Photo blog: new office mural
Time for a new mural in the office, based on a famous Edward McKnight Kauffer poster design from 1919.
New office mural
Isaac Pinnock's posts
29 posts
Design for a two speed world
Part 2 in an occasional series about how digital products and services can learn from real world experiences
As designers and makers we all aspire to be able to grow and improve the things we create. Either because it’s part of the plan (a minimum viable product launch), or because since release you’ve discovered new user behaviours or requirements that need to be rolled in. Or it may be because technology and standards have changed around you. Unleashing a new release is what agilistas live for. But what happens if you can’t? What happens if you can’t improve upon your original product and make a second release?
This could be for any number of reasons – changing priorities, budgets drying up, teams moving on or the project’s sponsors having a ‘that’ll do’ attitude. Or maybe the world has shifted, and you’re stuck with a design, product or technology platform that simply can’t be updated easily without massive investment.
A good example of this are the self-service ticket machines at railway stations. It’s difficult to imagine a more heinous crime against user experience than the machines across the National Express network. Instead of speeding up or simplifying the ticket buying process, they add complexity and hassle – what should be easy is made into a soul-destroying moment.
It's takeover time
I’m counting down the hours until thirteen of the many (including myself) head out to Austin for SXSW. Just as the tradition of us sending a swarm over to Texas is well established, so is the idea of South By ‘taking over’ our homepage for the duration. So, here’s a sneak peek at this year’s page (and a reminder of what’s come before).
We're hiring: Mid-weight designer
UPDATE: This position has now been filled.
We’re looking for a mid-weight designer, a creative geek type obsessed with the coming web and fiendish about making new things. This could be your second job or you could have a bit more experience behind you – either way, your attitude is more important than your work history.
We want someone brave, bold, talented and ready to roll with the punches. We’re *not* interested in people who want to design banner ads and out-of-the-box microsites. If you want to punch the clock and fade into the background, this job isn’t for you.
Design to inspire confidence
Part 1 in an occasional series about how digital products and services can learn from real world experiences.
What happens when a new service replaces one that you’re familiar with? A service that you’ve used for as long as you can remember, infrequently but at times of high emotion and potential stress?
The new service is intended to be better – speeding up a process by being available anywhere from the palm of your hand. It has the potential to make a moment in life easier, but is the transition from old to new easy or a moment of strife?
When will mobile advertisers stop harpooning themselves in the foot?
Have you ever read Fuck My Life? If you haven’t, you really should stop by at least once a month. It’s a continuous stream of everyday stories in which people share the shitty moments that ruined their day. The stories are often hilarious or eye-watering, sometimes both at the same time. A heavy sense of irony is essential.
It was in this mindset that I opened the site on my mobile phone this morning and saw this ad banner at the top of the page:
The tyranny of the grid
This is the grid I use to help me draw sketch wireframes. It may be tatty and covered in splotches, but it helps me draw straight lines quickly.
The grid also helps me sketch pages around advertising. For the last five years the two constants of virtually every project I’ve worked on have been the width of the page and the size of ad banners. Got to fit an MPU above the fold. Can’t go above 980 pixels wide. Better make that column the same width as a skyscraper, just in case…
Do I live in a connected world?
Signing up for Quora has made me stop and think about whether I live in a connected world. All my friends are online, or at least have an online presence. I have mobile phone numbers and email addresses for my friends, sometimes once, twice over. My friends have presences all over the web, on Facebook and Twitter to name just a few.
Or do they?
I found finding my friends and contacts on Quora quite tough. Admittedly because the service is only beginning to catch fire (or spark at least) but also because my digital connections are nowhere near as complete as I inherently believe they are. With this mind I’ve stopped to harvest my address book, Twitter feed and Facebook friend list to find out where my friends are. How often do I interact with them digitally and in the real world? How easy are they to find and contact? Am I connected?
10 years of sketching
Last weekend, buried and long forgotten at the back of a very dusty drawer, I found a piece of my design history. A collection of sketches from my first job, including the sketches from the first project I ever worked on. I'm not sure how they've managed to survive this long (10 years seems like a long time for an ultimately highly disposable stack of layout paper) but looking through them I was struck by how much the way I work has changed since my first job. Every project still starts off with pen and paper, but there the similarity almost stops.
We’re hiring: Junior Designer
UPDATE: This position has been filled
We’re looking for a junior to mid-weight designer, a creative geek type obsessed with the coming web and fiendish about making new things. This could be your first job or you could have a bit of experience behind you – either way, your attitude is more important than your work history.
We want someone brave, bold, talented and ready to roll with the punches. We’re *not* interested in people who want to design banner ads and out-of-the-box microsites. If you want to punch the clock and fade into the background, this job isn’t for you.
We’re looking for a designer who’s excited to be involved at any and every stage of the project, from workshops and idea creation to prototyping and high-fidelity designs. Designing at Made by Many means thinking, talking, collaborating and learning. Whilst some of your time will be spent behind a computer using Photoshop and Illustrator, a lot of it will be spent with pen and paper in hand, visualising your ideas and the services we make.
