I decided that while the coloured vinyl was ok on its own, the addition of a coloured note was just too garish.
The anti-aliasing round the note needs tweaking, but I think it looks pretty good. Better than the original:
EDIT: OK, I’ve tweaked it. Here’s the final version:
For Mac users, there’s a zip of those [...]
I’ve updated my new iTunes icons for the release of iTunes 7.
I’ve switched to using LaVern Baker.
Some more thoughts on design in the tech industries. This time, the slow death of what I think of as the ‘gadget aesthetic’. The gadget aesthetic was a product of the novelty and glamour of electronics; it fetishizes the look of hi-tech gizmos. Lots of buttons, lots of LEDs, curvy moulded plastic, metallic-looking silver plastic:
This [...]
Flickr set of the week is sleazy reads by trevira. I particularly love the tagline on the second one.
Core77’s design blog led me to this article about form vs. function in mobile phone design. The title of the article says it all: Is the ‘dumb blonde’ phone here to stay?
In this context, a ‘dumb blonde’ phone is one which looks pretty but lacks functionality. I can understand why someone thought that was a [...]
Which isn’t actually going to happen. I was working on a new look for the blog a while ago, but came to the conclusion it was going to be just too memory-intensive. It’s heavy on the graphics, and because it uses lots of sharp-edged high-contrast shapes, you can’t compress the images very much without getting [...]
I was looking for an internet copy of Thomas Chippendale’s The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director (which is a large collection of the most elegant and useful designs of household furniture in the Gothic, Chinese and modern taste) and found the University of Wisconsin’s Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture. Not only does [...]
I went to see the Modernism: Designing a New World exhibition at the V&A, which was good. It was largely what you’d expect – white houses, angular furniture and posters with large sans serif headers printed at an angle – although there were some treats and surprises, like a Tatra T-87 saloon car.
Looking at the [...]
I was looking through Wordpress themes on the Codex. I find it surprising how many people design themes with flexible-width text columns – i.e. ones where the columns get wider and narrower when you resize the browser window. One of the first things you learn when you pick up a book on typography is that [...]
Well, that Wordpress 2.0 Themes Competition I entered has had 188 entries. Hmmm. I’m not sure I like those odds…
It’ll be interesting to see what people have come up with, and to find out what the judges were looking for.
[Sorry, I know most of you won't be even slightly interested in this]
I’ve just had a major intellectual breakthrough about how CSS positioning works. Or, to put it another way, I’ve just realised that I’ve been being very stupid for a very long time.
I’ve read lots and lots of online CSS tutorials, and either none [...]
I mentioned earlier that I thought it might be fun to enter a Wordpress theme competition. Well, I’ve got a theme worked up that I’m thinking of entering. You can see it in action on my test blog here. As you can see, it’s a two-column variation on the Swifts theme with a different picture.
I’ve [...]
The more time I spend thinking about web design, the more easily irritated I am. Take Spork. Look at that lovely, stylish, front cover: it manages to have something of a print aesthetic without being heavy-handed, and it’s clear, simple and eye-catching. Classy.
But then you click on the names, and the links open as new [...]
I’ve come up with a new design for the site, as I think should be pretty obvious. If you prefer the calmer qualities of the old look, there’s now a theme switcher in the sidebar so you can pick your favourite. The scarab picture is used by kind permission of elina. Fab, innit?
The main problem [...]
Adult movie posters, via we make money not art, who got it from Camp Heatwole.
edit: more linkworthiness. Dazzle painting, via gravestmor. It’s worth looking at the pictures and clicking on the links in the dazzle article.
further edit: Bangladeshi rickshaw art, via Metafilter.
and still more: Crop Art, also via Camp Heatwole.
I went to see the Dale Chihuly glass at Kew Gardens today. Which was pretty fab. This Flickr slideshow gives you some idea. It finishes 15th January, so if you haven’t seen it and you’re in London, go and have a look.
Creative have launched a competitor to the video-capable iPod. It looks rather like the iPod except clumsier and uglier. But this is the bit I thought was extraordinary:
Creative are touting the Zen as a far more powerful player than Apple’s offering, with additional functions such as FM radio and a built-in mic.
“We are focused on [...]
I’ve been thinking about web design recently, specifically as it applies to a possible redesign for this blog. There’s no rush, because the current look is fairly new and I’m pleased with it, but I had set myself a more ambitious target. Inspired by an exchange I had with Will over at Corridor of Uncertainty, [...]