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Aug 20, 2008: Must... kill...
I've long advocated for banning the term "redesign" from design discussions. (Crazy me, but I just think it's a good idea to keep clear of time-boxed projects that are ill-conceived and ultimately a waste of effort and money.) I think terms like "refine" and "tune" do a far better job of describing what we should be doing: instituting ongoing processes that help our sites evolve in response to a multitude of changing variables.
I hate to sound like a fascist, but I think "build community" ought to be the next one we throw on the pyre. Dunno, maybe I've read too many RFPs of late, but what the hell is it supposed to mean? Is it truly achievable? Is it even a good idea? How many organizations really want a community on their hands to repeatedly feed, burp, and diaper? I think what we mean is that we want to "better engage with more people". But until we find a replacement term, can we just bite our tongues instead of using this ridiculous, meaningless phrase?
Aug 14, 2008: Interviewed in IDJ
Saul Carliner was kind enough to interview me for the latest issue of the Information Design Journal. If only it was online...
Jul 29, 2008: Another book signing: Nathan Shedroff on sustainable design
I'll once again plagiarize my announcement over at the Rosenfeld Media site. But first: Nathan Shedroff is a truly outstanding person. And there's really no design topic that's more important than sustainability. Wow. I. Am. Thrilled.
OK, here's the announcement:
Four years ago, Peter Morville rolled out the user experience honeycomb, with its seven facets of UX. Since then, there's been something of a cottage industry of suggesting new facets (all of which, unfortunately, throw off the geometry of Peter's elegant hexagon).
Perhaps it's time to consider adding yet another facet: sustainability. What and how we design has implications, especially when our designs are ultimately fabricated, transported, and physically consumed. In this time of post-peak oil and environmental worries, designers have an even greater responsibility to consider how our work impacts our planet.
That's why Rosenfeld Media will be publishing Nathan Shedroff's newest book, "Design is the Problem: The Future of Design Must be Sustainable". It's a bit of a departure for us—this is not a practical UX "method" book—but if it helps all of us to bake sustainability into our design processes, it might be the most practical topic we could ever cover.
It's also an opportunity to work with Nathan, who continues to make amazing contributions to the field. His energy is boundless, and his passion for sustainability is humbling. We can't wait for his book to arrive!
Want to find out when the book is available (and receive a discount to boot)? Sign up for a publication notification. You can engage with Nathan and learn more about the topic at his book-in-progress site, and keep up with the book's progress by subscribing to the site's RSS feed.
Jul 29, 2008: My life comes crashing down
On the other hand, it's been a great boon to my personal productivity so far.
The story from Mashable.
