One of the benefits of ditching cable and going to internet streaming TV is that I'm watching more TED talks for a mental stretch break. True, I'm missing half of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but I catch stuff like this from Paola Antonelli, on bringing video games to New York's Museum of Modern Art ... [ted id=1752] It caught my attention because it's all about the importance of Design, and specifically Interaction Design. Antonelli moved from architecture to a focus…
You are only as good as what you know, and half of what you know comes from books Truth be told, it's not an original thought - I heard it many years ago, but it rang true for me personally. I still have many of my old college textbooks - engineering volumes bound in impressive faux leather, including a massive, near-mint copy of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics - 60th edition (note: collectors, make me an offer!). Over the years,…
Another great example of tilt-shift / time-lapse film making - thanks to Photojojo and It's Nice That ... httpv://vimeo.com/37157187 I like the helicopter rescue at about 1:20, a mini-flashback to a previous video from this guy ... http://vimeo.com/3156959 ... which was featured on the Guggenheim site (what a great site to wander through for inspiration!) Take a quick look at the filmmaker's web site - the home page has a video of samples that are just stunning!
Even though there is an art to visualization design, it stands to reason that this is a skill that can be taught / learned. I remember going to campus visits with my daughter, and hearing about a textbook considered to be a timeless classic - teaching students how to draw. What a concept - I guess I had always imagined an innate, magic ability (that I, of course, never had). Then again, musicians start learning to read and write music…
"Data Visualization" has been an extremely active and popular topic for a few years - we can use Google's Timeline search feature to see the growth in interest since 1980: That local high in July of this year was due in no small part to David McCandless' Information is Beautiful talk at TED this past summer. It appeared in my RSS stream here, here, and here, so I got the hint, spent 18 minutes watching it, and got suitably jazzed…
My last entry on design for a bit - just some thoughts on the added complexity when designing applications for multiple client devices. Fast Changing Device Landscape The "last mile" of user/computer interaction has seen a number of exciting innovations over the past year or so. Phones are getting physically smaller, yet have bulked up their connectedness and capabilities - and the shrinking screen, now touch-sensitive, has blown up into the ubiquitous iPad and a host of next-gen touchscreens. Yes,…
Like a technical peanut butter cup - two great skill sets that go great together. What really happens when artists and coders mash things up? Intuitive Interactions: Are application developers adept at effective design? I think, as a group, no - witness all of the effort put forth to wrap "user friendly screens" in front of ERPs major and minor. Visual Basic, PowerBuilder, SQLWindows, and their ilk spawned legions of wanna-be UI designers, presented with a multitude of gadgets, and…
So, design thinking can have a positive impact on how you do what you do, and it may very well be hidden inside, waiting to get out. Ok, you are intrigued, you might even believe you can release the designer in you. Where to next? How to get started? Practical Expressions of "Good Design" Like most tech folks, you will need something a bit more concrete that just seeing something effective on the screen; some guiding principles and "rules of…