Pixelvetica

Editorials, interviews, and reviews by user-interaction designer Carson Kahn. Awesome.

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People are basically good—when provided a tool that helps them do good in the world, they prove it.

Jelly is a new company and product named after the jellyfish. We are inspired by this particular animal because neurologically, its brain is more “we” than “me.” Also, for the past 700 million...

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A Happy New Year from Pixelvetica, Predictions, & Some News

Firstly, big news: Pixelvetica is migrating to Posterous! The full change will be completed within the next week, but until then, please continue to enjoy Pixelvetica as you normally would. More about the migration in a later post.

Also, congratulations to @zaksoup for winning the Pixelvetica promotion on Twitter. In return for spreading the word about the charitable cause, Pixelvetica randomly selected Zak to receive a free giftable copy of the Humble Indie Bundle #2 (see our previous review). Happy new year, Zak!

On that note, happy new year to all of our readers. Pixelvetica wouldn't be the same without you. This is the blog's first year in action, & it has been a great one. Full of fine pixels, amazing apps, & some great interviews, 2010 was a worthy 12 months.

What can you expect from Pixelvetica in the coming year? If all goes to plan, no less than 2 posts per month for starters, & we'll also be sponsoring 3 or 4 more giveaways when the time is right. The next 24 posts (some of which will be, for the first time, composed by guest writers) will hopefully include at least 4 interviews, 4 app reviews, 4 editorials, & 4 shares. The remainder of the posts are open for now, but we plan to make them fantastic ones. Remember, you can always follow @Pixelvetica on Twitter for updates & to get in on the latest promos.

Seeing as it's New Year's day, Michael Norton, an interaction designer in Vancouver, & friend of & coworker with our editor, has some interesting predictions to share. His 6-part forecast includes:

Tablet computers everywhere. iOS & Android for certain, maybe even Windows 7, but the latter aren't likely to be of very good quality.

The fall of RIM. Unless something changes very soon.

Nintendo under fire. No HD console, a gimmicky 3D handheld that may hurt little children's eyes; things look bleak for the Japanese game titan.

Apple TV app explosion. Not a question of if, but when. Could be as soon as Thursday.

MobileMe 2. "Freemium" & better than ever, powered by the Death Star of data centres. Could also be as soon as Thursday. 

OS 10.7 Lion. Not so much a prediction, but certainly the beginnings of iOS/OS X fusion, destined to change the desktop computing paradigm forever. 

We will be seeing other unprecedented developments as the year progresses, too. With the recent widely-regarded "fall" of Yahoo! & Facebook's timely metric overtaking of Google as the most visited website in the world, the status quo just isn't what it used to be. Google's recent flurry of acquisitions & its tendencies in the last couple months to push not so discretely towards an empire on the local businesses front, along with its release of the Cr-48, indicate that the web giant is only likely to grow. If the publicized intentions are any sort of predictor, it does look to be for the better.

What's more, Verizon is likely to get the iPhone, probably this very January. INTEL is going to make good on the efforts for Atom chips, Microsoft's Kinect will continue to skyrocket as we slowly see the dream of dimensional space mapping realized in the context of law enforcement, & iPad will get some long awaited hardware improvements.

In the design & development scene, HTML5 & CSS3 will start to become less special, because, rightfully so, they'll start to set a baseline. Hopefully we'll see browser support worked out in that regard as well, but it could go either way. WebKit & Moz syntax will continue to battle it out, Adobe will continue to sit on its ass with regards to Photoshop's text-rendering, & Dribbble will decline, though not enough to fall from the lead of the pack, as the "abode of elite design." We'll also start to see a plethora of designers & developers specializing in mobile game design emerge from the mass of graphics artists & developer wannabes who presently envelope the Twittersphere.

Whatever happens, it is going to be a fascinating year; that's for certain. We live in some technologically groundbreaking times, & Pixelvetica resolves to be here to enhance your experience every step along the way. Let us say, from the inner depths of our servers & hard-disks, thank you for reading Pixelvetica, & may you have the best of new years.

Regards,

Carson Kahn

Editor

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Carson Kahn is a user-interaction designer & copywriter currently crafting pixels with Design Vetica Interactive, Inc. Follow him on Twitter (@CarsonKahn) or visit www.carsonkahn.com. Questions, comments, & suggestions are always welcome.

Follow Pixelvetica on Twitter (@Pixelvetica) or become a fan on Facebook. Thank you for your continued support.

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Detailed Review: Humble Indie Bundle 2

Back in May 2010, the good folks over at Wolfire Games (creators of Lugaru & Overgrowth) sponsored an unprecedented multi-platform indie games bundle with a name-your-price business model, raising over 1.2 million US dollars to benefit the Electronic Frontier Foundation & Child's Play charities.

Imagine my excitement then, when, amidst trying to grab one of my DRM-free downloads from the May bundle earlier this morning (World of Goo, as it happens), I stumbled on the second edition of the Humble Bundle. The new bundle, for which you may still pay as little or as much as you want (from 1¢ to $1M) features some of the most engaging & gorgeous independently developed games known to personal computing, including the beauties Braid & Machinarium, a retro-revival 2D physics action thriller called Cortex, the award-winning Spore counterpart Osmos, & an intriguing tower-defense title still in beta called ROTT.

If you've made up your mind & want to scarf it up, visit HIB#2's frontpage. If you'd like some more details about the games & bundle, read on.

First, allow me to set the record straight: I'm biased. Nevertheless, it's not without good reason: I just downloaded almost a hundred dollars retail in computer games for a price I selected, & in the time I've had to sample the games, I've fallen in love with most of them.

What is there to enjoy so much about these games? No, they don't stack up to big-time, big-console FPSs like COD or Halo from a popularity standpoint, but between the artistry, skill, hours, & complex storyboarding to have gone into these indie games, they're easily each worth a crack at the Covenant any day (also note that some of the titles are actually compatible with XBOX 360). On top of that, you name the game (no pun intended); if you only have a penny to give, that's all Humble asks.

Foremost in the lineup is Number None's renowned Braid, which features sensational, post-Impressionist-esqe hand-crafted painterly graphics. Yes, you read that right: true to the innumerable awards & critical acclaim it has received since its release in 2008, the hand-painted, pastel-style 2D imagery is worth the value of the Bundle on its own. (I'd go so far as to frame the artwork for the opening sequence & mount it on the wall.) Braid's premise touches on the metaphysical: rewind time, warp time, parallel time, delete time, & synchronise time are the underlying commands the gamer must master to best the mysteriously thrilling puzzle/action platformer. Moreover, jazz & classical lovers alike will revel in the soundtrack. With gameplay fluid enough to die for & likely the most brilliant last level ever programmed, the wisest purchaser will grab the Bundle for Braid alone, if nothing else. Unless you want to download the Bundle right this moment [link for your convenience], check out the game's demo video on Vimeo here.

Second in command is Cortex, a futuristic military side-scroller staring highly immersive retro-revival pixel graphics & dynamic gameplay with exceptional replayability value. What makes Cortex particularly noteworthy is the counterintuitively accurate physics engine underscoring the 8-bit visuals; between its physics & graphics, the game recently won two awards at the prominent International Independent Games Festival in 2009. Furthermore, Cortex includes multiplayer capability up to four additional gamers, and accommodates anything from simple configurable keyboard+mouse controls to "any generic game controller you can plug in." Finally, while some may consider it a drawback, the game is still in development, which means that the developers are always liable to update the software with new levels or weapons, or to extend the capability of the already extensive level-editor. It also means that there's a chance you'll run across a glitch in the game, but in my limited experience with the game, bugs are unlikely. Find it in the Bundle roster, or go ahead & preview the Cortex Command on YouTube.

The reputed Czech studio Amanita Design (creator of the first Humble Bundle's bonus title Samorost II) brings us Machinarium, a point-and-click exploit set in a desolate industrial dystopia, inhabited principally by a lonely, loveable robot, your avatar as you move through the baffling world. Similar to Braid's style (discussed earlier), Machinarium's style manifests in superb, quirky pencil/water-color graphics, giving it a storybook undertone (take a look at this screenshot for a better grasp on the awesomeness). Unfortunately, I found it to be the most difficult of the Bundle's games; then again, Amanita is known using intentionally challenging gameplay to spotlight its artwork (just as it did in the Samorost series). Play a Flash-based demo of Machinarium online, or download it with the rest of the Indie Bundle.

As boasted on the Hemisphere Games webpage, Osmos is the most awarded title in the Bundle. Like the other games, Osmos is cross-platform, DRM-/region-free, & indescribably entertaining. True to Hemisphere's description, the "ambient," "physics-based" game is "elegant," "dreamlike," & most enjoyably "minimalist." Osmos takes a unique approach to gameplay in that it attempts to be literally relaxing— unlike the exciting & often stressful experiences of other games— & it successful lives up to such a standard. Playtime is unlimited, because of an option called "Procedural Generation," which allows the gamer to play a randomly-generated variation on any of the 47+ levels. What is more, the electronica soundtrack is filled with compositions by Loscil, Gas Skies, Julien Neto, & others. Osmos may be the most awarded game in the Bundle, but that hardly scratches the surface of what this graceful & stimulating game deserves. If you haven't already purchased the Bundle (really!), find out more from the Osmos trailer page.

Bringing up the rear is Revenge of the Titans, also known as Titans or ROTT, from noobie firm Puppy Games. In short, ROTT is a classic arcade tower-defense game taken to a completely new level. Fusing "frenetic" RTS with a typical TD style, the game, which is still in beta, stands out in the Bundle as the one with the most potential in the future. A sophisticated "R&D department" within the game makes upgrading towers & weapons a novel experience, & the intentionally cliché premise (an alien invasion) is still interesting because of the uniquely orthogonal graphics. Suspenseful from the start, ROTT makes for a lively and never-ending gameplay experience that's certainly worth a try. It wraps up the Bundle lineup very nicely, but if you're still somehow unconvinced you can check out the nitty-gritty on the Puppy Games website.

Between the facts that you pay no more than you want to, that the games are DRM-free & universal (you can install them on as many computers as you wish), & that each and every game is astoundingly fun & unimaginably beautiful, it is nearly impossible to make a case against purchasing the Humble Indie Bundle #2. Whatever conceivable cons there may be are dispelled by the fact that proceeds go to the Electronic Frontier Foundation & Child's Play Charity, & that about 200,000 game enthusiasts thus far will swear to the multi-faceted worth of each & every game in the bundle. What's more, any donation around $8 will get you a copy of all applications from the original bundle as well. So while this has been a review, it has also been my part in doing what I can to spread the word about a potentially gift-able holiday bundle with charitable aims & endless hours of entertainment to go along with it. If you've got a cent (or a Franklin) to spare, do yourself a favor & grab the Bundle now.

While you're at it, spread the word on Twitter or sound the alarm on Facebook. The world will thank you for it.

Carson Kahn is a user-interaction designer & copywriter currently crafting pixels with Design Vetica Interactive, Inc. Follow him on Twitter (@CarsonKahn) or visit www.carsonkahn.com. Questions, comments, & suggestions are always welcome.

UPDATE: Kudos to young filmmaker Ved Topkar, who discovered that Hemisphere Games has also ported Osmos to iPhone, available for USD$0.99. If you have already purchased Humble Indie Bundle #2 & love the PC release, download it from the App Store.

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Feedback: Not just a kind of loud noise

As designers and developers, we have to give and get feedback on things we've made, perhaps even more often than we actually create things. There is one cardinal rule of giving feedback, no matter who you are; plain and simple: if you give good feedback, you will get good feedback. What is "good feedback?" It is constructive, it is specific, and it is actionable. 

However, giving this "good feedback" is much more difficult than it sounds. Let's start with some examples.

It's true, getting a compliment is nice. But, while "dude, that's amazing, you're the best illustrator I know" may be nice to hear, it doesn't help you improve your current or future designs. You may even be the best illustrator the guy knows, but that doesn't mean there's no room for improvement.

Likewise, undiluted, unconstructive criticism is similarly unhelpful. It doesn't feel very good inside when the only content of a comment on your newest Forrst or Dribbble post is something like "the margins are bad" or "I don't like that font" or else "it doesn't feel right." This sort of feedback only makes the creator disposed to dismissing your "suggestions" completely, even valid points you may present. The kind of suggestions one is really looking for are "the margins need to be larger on the left and bottom" or "instead of Arial, try Helvetica."

So, what are the elements that make feedback valuable? It does depend on the situation, but generally, start off with some aspects of the design or project that you appreciate. Regardless of how little you may find to admire in some cases, always approach the task with a constructive attitude.  By leading with something honest and positive, the recipient will be more likely to be predisposed to accept any suggestions you have to come. Following your positive comments, you can be straight-forward and more candid with your critiques, but don't be hostile. Try to be factual and specific. Think of it as the difference between "that button looks atrocious" and "the button's corners should be less rounded and your gradient needs to be less dramatic." Pinpoint what you are really trying to say.

When you cast your feedback, you should probably present it as your opinion, not dogmatic fact. Creativity is in the eyes of the creator, not the beholder.

Soliciting feedback follows a similar set of principles. The more specific you can be in asking for feedback, the more likely you are to get useful critique. You may want general opinions in some cases, but the more specific you can be about what you think you need, the better. Instead of leaving it open, á la "What do you think of my buttons?," try asking "Are my buttons' corners too large, too small, or fine the way they are?" Remember, if you set the tone by providing constructive feedback, you are likely to get good feedback yourself. It's all about relationships; about a "signal-to-noise" ratio.

When you ask for feedback, you should oblige yourself to genuinely accept and act on feedback you get. At the very least, you should also thank the person who gave you the suggestions and explain why you elected to use or not to use their suggestions. It is not uncommon for designers or developers to ask for feedback, and then proceed to ignore it completely. Furthermore, frequently the creator feels the need to "defend" himself or herself in response to feedback, no matter how subtlety. The most common fusion of these two "no-no's" goes along the lines of, "well, I meant for it to be like that," or else "I don't think you're right, but I'll give it a try." The person who says this is unlikely to "give it a try;" it's their way of dismissing the comment and rationalizing to themselves that the feedback is somehow invalid. If you want good feedback, give good feedback, and if you get feedback, accept it and take action upon what needs to be changed.

Please understand that all of this does not necessarily mean that you have to stick with the changes that were suggested. Ultimately, you are the the creator, and it is well within your rights to decide what goes into the final product. By committing to a system of good feedback, however, you be willing to consider all suggestions. Usually, "imagining" what suggestions would look like and thinking "that they wouldn't work" is not an acceptable way of responding to feedback. You might be positively surprised.

It is also important to note that there is a difference between "feedback" and "review" or "critical analysis." The difference isn't some freudian-fruit notion of commenting, but rather each method does imply its own set of requirements to be effective. When giving feedback, you are a mentor, not a critic.

Are you required to stick with this model of giving good feedback for every comment you ever make? Certainly not. As the author, even I don't. But hopefully, having read this article, you will commit from now on to trying your hardest to give effective, valuable feedback as much as possible. I know I will.

Carson Kahn is a user-interaction designer and copywriter at Design Vetica Interactive. You can get in touch with him and view some of his work here.

Did you find this post helpful? Do you have any questions/comments, or do you have an idea for another article we should write? Don't hesitate to tweet at us.

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A Note to Loyal Followers

To those who used to access Pixelvetica via a sub-domain of tumblr, we are glad to announce that we are now located at pixelvetica.com! Feel free to get to us from there, on twitter, facebook, or anywhere else you'd like.

Moreover, blogger in chief here at Pixelvetica, Carson Kahn, is now employed doing UI design and copywriting at Design Vetica Interactive studios. Accordingly, he (that is, I) have redesigned my personal site to reflect that. Feel free to check it out (www.carsonkahn.com).

Furthermore, be prepared for a smokin’ hot app review of an iPhone app marketed towards… yes, UI designers and developers! The review will be posted by the middle of August. Thank you for reading Pixelvetica.

UPDATE: We are now also on Twitter. Find us via @Pixelvetica.

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An interview with developer and designer Kyle Bragger

Most recently, developer and designer Kyle Bragger, the genius behind Forrst.com, was kind enough to grant me an interview. As the homepage pronounces, Forrst is a "place for designers and developers to share inspiring code, screenshots, links, and other work with their peers." What follows is my transcription of some of the questions I asked Kyle and the answers he so kindly took the time out of his busy schedule to give me. Some of the references he makes have been linked to for your convenience.

Who are you? What do you do for a living?

I'm Kyle Bragger. I am a developer (mainly for the web) and web entrepreneur.

What is your history? What are your hobbies? How long have you been doing what you do now?

I started about 13 years ago reading Visual Basic 3 tutorials I found on the internet (probably through Dogpile or something; remember them?) and wrote lots of silly little apps. I also started writing apps for TI-82 calculators, and mucked around with QBASIC, too.

Eventually, I came across an old Windows Explorer shell replacement called Cloud9ine and spent months and months trying to replicate it in VB5, following along with its source code. It taught me a bunch about the Win32 APIs, GDI, and all of that, as well as gave me my first taste of OOP.

I also started getting into web development; I bought a book (I can't remember the title) and started making simple HTML pages before getting into PHP (I think right around the time PHP4 was released). Around the same time, I stumbled across DeskMod; DM was probably what sparked my interest in building dynamic websites. As always, I attempted to build my own website engine mimicking DM and their ModWorks engine. I'd say a lot of my early development was trial and error, and emulating other apps/sites quite a bit, trying to figure them out. 

Are you a designer or developer, mostly? Back-end or front-end? Why?

Developer, but somewhere along the way I picked up some decent design chops (nothing to write home about, but I can hold my own in Photoshop and Illustrator). Every day I wake up thankful that I happened to pick those apps up, because I can't tell you how awesome it is to be able to imagine, concept, design, develop, and launch projects without reliance on anyone else. I'm well-versed in HTML, CSS, and JS, in addition to the back-end engineering I do. You're doing yourself a disservice if you isolate yourself to a single specialty.

So, someone comes up to and says, "I'm a complete design/development noob." What do you say to this person; what advice can you give them?

Try as much as you can. Be a do-er. Make lots of cool shit. Screw up a lot. I'm a firm believer that you have to actually dive in and create, it's not the same just reading about it. (Disclaimer for Pixelvetica readers: I have no formal CS background or education and can't speak for those wanting to get a formal CS degree. However, I don't think they're necessary for everyone. I also don't think that college is the best place to learn web stuff; not by a long shot.)

What's the most important thing for a designer to remember as he or she goes through life?

In general, get a good therapist.

Who's your biggest role model, your inspiration?

I have a mentor (although I doubt he would call it that) named Mark that I've worked with at a few companies. He's old school and an incredible dev & systems guy. I've learned a lot from him.

Talk about your projects. What have you created, what are you creating, what do you plan to create? We'd love to hear about the process.

I've made a bunch of stuff over the years— much of it hasn't ever seen the light of day. I made a site called Placefav a few years ago, but didn't have enough foresight to create a compelling location-based service. I made a to-do list app which I recently sold called Done.io. 

I'm always interested in building small projects to test an idea/theory, or just play with neat new tech. In terms of companies, I started one called BricaBox with a good friend named Nate Westheimer; that was probably the best thing that could have happened to me as far as cutting my teeth in a startup. It failed, but the lessons learned were worth every second. (EDIT: By the way, Kyle is currently perusing Forrst full-time.)

Give me a little blurb on Forrst— everyone wants to hear something.

In general though, my goal for Forrst is to keep nurturing community growth, and creating a place in which any developer or designer passionate about their craft feels at home.

Favourite fonts? ;)

Gotham Rounded, Avenir, Helvetica, Monaco.

Thanks for your time Kyle, I really appreciate it!

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If you didn't visit it already, you can check out Forrst and apply for membership at Forrst.com. Once again, a huge thanks to Kyle for donating his time and expertise for Piexlvetica and for you. You can find Kyle on Twitter via @kylebragger.

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Liked the interview? Know another designer who you think Pixelvetica should feature? Tweet us.

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Tangling the Truth

Some designers seem to feel it's okay to alter what they say to a client just to save themselves. "Sorry, I didn't meet the deadline for the third logo option yet because Photoshop got corrupted." You know what? Use Gimp or Pixen then. As a designer, you haven't got any excuses.

Developers also take advantage of the rest of our general lack of knowledge of the back-end to avoid coding things: "The server just won't run it! I don't know why." Well you know what? In these days of standardization, most servers do it right. If you don't know how to write the code, ask or tell the client that.

The reason I bother to write about this is because I've recently experienced situations where two separate designers lied to our whole community. For one of them, it wasn't even related to a deadline/ability, it was purely about ethics. And it worries me: designers and developers of our internetwork are supposed to hold ourselves to high standards, design wise, emotionally, and in terms of maturity.

If you aren't a designer or developer, this kind of thing still applies to you. Let's say you're a student in school... If you didn't do your assignment, tell your teacher that. "My printer didn't work" isn't a valid excuse anymore; we've got email, remember?

I know, I know, nobody wants a lecture in truth and ethics anymore these days. We all heard this same rant when we were kids.

But that's just the thing. We were kids. And then when we grow up, we acknowledge for ourselves that the stuff our parents told us back then are for kids, and nothing more. And even though we know that truth is the right way to go, "some of us" subconsciously dismiss it.

Tweet me your story if you want. And if you've really, never told a lie and don't need to be reminded of this, then I guess you're free of rendering errors.

EDIT: On an unrelated note, a friend and I are having some issues with a PHP problem. If you're a dev and have got a Forrst account, please help us out: http://cl.ly/183F  Fixed; thanks for your help.

EDIT 2: Shout out to Forrst/Kyle Bragger. You are "awsm" ... and leafy. ;)

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Come say hi... or don't, actually

I kind of forgot about this, but a few months ago, Engadget turned off comments on its posts — a move which, ironically, reignited discussion about the value of blog comments in a world pulsing with social media.

Some sites I’ve worked with have inspired commenting that I could only describe as pitiable drivel; others seem to inspire respectful, well-thought out opinions from informed readers. I used to think this was a matter of where the site pitched within the market, and who used it. The Engadget story that I forgot about convinces me that content topic also influences the tone, quality, and usefulness of comment contributions. But I’m sure there are other factors as well: the kinds of content you’re presenting, the degree of opinion included in that content, and so on.

Thus, for those working online, with a plethora of social media to manage, countless personal and direct messages to respond to, and, hey, a bit of work to do as well, the question arises: are blog comments worth it?

I've decided no, which is why there are no comments on this post. If you really want to comment, tweet me.

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Why Google Is Loosing My Interest

I used to be a Google fanboy. Search has always been great, always getting better. When Google launched Gmail in March of 2004, I was positively hooked. When the it's stock (NASDAQ GOOG) just wouldn't go down, in fact, shot up to 600 from an opening count of 70 USD, it floored me. And when Google started taking over, well, everything, I was happy because it was just awesome.

However, (the bolded word being subject of this post), I'm starting to have issues with Google that I hate to express, but feel I must. The bone I have to pick with Google is threefold: information management, corporate expansion and development, and design. I'll actually begin with the latter point, design.

Recently, Google changed it's interface. Some of the design ideas released by Google's Senior UX Designer Jon Wiley were positively terrible, though not without merit, I admit. However, what's up with iGoogle? It's looking and behaving worse lately. What's up with it's classic homepage? The buttons and search-bar are almost Windows XP-style now. Windows XP. Furthermore, Google fails to maintain many of it's help files any longer, except for the new services; but for things like basic search? Outdated information and 90s design concepts are scattered throughout. And most of all, my once favourite minimalist company is getting slightly more cluttered in how they design stuff. I feel as if this could lead down a bad path.

And then there's it's information management. To be frank, Google is simply getting too cluttered with irrelevant information. It's supposed to enhance search results with your history, but have you tried conducting a search without being signed in to your account lately? Likely it doesn't return the results you'd like it to. Google also has privacy concerns now where it didn't previously: it's easy for someone to find all the information they need. Not in search, that's not what I'm talking about— it's always been easy to search someone— but people have had control over what appears in search just via basic caution. No, what I'm referring to is records. Google has got all of everyone records about everything, and that can be easily subpoenead or even requested by anyone from a government agency to a business. And given Google's recent bouts with hackers (multiple successful attempts from China, at what, we still aren't sure), who's to say my information is safe?

Lastly, I'm concerned with their corporate expansion and development. Android phone? Talk about left field. Also, with Google's recent purchase of Bumptop (see my earlier post), it almost makes me think they're considering competing with iPad, not just iPhone, too. What is an information management and online services company doing meddling with hardware companies, much less Apple? Moreover, Google is buying up stuff it didn't make at an accelerating rate. Look at all of the stuff it's bought recently! I say, Google, hire some good designers and developers and make your own stuff. We wouldn't have to go trust-busting now, would we?

Anyways, that's my rant on why Google isn't my favourite entity anymore. If you disagree with anything I said, tweet me. And if the only search engine you've ever used is Bing, which is drastically more evil than Google (rant to come soon), I guess you're just not old enough to remember the glory days. 

PS: In unrelated affairs, my good friend Adrian Kenny recently had a PS3 that broke, and his iPod touch is first generation and slowly dying. He is one of the coolest graphic designers I know and he deserves support. Visit his site (click on his name above), read his message to you, and consider what he has to say. Moreover, his blog is located at blog.adriankenny.com. Thank you for helping out.

EDIT: How in the world does Apple's spellcheck not recognize "Google's" as a word yet? That's doubly pathetic.

EDIT II: Sorry for the negativism. I'm actually very happy at the moment, having seen Iron Man 2 recently with some friends. It was great!

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Examine Your Own Junk, I Don't Really Want To

First off, sorry about the title of this post. It's provocative, is it not? But in all sincerity, here's what I mean:

We all have them, those designs or applications we just want to get done and release so people will see it. "Meh, I can just add a drop shadow if anyone notices, but they won't. Meh, I'll release it on Twitter now. Meh." Or we post our design "looking for feedback," when in reality it's supposed to be a release. Everyone has done it.

But it's time we start really thinking before release; we need to preempt the criticisms and provide our best work right off the tee. Don't wait for someone on Forrst or Dribbble or M* to say that you need to round the corners— step back and take an objective look at what you've made. Ask yourself, "Would someone think I should change that?"

Inevitably, there will always be things you won't catch, some gradient you screwed up or a bug in your code. But the fewer revisions, the higher quality your work will be regarded as. This isn't to say that revising is bad (never add "_FINAL" to the end of a file name because it just isn't true), but it is to say that there's a lot of bad design and development out there right now, and we need to resolve that issue, and I've presented a way of doing that. It's all about final objectivity.

And if you're like my friend Louie Mantia and haven't released a single imperfect thing since your birth, I guess you're just better than the rest of us.  

EDIT: Yes, that's meant as a compliment. EDIT 2: I don't have a live feedback system set up right now. Email your comments to [email protected] or tweet me.

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Didn't see that one coming

Google just acquired Bumptop. Bumptop is a desktop environment designed to enhance traditional computer desktop functionality by more closely supporting the behavior of a real-world desk.

This makes it more suitable for touchscreens and tablet computers. Or, say, they iPad. But the iPad doesn't run an OS that supports Bumptop, so how does it figure in? Maybe it's pretentious to speculate, but: Google entered mobile computing like Apple did, with Android. Google entered webkit browsing like Apple did, with Chrome. Google's QSB is a paraimitation of Spotlight. No, Google isn't going to make the next iMac. But who's to say that Google isn't interested in a tablet device? Running a Chrome OS, it could be effective (assuming you consider Google's attempts at computing effective).

Whatever happens, please be aware that Bumptop is only available for one more week from their site, so if you don't have it, you might want to grab it before Google does. 

EDIT: I'm hosting a copy of Bumptop for Mac here, for history's sake. http://cl.ly/geY.

[pixelvetica-blog]

A friend brought this to my attention a while back, and I thought I'd bring it to yours. Without a doubt, the best 3D + effects work I've seen in a long time. The video is 100% CGI, but I swear, it looks more realistic than real life in high definition. I have but one favour to ask of you: watch it full-screen. 

[pixelvetica-blog]

Important Announcement

But not yet, actually. A very important announcement is coming in a few days, and you don't want to miss it. Over the next 96 hours, be sure to check Pixelvetica frequently. Something you should see awaits you... 

[pixelvetica-blog]

Everybody knows that Bird is the word... HTML5, actually

This awesome presentation has examples of HTML5, which includes HTML, JS, and CSS components, in an interactive, power-point style demonstration. I enjoyed it, anyways. It's here: http://cl.ly/o3Y

It's meant to be viewed in Safari or Chrome if possible.

[pixelvetica-blog]

Design and Development Synergy

     I think that sometimes we web, graphics, and UX designers and developers forget how important each is to the other. In a world where all of our media seems to be a collaborative effort— heck, if you post a youtube video, it's not just you; other people can make comments and record feedback vids too— we take it for granted that everyone else is symbiotically doing their job properly. For this post, we'll take the example of context to be iPad app creation.

     The developer cannot survive without the designer: yes, he's got some sense of what it should turn out like, but lines of objective-C don't create beautiful gradients and rounded corners and 1px Apple-style text-shadows. If he's not a UI person, he's probably not sure where to put the buttons either, or what order the navigation should be presented in.

     In the same way, the designer is lost on his own. Make all of the beautiful little icons you want, but they don't do squat, and they aren't gonna appear on an iPad screen anytime soon without a means of distribution, á la an app. Just because you can make an iMac icon look realistic doesn't mean you know any code, or the math behind that radial 3-point gradient you just applied.

     When the developer and designer work together though, that's where the magic happens. A great example of symbiosis in software creation is Panic (they make awesome Mac stuff). Tons of awesome designers and developers work constantly, consistently, and in close quarters to create what many regard to be the best designed AND coded apps of the Mac universe. They've achieved synergy.

     And if you're one of those people who's both a designer and developer, well, I guess you're just better than the rest of us. 

[simpledesks]

[pixelvetica-blog]

via mnmal

This is what all of our workspaces should look like. 

[pixelvetica-blog]

Pushing Pics the Right Way

I've noticed a lot of bad graphic design circulating lately. And thus, I present to you my favourite theorem:

Graphic design is a creative process with a few tools, a few rules, and lots of freedom.

In essence, graphic design is a visual representation of organized thoughts and a form of communication through layout, colour and organized elements such as images and words.

Basic graphic design consists simply of layout – putting existing text and images into an attractive setup within the page. Truthfully, that accounts for 90% of what most of the graphic designer do! More advanced work involves image editing – manipulating and blending pictures and type so that the images themselves communicate part of the design. Another major factor in good design is fonts. You’ll need a variety of font choices, and very few of the ones pre-installed on your computer will give your documents a professional touch. 

Here are a few basic principals that will help you become a better graphic designer:

Comprehend Typography – We’ve all seen designers do amazing things with type. Pulling words apart and manipulating individual letters to reflect the context and meaning is one of fun things about designing. Before you get that far, however, one simple prerequisite: read the copy and understand it! For people whose job it is to work with type, many designers have an aversion to reading. Before you can go and play with the text, you must understand exactly what you’re being asked to present.

Rules of Grouping – Organize perceptual objects to be as good as the conditions allow. Learn about closure – consider forming gaps between elements to form a closed figure. Be simple; objects should be group in the simplest form.

Limit Your fonts – A big part of putting together a good design, as you’ll see, is making sure the over-all look is consistent. The best way to accomplish a consistent look to your design is limiting the number of artistic motifs. I typically like to pick just 2 fonts per design.

Colour combination - You’ll either have a feel for colour or you won’t. Mostly true, however, a beginner can’t be expected to have the same balanced sense of colour as an industry veteran. So where to begin? Obviously, you’ll need to consider what kind of design you’re doing, and who it’s aimed at. But whether you’re working with vibrant primaries or a stylish earthy palette, there are ways to ensure you’re combining colours that don’t jar or vibrate against each other. There are numbers of online tools and lots of books to help with this. And don’t forget to make sure your monitor and printer are calibrated to display accurately.

Graphic design is of course subjective, and there are a hundred different roads leading to the solution. You need to find the best. Once you’ve finished your work, ask yourself this: is this the best possible outcome?

Don’t settle on something if you’re not 100% convinced it’s the best-possible design outcome. If there’s even a sliver of a doubt in your mind, change it or try something new. Your client wants to see the best you can do. That’s exactly what you and I should be delivering every time. Awesome. 