Agencies: Stop writing job listings for HTML5 designers or ActionScript gurus. You’re just fanning the flames. Instead, invest in creative people who know how to execute in a number of ways, people who prioritize learning new tools to solve a problem over honing their chops. Don’t sell (or discourage) Flash or standards to your clients; instead, sell creative brand extensions, accessible content, enjoyable experiences, and simple maintainability.
Anatomy of mighty mouse
I had 4 mighty mice, somehow. Now I have 3. The first one started not responding when scrolling. I tried to open it up and wanted to clean up the inside like an old mouse track ball, however it was difficult to open it. In the end, I broke it.
I still have 3 of them. I gave one to my partner. One day, he wasn’t able to use the scroll function. I switched mine to his one.
This time, I took the risk to open up the mouse to see the inside again. This time, it went well. I bent a little of a plastic cover but I didn’t break it. To be able to clean up the scroll part, I needed a small Phillips head screw driver to open the particular part.
I haven’t had a chance to use the magic mouse, but I still like my mighty mouse especially with its application switcher function. I will put the parts back and will see if I can still use it.
The design firm whereI worked before, charged fixed fee after an initial interview with a potential client. However, after the project kicks off, if the client’s demands and requests are beyond the quote, we talk and agreed with the additional fee. I think designers need own working hours estimation to be able to tell them in terms of the client’s requests. That will become a price.
Now I have been working overseas. Here, every client asks my hourly rate. I was surprised the first time. They ask me before they tell me what they want. I think they judge by the rate not by the quality of services.
If I were on the client side, I would have a budget for the project. I wouldn’t be able to afford to pay designers and programmers who take their time whenever they work for my project. More importantly, I have to trust them.
Last time, I had to ask a programmer to do some work. I told him my budget and he estimated his work then he accepted it. This means I feel safe.
No client has an unlimited budget for asking you to work. At least you have to tell them your work estimation time and explain the process of the project to the client. There should be some kind of agreement on both sides and be honest with each other to communicate.
If you know the deadline and what to do, you know how much you should charge them.
I have read a book called glimmer. The book tells how much designers make social contributions. Because we are always thinking and we are sensitive to anything that is not working well. After I finished this book I thought of the public transportation in my city that I had been relying on for the last five years. Once you change the place you live, you start to compare differences between your previous place and where you live now.
I often hear that people complain about the delay and not following the time table of the trains. Everyone knows this is the biggest problem especially in the morning of rush hour time. Then, I realized that this problem was not only the train operations, but also problems of passengers and the design of the stations, platforms, and interior layouts. The whole system needs review and a redesign to clean up the mess. Safe and smooth public transportation for everyone will be possible if they charge a lot.
The problems are;
- stations are small compared to the number of passengers.
- so the platforms are narrow and dangerous.
- narrow platforms mean crowded people. It also slows movement.
- passengers must have tacit knowledge of how to “get-in” “get-out”
Get-in: wait for getting of people BESIDE of the door not in front of the door
- Getting out of from window side, you have to tell the people next to you to get out.
- it means takes time to get out of a carriage.
- it means you will not be able to reach the exit before impatient people start getting in.
- that is why people want to stand at the deck if you are getting off at the next station.
- this impedes other people getting on the train.
- some people leave garbage on the seats.
Finding solutions for these problem will become a huge project but it is inevitable for the future.
My solution for these are;
- Make trains lighter, single story train.
- one more door on each car.
- seats are on the sidewalls facing in. Make interior more spacious. Easier to get on and off.
- More announcements from the station to direct people
- prohibit mobile phone use on the train.
- take the garbage with you
They must reference the other city train systems. I don’t understand why none of these problems have been reformed in years.
I write this because I don’t know what to do with this. So I started writing.
Do you think we designers can design the system? How about your city?
Whenever I use social network sites or browsing other websites, it makes me think about the words on the member pages. It says “My Account, “My Photos”, but the other websites say, “Your Account”, “Your Photos” etc. After I login or sign-in, the content becomes mine, the navigation and menus say “My xxxxx.” On the other website, this is expressed as, “Your xxxxx.”
There is a relationship between user and websites. Behind the website, there is a company which actually runs it for the visiting user. First of all, if the website says “My xxxxx” after the login, the site becomes the user’s possession. The relationship exists between the user and the service. Secondly, there are 3 entities with a user, a website (service), and a company (distributor). In this situation, the company holds they are the distributor of the service and content even if the user controls the functions. Lastly, websites don’t use possessive at all.
I don’t have an exact answer for which is the best for the users yet. But it never makes users confused when using the services. Whichever relationships are formed, the service must be clear with the system and content for users.
From my daily blog reading, I read the article “What’s Next Web Design?”
I think one of many reasons that Wii and iPhone are getting market is not only they have got “What their customers needs” but also “they are making offers, we cannot refuse.” Of course, it’s simple enough and easy to get what they want. They are spot on.
Designers must create simplicity and uniqueness designs on top of Web standardisation. The more web designs are simplified, the more content/information focused.
Simplified designs require techniques, skills, knowledge of design. It will reveal and users would be easily perceive the flaw of the experience by interface design. Be serious.
The designer tries to conceptualize an assignment. The concept is the designer’s ideas with perceived images for prospective viewers. That concept becomes the basis for visual communication. The designer constructs a visual, utilizing materials and concepts using their design skills.
Design is a moving subject. It always changes direction with changes in cultures, technologies, economies, politics etc. It’s evolving with the consciousness of our needs and wants. As technologies and services improve, so does design. These 3 things – technology, service and design – have possibilities for being the priority over the other two. Which one takes precedence depends on the situation.
I have been exploring Wordpress theme designs. Starting quite a lot of reading related articles and tutorials.
Rasterfield's friends
A lot of people know the words. “keep it simple, stupid” Yet I wonder how many people have done perfectly. I am talking about in graphic design, clearly not ART.
It was an article which was written 2001. I would say the time was right after the dot come bubble collapsed. Article about keeping interface designs simple enough but not boring. Designs must take account of balance, contrast, and invisible lines. This is so true. Well, I remember people spend money, time and effort to create web pages that time, everyone wanted to have one.
Conveying information from websites was the peak without thinking of anything but amount of information. That time my one of bosses was working on a website for a famous singer. He was also a famous guy in the industry at that time, working days and nights, weekdays and weekends as usual situation being a designer anyway. So when the website was launched some people said “what did he do? It’s all white. I see only text.” Some said, “he must have been busy and made it in a hurry.” I thought, Ok, this is one of ways of the design. Fair enough”.
Thinking back that time, the boss was right. It was kind of the singer’s blog site and getting comments from the fans. So what did the site need more?
Having read the old article now in 2008, it’s still apply today’s design philosophy. It’s nothing wrong and the principles are the same. To be honest, I didn’t realize when the article was written.
I have been working on a project. I feel the website have to be simple. If the page gets simplified, the main information will come to the front that creates contrast and balance. What the balance is right, it creates invisible lines, then you don’t have to separate the information. Eyes recognize it.
What is different from then and now is that the size of text. These days, I see larger text on web pages than before. It doesn’t only mean websites for elderly people also less time to recognize the site and pick up the information as quick as possible. Actuary this would be related to contrast.
I told my colleagues to make it less information and even if the information is not critical on the page, we should discard it. When people need to know them they will make effort to acquire them. Yet I don’t know whether they understood what I meant or not. It was a frustrating situation and I wasn’t sure if I and my colleagues were heading the same stage. This might have my fault.
After my holidays, I have been working on my website. The current website as my portfolio was a mess. This time I built it with simple static HTMLs. Now I’m trying to implement Wordpress so this monolog will have the same structure as the other pages.
