Tag: Design

Alarmed

Watching the video at Google’s Little Signals site, I was struck by the thought that all these oh-so polite, unobtrusive attempts to replace notifications look fine in a demonstration video but they really don’t scale well. Take the use of a device – shown 1 minute, 15 seconds in – that taps on a solitary… Continue reading Alarmed

Getting [On | Old]

Dan Hon ponders an increasingly important question: I gave in and upped the font size on Mail.app on my Mac because I’m now not too precious to admit that I need to be able to read things. Which got me thinking: if we’ve got Dark Mode, then what does Old Mode for Internet Olds look… Continue reading Getting [On | Old]

In memoriam

Jon Hicks, being a graphic designer and a Mac enthusiast, chose to memorialise his father in a very particular way: Growing up I was subconsciously inspired by the different aspects of design that he introduced to me, from mid-century vinyl record covers to architecture and signage. In particular, his distinctive architect’s handwriting was very evocative… Continue reading In memoriam

Looking at history

Version Museum concentrates on the look of applications more than it does the story behind that redesign. Version Museum showcases the visual history of popular websites, operating systems, applications, and games that have shaped our lives. Much like walking through a real-life museum, this site focuses on the design changes of historic versions of technology,… Continue reading Looking at history

Akin’s Laws

Akin’s Laws of Spacecraft Design. Hard-won words of wisdom, offered freely. I’ve been involved in spacecraft and space systems design and development for my entire career, including teaching the senior-level capstone spacecraft design course, for ten years at MIT and now at the University of Maryland for more than two decades. These are some bits… Continue reading Akin’s Laws