I Need Sugar now on tumblr.
Last week we announced that we had moved Say Yeah’s website to tumblr. Today, we’re announcing I Need Sugar now has a refreshed site, also running on tumblr.
The original 2009 I Need Sugar website was designed before there was a logo, so the move to tumblr was more than just a behind the scenes switch. With a design refresh called for, the site now also supports flickr, facebook and Twitter widgets.
See it in action: http://ineedsugar.com
Our Value Pricing deck from last week’s NXNE Interactive panel.
Last week we had the pleasure of joining Sam Ladner, Jon Lax and our moderator Simon Conlin on a NXNE panel discussion about value pricing. Abolish The Hourly was a well attended session and, from on stage, appeared to be capture the audience. I suppose any time you challenge the status quo, people take notice. But this topic is really nothing new, though it may be somewhat foreign to the creative services industry.
Towards better readability on the Web.
Proponents of Web font options have been given a boost with @font-face, Typekit and now Google’s support with the Google Font Directory (of course, in Google ubiquitous Beta). However, the greatest barrier to Web legibility is not typefaces but rather screen size.
So why so quiet?
We have tons of stuff we’re looking forward to sharing with you but we’ve been so swamped lately we’ve ended up being terribly neglectful. I’ve even got a half written blog post on the sketchy iTunes 9 GUI, which will sadly not likely see the light of day (it’s too late to bother now, right?). So, if we’ve been so quiet over the summer, what have we been up to?
UI exploration: Improving date and time entry.
While we’re plugging away on the next update to the Events Calendar, I thought it would be fun to walk through the process we took while designing the new time entry elements used when adding or editing an event in the calendar.
Facebook Cookbook Review
A good technical book will achieve two goals: inform and inspire. Now, a great technical book, that will motivate. It will force you to act. Not out of obligation, but with verve that’s usually reserved for a kid in a candy shop. And the Facebook Cookbook is motivating as hell.
Vector version of Safari 4 for your web mockups.
Yesterday we published an article on designing websites in Illustrator. There was a link at the end of that article for a vector version of Safari 4 for use in mockups, portfolios, and any other safe and respectable use you can think of. Here’s that link so you don’t have to scroll through the on pixel discussion:
Yes, we use Illustrator when designing websites.
I personally don’t understand why anyone would use a photo editing program to design a website, but I also recognize we’re in the minority here. So here are some reasons why we use Illustrator when we’re designing websites, along with some tips and assets to help you do the same.
Calling all artists! Now’s your chance to stick stick, bang bang.
Stick Stick Bang Bang was created as an outlet for great artists to share their work in new and creative ways. Starting right now with templates for iPhones, iPods and Zunes, you have the chance to make your artwork available to your fans as skins for their most popular gadgets. What better way to share and promote your art than by allowing your fans to carry it with them wherever they go?
Working towards a better experience.
No matter what type of system you’re building, be it a website, web app or desktop app, user testing is a vital tool that will allow you to identify problems in your system and help you build a better experience for your users.
It’s not necessarily a costly and time consuming endeavor. In fact, a few friends and some food may be all you need to get some great insight on how to improve your system.
Here are some introductory tips to help you get started towards building a better experience for your users with the help of user testing. Note that I’m using the term ‘website’ to describe a project or system, but this process can be applied to any activity that requires user interaction.
