Person A: “Hey, I heard you’re presenting at SXSWi?”

Me: “No. Actually I’m just speaking there.”

Person A: “Oh you’re on a Panel? Well, that’s good too.”

Me: “Not exactly. I’m participating in a Core Conversation with Brian Warren. It’s something new this year, and I’m really excited about it.”

Person A: “Is that like a Panel?”

Me: “Good question.”

Person A: “Oh wow! Michael Eisner is speaking at the same time as you. Isn’t that funny?”

Me: “Um, could I just get my coffee please?”

-- Aaaaaaand scene!

While it may seem everybody and their CEO is speaking at this year’s SXSW Interactive, don’t miss the indelible Brian Warren and I talking about Specialization vs. Doing it All. Can a designer/developer do it all, and be good at it all? What effect does specialization vs. doing it all have on:
-… ...(more)

Because I haven’t written in a looooooong time, and there will undoubtably be a shortage of discussion around this topic, I give you my initial impressions of the MacBook Air or Things I’m certain you weren’t about to lose any sleep over:

I may be the only one. I hope I am. That would be awesome for Apple. But the announcement of the new super-thin, uber sexy MacBook Air leaves me frustrated. Why? Because I so badly want to want it. And in the past, Apple’s almost always taken care of that for me.

With the iPhone, I might have been willing to pay $900, $1100… maybe even more, without a second thought. And it’s immediately obvious to me why. The iPhone replaced something. Every time Apple comes out with some new tech, my “i want” factory goes crazy, and also on some other level, my rational brain goes to work justifying why I can’t live without this device.

Recently, for me, it’s all… ...(more)

Sometimes the right answer to a question is a discussion - a mosaic of answers. Enter Fluther, a great little project I found over at Cameron Moll’s Authentic Jobs. In redesigning their site, Co-owners Andrew McClain and Ben Finkel wanted an identity and user experience that would set them apart from sites like Metafilter, and Yahoo Answers. It was an rewarding collaboration.

Being Different.
One thing competitors in the social search space had in common were very plain, very generic “Web 2.0” looking interfaces. Just being something specific can sometimes be a powerful brand differentiator. After building an identity spectrum, we were quickly able to agree specifically on how the identity should “feel”. And the name Fluther (meaning a pod of jellyfish) gave me the perfect starting point to visualize these attributes.

Interaction.
The idea? You ask a question. Fluther connects you to people with a wide range of experience on your topic. Ya’ll chat… ...(more)

(This post was part of an elaborate April Fools prank. Dan Cedarholm reacted graciously. Thanks to the many many people who participated! Cheers!)

There’s been a lot of noise on the internet lately about people stealing other people’s ideas. Most of it has left me rolling my eyes, and thinking “Come on. Are designers supposed to come up with something new every time we design something?” I mean, sometimes we’re super busy, or the NCAA finals are on, or our client just really likes Joyent’s website. Should designers miss out on life because we’re stuck at our keyboards trying to do something “original” (with air quotes)? Well, that all changed this morning…

I woke up today and discovered MY new identity had been stolen by no fewer than 10 (Ten) reputable designers and developers, some of whom I’d actually considered “friends” (more air quotes).

The following people are no longer invited to my… ...(more)

Being in branding can burn a person out the way I imagine being a Cubs fan, or a toll booth operator can. But every once in a while you see a company get it right, and you remember what drew you to this industry in the first place.

I have no idea what I was watching last night on TV, but for the first time in a long time, a 30-second spot for Kleenex of all things, captured my imagination.

(Go watch it, I’ll wait...)

Tissues = Being Sick?
Tissue branding has always been aligned with feeling crappy, dryness, misery and/or post-nasal drip. Not a good move brand-wise. Has no agency ever sat down, looked at a box of Kleenex and asked “How do we get people to connect emotionally to this product?” The answer seems so obvious, but somehow it has eluded Kimberly Clark for decades.

“But, We’re Different!”
A frequent mistake for… ...(more)

raineer Hosted on Zooomr

Zooomr.com is photosharing for grown-ups. You won’t find a lot of Help or FAQ’s on this “beta” site, but you will find a superior way to upload, organize and share your photos online. Just think flickr but better, and free.

5 things I like about Zooomr:

Zooomr is easy.
While still in “beta”, Zooomr’s interface is well organized, fast and easy to use. Sign-up is a cinch, and thanks to jUploadr getting your photos online is equally simple. I’m hoping to see an update to the interface however, when it finds its way out of beta.

Zooomr is cool.
At the ripe old age of 18, creator Kristopher Tate is giving photosharing giant flickr.com, a run for its money. I got to meet Kris, and Evangelist & CEO Thomas Hawk, in Seattle… ...(more)

In 2006 blogging, more than anything else, has afforded me some incredible opportunities to meet fantastic people and visit some exciting cities. Greg and Jason have started a “city” meme of sorts. What a fun way to look back at a year! Here are my cities of 2006:

Auckland, New Zealand
Austin, Texas
Chicago, Illinois
Christchurch, New Zealand
Cozumel, Mexico
Ft. Collins, Colorado
Key Largo, Florida
Los Angeles, California (twice)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Nassau, Bahamas
Orange County, California
Phoenix, Arizona
Queenstown, New Zealand
Roatan, Honduras
San Francisco California
Seattle, Washington (twice)
Wellington, New Zealand

Here are some pics from a mental health break I took just last month (desktops are on their way!). Where did you go for work or fun this year?

Also, thank you to everyone who reads and contributes to… ...(more)

Attn: Albuquerqueans… don’t forget about ABQ’s first ever Barcamp this Saturday (11/11/06). This year I got to localize the Barcamp logo for Albuquerque and design the t-shirt. I’ll also be presenting something called Color Profiles for the Web at the “un-conference”. I’ll be sure to post my presentation here next week sometime. So, on to the details from Clearwired:

WHEN
We’re planning an ABQ Barcamp to take place on 11/11/2006 from 9am-4:30pm. Learn more about ABQ Barcamp and the host...

SCOPE
The scope encompasses any topics related to the web—Design (visual, experience, information architecture), Technology (infrastructure, programming), projects you’re working on. Come share your stuff!

LOCATION
After looking at different venues and having them fall through and others not quite up to task (wireless connectivity), we decided to fall back on on Plan B, the Clearwired Office: SEE MAP—on the second floor in SW corner of the building.

WHAT IS BARCAMP???… ...(more)

New Mexico, birthplace of Microsoft, the Atomic Bomb and the Albuquerque Isotopes, now joins the prestigious ranks of states like Arizona, Utah and Rhode Island with the debut of its first Apple Store (right here in good old Albuquerque).

The Mayor even gave a brief speech before hastily joining the more than 1,000 “Aqua-thirsty” Mac fanatics who showed up before noon today for free t-shirts, and a glimpse at the wall-to-wall stainless steel retail behemoth.

Kelly Robinson, an Albuquerque web developer, was first in line having guaranteed his position by showing up at 8:30 PM the night before.

I stopped by just after breakfast and shot for a while. Ran into many local Creatives and Developers, including the guys from Clearwired, as well as Sam Maclay and Tim McGrath from 3 Advertising.

The store is phenominal. Similar to the ones I’ve visited in other cities with one HUGE diffference… it’s 10 minutes from my house. Needless to say (and yet… ...(more)

I’ve just returned from Seattle where I met with 6 other bloggers and Getty Images, the world’s largest stock photography company. It was my first opportunity like this since launching my blog in January. Describing the guest list as “humbling” would be an understatement.

Robert Scoble - PodTech.net, Buzz Bruggeman - Buzznovations, Marshall Kirkpatrick - TechCrunch, Thomas Hawk - Thomas Hawk’s Digital Connection, Kristopher Tate - Zooomr and Latthanapon “Ponzi” Indharasophang - Lockergnome

A huge “thank you” to Getty Images and Edelman PR for including me.

It was awesome.

From the schedule, I’d expected to be spending some real time with my sleeves rolled up, checking out some of the exciting initiatives Getty currently has under development. The day turned out to be a little more “press-junkety” and a little less “hands on testing” than I’d anticipated. Getting to provide feedback at this level to a company whose… ...(more)