears to skew towards the techie when compared with the Internet Average (guessing that is all Omniture clients combined). More Firefox, Safari and Chrome users then the average. Less <span class="caps">IE6</span> users. Then a weird anomaly of <span class="caps">WAY</span> more <span class="caps">MSN</span> Explorer users… which is just sad.</p>
<p>Less <span class="caps">IE6</span> in the world is a beautiful thing.</p>Cameron Molltag:2008:northtemple-39282008-12-04T08:45:00-07:002008-12-04T08:45:00-07:0020. Client wants the best. Once...Quote"20. Client wants the best. Once you tell him what the best costs, he asks if you can scale back. You craft a scaled-back proposal, but, without disclosing a budget or even hinting at what might be viable for him, the client asks if you can scale it down further. After you’ve put 40 hours into back-and-forth negotiation, client asks if you can’t design just the home page in Photoshop." ~ Jeffrey Zeldman, <a href="http://www.zeldman.com/2008/12/04/20-signs-you-dont-want-that-web-design-project/">20 signs you don’t want that web design project</a>.
If only these weren’t so familiar…Clifton Labrumtag:2008:northtemple-39212008-12-03T15:45:00-07:002008-12-03T15:45:00-07:00This is quite possibly the cool...Photosearchcustomdetail<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/search.jpg" class="type-img" /><br/><p>This is quite possibly the coolest search box I have <em>ever</em> seen. Way to go, <a href="http://designdisease.com" target="_blank">Design Disease</a>. So often search boxes are the last thing on a designer’s mind, yet it’s so easy to remove all the default styles and plop a wild background image behind the search input. I dig this kind of detail.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> Smashing Magazine put up a <a href="http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/12/04/designing-the-holy-search-box-examples-and-best-practices/" target="_blank">massive search article</a> that talks about customization and design considerations. Great stuff.</p>Tadd Gilestag:2008:northtemple-39152008-12-03T11:09:00-07:002008-12-03T11:09:00-07:00In attempting to delete a Twitt...Phototwitteralertshuman<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/Picture 1.png" class="type-img" /><br/><p>In attempting to delete a Twitter account this morning I got the following message. Not my desired outcome, but somehow I think I’m ok with it. I don’t want to be adding to anyone’s stress.</p>Chris Mayfieldtag:2008:northtemple-39102008-12-03T09:04:00-07:002008-12-03T09:04:00-07:00If you want a successful produc...QuoteSuccessDesigncreativeemotional design"If you want a successful product, test and revise. If you want a great product, one that can change the world, let it be driven by someone with a clear vision. The latter presents more financial risk, but it is the only path to greatness." ~ Donald A. Norman – Don’t freak out agile fans, He states in context that you still need to iterate it’s just a difference in what is driving the project.John Dilworthtag:2008:northtemple-39002008-12-02T17:32:00-07:002008-12-02T17:32:00-07:00The Font Feed comments on recen...Blurbdesign typography neurocience<p><a href="http://bit.ly/ByN0">The Font Feed comments on recent research</a> by scientists at New York University who are proving that good typography matters. Neuro-scientists Denis G. Pelli & Katharine A. Tillman recently published a thesis in the Journal “Nature Neuroscience” advancing the theory that proper spacing is the defining factor in legibility.</p>
<p>I also dug up <a href="http://www.journalofvision.org/7/2/20/">an example of previous research</a> on the topic by these scientists. Interesting read if you like to throw a little neuroscience with into your daily design reading.</p>Jason Lynestag:2008:northtemple-38892008-12-02T01:03:00-07:002008-12-02T01:03:00-07:00Hot and graceful jQuery dropcapsCase StudycodeprogrammingCSShtmljqueryjavascript<p>Dropcaps are a staple of magazine and newspaper design, but aren’t always the easiest to implement on the web. Using this little jQuery and <span class="caps">CSS</span> tutorial, you can easily add hot little dropcaps to your web articles without bothering your developers. This method will also let you sleep at night knowing your caps will degrade gracefully, displaying just fine in browsers without <span class="caps">CSS</span> or JavaScript enabled.</p>
<p>Please note, this tutorial is for those who are familiar with jQuery and <span class="caps">CSS</span>. No basics taught here. Also nerd alert.</p>Ted Borentag:2008:northtemple-38802008-12-01T11:28:00-07:002008-12-01T11:28:00-07:00It takes a strong
UX practiti...Quoteagileusabilityuser experienceleadership"It takes a strong
UX practitioner to stand up to an ill-informed team who think that Agile is about
speed rather than about better project control, and who subsequently think that user
experience work is a waste of time." ~ Looking forward to reading the rest of Nielsen/Norman’s <a href="http://www.nngroup.com/reports/agile/">Best Practices for User Experience on Agile Development Projects</a>Aaron Barkertag:2008:northtemple-38762008-12-01T09:20:00-07:002008-12-01T09:20:00-07:00Many of the newer cool phones a...BlurbLinksmobileusability<p>Many of the newer cool phones are moving to a touch screen only interface (iPhone, G1 [when closed], Storm, etc). They are also supporting the ability to view the same websites that we design for the desktop. This is naturally pretty cool in that they get all those bells and whistles we designed and we don’t have to create a second version of our site specifically for them.</p>
<p>The other day I was on my iPhone, navigating around a site where some of the links didn’t look like links and you wouldn’t think they were links by their placement. I’m going to guess that the designer thought:</p>
<ol>
<li>These links aren’t very important</li>
<li>The user can use their mouse to hover over things to find what is a link and what isn’t (making the user do extra work isn’t very nice btw)</li>
<li>The user can tab to these links and will discover them that way (still not very nice)</li>
</ol>
<p>Well as an iPhone user, the links were important, I didn’t have a mouse (cursor really as I can still click), and I didn’t have a tab with which to hop around. The only reason I clicked on them was because I was familiar with the site and knew they were there.</p>
<p>In this new world where mobile devices can see our regular sites, we need to be even more diligent in going back to basics of making sure links are easily viewable. As I mentioned above, it’s not very nice to expect a user to move their mouse over any given word to see if it is a link or not. Our senior generation can’t see subtle differences in color. Now we have devices that don’t have a mouse as we currently understand it and can’t hop between links with a tab key or joystick.</p>
<p>There naturally needs to be a fine line between big bold links and design. I wouldn’t want my page littered with default blue underlined links everywhere. But skewing too far to subtlety, while more aesthetically appealing, may not be very user friendly in general, and out right unusable on these newer devices.</p>Ted Borentag:2008:northtemple-38542008-11-29T10:22:00-07:002008-11-29T10:22:00-07:00Creativity is allowing yourself...Quotecreativityartmistakes"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." ~ Scott Adams, <i>The Dilbert Principle</i>. There’s something about this that resonates… even though I’d like to think that not all good ideas start as mistakes…Wade Shearertag:2008:northtemple-38492008-11-28T09:06:00-07:002008-11-28T09:06:00-07:00Perfect is the enemy of good en...Quoteperfectiongood enoughsoftware development"Perfect is the enemy of good enough. When your product or service is good enough, get it out, because cash flows when you start shipping. Besides, unwanted features, not perfection, come with more time. By shipping, youll also learn what your customers truly want you to fix. It’s definitely a trade-off your reputation versus cash flow so you can’t ship pure crap. But you can’t wait for perfection either." ~ Even though we don’t sell our product, I found the third step in <a href="http://www.guykawasaki.com/">Guy Kawasaki’s</a> article <a href="http://blogs.openforum.com/2008/11/25/the-art-of-bootstrapping/"><em>The Art of Bootstrapping</em></a> timely as we work to employ a more agile approach to software development.Wade Shearertag:2008:northtemple-38482008-11-28T08:44:00-07:002008-11-28T08:44:00-07:00This beautiful combination of m...Phototypography music<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/oams_cvr.jpg" class="type-img" /><br/><p>This beautiful combination of musical notation and typography comes from a <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1sJMFuaruqM/SShpuoQypYI/AAAAAAAAAAo/ZBrKof2KRKM/s1600-h/aoms.jpg">poster</a> advertising an <a href="http://www.museumstudio.se/ms/art-of-music-stockholm/">art expo</a> opening today in Stockholm, titled The Art of Music.</p>
<p>From the curator: <em>The Art of Music reflects upon the profound influence that music has on art and simultaneously art has on music and recognises their common creative approach. The leading idea of the show emphasises the fact that artists tastes in music are always strongly related to their work. Each artist has been asked to design the poster for the concert of his or her dream, including the line-up of choice and in any venue imaginable whether existing or not.</em></p>Aaron Barkertag:2008:northtemple-38382008-11-26T18:25:00-07:002008-11-26T18:25:00-07:00I'm one of the least typographi...Photofontstypographytransformers<img src="http://www.photos.northtemple.com/optimaprime.jpg" class="type-img" /><br/><p>I’m one of the least typographical guys in our group. But even I can appreciate a good cross between typography and 80’s cartoons with the <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/optima_shirt-235387655322295855">Optima T-Shirt</a> :)</p>http://api.feedburner.com/awareness/1.0/GetFeedData?uri=northtemple-atom