business archives

How to be happy at business, a Venn diagram by Bud Caddell. From his writeup:

We can’t determine how to make enough money from the things we want to do, and do really well. I’m constantly surprised at what can be monetized. And on the web, there’s a market for almost anything. But this problem requires you to rapidly iterate your positioning and the type of clients you serve. Often, we’ll get transfixed on a single direction early on (because we’re desperate to solidify our business) and we’ll miss our chance to radically experiment with the market.

A short and sweet synopsis of what we should all be striving for, not just if you have your own business.

posted by jason on Sunday, Jun 07, 2009 · 1 comment

“At the level of detail I think is necessary to make them what they are, they simply can’t pay for themselves. In purely business terms, it’s an irrational enterprise. And it’s also the best work I do.”
children’s author Sandra Boynton, on making and publishing children’s music, in the excellent piece The Power of Whimsy

posted by jason on Sunday, Feb 17, 2008

Business card designs galore.

posted by foster on Tuesday, Jul 03, 2007

The List

Looking for inspiration? Craving instruction? Bored and need something to read? Look no further; here is the Official NorthTemple Uber List of Inspirational Instructional Books, Conferences, and other stuff. Enjoy!

Conferences/Workshops
Edward Tufte
An Event Apart

Design, Usability, and Software Development Books
The Design of Everyday Things
Author: Don Norman

The Inmates are Running the Asylum
Author: Alan Cooper

Designing with Web Standards
Author: Jeffrey Zeldman

Getting Real
Author: 37Signals

Designing for Interaction: Creating Smart Applications and Clever Devices
Author: Dan Saffer

Designing Interfaces: Patterns for Effective Interaction Design
Author: Jenifer Tidwell

Designing the Obvious: A Common Sense Approach to Web Application Design
Author: Robert Hoekman Jr.

Defensive Design for the Web
Author: 37signals, Matthew Linderman, Jason Fried

Transcending CSS: The Fine Art of Web Design
Author: Andy Clarke, Molly E. Holzschlag

Bulletproof Web Design
Author: Dan Cederholm

CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions
Author: Andy Budd, Simon Collison, Cameron Moll

Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
Author: Steve Krug

The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web
Author: Jesse James Garrett

Universal Principles of Design: 100 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design
Author: William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, Jill Butler

The Elements of Typographic Style
Author: Robert Bringhurst

Business
Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box
Author: The Arbinger Institute

Small Is The New Big
Author: Seth Godin

Religion
The Standard Works
Conference Talks

To Draw Closer to God
Author: Henry B. Eyring

The Lord’s Way
Author: Dallin H. Oaks

Temple And Cosmos
Author: Hugh Nibley

Literature
Les Miserables
The Lord of the Rings
Ender’s Series

Blogs and Magazines
Authentic Boredom
456 Berea Street
Subtraction
A List Apart
Speak Up
Brand New
Design Observer
Boxes and Arrows
UX Magazine
UX Matters
Vitamin
Core77
Get Results Blog
Signal vs. Noise
Trizle

Reference
The Elements of Typographic Style applied to the Web
John Maeda’s Laws of Simplicity
UI Garden

Professional Organizations
Interaction Design Association
AIGA

posted by rick on Monday, Jun 25, 2007

David Heinemeier Hansson at 37signals was recently approached by a recruiter about a Ruby on Rails position, saying “it looks like you have an interest in this new and exciting framework.” Note to recruiter: David invented Rails. Dorks. David writes up that experience and others in the current job market, where recruiters are so anxious to get the word out they forget about basic research and personal communication.

By the way, while we aren’t likely to spam you, we are hiring.

posted by jason on Wednesday, Apr 11, 2007