I got an email from the guys at Friendster thanking me for being a part of the “thriving” Friendster community. That line made me smile for the irony of the word in quotes but also because I hadn’t logged into Friendster for possibly 2-3 years since they dropped the ball in providing a usable social networking experience.
But the email said a “new and improved” Friendster had arrived and it’s easier to use, more fun, more colorful, faster, has easier commenting and photo-sharing, provides profile skins and a new ‘gift shop’. Ok, I’ll bite, I said to myself and I clicked a link in the email to check it out.
And then I got a broken link:
Friendster FAIL.
Online shopping usually lacks intimacy. When I go into a neighborhood bookstore, I often pick up books that catch my eye. I take a subtle second to notice how heavy the book is, how crisp the cover’s print quality is — and as I open the book for the first time, I subconsciously feel the stiffness of its spine, the thickness of its paper, the “new book” smell it gives off… Although I can’t sniff my computer, Amazon’s Windowshop surprisingly had me pressing arrow keys for the last 15 minutes of my day. By browsing books, movies and music visually and interactively with page samples, audio and video previews — I had an overall experience that was delightfully simple. Unfortunately while the intimacy of online shopping is increased, its context, descriptions, keywords and reviews are gone.
The use of negative and positive space on paper: by subtracting from the whole, the surrounding space gains. I am not sure who the original artist is but leave a comment if you do.
Someone at work sent this out. The angles are particularly interesting to see in this form.
I still haven’t had the chance to play with any of the new Android G2 models but I can’t wait to drool all over one. Photo courtesy of Gizmodo.
http://www.android.com
While designing my wedding invitations, I have acquired a new, fond appreciation of the ampersand. Check out my homies Baskerville & Baskerville Italic‘s curves, wow.
http://vimeo.com/3514904
A designer named Tomas Nilsson interprets the fairytale of “Little Red Riding Hood” using informational graphics and animations. My favorite visualization is right around 1:25.
Q: What would the United States flag, dollar bill and square states look like if they were updated to web 2.0 standards?
A: They’d have pink gradients, beta seals, bubbley text and rounded corners for sure!
Read all about it at Aviary.com
RSS Feed