It’s interesting when worlds collide. Wikileaks, Banker profits and bonuses, the economic system, perceptions of Governments and the viral nature of information dissemination in todays über connected world. Now that the barriers of collective action have been removed, whether you are a major bank or the Government it might not be as easy to get away with the mischief you have created in the past
At this point in time Windows 7 Phone marketplace for apps, as available via their Zune software, is completely and utterly shocking. I understand that most people will not feel as strongly, especially since I am founding this opinion on the experience of using the app store alone and not a direct experience of the phone (which I completely love).
Apture has completely blown me away with its beautiful simplicity. When I first saw their web site I didn’t really get it but after seeing a demonstration by Tristan Harris I could see how this could become a really interesting development for the future of browsing the web.
The great thing about designing web applications is that it is still a relatively new field of design, the constant shift of peoples lives from the desktop to the web should provide work for web application designers for years. When you look at the work of 280 North you realise it will not be long before pretty much everything can be designed and built to work beautifully in the browser.
When designing web applications it’s natural to dive in and see how page elements will interact with each other, minimising and hopefully eliminating any crazyness that may occur when the app goes to development, or worse, live.
Social networks really are like Seth Godin believes, the birth of tribes. The tribe created within the network can vary widely in its ethics, values and overall manner. These factors can be encouraged to some degree by the interactions of community managers, but it’s the network features that can stimulate greater community cohesion.
The powers of narrative run deep in the human psyche, modern thinking has explored just how important the idea of ‘Qualia’, or ‘what it is like’ can be in relation to an individuals experiences. The power of stories to compel people to action should not be ignored when designing for interaction.
In an effort to gain a more accurate visual design style I have started to use Backpack and encouraged clients to develop their own mood boards