For two competing services, Icebergs and Kippt sure have similar interfaces. Though the redesign is beautiful, I think I preferred when Kippt was designed to be a tool, not a platform.
Read about Building Stories from Chris Ware
This article about the amazing Building Stories book(s) is worth reading and the collection is worth buying.
99% Invisible: Episode 57- What Gave You That Idea?
Starlee Kine’s friend Noel works in advertising. In 2003, Noel was working in at an agency in Richmond, VA. Everyone wanted to work on flashy spots like Apple or Nike or Gatorade. Do you know what wasn’t flashy? Insurance. Which is why when a company called Geico became a client…
Worth a listen if only to find out how the Geico Caveman commercials have creative roots in the work of Charles Dickens (and his pet bird).
Learnable Programming by Bret Victor
I would feel capable and empowered to learn in a programming environment designed with these considerations. When can I start using this?
More great Feynman-related content: his 1974 Caltech graduation address about integrity. Read the full speech or hear it narrated (by someone else) in the video above.
The Flat Design Era
When LayerVault 2 launched earlier this spring, we believed that we were taking a risk by pursuing an entirely flat interface.
Well-loved products on the web share a similar design aesthetic, with roughly the same kinds of bevels, inset shadows, and drop shadows. For designers, achieving this level of “lickable” interface is a point of pride. For us, and for a minority of UI designers out there, it feels wrong.
We certainly didn’t invent the flat style but arriving at it was a violent process. We tore through hundreds of revisions (we have the LayerVault timelines to prove it) to potential interfaces before arriving at the answer that now makes us say “of course.” The desk at LayerVault’s original headquarters (my Manhattan apartment) still has the battle scars from objects being slammed down in anger. At one point, while working on a mockup, a MacBook was slammed shut so hard it was nearly unhinged.
A great post about the future of design.
I’ve been getting back in to graphic novels recently. A good one really teaches you a thing or two about visual storytelling. This is one I’d HIGHLY recommend.
Richard Feynman’s biography in comic form is highly entertaining and you even get an introduction to some of the broad ideas of physics just by reading a graphic novel. Pick it up at your local independent bookstore.
A delightful avatar builder from LayerVault that uses the idea of an interactive kaleidoscope. Especially love the smiley-face confirmation when you confirm!
Y-Combinator Demo Day Startup Names
BufferBox, Kippt, Airbrite, Amicus MicroEval, Vastrm, VoiceGem, 9gag, HubChilla, FundersClub, SpinPunch, Everyday.me, Double Robotics, SmartAsset, Submittable, Plivo Imgfave, Flightfox, Mth Sense, Scoutzie, Instacart, Profig, Zapier, Coco Controller, Collections, Keychain Logistics, Parallel Universe, Survata, Sponsorfied, Filepicker.io, Referly, Rentio, GetGoing, Canopy Labs, Dreamforge, BigCalc, Easel, Kamcord, ReelSurfer, LeanMarket, TomoGuides, DataNitro, Eligible, Grid, HD Trade Services, TapIn, Tracks.by, Study Edge, Statwing, Hiptype, RegistryLove, Virool, Circular, Viacycle, QuicklyChat, Knowmia, Coinbase, Markupwand, Healthy Labs, Vayable, Tastemaker, Light Table, Clever
Ones I’ve head of: Kippt, Easel, Grid, Light Table.
