June 2012
15 posts
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Please Pass the Pepper
I love my job. I’ve had the opportunity to design software for explosive ordnance disposal, oil platform and refinery operations, submarine and aircraft carrier maintenance, automobile service, maritime intercept operations, and industrial power system analysis. One of the greatest benefits of being a designer is that every time I start a project with a new customer, I’m learning a new domain. I’m...
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In Comparison: Command Key
Something that still trips me up is InDesign’s use of the command key. Back when I was using Freehand, I never switched to the arrow tool. I always had the text tool or pen tool selected. I’d just hold down the command key anytime I needed to use the arrow to select or drag something. As long as I held down the command key, I’d have the arrow cursor. Release the command key and it would go back to...
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User Interface Disasters
Most of the work I’ve done in my career has been on contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense. The rest has been in major industries like oil and gas production or automobile servicing. It’s all very serious work, and there can be serious consequences when something doesn’t work the way it should. John Hillabin wrote an interesting article on Cracked.com titled 6 Disasters Caused by Poorly...
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TableTop
I’ve fallen in love with Will Wheaton’s new show, TableTop, on Geek & Sundry. It’s the kind of thing that a television network would never fund. “Who would want to watch a bunch of geeks sitting around a table playing board games?” This is the kind of thing that’s going to eventually allow me to drop cable. Will and his guests are entertaining, and the show has high production values (cheap,...
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Working with Developers: Designer Wannabe
A few weeks ago, I proffered advice on working with the “old dogs”. Today, I’d like to describe another type of developer I’ve had the pleasure to work with: the Designer Wannabe. Many designers would be annoyed with, or threatened by, a developer that wants to do our job, but I recommend embracing them. Let’s take a look.
Reece Groene Software Engineer III
Loves to do UI work. Where many of his...
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Free Advice
Hey, all of you newly graduated designers looking to land a job, here are a few suggestions from someone that is looking to hire.
Proofread your résumé. What’s that? You say you already did? Well, do it again! You missed something. Don’t claim to be “detail oriented” and then tell me that you designed landscapes to meet costumers needs.
Include the URL to your online portfolio on your résumé. I...
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Time to Move
I know I’m the odd man out. I’ve been using MobileMe since it’s release, and I like it. I especially like MobileMe Gallery, the photo sharing part. I can select an album in iPhoto and post it to MobileMe with just a couple clicks. I can make it so that people can only view the photos, or I can let them download them. I can even allow visitors to post their own photos to an album through the...
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Speaking of TweetDeck…
While I’m on the subject, here’s a feature wish for TweetDeck. When I type “@”, a list of Twitter handles I’ve tweeted to in the past displays for me to choose from. This is smart, as there are only a few people or groups that I send tweets to, other than replies. What would be even more useful to me, however, would be a list of tags that I’ve used. It could be implemented in exactly the same way,...
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In the Details: #
I use TweetDeck, on both my iPhone and desktop, for all of my tweeting. It’s also how I do the majority of by Facebooking. I like that it integrates the two, both for reading and posting. There are a couple of improvements, however, that would make it a lot more efficient.
They put an @ symbol right above the keyboard, so it’s really quick to type. But what I use even more often is the hash (#)...
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Play All
I finally broke down and got a Blu-Ray player. Actually, I received it as a Christmas present, but it was the release of the Star Wars saga that defeated my resolve and convinced me to put it on my wish list. I was determined to skip Blu-Ray and go completely digital. However, I love the documentaries, commentaries, and other special features that come on the discs, and you can’t get those with...
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Handicapped
Since I was paying my own way to Midwest UX, I decided to be frugal and stay in the Holiday Inn, rather than one of the nicer, official conference hotels. The room was cheaper, the parking was cheaper, and the internet access was free. I don’t know why, but I was assigned a handicap room. Of course, being a designer, I found this to be fascinating, because it prompted me to think about my...
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Midwest UX 2012 Recap
In many ways, Midwest UX reminded me of the second Interaction conference. In 2009, Interaction was still relatively small, but there were a number of people there that I had met the previous year. Several of my IxDA buddies were attending Midwest UX, so there was a perfect mix of spending time with old friends and making new ones. In particular, I met a number of folks new to the Pittsburgh area...
