Rien Swagerman

Viewbook PhotoStory

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:50:00 +0000

Last Day Dream

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:39:00 +0000

Last Day Dream [HD] from Chris Milk on Vimeo.

Viewbook - Promo Video

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:48:00 +0000

Create your online portfolio at Viewbook.

Viewbook Photostream Of TodaysArt08

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 11:39:00 +0000

We had a great time at TodaysArt08 in The Hague. 10 photographers shot around 40 acts ranging from music to dance to visual art. As soon as the performances finished we uploaded the images into a live photostream embedded into the website of todaysart.nl, bright.nl, boomerang.nl and others. Here's the full photostream:

Viewbook At TodaysArt

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:15:00 +0000

TAG004 @ TodaysArt08

Viewbook is visualizing TodaysArt at 26 and 27 September 2008. We provide Viewbook galleries to share online. On the event itself we create several photostreams on the homepage of todaysart.nl.

Collect Ideas with Evernote

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 10:47:00 +0000

Evernote is a digital Moleskine notebook. You can make notes, copy entire websites or just text and images. It even reads text inside your images. Evernote helps to write down your ideas, copy interesting or inspiring content and to organize it. For me it's also a great research tool: it helps me to make decisions like what technology should I choose, what direction should I go with this project, etcetera. It is also a great tool for design research in both solo and collaborative projects. You can make public notebooks, and share notes via e-mail. It even serves as a ToDo list.

Evernote is running on multiple platforms (desktop, on the web and iPhone) so you can make notes everywhere. It really is 'your external brain' as Evernote calls it themselves. I'm curious if I'm going to give up my Moleskine when I have my iPhone next week.

link: Evernote.com

Toplolly Works

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:03:00 +0000

There are more great ideas floating around than reality can handle.
Museums generally collect stuff that has been done, and that has proven to work. What if you collect those things you draw on a paper when you're on the phone, those things you think about on the toilet, or those things you dream of but which are condemned to stay dreams? Buildability is not a prerequisite; glass planes, crocodile bridges and revolving houses. Toplolly brings them together, gives it a podium and who knows,... some day? (text: Edwin Gardner)

See more great works at Toplolly.com.

prss release - Blog Posts on Paper

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:00:00 +0000

You read all your favourite blogs in your rss reader, probably scanning through, and forget about posts that seem too long, or not appropriate at that moment. Now here comes prss release giving you a collection of random blog posts of the past week in the fields of architecture, design and digital culture, in an easy to print format. I'll take a pile with me when I go on holiday next week.

link: press-release.org

Toplolly Launch

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:25:00 +0000

Yesterday evening we launched Toplolly.com: Sometimes we come across art works or ideas for works of art which are so extraordinary or so huge that we’re baffled by their scope or scale. Toplolly offers a podium to fantastic artistic ideas: imaginary works of art and existing works of art that defy the imagination.

Toplolly.com

Extra Sitelinks in Google Search Result

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:07:00 +0000

We finally have the extra links in the Google search result for Viewbook.

Google calls it "Sitelinks": They are meant to help users navigate your site. Our systems analyze the link structure of your site to find shortcuts that will save users time and allow them to quickly find the information they're looking for.

Some links that explain why:
- official ghttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifoogle answer
- someone who explains the patent for this

A Little Place Called Rien

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:27:00 +0000

I just found out there's a little place (140 people) called Rien in the north of The Netherlands in Friesland. The Fries people even have their own wikipedia with a description of the village Rien.

Mapping Tool Combined With Social Network

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:32:00 +0000

www.sjekjeplek.nl

With Resource Studio, we've created a Flash mapping tool in front of a social network (at Ning). As the project evolves more spots are added and coupled with content (profiles, photos, videos) on the social network.

Viewbooks New Platform Runs Great

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 16:31:00 +0000

I've spend most of my time, the first half of 2008, developing a completely new Viewbook version. Now a month after the release things run really great. Here's a little info about the technical side of things. First of all we really are Rubyists. Ruby is a great language and together with frameworks such as Ruby on Rails and Merb makes development quite easy and fast.

The new Viewbook Image Manager is build on top of a custom created Ajax framework, using the Javascript Prototype library. Three new RESTful webservices are handling al the data in the back. We're using two Ruby on Rails applications, and a few Merbs. We're uploading all images to Amazon S3, using a small Merb app on Amazon EC2 to resize the images before storing them.

For the hosting part; we're hosting most of our stuff at Joyent (two 1/2GB Accelerators) and our core service at EngineYard. Our website is hosted at MediaTemple. This makes Viewbook run on 5 different (virtual) servers, so most parts keep running as soon as one of the servers has a problem.

Update: we host all of our stuff at Amazon EC2 now. Our website is hosted at Verio.

If you like to know more about our approach please don't hesitate to contact me.

New Viewbook

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:02:00 +0000

www.viewbook.com

Today we lauched the new Viewbook website. Viewbook makes it easy to create presentations of your work. With a hi-end tool you create clean online portfolios, image galleries and project pages within minutes. Show your designs, photography or works of art the way you want.

Design As Service: Designer Client Relationship

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:02:00 +0000

(Steve Jobs) I Asked him if he could come up with a few options. And he (Paul Rand) said No... I will solve your problem for you... and you will pay me. And you don't have to use the solution, if you want options go talk to other people, but I'll solve the problem for you the best way I know how, and you use it or not, that's up to you you're the client, but you pay me. (See the complete interview with Steve Jobs below)

This is what Steve Jobs tells about the client - designer relationship with Paul Rand, one of the greatest graphic designers. The interesting thing behind this quote is the way Paul Rand positions himself very clearly towards the client (Apple). In other words Paul Rand says something like: don't expect me to do some trickery where you choose what you like most and get the job done. He warns the client of how he sees the position of the designer in a designer - client relationship. Not one of a servant, or subservient. Not someone acting as a mere facilitator on behalf of someone else's needs, nor an attitude of self-expression, but a relationship based on mutual respect.

In "The Design Way(1)", a very academic but amazingly insight full book about design culture, describes 'design as service' as follows:

To be in service is to be pro-active. This means the designer cannot wait around for things to spontaneously happen, as wished for by the client. Clients may not fully know what is concretely desired in the beginning. They are only aware that something is pressing for expression. This expression of their desiderata may even be masked by feelings of discomfort (for those who lack a critical self-awareness). In this case, the designer must help bring to the surface a clearer articulation of a client's desiderata as a positive, proactive impulse. This is not always easy to do, as there are often feelings of anxiety concerning the future, and fears of unknown contexts or situations in life. People in general, prefer what is known or predictable.

Every designer, every design studio has it's own criterion how far serving will go. In our design practice we feel that dialogue, exploration and respect are key factors in a good design relationship. If one of those three fails the relationship will end. I think one of the most important thing for a designer or studio is to recognize this, take it really serious and take action: the design culture you create together with your clients is important, for your growth, for your direction and your protection. I think one of the most important tasks for a designer is to create a culture where he or she is able to excel and to surround himself with people and clients who all benefit from each other.

To conclude another passage form "The Design Way":

Both roles -designer and client- are inclusive of a part of the other. It is a balanced relation, but it is not a relation without tensions. Tension is at the core of of the relationship. It is in the complexity of the relationship, and in the tension between its different qualities, that imaginative and innovative design work takes place. Mutual respect is vital to any effective design relationship.

1) The Design Way.

The Steve Jobs Interview about Paul Rand:

Flying In A Smal Piper Over Snowy Mountains

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 20:58:00 +0000

Google's Design: An Overview

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 19:30:00 +0000

Google is a search engine, that's what everybody knows. And it was groundbraking by keeping the design of the search page clean and simple. Especially comparing to Yahoo, MSN, and other 'portal' minded companies. Take a look at this picture from John Maeda's post where he compares Google's with Yahoo's homepage from 1996 to 2004. The first Google homepage was built by Sergey Bin one of the two founders of google. Sergey did not have enough HTML skills to make a fancy designed HTML page so he kept it simple. The page changed over time but is in essence still the same.

As soon as you start using other Google services like Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Spreadsheets, Youtube, Maps, Earth, Google Apps, Analytics, to name a few, things get more complicated at Google. Don Norman describes this in his well discussed post: "Is Google simple? No. Google is deceptive. It hides all the complexity by simply showing one search box on the main page."

In this post I will take a look at three levels of Google's design.

Google's Identity, is it non-design?
With a brand of the year in 2002 Google probably has some of the poorest 'designed' logo any multinational would ever choose to have. Adrian Shaughnessy describes it as follows in his article: "The use of a soft-drop shadow, and the chamfer-effect on the letterforms themselves, turns it into a DTP classic: the sort of hybrid creation that tech-heads choose for the front covers of reports. In truth, the logo is weedy, corny and ill-conceived. It’s the same with the Google homepage — a brutal display of functionality. Clearly, no graphic designer has been near it. Compare it to the home pages of other large corporations, and its obvious that Google has avoided hiring slick design companies and serious branding consultants. It looks like they’ve just gone and done it themselves."

But there is something charming about this non-design. Why is it so successful? People seem to love it. Adrian Shaughnessy hits (in my opinion) the nail on it's head: "We’ve reached a point, in the homogenized West, where good graphic design is everywhere. The battle has been won: every business knows it needs good design. [...] But the consequence of all this feel-good business is that design has become, more often than not, a badge of mediocrity. The old Modernist dream of good design standing for rationality and human values has been flipped. Today, good design is little more than a cosmetic agent, an obscuring agent. [...] The urban environment is now over-designed. It's all too branded, too inhuman. "

I think Google positions itself very well by maintaining this 'design accident' and not choosing for a 'standard' well designed corporate logo. After all Google is (from a users perspective) a search engine, not a corporate company. And a search engine doesn't need a corporate logo.

The overall structure of Google's services, is it clear?
The simplicity by just showing the search box on the main page is great. But as soon as you start using other Google services things become more and more unclear. Google is disjoint. Some services are hard to find, and it's hard to grasp an overal logical structure. This is probably because Google is innovating and changing every day. They try out new services, see if they succeed or not. There's probably no time (and no clear vision) to create an overall clear structural plan. Google is growing organically, like a city without a clear plan. But on the positive side: this gives room for experiment and innovation. Google probably perfectly reflects the state the web is in at this time: chaotic, full of new ideas.

The User Interface design of individual applications, is it ugly?
Google's Interface design was not always a design to look at and enjoy, although opinions about this differ. Lately Google seems to pay more and more attention in refining their interfaces. Looking at Google's Analytics you see a great example of UI design. Also Google Docs has a more subtile design then before. Google says this about their philosophy: "Google should be "what you want, when you want it." As opposed to "everything you could ever want, even when you don't."

Design at Google is very data driven. This means that they use statistical data to make decesions about their interfaces. "They make small changes, present it to sections of user population and watch the results (both the log based metrics, and emailed customer feedback). Also, they use the logs to understand any user experience problems on the site. Based on such tests, they decide on design direction."

Google is very interesting to observe. To see how Google develops over time, the freedom to experiment. Although not all their products are structured very well, they sure prove a great job in designing user interfaces which focus on practical needs and simplicity above slick designs.

Pricing Is Sending A Signal

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 18:27:00 +0000

In my research on pricing for online software I came across this great article by Joel Spolsky.

First he 'teaches' you some economical theory (demand curves and market segmentation) to finally tell you to forget it all. What I like best is (because it's very true in my experience) that he more or less concludes with the wisdom people tend to believe that you get what you pay for.

Joel: "There are just too many examples where you actually do get what you pay for, and the uninformed consumer is generally going to infer that the more expensive product is better. Buying a coffee maker? Want a really good coffee maker? You have two choices. Find the right issue of Consumer Reports in the library, or go to Williams-Sonoma and get the most expensive coffee maker they have there."

When you're setting a price, you're sending a signal.

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/CamelsandRubberDuckies.html

ARCHIS Launch

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 19:28:00 +0000

On october the 30th we launched the new Archis.org website with a Global Chat event around the world. People joined from Amsterdam, New York, Rotterdam, Berlin, Sarajevo, Vilnius and Istanbul. During the first minutes of the launch lots of people joined the chat which was quite chaotic, to later turn into some interesting discussions and exchange of e-mail addresses.

More Or Less Radiohead

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:24:00 +0000

I'm currently listening to the great new album 'In Rainbows' from Radiohead. Downloaded a few weeks ago from their website for free. The new Radiohead album was on sale digitally by the band (without any record company). The band asked for donations in exchange for the album. This action gave Radiohead huge publicity.

Makes you wonder how many copies were actually 'sold' and what the fans pay for it. The British music Web site Gigwise is reporting that Radiohead has sold 1.2 million digital copies of its latest album, "In Rainbows" in the first week! If true this number would be a blow-out. The figure dwarfs first-week sales of Radiohead's recent studio albums. "Hail to the Thief," released in 2003, racked up 300,000 sales in its first week; "Amnesiac" managed 231,000 copies in 2001; and "Kid A" hit 207,000 in 2000 (machinist).

And what did the fans pay? The British music newsletter Record of the Day conducted a poll of 3,000 purchasers of the album. People paid an average price of £4, about $8, the newsletter found. Which means that if all these numbers are right -2/3 of 1.2 million units at $8 each - Radiohead is doing very good business.

http://www.inrainbows.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Rainbows

UPDATE: ComScore released a study of online sales on Radiohead’s ‘In Rainbows’. 2 out of 5 downloaders were willing to pay an average of $6 for “In Rainbows. During the first 29 days of October, 1.2 million people worldwide visited the “In Rainbows” site. Say 1 million people downloaded, 2/5 paid $6 that makes 2.4 million dollars in one month.

Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:47:00 +0000

Viewbook.com
Viewbook is an online service that helps visual creatives to present and deliver their work professionally.

About Rien

noreply@blogger.com (Rien) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:46:00 +0000

Rien Swagerman is working on web projects since 1996, which resulted in Resource Studio a Dutch webdesign group and now Viewbook.com.

Rien Swagerman’s Specialties:
Both generalist and specialist with experience in website concepting, art-direction, interaction design, information architecture, programming and project management.

See my CV at my

You can contact me at rienswagerman@gmail.com