I will engage only in design activities that improve life, both environmental and human. I will recognize that design that does not improve life is a form of apathy and that

“doing no harm” is not enough. I will engage only in design processes that are respectful, generative, catalytic, and productive.

Excerpt from The Designer’s Handshake – Emily Pilloton

via http://jeanphony.tumblr.com/post/19733867893/i-will-engage-only-in-design-activities-that

Take a look at this, and see where the eyeball is. Notice what happens when the ad expands, then contracts?

I’m forced to stop reading while the page moves, then stops, then moves back up again. The worst part is that at this point in my reading, the ad is off the top of the screen and I don’t even see it! How much can we possibly disrespect our users and still expect them not to use ad-blockers? How are these sites allowing such an invasive technique?

Seeing the new sizes from IAB this week makes me question the effort advertisers are putting into developing a new model. I feel like we’re heading down the road of the music industry, fighting to stay relevant as the world around us changes. If we in this industry don’t start evolving, we’ll go extinct.

Some people seem to be thinking that taking away the number is an odd choice, just calling it an iPad instead of “iPad 3″ or “iPad HD” or “iPad 2S”, but it seems to me that the number was the actual confusing part, and started stepping Apple into the Dell realm. Right now I’m typing this on my Macbook Pro. At home, I also have a Macbook Pro. They are several years apart in age, completely different in specs and build, but they are both Macbook Pros. The same is true of every other product, until we got to the iPhone and iPad. Now suddenly they want to incrementally name?

I’m glad they’ve gone back to the old ways, where an iPad is an iPad, it’s simpler and lets them live in the now.

Above all, designer founders should be experts at finding the right problems to solve.

I think it sums up the strength of design, subtraction. How can an idea be simplified to the point it’s easily used, without feeling basic.

I’m biased, of course, but I think designers are great.

Silicon Valleys New Secret Weapon: Designers Who Found Startups | Co.Design.

I don’t suppose I NEED this, especially considering I live in an apartment, but I certainly WANT it.

Backyard Retreat – Ideas – Dwell.

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/agency-year-akqa-137015

I’ve been working on something for a long time, and finally got around to making it happen.

Freshly is a way to find out what farmers’ market is near you, open, now. It’s driven by trying to remember when the markets are open, and where they are on which days. I wanted something that would keep me out of the supermarket when I just wanted to pick something up on the way home.

I’ve started with three cities I know well, New York, Toronto, and San Francisco. All the market information has been gathered by me now, but future markets can be added by anyone. At a glance you can see the markets nearby, and show what’s open now, tomorrow, or in the next week.

In the immediate future as I beta test, I want to get Freshly mobile optimized, then start expanding the offering including showing what’s in season at each market, and hopefully getting to the point where the farmers’ who will be at a market can show what they’re bringing that day. I’m very happy to have got to this point, thanks to the developer Chris Casciano.

Sign up and I’ll let you know when you can use Freshly www.shopfreshly.com

His thoughts here: Google search on iPad is bad design.

While some of the points he makes are valid, I have to disagree with the closing statement.

Designers really need to hear the following, loud and clear: The iPad browser is fully capable. It doesn’t need you to treat it differently. You’re fighting with users when you get fancy. Just stick with what works on the desktop. And if you must screw around, then make the opt-out obvious and painless.

The iPad browser is fantastic, it works well, often better than my desktop browser. I agree that changing content often doesn’t make sense in an iPad browser, but this isn’t one of those cases.

Look at the above comparison. I get Mr. Winer’s point about the whitespace, it could be reduced to get an extra result on the page. What doesn’t work though, is the way a tablet screen is intended to be used, tapping without worrying about what else you’ll hit. On the tablet optimized version, each link is clearly on it’s own, no ambiguity about what will be tapped. Can you zoom in on the default results and get a larger hit state? Of course, but you’re adding another step to the interaction. Zooming isn’t a great experience to be default, it’s a step around sites that haven’t been designed for tablet or touch.

Besides the tapping, I actually prefer the secondary functions tucked away, making a more clear layout with the results the most important part of the page. This is a return to the simplicity that made Google famous, getting to the point quickly.

This house is so beautiful, it makes me question city-living. I particularly love that wood panel bar.

Mid-Century Modern By BassamFellows | Design Milk.