IT's recovering complexaholics
“We in IT are addicted to complexity. And our addiction to the complex, the expensive and the clunky is increasingly indulged at our own peril. That’s because business people have discovered that consumer IT is better than corporate IT. It has more features and is more responsive, easier to use, faster to install and a whole lot cheaper to operate.”
Chef David Chang on staying simple
“Chang opened Momofuku Noodle Bar in 2004 after having an epiphany: ‘Why can’t I cook something simple? I’m not an awesome cook—I just want to make noodles.’ MacFarquhar writes, ‘The idea of Noodle Bar from the start was to take the humblest meal—a bowl of noodles, a pork bun—and, with a combination of obsessive devotion and four-star technique, turn it into something amazing.’” [via JK]
The origin of the iChat UI
“The original 1997 sketch I made of a chat user interface based on speech balloons.”
People who are sleep deprived have no sense of their limitations
“For the millions of people who don’t get enough sleep because their commute to work is too long, or they spend too many hours at work, or they just want this lifestyle of go, go, go, it’s convenient to say, ‘I’ve learned to live without sleep.’ But you bring ‘em into the laboratory – and we have an open challenge to any CEO or anyone in the world, come into the laboratory – we don’t see this adaptation.”
How caricaturists draw the candidates
“Every four years presidential candidates are given satiric makeovers and in this spirit I asked four caricaturist/illustrators to describe the most critical feature needed to achieve the likenesses of John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and whether or not a single pose best defines the candidate.”
Book on graphic design in movies
“Uncredited is the first book to offer a general and historic insight into the role played by graphic design in films, from the dawn of cinema to the present day. It presents a critical analysis of the opening title sequences, thus throwing a light on the typographic work and composition of anonymous designers or of those rarely accredited. This book includes over 1,000 films and over 300 sequences of opening titles, from more than 150 creators.” [tx Matt]
Logos can make you 'Think Different'
“Each of us is exposed to thousands of brand images every day, most of which are not related to paid advertising. We assume that incidental brand exposures do not affect us, but our work demonstrates that even fleeting glimpses of logos can affect us quite dramatically.”
Top 5 reasons why “the customer is always right” is wrong
“1: It makes employees unhappy. 2: It gives abrasive customers an unfair advantage. 3: Some customers are bad for business. 4: It results in worse customer service. 5: Some customers are just plain wrong.”
MP3: Jim Coudal at SxSW
A talk about where creativity comes from from our officemate.
Down for everyone or just me?
Is [insert site here] down for everyone or just you? Find out here.