Understanding the PianoUser communities own and define technologies as much or more than the inventors. A piano from 1817 is the perfect example.
Ancient Architecture: The Gods Are in the DetailsAn Acropolis visit is an object lesson in the value of quiet design decisions amid colossal projects.
See and Be SĒNCongrats to designer Michael Nguyen and the gang at SĒN Baltimore Magazine for the launch this week of senbaltimore.com, powered by Big Medium 2.
Your Word Processor Is Distracting YouI kicked Microsoft Word to the curb seven years ago, and my plain-text world has been more productive ever since.
Currency Usability: Show Me the MoneyCurrency may well be the most important travel interface. In that match-up, Europe wins the coin toss against the US, whose coins border on the unintelligible.
Vu Magazine: Photos, Robots and Cutting-Edge DesignI expected nostalgic photos, but instead got insight into how technology works to spark design innovation.
Big Medium in the StacksA big shout out to the Association of Research Libraries, which just launched
a newly designed website, powered by Big Medium 2.
MoMA Lesson #2: Interface Design and the Path of Least ResistanceAudio-obsessed museum visitors prefer to listen to their audio guides rather than look at the art, revealing a lesson in interface design.
Walk a Mile in Their KneesAn “empathy suit” helps designers discover how well their creations work for aging customers. Are there clues here for software and web developers, too?
MoMA Lesson #1: Story-Driven DesignAn architecture exhibit offers some useful usability lessons for web and software designers.
Why Simple Is ComplicatedDon Norman despairs that simple doesn't sell, and the blogosphere reacts. What makes simplicity so difficult?
Seven Books for CreativesGift ideas, eye candy and brain food for the design-obsessed
Inspiration, Far from the ComputerWhen designer's block strikes, hit up Mother Nature. You'll be surprised what you might learn.
The Amazing Power of "I'm Working on It"Or, the salubrious effects of the progress bar.
Design Inspired by Natural HistoryColor me morbid, but I've got this minor fascination with the visual trappings of 19th-century anatomical science.