Daniel Mall

Down in Front

Dan Mall — 2008-06-16T09:35:42-05:00

At three years old, I would get impromptu invitations from the pastor of my church to sing. “Dan, do you have a song for us this week?” he would ask from the pulpit. I’d gladly oblige, walk to the front toting along my 37-key Casio, and sing and play a one-fingered version of the song I learned that week.

More than two decades later, I sing and play almost weekly as one-seventh of a contemporary Christian band. And in the virtual world, running a fairly well-traveled site and being a part of the world’s best web design consultancy (yes, I am biased) means enduring a large amount of scrutiny, both good and bad.

For all of my young life, I’ve been a performer. Not much has changed.

Holy Matrimony

Dan Mall — 2008-05-23T02:05:16-05:00

My wedding was probably the most memorable day of my life. While I’m always more than happy to share it with anyone that wants to hear about it, I also just want to write about it so that, years later, I can still look back on this and remember how great it was for my wife and me.

Just Married!

Dan Mall — 2008-04-30T21:14:20-05:00

Sorry I haven’t been writing much lately.

The Tyranny of a Blank Page

Dan Mall — 2008-03-13T19:22:24-05:00

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.

Ahhhh-stin

Dan Mall — 2008-03-06T20:41:59-05:00

It’s that time of year again, when dreams of barbecue and geeking out can happen in the same 6-block radius. It’s SXSW!

Figaro

Dan Mall — 2008-02-11T16:24:40-05:00

Hiring a good designer is like hiring someone to cut your hair.

Sum

Dan Mall — 2008-01-22T23:53:58-05:00

Happy New Year! Yeah, I know it’s 22 days late, but it’s the first thing I’ve written for 2008. New years are great because they offer new starts and new beginnings. To the benefit of those looking at a fresh start, I’d like to write something for those new to the field of web design. I get a lot of email about it, especially from aspiring designers, so I’d like to talk about the process of building a website from start to finish.

Design by Comfort

Dan Mall — 2007-12-09T02:46:51-05:00

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

Dan Mall — 2007-10-30T23:11:39-05:00

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.

Dan Mall — 2007-10-21T23:01:31-05:00

I finally caved and joined Twitter, but I’m not sure how much longer I’ll keep it up.

The Mutant Abbracronym Dilemna

Dan Mall — 2007-09-25T15:00:42-05:00

I know I promised several upcoming topics, and a couple of them are in the works, but I need your help in the interim. How would you most semantically mark up the word “MySQL”?

What’s Next?

Dan Mall — 2007-09-12T09:00:39-05:00

As with a lot of blogs, regular posting on this site has been difficult. Part of it is due to time, but part of it is the inability to decide what's most appropriate. For me, honesty has always been the best policy, so I’ll just lay it out there: what would you like for me to write about?

Pick Me

Dan Mall — 2007-08-21T14:51:56-05:00

It’s amazing how SXSW has easily become the center of the year, the event to look forward to. This year is especially exciting for me, as I’ve finally decided to man up and submit a panel idea.

Turkey

Dan Mall — 2007-08-09T13:45:09-05:00

Good friend and aspiring dancer Kevin Cornell is featured in “The Comic Issue” of Philadelphia’s CityPaper. Go vote for his cartoon!

State (S)election

Dan Mall — 2007-07-20T00:31:12-05:00

Every once in a while, I have to build something that sucks. It’s usually nothing more than a bore. Here’s hoping you don’t have to.