I am on the verge of receiving my first Macintosh computer. It is going to be an iMac, coming in with a striking 24″ display with plenty of power underneath its slender frame. And let me tell you, I couldn’t be more excited! It is going to be my primary design machine, and from what I hear, this is a wise decision. And I, for one, completely buy into this. But why? What makes a Mac the designers dream? When did they become the standard and is it based on anything other than precedence?
Status Quo Or True Leader?
As far back as I can recall, it has always been the consensus that a Mac is the designer’s dream computer. However, I only recently started to think about why this was. Well, they say designers need loads of power in their computing and back in the Power PC days, Apple swore that they were in the lead. However, the switch to Intel has all but eroded their purported hardware edge. So what could it possibly be now?
The way I see it, it must have something to do with the platform. Now I may be one of the few people to argue that my Windows Tablet has never run into any serious problems. Performance has been great and it has been very stable for me. But what I did feel was what I will dub, “Mac App Envy.” This is where I feel that the best apps for designers are made for Macs. Obviously, the big vendors make their software for everyone, but the smaller outfits with the interesting programs seem to always come out for Macs!
Severe Mac App Envy
To illustrate this symptom, I am going to give you a list of 15 programs that I am most looking forward to using. They look good and work well, while staying simple and to the point. Does it get more Mac than that?
- Coda: A web coding program.
- Locomotive: Ruby on Rails development.
- Quicksilver: Program launcher.
- Backdrop: Desktop simplifier.
- DEVONthink: Database application.
- Ecto: Desktop blogging app.
- Severskine: Client password manager.
- Transmit: File manager and FTP client.
- iBiz: Billing and invoicing clients.
- Puka: Bookmark sources of inspiration.
- Image Tricks: Lightweight, quick image editor.
- Voice Candy: Record voice memos.
- Sticky Windows: Clutter free work environment.
- FontExplorer X: Font manager.
- QuickSnap: Screen capture utility.
This is the kind of toolbox a designer could put together while working on a Mac. Now, the thing is, are there not Windows or Linux alternatives? I am sure that there are. So I am still partly left with my original question.
Why Do We Go For Macs?
Perhaps this idea of designers needing Macs is sort of a self-perpetuating myth at this point. There isn’t really any design factor that makes them better than any other platform. But, they are certainly the most beautiful pieces of hardware; and perhaps, as designers, we lean towards them because they are in fact, well designed. Do you think that a Mac is a designers must have computer?
This post was written by J David Macor.
Since the days of the caveman, we’ve been using information graphics or “infographics”, as visual shorthand to convey information to the viewer that might take paragraphs or pages to explain in words. We interact with infographics on a daily basis, from the stick figure telling us when to cross the street, to icons in a web navigational menu. The field of infographics is exploding, with Edward Tufte being the current leading expert. There are many great examples to be found, that run the gamut of information displayed:
Timelines
Data Maps
(via Smashing Magazine)
and even recipes…
Some useful:
(via NixLOG)
And some not so useful…
(via Smashing Magazine)
One extremely common use of infographics on blog sites are tag clouds, but given that blogs are tools for communicating information, it seems we could be making more frequent use of infographics to engage readers, rather than always writing paragraph upon paragraph for them to sift through.
Sketchcasting
One fascinating idea recently is “sketchcasting“, in which the video podcast is used to discuss a topic as the author draws on a “whiteboard”, explaining the concepts with infographics as they talk. While it’s not useful for every topic certainly, there are some things that just lend themselves to being more easily explained with accompanying pictures. Take a look at this sketchcast that explains RSS in a way that even a complete computer newbie could understand.
Simile’s Timeline Widget
At MIT the Simile project has released a widget called Timeline for visualizing time-based events. It is like Google Maps for time-based information. Using a simple XML file to supply the data, you can create a clickable, dragable interactive map, with several datasets of events. There are many possibilities for uses, from historical timelines, to current events.
And, here’s a blog entirely devoted to using charts and diagrams to visually communicate a little humor. For more examples, check out NixLOG, and Smashing Magazine’s article on the subject.
What are some examples of infographics that you find to be particularly useful or interesting?
This article was written by Randa Clay. Read more about design, marketing, blogging, branding and all things creative at RandaClay.com.
So you have decided to hop aboard the freelance web developer’s train and ride it to your millions. You read all of the prerequisites like SitePoint and the new must-reads like Freelance Switch. You scoured the job boards around the net and have finally connected with your first client only to run into a major roadblock; one part of the project requires you to build something that you don’t know how to do. It doesn’t matter if it is as pointless as Flash or as crucial as an application written in a particular language. As developers, we can’t possibly specialize in every known technology, yet as a freelancer, you will often find yourself in the position of not having the full set of skills necessary to complete the job.
Outsourcing To The Rescue
Like in all sectors of the modern economy, outsourcing is becoming a major force to be reckoned with. And while I won’t go into detail about why I think the United States and Europe should stop freaking out about this phenomenon, it is clear that this could give the average freelancer a huge edge. Suddenly, you can cost effectively hire yourself a team when need be, but maintain your freelance status. It is like having temporary employees working for you, but only when you need them. The savings potential is massive and meanwhile you can pass yourself off as the most versatile freelancer out there.
But here is the dilemma: Should you tell your client that you outsourced a component of their project?
The Ethical Dilemma
You could easily not tell your client that you had to outsource a part of their project. Meanwhile, things go off without a hitch and everyone is happy. Unless of course something goes wrong with that piece and you don’t know how to service it. Then again, you could always outsource the fixing of the issue. The point is, this could continue and your client would never know the difference and you still look like the whiz kid.
Just like in any other economic sector, everyone will be reaping the benefits of this outsourcing. You will look like a true professional, your client will be happy about your relatively low prices (compared, to say, a boutique designer), and the end user will get that well designed, well functioning website that they came looking for. You aren’t necessarily obligated to tell anyone how your development process went.
Potential Pitfalls In Outsourcing
This is not to say that you won’t run into problems. The real issue will be finding a company to outsource to that is reliable and produces excellent results. There are tons of these services out there, located everywhere from India (where else) to Illinois and choosing the right one is no small task. In his ebook, Outsourcing Web Projects: 6 Steps to a Smarter Business, Dave Hecker puts it well:
“Remember that there are no barriers to entering the web development business. Any person from anywhere in the world can simply say “I’m a web developer” and start bidding on jobs. As a result, there are large numbers of inexperienced and unqualified vendors in the web design industry, and most of them lack the experience to execute your project properly”
Overall, outsourcing can be an invaluable tool for a web developer and is an option that should not be shrugged off. At the same time, you cannot ignore the potential problems and should always do some research about the company you are interested in. Either way, you can end up looking like a true professional. How do you feel about outsourcing your work?
This article was written by J David Macor.
It’s hard to be logo designer these days. Not only do you have to please the client, now the general public weighs in on new logos as well. Just look at all the uproar following the release of the London 2012 logo, for example. LogoLounge has release their annual logo trends report, and the intro includes a rather pointed distaste for this public logo bashing.
It is also becoming disturbingly clear that logo design has become a public sport. As the public controls their own media more and more–Tivo-ing this, blogging that, YouTube-ing and Googling everything else–people are no longer satisfied to simply consume what is placed before them: They have opinions they want to share. So when a large corporation reveals its new identity, there are hundreds of internet sites flinging their opinions back at it. Even when the village board of Remote votes on a new logo for its two police cars, citizens take to the streets waving pitchforks and copies of their own designs. Committeecide seems to be rampant.
Is the public critique of logos a bad thing? Should the masses just go back to consuming what has been placed before them- letting the designer-gods tell them what good design is rather than thinking for themselves? I’ll be the first to say that some of this public ridicule of logos has been taken too far, but I think that the design world is just going to have to get used to the fact that the public has more of a voice that it has ever had before, and they’re going to use it.
While there are a lot of people critiquing design work who wouldn’t know a good design if it bit them in the left buttock, there are a couple of sites that do it really well. Brand New is a division of the UnderConsideration network of graphic design sites, and includes insights into recent logo redesigns. The reviews are excellent and the comments from the reader community are useful as well. IdentityWorks is another site that offers critical reviews of corporate identities, going all the way back to 1998.
What do you think? Do you think the public debate about logos and campaigns to change them takes it too far? Do you think we should ease up on these poor logo designers?
This article was written by Randa Clay. Read more about design, marketing, blogging, branding and all things creative at RandaClay.com.
Two of the best looking websites recently changed their look. Devlounge and Ordered List have been leaders in the blogging community for some time. But that is not all they have in common; they are also both 9Rules defectors. However, I do not want to dwell on that, because it will only lead to trouble. Anyhow, these two popular sites have been refreshed and I would like to take a look at the new looks of each of them.
Ordering Up A New List
Steve Smith’s Ordered List has been one of my personal favorite designs since I began blogging. His black and blue color scheme with subtle highlighting was fantastic. Well, now all of that is gone, but let me be the first to say that I love the new look.
The motivation behind the redesign was actually to enhance the business aspect of the site. He has deemphasized the blog while enhancing the exposure of his personal company. Of course, besides the shift in the site’s philosophy, he also refreshed the look. A new brown color scheme is the most obvious change. If you would have said that it was going to be brown, I probably would have thought it was going to look terrible, but Steve pulled it off. He also subtly realigned elements, which makes sense for his new business orientation.
The only thing that was changed about the logo was the color scheme. Interestingly enough, I noticed that the logo was actually an unordered list, not an ordered list… But, it is still a great logo, conveying the basic idea about its namesake.
On a typographical note, I am a big fan of the way his actual posts look. The large font of the opening paragraph with the subtle line beneath really set it apart. It also helps to draw the reader in to the article. Additionally, there is a refreshing lack of advertisements. In fact, he doesn’t even have a sidebar, leaving all of the focus on the article, which is presented in a very easy to read font. Overall, the redesign is great.
Relaxing In The Lounge
The folks over at Devlounge have utilized a major technique that we preach about here at Wisdump; whitespace! That’s right, they have cleaned up their look and reemphasized their content. But somehow it still leaves something somewhat lacking.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the overall look. Yet I can’t help but notice that it seems like a bit of a step backwards, whether that was their intention or not. It resembles their previous look to a strong degree. I know that isn’t a bad thing, but I just feel slightly cheated. Again, I like the look, but a part of me is somehow slightly resentful.
As I mentioned before, their content has become the focus. Everything has been simplified; there are no distracting elements and advertising is at the bare minimum. There is a distinctive lack of graphical elements, which is impressive, because the site still has a tremendously professional feel. Again, this redesign was more about removing things than it was about changing or adding things. It is a quintessential grid design.
Personally, I would have preferred to see a tweaking of their previous design. I liked the artistic flair of the banner and I also thought that the magazine layout of the homepage was interesting. It was a bit complicated to navigate, but I thought it really stood out. So some enhancements would have been preferable for me, yet overall, I still like their new design.
This article was written by J David Macor.
Remember in the movie, Minority Report, Tom Cruise had that screen interface he controlled with gestures as he browsed through information? Eventually we’ll probably be browsing through the internet in a similar way. Over the last several months there have been some new tools released inching forward in the move from a flat browsing experience to truly browsing through the “space” of cyberspace.
Here are four recent releases that are taking baby steps in that direction, attempting to give us a “bird’s eye view” of the internet, the interconnectedness of sites, and even connections between people in social networks.
TouchGraph
Offering a Google browser and a Facebook browser, TouchGraph shows how sites and people are connected in an interactive visual map.
Walk2Web
Users of Walk2Web can visualize the connections between sites as they’re browsing, while allowing them to view, review, bookmark and vote for their favorite sites.
TwitterBlocks
Twitter Blocks is a new tool that allows users to visualize 3D Twitter “neighborhoods” in an abstract block formation and discover other users with similar interests.
SpaceTime
SpaceTime displays search results from Google, Yahoo, and even Ebay in 3D space. The browser also offers 3D tabbed browsing.
There are also tools on the horizon such as ICCARUS, a 3D network visualization tool, and Sun’s open source Looking Glass project that turns the user’s desktop into a 3D environment.
Interesting stuff, but is it really all that useful? Maybe not, but you have to start somewhere I suppose. The difficulty is that trying to visualize data that is so complex with so many interconnections becomes unwieldy and difficult to use and understand in 3D space. You only have to take a look at the ICCARUS demo to see how impossibly complex a basic social network appears when rendered visually in 3D.
What do you think web browsing will be like in 10-15 years? Will we gesture through the web on giant screens like Tom had in Minority Report? Would browsing the web in 3D be inherently better? I think we’ll end up with some combination of the two, and in fact I think that the Walk2Web example is maybe the most useful of the 4 and is the closest to how I imagine browsing a decade from now. Not only does it contain the social aspect of Web2.0, but we see connections between sites, thumbnails and scrolling feeds as well. Have you used any of the four? Have you found them to be useful, or just eye candy?
This article was written by Randa Clay. Read more about design, marketing, blogging, branding and all things creative at RandaClay.com.
Often overlooked and misunderstood, typography stands, to many, as one of the least interesting aspects of design. Plenty of us have a predetermined collection of 5 or 6 fonts that we always choose from; a go-to pool of familiar looks. We let default line heights rule the roost. However, by expanding the breadth of our typography knowledge, we can truly reshape and characterize our design. In fact, I can think of 3 principle benefits of the mastery of this topic:
- Improved Readability
- Professional Touch
- Unique Feel
To put it simply, you will become a better designer. Typography influences every far reaching facet of web design: banner, menu, logo and content to name a few. It doesn’t get too much more all encompassing than that. In fact, some have gone so far as to say that web design is 95% typography.
The Basics
The Basics of Typography: What better place to start than from the beginning? This 3 part series serves as a great introduction to typography. The articles touch on everything from terminology (is a font different from a typeface?) to paragraph widths (learn about the alphabet method).
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Typeface: Michael Bierut examines the previously mentioned notion that designers should stick to a small collection of fonts and discusses its faults. He then addresses the proverbial question in typography: why choose a particular typeface? Well, he gives you 13 reasons.
The Typography Timeline: Why not sharpen your knowledge on the subject with a little bit of history? Jim Kidwell found this nifty timeline of typography in the 20th century. The chart is extremely interesting and worth a look through.
Techniques
Soft Serve: This article addresses an often misunderstood aspect of font-sizing: absolute versus relative. Daniel Mall walks the reader through the techniques involved and gives you a good sense of where to start when it comes to font size specification.
Typography in Logo Design: The folks at SOS Logo design walk you through the essentials of typography in designing a logo, while touching on text manipulation and symbol usage. While not incredibly intricate, the article presents the basic techniques and ideas you should consider.
The Trouble With EM ’n EN (and Other Shady Characters): It is tough to discuss an aspect of web design without referring to ALA; and indeed I could not avoid it. Here, Peter Sheerin talks about the various symbols in HTML and their proper usage. This article is a must read.
Tools
What The Font?: I can’t even count the number of times where I have seen a logo and wondered, “What font is that?” Well, luckily there is a service that you can use to identify fonts within images. You upload and let it tell you what font you have on your hands.
Baseline Rhythm Calculator: The idea behind this tool is simple. Pick your font size and your line height, then let the tool generate some nifty CSS for your usage. That’s all folks.
Typeface Cheat Sheet: The oh so Digg worthy Thinking Blog gives us this gem. It comes from Alessandro Segalini and it is essentially a font mixing grid. It will help you decide on which combination of typefaces to use, which is very handy.
Typetester: This tool allows you to test different type faces; imagine that. You have three columns of text and you can modify the typography anyway you please and then get the accompanying CSS for your choices. It is great for comparing and mixing fonts.
Conclusions
This is by no means a completely comprehensive anthology, so feel free to leave a comment about your favorite resources. Overall, I am just trying to get this message across: there is a great deal for all of us to learn about typography. Its importance is overwhelming in the design world. It predates our digital era and it will certainly last much longer than that. Hopefully you will take it upon yourself to refine and rethink your typography choices.
This article was written by J David Macor.
