A Look Inside Mobile Design Patterns
Invitations are helpful tips that are displayed the first time a user opens an application or arrives at a new place. They suggest actions and guide the user to the intended functionality. A simple invitation can turn an otherwise discouraging first time experience into a satisfying one.
via decodering.
Source: decodering
Dark Patterns: Deception vs. Honesty in UI Design
In particular, this passage does a fantastic job at articulating the hardest part of my job:
Removing dark patterns from any site involves a leap of faith. A company has to shift from a short-term quantitative measurement mindset to one that values relatively slow, steady growth of “warm fuzzy” qualitative things like brand image, credibility, and trust.
Source: 9-bits
daniel sinker: I'm starting to think Lego is evil
Well, maybe not evil, but “highly problematic.”
First, let’s remove what we all *think* Lego is (i.e. our own nostalgic memories, our aspirational beliefs, or $250 robot sets), and instead concentrate on what Lego today is, for the most part: It’s movie-tie-in model sets marketed pretty much…
Source: sinker
Horseshit | The Verge
Great article by @joshuatopolsky on the ridiculousness of fanboyism.
Obama Enrages Civil Liberties Groups By Dropping Detainee Veto Threat
“When he took office, President Obama told the American people that he would restore the nation’s commitment to the rule of law and the protection of human rights,” Human Rights First President and CEO Elisa Massimino said in a statement. “Today’s announcement proves that he is unwilling to put his full power behind those presidential promises. The American people need a leader whose commitment to smart national security policies will not wane in the face of opposition from Capitol Hill. This legislation will be a loaded gun in the hands of the any future administration.”
I Work For The Internet
We work for the Internet. And we’re guessing many of you do too. Whether it’s researching, selling, coding, supporting, designing — so many of our careers depend on the Internet.
One argument that’s been made to Congress is that the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is needed to protect American jobs. In truth, the new liabilities this bill would impose on startups could stop American innovation in its tracks.
To make this clear to Congress, we’ve built IWorkForTheInternet.org to show the world how many of our careers depend on the Internet.
If you work for the Internet, please add yourself and spread the word.
Source: staff
But so if I make 8 million, which all goes through paypal right into Pig Newton, my company that makes my show and made the special. Well I would leave the money in there and make a fucking movie.
i am so hoping that you make 8 million Louis C.K.
Hi I’m Louis C.K. and this is a thing (via mattlehrer)
(via ztaylor)
Source: reddit.com
The Day I Saw Van Gogh's Genius in a New Light
john:
Pretty incredible post
This is just insane.
(via fillup)
Source: asada0
Two high level Congressional staffers who have been instrumental in creating or moving forward both PROTECT IP (PIPA) and SOPA have left their jobs on Capitol Hill and taken jobs with two of the biggest entertainment industry lobbyists, who are working very hard to convince Congress to pass the legislation they just helped write. And people wonder why the American public looks on DC as being corrupt.
Source: brycedotvc
How the iPad changed my reading habits
And it’s probably not what you think.
Ever since getting my first iPad back in April 2010 I’ve begun to notice something odd; reading on a computer screen totally sucks. And when I say computer screen, I mean the display that is attached to your laptop or connected to your PC and is perpendicular to the Earth. I’ve never noticed it before, but reading on a screen that is vertically oriented is actually very fatiguing.
Reading small snippets here and there works okay but try reading any long form writing and you’ll be sure to tire, poop out and give up a lot quicker than had you been reading the same long form writing in a book or magazine, or say, an iPad. It’s the fact that you use an iPad in the same orientation as you would read a book or magazine, parallel or near parallel to the Earth, that makes it so much easier to read on.
There is a reason why we’ve been reading books and magazines in this orientation for hundreds of years now; it’s less tiring because you don’t hold up what you’re reading, you rest it on your lap or on a table, and your head and neck rest in a natural position, slightly skewed down instead of straight back and forward. Even though you’re not holding up your computer monitor when you read, it still feels fatiguing just because you have your head and neck up and back and looking straight ahead.
And given the relative ease and enjoyment in which I can read on my iPad, I’ve nearly given up reading anything longer than a couple paragraphs on my computer. Where previously I would either stop reading or slog it out if it was a particularly interesting subject, now anything longer than a couple paragraphs I use Instapaper’s Read Later bookmarklet and then literally read it later on my iPad where I know I will be able to read and consume the content a lot easier and with a lot more enjoyment.
Just one of the odd ways that the iPad has changed my behavior and life.
I don’t normally share music videos, but this dubstep version of Pumped Up Kicks coupled with this amazing dancer were just too good to not pass along.
John Ciancutti's answer to Is there a better alternative to the 5-star rating system? - Quora
Super insightful response from the VP of Engineering at Netflix.
Also loved this bit: “The more work you make each decision, the fewer decisions you will get.”
Design is becoming a competitive advantage for startups | VentureBeat
“User experience-driven innovation will most likely bring large-scale change (and financial success) to the evolving startup landscape. With lower startup costs and a vastly expanded global market for online and mobile services (almost 2B people on the Web and billions using smart phones) combined with cheaper online distribution, building better user experiences will become the way of the future.
Bottom line: As we move out of the age of information and into the conceptual age, we are faced with the demand to create product experiences that are no less than exceptional.”
