I love song covers. I love when someone can take a familiar song and completely transform it into a new genre. This one made me so happy. I wish more bands would do this. Remember when Johnny Cash covered Hurt by Nine Inch Nails? or Limp Bizkit’s Faith by George…
All day long, I see ideas and plans. Whether it’s something big that changes the course of the whole company or something small like a new icon. My job, as the head of UX, is to know shit from Shinola and hopefully steer us towards the good stuff. Here is where…
So many people hesitate. So many people over-think the problem. The first secret to getting things done is to dive in. So many projects stall because the first steps aren’t taken. It’s like pushups. Getting down on the ground is the hardest part. My brain is begging me not to…
I shouldn’t post this, but I can’t help myself. It’s an email thread from my son. I’m not feeling well. Could you help me with it? I feel like my brother is constantly yelling at me angrily, and I’m having a miserable time at soccer but mom won’t let me quit.…
I just realized I have been working on web stuff for 18 years. There are employees here that are 18. Ugh, that makes me feel old. Some fond memories: spacer.gif – When Netscape 2 came out and introduced the <TABLE> tag, I was thrilled. I could make something that was…
Some of my pet peeves: Kids who leave every single light in the house on when they leave for school. Wife who leaves the radio blaring at 7:30am after she leaves the house for the day. Colleagues who leave the projector on in a conference room after they leave. People…
I am recruiting for more UX Designers on my team. One thing I keep seeing, surprisingly , is that people’s LinkedIn profiles are private. If you are looking for a job, this is a bad idea. How can you tell? Open a Chrome window in Incognito mode. This will let…
Achieving Over-Achieving 1. Coming in on time Coming in early 2. Leaving on time Staying late 3. Doing what you were asked to do Doing what you were asked to do AND something you weren’t asked to do, but needed doing 4. Personally doing well Helping other people do well…
Psychology is sometimes obvious, yet people make the same psychological mistakes over and over again. Last year, the Jets acquired Tim Tebow from Denver. Although Tim is a poor quarterback, he is a “winner” and helped Denver go far in the playoffs. The Jets started the first game using Tebow…
When I was a kid, a million dollar house was a mansion. People in million dollar houses were rich, very rich. Now, a million dollar house (in the SF Bay Area) is nothing. It’s a 3 bedroom, 1,700 sq ft house in San Mateo. San Mateo is not a rich…
Still perfecting the new TV. I tried plugging in a USB 2.0 thumb drive into the USB port to watch a 4gb movie. Voila! It worked and played without flaw. The remote control worked properly. Only problem was that the thumb drive was too small to hold ALL of my…
When designing something, it is critical that you understand the domain. This means that you understand the context the design will be used and the underlying subject matter the design is used for. It includes many factors: The People Who are the people who will use your designed product? What…
Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand. – Confucius, BC 450 Sounds good, right? Confucius had a way with words. However, reality is more murky and messy. How exactly do you involve someone to achieve the best results? The…
Almost two years ago, I wrote up a UX critique of the Occupy Movement. Sadly, I was right. The movement faded away and hardly anything has changed. Banking is the same, the 99% is still the same. Corporations are still considered people with rights. Nothing substantial changed. There were some…