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Those DAM Tools
Digital Asset Management (DAM) tools are an emerging category of software made for manipulating collections of rich media files. Rich media file types can include photos, illustrations, video, audio, fonts, and desktop publishing files from applications such as Adobe Illustrator™, Photoshop™, InDesign™ or Quark XPress™. DAM tools are fundamentally different in terms of work process,…
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The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard
This exceptional video story has been online for several months, but it takes on new meaning in light of the current financial distress here in North America. Ms. Leonard has a particularly clear take on the system of consumption that is gobbling up our resources at an astounding rate. This has broad implications for our…
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The Zen of Sherlock Holmes
I found this fascinating blog a while ago, with simple variations on David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) philosophy. The Sherlock Holmes Guide to Recovering Your Stolen Identity isn’t really about design… unless maybe you consider it as an aspect of designing your life or your experience. As such, it’s a very interesting take on…
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Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests
Mere words cannot describe the magic beauty of these kinetic sculptures. Dutch artist and inventor Theo Jansen has brought sticks and string and pipes to life as these creatures that walk along the sand of the beach, powered by the wind. The simple leg mechanism is fascinating, not just for it’s uncanny motion, but as…
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Better Manuals
A few simple points like these can make the difference between instructions or a manual that will help and support your user versus one that will frustrate and discourage. Often these materials are your users first contact with your support system. Leave them with a positive feeling about how you take their enthusiasm for your…
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Yanko Design News
Here’s another interesting source Yanko Design – Modern Industrial Design News. It’s sort of an unfiltered, shallow-but-broad collection, but there are some interesting comments and lots of articles. Technorati Tags: industrial design, sites
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Big on Small
I’m a big guy who likes small things. “Big” is not just a vague, subjective call. I’m 5cm short of 2 meters tall, and 100 kilo’s. Anthropometric studies peg my size at the 95th percentile for North America. (This is especially convenient for consumer product development, since it’s typical to try to cover 90 percent…
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Found on Flickr
Flickr makes it easy to share store, organize and share photos. It’s a great tool for both business and personal life. If you want to be found on Flickr, though, it takes just a few moments longer. Here are a few tips for getting the most out of this great service…. Edit your photos before…
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Apple’s Design Process
Somewhat surprisingly to me, BusinessWeek has become a high profile advocate for design, and especially industrial design. They have regular articles, both in print and on the web, and they even have a design competition. This article by Helen Walters has some interesting info about the design process at Apple. Their recent successes and the…
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Oakley on Design
Oakley has been around for years, and their stuff still looks new… or maybe as if it’s come from some science fiction flick.