Southwestern Design Influences

One of the benefits of travel is the chance to learn and absorb design influences from other cultures. The state of New Mexico (USA) is home to three cultures; Mexican, Native American and Spanish. Each contributes to the vocabulary of architecture, decor and art that is known as southwestern style. There is an uninhibited use of color in southwestern style that mimics the strong colors seen in nature. I look forward to using some of these influences in my future web design!

Designer Toast?

Target Stores, the design conscious discount retailer, has always had a keen eye for great design. It understands that consumers looking for a great price do want great design as well. Target.com has a product that shows how something as commonplace as toast can be made more creative. This toaster, marketed by Target, adds a bit of whimsy to the normally mundane task of toast in the morning. The plates included with the toaster each adds a graphic design element that raises toast to the level of art (well, maybe not quite art). A nice way to use design to add a new dimension to a commonplace product!

Digital Retro?

Digital goes very "old school" in this design exercise done for Kodak by industrial designer Lindsay Pickett. The "Kodak 1881" digital camera, is reminiscent of a Victorian-era heirloom locket. "Inspired by the emotional connection and careful framing of locket photos, 1881 strives to create a more precious medium through which to share your memories, whether at home or on the street," says designer Lindsey Pickett. Specs and other details are scant, but the locket-cam can be opened to reveal an LCD screen. Can a digital camera pocket watch be far behind?

Stop The Megapixel Madness!

As a photography enthusiast (as well as web designer), I have indulged in a bit of technology lust, spending more than a bit of my discretionary income on digital cameras. What I have discovered over time is that megapixel ratings often have little to do with image quality. And the newer model digital cameras do not always match older models in image quality. Yet, marketers are bent on convincing us that we can never have enough megapixels. Well, this article on cnet.com exposes the truth behind the megapixel race. If you are considering purchasing a new camera, read this first. It may save you a few bucks!

From Auto Design to Boutique Hotels . . .

The designers of two of the most exotic automobiles in the world, Ferrari and Maserati, have now designed a hotel, The Keating in San Diego. You can clearly see the automobile design heritage of Pininifarina in The Keating. It is an interesting study of how expertise in one design discipline is applied to another. In this case, the transfer design skills results in a unique design statement and visual showcase.

In a similar way, when a graphic designer migrates to web design, you can see the print design heritage clearly in their approach. Sometimes the end result is good, sometimes not! The key is knowing what principles of print design are best left behind, and what should be kept. Also, a clear understanding of web technology helps a designer understand the creative limitations of working on the web.

Moo.com is very cool . . .

Good design can often add new life to a staid, predictable product. Moo.com has made business cards hip by creating a colorful half height version of the business card that is decorated with your own digital photography. These cards are so cool! I had a set made with a number of my photos from my Flickr web site printed on the back. These informal cards are great conversation pieces, and an unforgettable tool for self-promotion. These cheap and cheerful cards are inexpensive and as beautiful as your photos make them! Get yourself a set!

Great Design? Let the Buyer Beware . . .

Skillfull design, whether it be web design, packaging design, or other design disciplines can be a persuasive power. Sometimes that power can be . . . well, let's say a bit deceptive! I love chocolate, good chocolate. I recently purchased a box of what I assumed were premium quality chocolate truffles at a local large retail chain. The box was beautifully designed and conveyed the impression that it contained dark chocolate truffles. As most chocolate lovers know, a genuine chocolate truffle generally is made of ganache (a mixture of chocolate and heavy cream), with other flavorings. Well, after purchasing this brand of "truffles," I discovered that its main ingredient is hydrogenated vegetable shortening! In essence, this "chocolate truffle" was really a form of margerine (saturated fat), shaped and flavored to taste like a chocolate truffle! Ugh! I felt deceived. This beautifully designed box (I decline to reveal the brand - we are a litigious culture) skillfully masked the true nature of its contents. Let the buyer beware!

From now on I stick to proven quality. Excellent quality hand-made chocolate truffles are sold by Sensual Chocolatiers. These hand-made truffles are the real thing! They're made delicious, fresh and shipped next-day delivery for guaranteed freshness.

Google. The New Microsoft?

Google has recently announced an online Powerpoint alternative called Presently to go along with its online word processor (formerly known as Writely) and spreadsheet application. These online tools will give users the same sort of productivity that can be found in the industry giant Microsoft Office. Wow! The speed with which online applications are developing and maturing may well upset the balance of power in the software world! The plot thickens . . .

A New Approach To Selling Clothes Online

Here is an online clothing retailer with a twist: Myshape.com offers you clothing by shape, not by size. How? It collects all the measurements of the clothing it carries and puts them into a database, and then asks its consumers to enter in their measurements, from which it builds individual profiles. Each profile gets a shape code, for example, shape S is "curvy front and side profiles." Users can also bypass the measurements and just pick their shape codes from the descriptions on the site. Once a shopper has her profile in the system, the store only shows clothing that will flatter her shape type.

Since it's based on measurements and proportions, not the quasi-arbitrary size label that designers put on their clothes, the return rate on purchases is supposedly lower. It increases the likelihood of a clothing purchase that fits better and looks better on you. Is this a trend in merchandising that will catch on?

A Favorite Font . . . for Free!

I get many emails from other web designers asking about the fonts used in my web design. The font most often asked about is a beautiful script typeface named Scriptina, used in the web design shown above. This modern, breezy, handwritten style font is a personal favorite that I have used in a number of projects. It is also available for free! This website offers free downloads (click here) of both the Mac and PC versions of this beautifully rendered typeface. Sometimes, the best things in life (or at least web design) are free!

World's Best-Designed Newspapers

I have always felt that web designers can benefit from studying the best examples of design in other disciplines. Newspaper design is one such example. The Society for News Design has selected four newspapers (from 351 worldwide candidates) as the "World's Best-Designed Newspapers." This creative competition judges newspapers on design excellence including typography. The judges, meeting in Syracuse, New York, selected four European newspapers as their winners. The Society for News Design website features the results and the basis for selection. This is worth the attention of web designers, as newspapers, like content rich websites, must show a mastery of layout and typography. My personal favorite among the winners is the German Frankfurter Aligemeine Sonntagszeitung for its inventive use of graphics and airy typography.

Cutting Room Floor Web Design

We've started a new section of our web design portfolio for our web designs that never made it to the Internet—"Cutting Room Floor Web Design." These are web design drafts that were part of a series shown to our clients. They preferred other designs we developed for them, leaving these to languish in obscurity like jilted suitors. However, these designs contain elements and layouts that may work well for future projects. Displaying them gives potential clients a wider range of creative ideas to choose from. Plus, we get to show off more of our stuff . . . We're so vain . . .

The MarthaStewart.com Web Redesign . . . A Critique

The original Marthastewart.com was one of my favorite web designs. It had an uncluttered look with creative color pallettes and clear, expressive photography. It was clean, airy, inviting, and original. Well, in the name of progress, the entire Martha Stewart line of websites and logo has undergone a major redesign that, in truth, has left me yearning for the past.



I do not blame the marthastewart.com designers for my lukewarm response. The redesign reeks of talent and creativity. However, I can sense that every high-level executive in the Martha Stewart conglomerate of companies fought tooth-and-nail for a piece of web-page real estate and had to be accomodated somehow. They made the designers job a nightmare. The end result is a cluttered, confusing web design that feels more like K-Mart than Martha Stewart. Gone is the clean elegant design, replaced with a pastel urban jungle littered with too much stuff.

I understand. I've worked as a web designer for conglomerate companies in the past. It is difficult to create good design while trying to satisfy the needs of numerous competing corporate interests all trying to be seen on the homepage. I suppose that is the price paid for corporate success. Marthastewart.com has paid that price with a visually confusing design . Ironically, the new website has a feature article entitled "100 Reasons To Get Rid of Clutter" . . .

Design & The Rebirth of Cool?

You would never, ever, think of a golf cart as being cool, hip or trendy. Yet, with a savvy injection of retro design they are now becoming the trendy toys of the newly retired! Gated communities, private clubs, and yes, golf courses are the venues of choice for showcasing the newest form of retiree bling--golf carts redesigned to resemble classic cars and hot rods. These low speed cruisers, that can reach speeds of 35mph, are injecting new life into the staid golf cart industry. And they are selling briskly for prices ranging from $5,000 to $20,000! Good design has power to create new markets for old toys! Read the New York Times article about these "big boys toys" here.

A Prosperous World?

Did you know that the three richest people in the world are wealthier than the 48 poorest nations combined? The world is prosperous, with the 2005 gross world product exceeding $60 Trillion. That is about $9,000 for each person alive. Yet, 2.5 billion people are trying to survive on less than $2 per day. Even the right to clean water is a luxury. The poorest households in many developing countries can spend as much as 10% of their income on water. Over 900 million are in desperate need of clean water. A few sobering facts about the condition of the human family from the United Nations Development Programme.

More Sweets, My Sweet?

Web design is one of those sedentary occupations that can make you unhealthy. Especially if you have a penchant for snacking on junk food while your right hand furiously works the mouse and cursor. Well, imagine snacking on healthful foods like broccoli, turnips, celery that now taste every bit as sweet and sugary as the Twinkies you crave? A dream? Not according to this Wall Street Journal article! It seems that there is a small, slightly tart West African berry with a strange property: For about an hour after you eat it, everything sour tastes sweet! Read more about this miracle and pray that it will soon be available at your local supermarket!

It's Spring Again . . .

I love the spring! Historically, my most interesting web design projects usually pop up during the winter. So the early spring allows me to look back on some of my most creative projects of the year with a sense of satisfaction. However, the spring always gives my creative urges a quick pick me up as I walk about and observe the talent of the Creator in nature. Who of us can match his superb use of color or perfect marriage of form and function? Indeed, some of my best color palettes for web design are stolen directly from Nature! The gardens and landscapes I see offer a host of ideas that I try my best to mimic in web design.

This image is taken in the Rio Grande Botanic Garden, Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is now beautifully arrayed in tulips and other spring blooms. Hopefully, I can be in Newark, New Jersey before April passes for the Cherry Blossom Festival in Branch Brook Park. It is an event I have missed for three years in a row. Hopefully, I can see it this year!