A recent post by Mark Ragan reminded me of a post I’ve had swirling around in my brain recently. His post is pretty bang on the money – of course he’s right that, as a general principle, we shouldn’t use jargon. But who’s ‘we’? Who are ‘them’? What are I? Well apparently I’m a guru. [...]
Tag Archives: design
The Universal Process™. Or: the Gartner Hype Cycle of Life
Life. Work. Birth. Death. And everything in between. Read on. I wrote some time ago about the process of writing. Unless I’m writing for myself – that is, when I had time for ‘recreational writing’, or even blogging for that matter – I tend to procrastinate. I sit in front of the monitor surrounded by [...]
Bad instructions are worse than none
I work in an annexe – not, as some people suspect, a cave. This annexe has all mod cons. It has electricity, windows, a roof, even a toilet and shower. But it doesn’t have a telephone point, so my wireless network signal just about makes it through the several doors, walls and windows but is [...]
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it
Today I took a look at some more ‘techy’ posts and came across this on Google Blogoscoped: If the user interface ain’t broken, don’t fix it… but fixing, Google did, and recently released a new YouTube player that is breaking some of the “learned” interface. Absolutely Goddamned right. I spent about six years owning the [...]
Good communication and good design do what they’re supposed to
Tech for PR posts a great piece today on how technology just gets in the way. This is something I keep coming back to, that good communication and good design don’t get in the way because they help, without hindering. If they’re done properly, you don’t notice them at all. I spent several years as [...]
What was that about logos again?
This morning, on Today – yes, I listen to it a lot on the way into work – I heard an interview with some fool who was associated with the London Olympics logo, discussing the possible change to the Barclays ‘eagle’ logo if it were bought out by Dutch Bank ABN AMRO on account of [...]
Do people really ‘get’ logos? Do designers ‘get’ the public?
The new London Olympic logo has certainly provoked a strong reaction, not least among epileptics who have been suffering fits – although, it should be pointed out, these are triggered by a short passage in the promo video rather than the logo itself. Still, it’s just another aspect of the London logo story people are using [...]
Click, double-click, ALT, TAB, ENTER. What makes a good interface?
Despite not working in the field anymore I do keep seeing interface design issues popping up recently. In my copywriting feed – feel free to subscribe to it on the right-hand side of this blog, it takes lots and lots and lots of copywriting feeds and syndicates them out – comes a piece on the [...]
Feedback foam
- Ian Green: PR still doesn't get social media Ian Green
- Spinning Around: THE UK'S TOP MARKETING WEBLOGS James Gordon-macintosh
- Spinning Around: THE UK'S TOP MARKETING WEBLOGS James Gordon-macintosh
- Spinning Around: THE UK'S TOP MARKETING WEBLOGS James Gordon-macintosh
- Spinning Around: THE UK'S TOP MARKETING WEBLOGS James Gordon-macintosh
Social spume
- 5 Tips For Politicians on PinterestFrom presidential contenders to school board hopefuls, political candidates are experimenting with a wide variety of social platforms to get their message heard. Some are turning to Pinterest, the explosively popular image-based pinboard site — even President Obama and Ann Romney, wife of Mitt Romney, have accounts on the image-based social network. What’s t […]Alex Fitzpatrick
- 6 Brands Get It Right on ViddyViddy, the hot social video editing and sharing app, has racked up millions of ordinary users and a whole host of celebrity participants. Perhaps leery of video, brands are not signing up to the network quite as fast. Nonetheless, there are some early-adopter corporate Viddy accounts worth checking out. We’ve taken a look at six brands currently using Viddy […]Amy-Mae Elliott
- Top 10 GIFs of the Week1. Getting Down You'll never look at the Power Rangers in the same way again. Image courtesy ruinedchildhood.Click here to view this gallery.It’s been a lively week in the animated image world. We found a GIF of the Power Rangers dancing inappropriately, another of a hugging cat, and one that shows President Obama and likely Republican nominee Mitt Romn […]Samantha Murphy
- Joe Trippi: ‘Texts From Hillary’ Could Help Clinton Win in 2016Joe Trippi, former campaign manager for Howard Dean and author of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Democracy, the Internet, and the Overthrow of Everything, thinks the ultra-popular “Texts From Hillary” Tumblr could help her win the 2016 presidential election because of the public relations boost it’s given her, especially among digitally-savvy young vo […]Alex Fitzpatrick
- 12 Extravagant Instagram Pics by the Rich and Famous1. itsludacris Ludacris doesn't have to worry about a no-parking zone when it's his Ferrari 458 Italia next to a private plane. “Conn. we on the way!!! Show will be crazy tonight!” - LudacrisClick here to view this gallery.We love it when celebs open up their lives to us on social media. Once the envy subsides, we can daydream about the perks of Ho […]Stephanie Buck
- Facebook May Launch Smartphone by Next Year [REPORT]Facebook may be gearing up to launch its first-ever smartphone by next year, a new report suggests. According to The New York Times, engineers have been sought by recruiters to work on building hardware for a Facebook smartphone. This would be the social network’s third attempt to develop a smartphone, the report said, citing sources close to the matter. The […]Samantha Murphy
- Defend Your Home From These 10 ‘Space Invaders’ Accessories1. Space Invader Welcome Mat Welcome visitors to your home with a lone invader for them to wipe their feet on -- sweet revenge for all the times they got zapped by the aliens. Cost: $45Click here to view this gallery.Released all the way back in 1978, Space Invaders has become more than a retro classic — it’s a cultural touchstone for multiple generations, s […]Amy-Mae Elliott
Unless otherwise stated, everything Brendan says on this site is his own opinion. So there.
