- The Tyranny of a Blank Page
In his talk entitled “The General Theory of Relative Creativity” for SXSW, Jim Coudal quickly touched on a concept he accurately termed “The Tyranny of a Blank Page.” He probably had no idea just how true that rang for me.
- Design by Comfort
When I first started learning how to design, I often compared my work to that of those I admired, and justly felt lacking about my own skills. I frequently asked myself, “Why doesn’t my work look that good?” Even now, as the title of designer graces my business card, this inferiority complex hasn’t completely dissipated, but I have found a few tricks to quell it.
- FogBugz
FogBugz is a very thorough bug-tracking application and the flagship product of Fog Creek Software, owned and managed by Joel Spolsky, of the Joel on Software fame. Representing Happy Cog, I’ve had the pleasure of helping the Fog Creek team redesign the FogBugz site.
- Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
It’s a big month for Happy Cog. First, we launched our new site. Now we’ve launched a brand new project that we can be proud of.
- The Agency Formerly (and Currently) Known as Happy Cog
For a long time, Happy Cog has been known has one of the premiere agencies in the web standards world. Owned and run by grand master Jeffrey Zeldman from NYC, we recently expanded to take the Philly region by storm. Today, our site gets a long overdue refresh.
- The Future of Slice and Dice
I'm fairly young in terms of web years. In fact, I just barely recall building sites with tables. I may have designed/built a maximum of ten sites before moving to a standards-based approach. During my career, however, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with people that have been in the business for a hefty amount of time. With some, the years have evidently bestowed justifiable experience and wisdom, while others have used the time to become set in their stodgy, old ways.
- Sleuthing
A midnight mystery for you all: which one of these sites is the original and which is the imposter?
- Graphic Noise
Yesterday was the opening reception for Graphic Noise, an exhibition for contemporary concert posters. Even better was the fact that it was held at Drexel University’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, where I’ve been enjoying the last four years.
- A Prelude Apart
In preparation for An Event Apart, I’ve got some stuff to share with the class:
- Listed Apart
In light of the major headline across the web world of the new A List Apart launch, there have been a lot of mixed reactions about every portion of this site, most prominently the design, followed by the markup, information architecture and content.
- CoMAD
Drexel University's design college, the College of Media Arts & Design or CoMAD, has long been in need of a modern website to represent the excellent instruction that goes on everyday. Although I'm quite biased (being part of the Digital Media program), CoMAD is a nationally accredited school and well-respected in academic circles.
- Using Your Powers for Evil
I have a confession to make: in the past, I have used my powers for evil. It's not something I'm proud of, but I won't deny it.