Year: 2015
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Two new old tools – Mindmup and Tricider
Here’s two free online tools which do something you’d usually have to pay for. They’re not new, but they’re new to me.: Brainstorming/mindmapping/cloud thinking Whatever you call it, there’s often the need to get a load of ideas or thoughts out of your head and onto paper (or screen). www.mindmup.com is a free web tool and app which lets…
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Roads that wirelessly charge electric cars
Here’s an ambitious forward thinking project – cables under roads which can generate a field which is picked up by a special coil built into electric cars to charge them. Highway England plans to run the off road trials of charging roads for 18 months before moving to public highways. Over next five years, UK will invest £500…
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What time does your website close?
The Local Government Association has complied it’s list of the 10 most bizzare calls councils have received in the past year. While many people can be suprised at the range of services run their local council, crossword solving (“A call from an elderly lady asking for help on her crossword. Seven letters, James Bond’s cat…
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(Very) Honest webdesign feedback.
How can you get really honest feedback about your website or digital project? Richard Littauer realised that when he gets drunk, he gets very honest, and it turns out people are willing to pay for his honest appraisals of their work. So he set up The User Is Drunk. In fact, so many people have been willing…
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Don’t be offended if I’m not offended.
New York designer SwissMiss posted an interesting video about being offended – how the ability to be offended is a relatively recent privilege for the masses, while also questioning what being offended can achieve. [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb2mVGE63YU[/youtube] Found at http://www.swiss-miss.com/2015/08/im-offended.html
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The best design is invisable
When something has been designed exceptionally well, you shouldn’t notice “the design”. You should be using a service which just works, not fighting to understand what the process is or guessing what you’re meant to do next. So here’s a video about the recently released film Mad Max – Fury Road. The connection might not be obvious,…
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Great design doesn’t need to “wow”
Another post about good design. It doesn’t need to “wow” its audience, good design works. And it may look boring or dull, but if it allows people to accomplish what’s needed quickly and efficiently, and people want to use that design again and again, then that is good design. Matthew Ström at Medium.com writes about this in…
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Analog tools to help you design
In a digital world where you can be overwhelmed with online services to help wireframe, brainstorm and project manage, it’s nice to see some attention being given to some offline tools by devlounge in their list of 8 Analog Tools to Help You Design. When working with clients there’s nothing like being able to quickly sketch a…
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The value in what’s free or hidden
I’ve spent my career in the charity and public sector, where services are often offered to those in need for free at the point of delivery. This can present an unappreciated problem – if something is free, how accurately is it valued? Over recent weeks I’ve read a few articles which have looked at issues…