I always enjoy forecasting. It takes a nerve to make predictions so kudos to Phil for putting this slideshow together. The thing I enjoy about these is the analysis. The forecasting, not so much. That said take a few minutes and click through it. I think he nails a number of key user trends and perceptions. What the response to those pressures and expectations will be by designers and developers though is anybody’s guess.
Today I learned the sad news that Doyald Young passed away. If you’re not familiar with the name I’m sure you’re familiar with his work. He’s designed hundreds of well know logotypes.
I only met him once but I had the chance to spend a bit of time with him over the course of a weekend while he was in NYC for a TDC event. The typographic world and indeed the world in general is a less rich place with his passing. His legacy and impact will be felt for a very long time. I’ll miss him.
A Christmas Card Retrospective From Art Center College of Design
Ah the holidays. As we try to wrap up everything in the studio before we take a little holiday break I just got this retrospective slideshow from my alma mater. I always enjoy seeing stuff from Art Center’s past. It reminds me how cool and fantastic the design scene was in LA in the 40′s and 50′s. I’m a little biased of course but I think the LA scene is where Modern Design got it’s American flair. There was Alvin Lustig, The Eames Office and Arts & Architecture Magazine which sponsored the Case Study Houses.
The Type Directors Club Annual Typography Competition is the world’s premier review of typography and typeface design.
Well, I think so anyway. I have to admit though I am slightly biased here. As a past Director at Large of the club there’s little doubt as to why I think everyone should enter the TDC Typography competition.
I’m also delighted to report that adcSTUDIO did the development and production design for the competition website. We’ve been doing their competition for the last 4 yrs – man, time flies… This year marks a transition as this version is integrated with WordPress and is another step towards a bigger, better TDC.org web experience. Projects like this are always a collaboration. Designers on the project included Daniele Codega, Mucca Design and Brian Miller in addition TDC Vice President Graham Clifford, TDC President Diego Vainesman and TDC Executive Director Carol Wahler were indispensible in getting the project completed – Thanks all.
Nelson, Coupland and Alice – Three new views that step beyond the e-reader 1.0 single page-o-text.
IDEO has released a video showing 3 conceptual simulations of tablet based reading experiences. While these are still very “wouldn’t it be cool if” ideas their instincts feel right. All 3 are pretty top-down explorations of integrating processes that people are doing online already – they’re just doing each activity on a different site.
The video simulation is definitely worth watching.
As Mobile keeps growing an effective mobile Interface Design will become the primary design focus.
Interface design is quickly moving to a mobile first methodology. The rapid rise of smart phones and increasing levels of mobile internet browsing will require the user experience on mobile devices to be the first interface design consideration. The interface will then have to expand gracefully to larger device displays (tablets, laptops, desktops, game systems). This is an inversion of the traditional idea of degrading gracefully common with supporting legacy browser versions.
On a retail display in a far away electronics superstore the forces of electronic empires prepare for battle.
The upcoming holiday season will see the start of the Tablet Wars. A slew of devices will be showing up along with their associated TV commercials and PR hype. The iPad has already carved out it’s market so the rest of the tablet market is up for grabs.
I’m expecting the next OS update to clean up their sub-par (for Apple anyway) interface. While Apple has only recently reversed their ban on Flash Apps on the iPhone hopefully there’s a path to Flash on the iPad down this path as well. I’m curious to see if Apple will hold the line during the Holiday shopping season when salespeople have to explain that the iPad won’t play Farmville, Hulu, Nickelodeon, etc.
Don’t try to be original just try to be good.
- Paul Rand
What a great quote.
Paul Rand’s work was one of the earliest design models I tried to follow. The best of my early student work employed visual puns. Rand was a great visual punster. I had no idea why I liked this kind of work except that when I looked at it I “got it”. What I realized eventually was that when you combine two visual items together, each with their own symbolic meaning, you can create a third meaning beyond the original two. That new idea was what I got. When the design solution was clever and fun I felt like I was included in the solution. i still enjoy work that uses this technique. While Rand was a notoriously nasty teacher and not a very pleasant fellow I find his writing clear and enjoyable.
Rand was also the first “famous” designer I met when I went off to Design school. During my second week I was headed to the cafeteria and saw him talking to a class through an open classroom door. While I was standing there with my mouth open the Chair of my department came up behind me and asked if I wanted to go in and hear the rest of the presentation. Very cool.
Here’s a fun video I saw recently that inspired this post.
From a story in the June issue of Fast Company comes news that outdoor clothing manufacturer NAU is trying a new retail strategy – a “webfront”.
“It starts with a retail concept that combines the efficiencies of the Web with the intimacy of the boutique. Called a “Webfront,” the Nau store integrates technology in a striking gallery-like setting. The central mechanism is a self-serve kiosk that transfers the online shopping experience to a touch screen and encourages customers to have their purchases sent home, with the incentive of a 10% discount and free shipping.” – Polly LaBare, FastCompany
All I can say is – it’s about time!
adcSTUDIO is in a very rural part of New York. The key reason we can live and work here is that we have access to the whole world online. I like to “shop locally” but sometimes I just need something that I can only find in a big mall or city. When that happens I shop online. This always makes me feel a little guilty when I see friends around town who are the local retailers. No matter how good their product lines are or how much care they’ve taken in choosing the stock they have in their shops they just can’t have everything I’m looking for. I’ve often imagined that if they would integrate an online store as part of their day-to-day sales process they could vastly expand their inventory at minimal cost. Understandably when I suggest this idea to them they’re skeptical. As a new retailing concept the risks and costs for a small business are more than they’re comfortable taking. That’s why I’m excited that NAU will give it a try.
The store sounds like it will be IKEA without the warehouse. All the products are available to touch and try on but the actual purchasing happens through the kiosk. For a vacation area this seems like a no brainer. Gone are the days of having to carry the shopping around all day or taking it back to the car. They could even overnight ship items to their hotel if it was a big rush. These days kiosks don’t have to be the big floor models they can be wall mounted throughout the store for about $3,000 each. When they’re not being used for ordering they can be video displays.
The systems are in place – highly sensitive touchscreens, online ordering and inventory control with suppliers, shipping, payment-processing. Add to this logistics powerhouse a technically savvy product maven retailer, a fun interface and a well designed store… sounds like fun. I can’t wait to try one!
