The “proof of concept” goal was twofold: one, to see if the costs of production for such animation had dropped to a doable level (they have). Two, to see if the “Arctic Circle” concept itself had any legs. That remains to be determined.

Interestingly, my comment that “the future of static comics on the Internet is limited” in an earlier post sparked some debate. I thought it might. More on this in the next post.

BTW, I’m aiming to have the next Bug Bash up next week. I kind of miss it too.

1) A big project like the MSNBC.com redesign takes it out of you and (of greater concern) takes it out of your team. I’ve been working on getting both rested and ready for the next challenge. Meanwhile, I’m happy to say that we’ve been racking up some eye-popping traffic increases at MSNBC.com since the big launch.

2) It’s becoming clear to me that the future of static comic strips on the Internet is limited. As such, rather than new Bug Bashes, I’ve been working on an “animated proof of concept” project that will be unveiled on these pages shortly.

3) Even with all that, Dana’s had a few one-liners in my head that are just too good not to share. So some new Bug Bashes are on the way — I just can’t say exactly when yet.

More soon. Promise.

As co-director of the overarching redesign project at msnbc.com (which we call the “UX Evolution”), the launch leaves me simultaneously exhilarated and exhausted.

Whether you love it or hate it (and redesigns always spark a livid debate along those lines), this is a redesign of some import. For starters, msnbc.com is fortunate enough to be firmly ensconced on the leading edge of the news industry, surging with a steady stream of new users who are abandoning traditional news sources, such as newspapers and the venerable evening newscast, in droves. As such, we’re at an inflection point where the decisions we make in the context of such a redesign have a real shot at influencing not just our 30 million users, but the direction of the industry as a whole. Second, msnbc.com made a conscious decision to move beyond the stale “Web 2.0 template” that was once considered cutting edge, but is now stamping sites large and small with the same numbing aesthetic orthodoxy. Thirdly, there’s more to the redesign than meets the eye, as the project also delivered a significant evolution in how high-traffic, high-volume Web publishing itself is architected and managed.

Heady stuff, especially for a J-school grad like myself who’s honored and thrilled to have such a seat on the bridge of the industry. You can find my post on msnbc.com’s “Alpha Channel” blog detailing some travails of the project here. Now it’s time to catch up on some sleep.