Video, Visual Design

My Stop-Motion Experience February 19th, 2010

It’s been almost three months since we completed our stop-motion holiday card, and I’m just now coming around to M&M’s again. It’s amazing to think that for just 50 seconds of video, we had to manipulate thousands of those little chocolate-coated candies and take over 700 photos, and since this was the first time any of us had ever made a stop-motion video, we had to hit the ground running and learn as we went. So here’s what I learned:

1. Stop-motion video take a lot of planning
2. Stop-motion video take a lot of planning and patience
3. M&M’s don’t melt in your hand (but it’s best not to leave your lighting source on for too long because it will melt them)

Uncategorized, Tools

An Alternative to FTP February 18th, 2010

Recently, I used YouSendIt to transfer 400+MB of database backups from one of our client’s hosted servers to our in-house quality assurance servers at NavigationArts. I found it an easy-to-use alternative to FTP.

Because the originating host was one of our client’s production servers, I could not install the optional YouSendIt client app. The transfer was done via the browser only. Even so, I was pleased with the throughput. I was also pleased with the e-mail I received immediately after the file was ready.

Yes, I had to upload from the client’s server to YouSendIt, then download from YouSendIt to my server in-house (rather than FTP it directly to an internal server, then just copy the file). Still, it was relatively quick and painless. No FTP client or other program to install on the production server. I know, I could have used IE as an FTP client, but since the file was enormous and I wanted it to work the first time, I hoped for a more specific solution.

Interaction Design, Technology, Web Development, Flash

Flash beyond the web February 17th, 2010

Adobe Flash was developed to be an interactive platform. For the longest time, we’ve seen it mostly on the web, whether for aesthetic animation purposes or to provide rich interactivity. This YouTube video provides a glimpse into the future use of Flash as a way to create a “Living Surface” that steps out of the web and into the real world.

Although the video provides little background information, a little Googling reveals that it was developed in an ActionScript framework known as FIVe3D that was developed by Mathieu Badimon. You can see other exmaples on the FIVe3D website

Just imagine the possibilities: interactive walkways at the mall where shoppers can interact with storefront displays just by walking in front of them, or play areas that interact with children as they hop and run around.

Application Development, C#.NET, VB.NET

Short-circuiting in .NET February 16th, 2010

In the Microsoft .NET Framework, regardless of the particular language in which you write your code, the compiler breaks it down into a lower-level language called CLR (Common Language Runtime). The most popular .NET languages are Visual Basic.NET and C#.NET, but because both are broken down in the same way, they’re identical by the time a program is run. Because of this, the particular language that you use is exclusively a matter of preference.

I’ve put in a good amount of time with both Visual Basic.NET and C#.NET, and my personal preference is C#.NET. Usually, developers gravitate toward the language that they’re most familiar with (which is often C#.NET for those who come from a C++ or Java background, and Visual Basic.NET for those who have a Visual Basic background). In my own case, it all comes down to a single gripe about Visual Basic.NET: it doesn’t handle “short-circuiting.”

Insight Article, Interaction Design, Technology, User Experience Design, Visual Design

The Web Typographers Essential Toolkit – 22 Tutorials, Tools, and Resources February 12th, 2010

This collection is for those of you who have already gulped down the typesetters Kool-Aid. You know who you are; the crowd who grimaces at badly kerned movie credits, who get misty-eyed about old motel signs, and who think comic-sans was created by fascists hell-bent on making your Chinese food menu look festive. It goes without saying, in any discipline you have to know the rules before you can break them, yet among young designers there is a perpetual debate revolving around the use of grids and scales. The bottom line is if you’re serious about your craft, these are fundamental tools. As a designer they are as crucial as internalizing the gestalt principles of perception or the basic tenants of color psychology.

Social Networking

Changing Online Shopping Habits February 11th, 2010

In the last couple of months, I’ve noticed that my online shopping habits have changed. Oh, I still shop online as much as ever, and look for benchmark prices or availability of certain items before I head to an actual store. No…that’s not what’s changed. I’ve noticed that I’m doing more research before I actually select the item I want to purchase. And by research, I mean read user reviews about products and services before I commit to purchasing something. 

Application Development, Web Development, CSS, JavaScript, performance

Shinkansen for ASP.NET-based CSS and JavaScript GZIP Compression February 10th, 2010

I recently saw an innocent enough tweet about something that just happened to be exactly like something I’d been looking for for quite some time: a server-side ASP.NET CSS and JavaScript file concatenator and GZIP utility called Shinkansen. It’s from Milan Negovan and it’s hosted over at CodePlex. Looking over the documentation, it looks easy enough to set up and configure. He’s blogged about it here.

Information Architecture, User Experience Design, prototype, Sketch, wireframe

Start Sketching: Sometimes Perfect Lines Can Get in the Way of Creative Thinking February 5th, 2010

Anyone involved with building a web site can benefit from sketching from time to time. It’s a natural activity. We’ve all sketched as kids, whether it was a detailed masterpiece or a stick figure. Sketching removes the intimidating wall not only between Information Architects and the team, but also between IAs and the task-at-hand.

Usability, User Experience Design, User Research

The Virtual Fence: Unmet User Requirements Can Cost Billions February 2nd, 2010

When designing a Web site or application a basic rule is to design with the user in mind.  Or, to quote an old HFI button, “Know thy users for they are not you.”

Easy concept, right?

Sometimes, the people who write the requirements preceding a Web project assume they know what those requirements should be. They rarely  involve the user upfront in the requirements process or solicit any feedback.

Social Networking, mobile, Social Networking

Fundraising through Social Networking and Mobile Texts February 1st, 2010

With the latest crisis in Haiti, social networking sites and mobile texts have been key in raising funds quickly. In one day, the Red Cross received over 3 million dollars (out of $10M total) through texts and social media alone.  Fundraising through mobile texts has simplified the user experience because now users don’t have to worry about getting out their credit cards, or entering personal information.  They simply press a few numbers and letters.  Then they pass that information onto their friends through all their social networking sites and the next thing you know, millions of dollars have just been raised.

To read more, see the latest article on CNN.