Andy and I share an interest in sharks (although he’s certainly got more experience with them than I do!). Today, he writes a nice post about a huge threat facing our favorite fishes: finning. This is the practice of catching sharks, slicing off their fins, and throwing them back into the water to die. The reason? Shark Fin Soup. It’s a delicacy, and companies are willing to pay top dollar for shark fins. Problem is, sharks are being slaughtered in record numbers, to the point where areas once brimming with the amazing predators are now almost completely devoid of them. It’s bad news for the whole marine ecosystem to lose apex predators. What can you do? Help the anti-finning movement by avoiding any restaurant that sells Shark Fin Soup. Visit site »
Andy writes about client contracts and how to keep both sides of them happy over at Digital Web. This piece definitely hits on a lot of the same experiences we’ve had at Blue Flavor, even in the short time I’ve been here. Good stuff. Visit site »
I agree with everything Andy is saying here. It is sort of appalling that so many people don’t take their presentations serious. However, I would say this: last year, our panel got some criticism for being “under-prepared,” and I would venture to guess that Bryan, Kelsey, Veerle, and I spent more time preparing than just about anyone. Don’t assume someone hasn’t prepared just because the panel or presentation wasn’t what you were expecting.
But yes — speakers, take your presentations seriously. Put the time in and give the people that come something useful. It’s not fair to speak “just for the free ticket,” when it means that people who paid for a ticket don’t get their money’s worth. Visit site »
DesignInterviews.com talks to Rob Weychert, Andy Budd, Rob Morris, and myself about that dreaded buzzword: Web 2.0. Most of the stuff I wrote actually got left out of the edited piece — probably because it sounded negative and didn’t tell the story the writer wanted to tell. That’s especially true where it relates to visual design. When asked what I thought about Web 2.0 design, I said that Web 2.0, as a concept, didn’t have anything to do with visual design — a so-called Web 2.0 application can be built using tons of different design styles. Visit site »
A great post by Andy in response to the incredibly slow pace of innovation in CSS. Most of the CSS3 modules have been more or less ready to go for five years, and yet no browser really supports them. WTF? Andy suggests an interim CSS 2.2. Personally, I’m not as interested in interim solutions as I am in solving the core problem: why the hell must we wait five years in order to use the next version of CSS?
I left a long comment on Andy’s post detailing my thoughts — which include the suggestion that maybe Flash is the way to go, if the W3C and CSS can’t keep up. Visit site »
A great post by Andy on how the web is outpacing (X)HTML and CSS development, and the current version of HTML doesn’t cut it for modern web app developers. The question is, what’s the solution? The WHATWG has a proposal, the W3 is looking at developing HTML further, and frameworks like Flex has a different approach to solving the problem entirely. Visit site »
Andy’s got an awesome post full of tips on using heuristic evaluations in the modern web app world. Visit site »
Really interesting blog post from Andy about two new competing graphic systems for displaying nutritional information on food packaging. Visit site »
by Andy Budd, Simon Collison, Mark Boulton, Jeff Croft, Dan Rubin, Aaron Gustafson, Ethan Marcotte, Rob Weychert, Cameron Adams, Ian Lloyd, Andy Clarke, and Derek Featherstone. How’s that for a star-studded lineup? Coming in March, from friends of ED. Visit site »
As a web designer on an in-house team, I can say that these are pretty much the same seven things I’d pick for a highly successful in-house designer, as well. Whether you want to work for yourself or someone else, the key to doing it well is having a sincere passion for the industry and a willingness to never stop learning. Great list, Andy. Visit site »
Andy says, “Take Flickr. I personally love the user experience of this site–despite a few usability issues–but other people can find it confusing. Conversely there are millions of teenagers who think MySpace is the best thing in the world, despite the fact that it looks like the back end of a bus and is about as usable as a chocolate teapot.” Sounds about right. Visit site »
Andy lists some upcoming books he’s looking forward to, and is kind enough to include Pro CSS Techniques. Thanks so much, Andy. I hope we don’t disappoint! Visit site »