No bullshit, to-the-point, clean, beautiful, accessible—simple.

This entry was written by admin, posted on 02/03/2010 at 10:34 AM, filed under CSS, Design and tagged Design. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

I read this brief entry on the 37signals blog “Signal vs. Noise”, and felt it was worth sharing, in it’s entirety. I admire almost everything 37signals does—’specially the blunt (but almost always bang-on) opinions of founder, Jason Fried. Once again, I couldn’t agree more. I’ll rip the entire article and post below…

There’s more to building a great product than just studying the market or the technology or competitors. You need to have taste too. You need to understand what “great” means in a big picture sense, not just in your chosen field. At least that’s what Steve Jobs thinks:

Great products, according to Mr. Jobs, are triumphs of “taste.” And taste, he explains, is a byproduct of study, observation and being steeped in the culture of the past and present, of “trying to expose yourself to the best things humans have done and then bring those things into what you are doing”.

Want to build a great iPhone app? Go listen to Billie Holliday. Trying to design a piece of hardware? Visit a Frank Lloyd Wright house. Aiming to write great marketing copy? Read Aldous Huxley. Need a color scheme? Go to the museum and check out some Mark Rothko paintings.

Studying masters in a wide range of fields is how you learn greatness. Their creations may not have a direct, instant benefit on whatever you’re making, but soaking them in will change the way you think and the decisions you make. Side benefit: you’ll be a lot more interesting person too.

This entry was written by admin, posted on 02/02/2010 at 9:33 AM, filed under Business, Design, Life, Technology and tagged 37signals, Inspiration, Taste. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

It’s been done a million times—but I’m still a sucker for this look-and-feel.

This entry was written by admin, posted on 01/28/2010 at 12:26 PM, filed under CSS, Design and tagged CSS, Design. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

This book has a spot devoted to it on our coffee table.

This entry was written by admin, posted on 01/27/2010 at 10:02 AM, filed under Design, Typography and tagged Helvetica, NYC, Subway. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Dinoto, by Hyperakt, is a great example of an agency website done well.

This entry was written by admin, posted on 01/21/2010 at 8:51 AM, filed under Design, Flash and tagged Design, Flash. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Big fan of the watercolour aesthetic. Always have been.

This entry was written by admin, posted on 01/20/2010 at 10:14 AM, filed under CSS, Design and tagged CSS, Watercolour. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Firstborn rocking it once again with a site for Sobe, one of Pepsi-Cola’s brands.

This entry was written by admin, posted on 01/14/2010 at 9:00 AM, filed under Business, Design, Flash and tagged Design, Firstborn, Flash. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Aflac takes the crown for one of the most annoying ad campaigns of the modern age—but this microsite does it’s job quite well. It immediately grabs your attention, and it does so in a stylish and captivating way. Credit where credit is due—this works.

This entry was written by admin, posted on 01/12/2010 at 10:27 AM, filed under Business, Design, Flash and tagged Flash, Microsite. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

From Dublin, Ireland. Nice, simple 1-pager—loaded with personality.

This entry was written by admin, posted on 01/04/2010 at 9:14 AM, filed under CSS, Design and tagged CSS, Design. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

I was pleased to learn recently that one of the most important albums of the past 25 years was remastered, and re-released: “Paul’s Boutique“, by the Beastie Boys. I played this album (cassette, then CD) to death (really). It’s one of the most lyrically-complex albums (that I’ve heard), and I can recite 95% of the lyrics from memory—that’s how many plays this sucker got.

This LP was a radical departure for the 3 lads from Brooklyn (well, 2 from Brooklyn, 1 from Manhattan)—at the time, they were expected by Capitol Records to release another “License to Ill“, and they did anything but. They split for LA, expanded their minds, and ears, and released this masterpiece in the summer of 1989.

At the time, Paul’s Boutique was a commercial failure. Panned by many music critics (but not all), and from what I’ve read since then, most felt that their 15 minutes were up. I didn’t know what to think—I was most likely too young at the time to pass any judgement on them. All I knew, is that I had never heard anything like it before, and I don’t think I’ve heard anything quite like it since. Time has been very kind to Paul’s Boutique (and the Beastie Boys). The album continues to make many top-album lists (including Rolling Stone, which, if I am not mistaken, panned it back in ‘89).

I recommend everyone experience this sonic adventure—’specially the new remastered version, but I hope most of you have by now…

This entry was written by admin, posted on 01/02/2010 at 11:25 AM, filed under Life, Music and tagged Music. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.