Speaking of Edward Tufte, at his seminars, he hands out a list of suggested readings (scroll to see list at end of page). It’s chock full of good gift ideas for designers.

So is Greg Storey’s Things Designers Want For Christmas A-Store.

And the editors at Design Observer have a 2006 Holiday Reading List too.

One of Edward Tufte’s presentation tips is “Never apologize.”

Never apologize. If you’re worried the presentation won’t go well, keep it to yourself and give it your best shot. Besides, people are usually too preoccupied with their own problems to notice yours.

True that. Presenting, like performing, relies a lot on confidence (or at least the illusion of confidence). If you get up and begin with an apology, you’ve already undermined your own credibility and dug yourself a big hole.

Plus, apologizing before a presentation is insulting to the audience. If you get up on stage in front of people, you’ve got to believe that what you’re offering them, even if not perfectly honed, is worthwhile. If you don’t think so, why should they?

The power of the pause
There’s also a Tufte tip that says, “Be sure to allow long pauses for questions.” I think the intended meaning here is take your time while waiting for questions. But I’d like to add a related thought: It’s alright to pause before answering a question too.

When someone fires a question at you, there’s an instinctual feeling that you’ve got to respond instantly, especially if you’re billed as an “expert.” You want to show that you’ve got an instant answer.

If you have a response on the tip of your tongue, that’s great. But sometimes it can be a good idea to pause and think about the question, what your response is, and how you want to phrase it. I’m not talking a half-hour lull or anything. Just a few seconds to collect your thoughts in your brain before they come out your mouth.

Unlike opening with an apology, a brief pause doesn’t come across as weak or flabby. It makes you seem like you care about your answer. It shows respect for the question, the questioner, and the audience. And it makes them want to listen.

In this age of instant information, there’s something strangely satisfying about someone who takes a moment to formulate an answer in order to deliver a coherent, thought-out response.

Just recently, we hired a new systems administrator named Mark. He lives in Virginia. That’s six hours off the GMT. One less than the current five guys in Chicago. Two less than Jamis in Idaho. So what?

He was the best of the candidates available, we’d be crazy not to pick him up, no? Well, apparently there are still plenty of “crazy” companies and hiring managers out there. People unwilling to pick the better candidate because of geography.

Jonathan gives us just one example in his an Open Letter to Job Board Advertisers. So I thought this would be a good occasion to get the excuses out there: Why are you not hiring remote workers?

A while back, we posted the tools we use to run and build 37signals. What tools/software do you use? Link it up.

Feedburner

The “ize” have it at Feedburner, which offers a tab called “Troubleshootize.”

YouTube

YouTube’s scheduled downtime screen features a mad scientist cooking up new concoctions.

Gifttagging

Gifttagging gets literal with tags that look like real-life tags.

Got an interesting screenshot for Signal vs. Noise? Send the image and/or URL to svn [at] 37signals [dot] com.

Animators deal with art, story, etc. so there is a lot of intuition and “feel” required. At the same time, effective design is key; Animations have to communicate concrete ideas and emotions. It’s an interesting intersection of intuition and reason. The drawing class notes (book form) of Walt Stanchfield, drawing instructor for Walt Disney Studios, provide a fascinating look at the process. Below are excerpts from Stanchfield’s handouts (all links go to PDFs, bold emphasis mine).

Simplicity for the sake of Clarity:

The artist, when he first gets an inspiration or tackles a pose in an action analysis class, sees the pose, is struck by its clarity, its expressiveness, then after working on it for a while that first impression is gone and with it goes any chance of capturing it on paper. That’s the reason. we should learn to get that first impression down right away – while it’s fresh, while it’s still in that first impression stage – before it starts to fade…

The reason I keep harping on ‘forget the detail’ for this particular type of study is, the detail doesn’t buy you anything at this stage of the drawing. Doodling with detail will cause you to lose that first impression…When I say locate and suggest, that is exactly what and all you need. What you are drawing is a pose not parts. The simplest kind of suggestion is the surest way to a good drawing. I have xeroxed a little series of drawings from “The Illusion of Life” to show how an extremely simple sketch can express so much and thereby be a perfect basis for the final drawings.

Draw Verbs Not Nouns:

A sure way to keep from making static, lifeless drawings is to think of drawing “verbs” instead of “nouns”. Basically, a noun names a person place, or thing; a verb asserts, or expresses action, a state of being, or an occurrence. I speak often of shifting mental gears, and here is another place to do it. The tendency to copy what is before us without taking time (or effort) to ferret out what is happening action- wise, is almost overwhelming.

(A similar thought can be found at The life of products: “Products are not nouns but verbs. A product designed as a noun will sit passively in a home, an office, or pocket. It will likely have a focus on aesthetics, and a list of functions clearly bulleted in the manual…but that’s it. Products can be verbs instead, things which are happening, that we live alongside…a product designed with this in mind can look very different.”)

Abstracting the Essence:

There’s this little storefront on Ashland Avenue in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood called Marrakech Cuisine. If you’re not looking for it you’d ignore it. And if you were looking for it you might even think it was the wrong place.

In the front you’ll find authentic Moroccan lamps, hand-made jewelry, wood carvings, boxes, and other imported curiosities. But the real treasure is in the sunken, dimly lit room in the back.

The first treasure is the owner. He’s a gentle, soft spoken man with a smile baked into his face. He sells you the lamps, he takes your order, he cooks your food, he serves your food, and he rings you up. He’s not quick, but there’s no reason to rush.

The second treasure is the food. The menu is simple and fairly priced. Everything I’ve tried is good — especially the Harrira, the Lentil Salad, and the Atlas Tajine. This is food made by someone who cares about what he cooks and what you eat. The ingredients are fresh, and the flavors are just right, and the portions are proper (read: not too big).

Finishing off the meal with some tea made from fresh mint leaves, rosewater, and the slightest touch of honey is highly recommended. It goes well with his homemade sticky Baklawa.

This place is such a great escape from the busy street and the fussy cuisine that’s popping up all over. You’ll never need a reservation. Don’t be alarmed if you’re the only one there. It’s guaranteed good food with a truly personal touch that seems rare these days.

I would have never walked in this place had someone not recommended it to me. That’s why I’m passing on my recommendation to you. Good eats.

The value of shutting off the analytical part of your brain

“The parts of our brain that learn from experience are far more capable than the parts that learn from talking through it. We think we need to tell ourselves things like, ‘keep your weight over your front don’t press so hard on the violin bow…’ when we’re trying to learn something new or improve our performance, when that’s exactly the thing that inhibits learning and improvement.”

Elegant solutions combine simplicity and power

“The most challenging games have the fewest rules, as do the most dynamic organizations. The most memorable films have a simple message with complex meaning, touching a universal chord while allowing multiple interpretations. An elegant solution is quite often a single tiny aha! idea that changes everything. Finally, elegant solutions aren’t obvious, except, of course, in retrospect.” [tx SU]

Best Buy moves to "results-only work environment"

“The nation’s leading electronics retailer has embarked on a radical — if risky — experiment to transform a culture once known for killer hours and herd-riding bosses. The endeavor, called ROWE, for “results-only work environment,” seeks to demolish decades-old business dogma that equates physical presence with productivity. The goal at Best Buy is to judge performance on output instead of hours.” [tx Jake]

Letterpress making a comeback

“Art experts say this new interest in the specialized craft is a reaction to the slick design and flat graphics common in computer publishing…’It looks different. It feels old. It’s tactile. People love that. It is the romance of the impression of the letter pressed into paper that people feel good about.’”

Neat fonts inspired by 1940s movies include context-sensitive characters (i.e. letters at the ends of words appear differently)

“Kinescope will include context-sensitive characters. For example, when a letter falls at the end of a word, the connecting stroke is clipped off. This gives settings a more natural hand-lettered look.” [via DC]

Amphibian Design
The about page at Amphibian Design scores high on the “I wouldn’t mind grabbing a beer with that guy” scale.

Amphibian is a graphic design and digital construction empire with humble beginnings in a one bedroom apartment in Winnipeg, MB, Canada. Today it has grown to have offices in … well, one city … and employ over … well, just one person worldwide. Nonetheless, Print Magazine’s 2005 Design Annual called Amphibian ”... a design agency I’ve never heard of.”*

I’ve been designing and building websites, posters, brochures, CD packaging, business cards, and other various forms of communication in the physical and virtual world since 1997. Sure, some of those early projects were “learning experiences.” However I think my body of work today speaks for itself.

Those with few resources who are working for peace and justice in this sad world have been known to get quoted on a sliding scale according to need, funding, and my own personal passion for their project.

It’s an oft overlooked secret to getting hired: Be likeable. A lot of “hire me” energy is spent on showing off and looking professional — education this, portfolio that, etc. But when you’re trying to attract moths to your flame, a friendly vibe and an easy-going attitude are a great place to start. Plus, you’re more likely to attract clients with the same attitude which can help lead to a saner existence.

(Btw, check out the subtle gradients at the site’s contact form and the in-your-face cover shot.) [tx Andy]

Jewelboxing tells a story
People like stories a lot more than sales pitches. One Thing Leads to Another tells the tale of how Jewelboxing came to be. Stories like this are a great way to show you truly care about what you make and create a connection with your audience.

After all the work that went into the shooting and editing and everything else it seemed like printing out some color sheets and putting the disc in a regular old jewel case was not the best way to make a first impression. We’re pretty good at finding things here and over the next couple days we looked at virtually every single disc packaging option available anywhere and decided that they all stunk.

Kevin had saved a promo disc of stock photography he received from Getty, not because we needed another disc full of serious looking businessmen pointing at computer screens or happy people on the phone, but because of the slick, modern hinged case it arrived in. We tracked down another, ripped all the paper out of them and then made our own inserts and sent the Slowtron series winging its way across the Atlantic. I’ll let you know what happens with that.

Anyhow, it didn’t take us too long to realize that there must be other firms and individuals who like us, wanted to put as much thought and effort into what our presentations discs were packed in as we did with the material that we were burned on them.