Ben-Rowe.com

Pocket Computer

Ben — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:39:54 +0000

Found this great picture from a 31-year-old usborne book on “Computers”.

Another 10 Links

Ben — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:32:31 +0000

Here’s some links to some articles that I’ve liked, and things I got excited about in the last week. Hope you like them too.

First up – check out the rating scale on Spinal Tap’s IMDB page – Yep, up to 11. via Little Big Details.

Online torrent-sharing website, The Pirate Bay, launches Physibles – a new category for 3D printable files. Are physical objects the new frontier for piracy?

An interesting read about everyone’s favourite new toy, Pinterest. “Addictive UX: Why Pinterest Is So Dang Amazing“, via Design Shack.

IXXI – a modular hanging system that joins cards together in a pattern to create wall art. Via Design Milk

What Successful Products Teach Us About Web Design – Great post from Smashing Magazine.

Wireframing for Responsive Web Design. From Boagworld.

Bobby Solomon tells us to Ditch Helvetica, Try These 5 Contemporary Sans Serif Typefaces.

With Infographic, Airbnb Turns Boring Facts Into Masterful Marketing. Via Fast Company Design.

“I am a lousy copywriter” – David Ogilvy via Letters of note.
And finally, the accompanying pie-chart to this post on parenthood has resonated with me this week. Thanks for the link Swissmiss.

Focus on the search bar

Ben — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:04:49 +0000

The Google guy was beaten down. He said the company has pretty much lost focus. He said every meeting is about the iPad, iPhone, music service like iTunes, social like Facebook, coupons like Groupon. He said people are just tired and worn out. And that Google was fighting too many battles. He said Google+, was a complete waste of time.

I’m not the first to suggest that Google have lost their focus a bit these days. But here’s the solution.

We all know that this is Google’s strength. This is where the made themselves. So focus on the search bar.

That doesn’t mean they have to focus on search. I mean, they should keep a huge focus on search. But they should move away from anything that isn’t search-related. Google+, as much as I want to like it, might be something they should remove focus. Instead, focus on the search bar. Because that’s changing.

It’s changing because search is changing online. The search bar isn’t just for Google searches anymore. The way we find things online is changing. We don’t get all our information from a traditional Google search. We find what we’re looking for, sometimes serendipitously, through friends and trusted curators. We read what our Twitter friends read. We find coffee table inspiration through Pinterest boards and Svpply streams. And with an ever declining trust for Business, Governments and Institutions, we might even see a renaissance in old-school forums. Cluetrain style.

Someone needs to make it easy to search for all of this wonderful content. Somehow. That won’t be easy. But someone needs to focus on it. And that someone may as well be Google.

They shouldn’t be focussed on tablets, or social, or bloody Groupon. They should focus on what people are looking for, and help them find it.

Path – is amazing UX enough?

Ben — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:26:10 +0000

You’ve no doubt read that Path has recently revamped itself, and become not just a photo-sharing app, but a fully fledged mobile life streaming app. And it’s been receiving some very decent reviews.

The biggest highlight of Path 2.0 is the UI. It’s stunning. I think most would agree that this is the most gorgeous mobile app out there. The interactions and design flourishes are amazing.

Right now I’m trying it out. I’m finding friends, checking in, and post the occasional photo and update. Path’s point of difference has always been to limit the number of users that you can be friends with. To create a tighter social network. I think that’s an interesting idea.

I really want to like it. But the problem is, I don’t have a social networking problem. I spend enough time on Twitter, Instagram and Foursquare to really justify getting into another social networking app.

It is a delight to use. It really is. But is that enough?

On the web, the Project Triangle isn’t.

Ben — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 09:16:35 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve written and try work-related posts here on this blog, but I’ve been thinking about the Project Triangle a lot today, and thought there’d be no harm in blogging about it.

Head back to project management 101, and you’ll recognise the triangle above. Which explains that any project can only have two of the three corners, being Good, Fast, and Cheap. You can have two. But it’s impossible to have all three.

As wikipedia puts it:

Design something quickly and to a high standard, but then it will not be cheap.
Design something with high quality and cheaply, but it will take a long time.
Design something quickly and cheaply, but it will not be of high quality.

The concept of the project triangle gives you the impression that you have 3 choices. You have to sacrifice either speed to market, budget or quality.

The ‘Good’ side of the triangle is by far the most difficult to put your finger. Fast is fast. Cheap is cheap. But what is good?

Good is subjective, but heres how I’d describe it:

- ‘Good’ is a flawless user experience.
- ‘Good’ is well designed. Functional and pretty.
- ‘Good’ is the result of passion and hard work.
- ‘Good’ is not just reliable, but indispensible.

In 2011, the quality of the web experience has come in leaps in bounds. It’s clear to see that those who are winning (think kick-starter, airbnb and a whole host of other design led-startups). The winners are all choosing ‘Good’. By contrast, those who are choosing the Fast and Cheap corners, and ignoring good, are those who struggle the most.

I’d argue that nowadays – there are only 2 options. We now compete globally, up against competition that anyone can access from their laptop – it’s too easy for customers, and users to find good quality. In fact, word-of-mouth on the web makes it hard to avoid ‘Good’. It’s become impossible to ignore ‘Good’, especially when it comes to online.

So it’s not really a triangle anymore.

10 Links

Ben — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:40:45 +0000

Here’s a list of what I’ve been reading, and thinking about, this week:

Happy At 100

Ben — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:49:59 +0000

Happy At 100: Expressive Portraits Capture The Wisdom And Joy Of Aging

via PSFK

Tattly Hacks

Ben — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:02:14 +0000

If you haven’t yet seen SwissMiss’ Tattly store, for temporary tattoos, I urge you to go and visit.

Plus, check out Tina’s post on the “Tattly Hack” whereby one mashups up the tats to create new ones. Nice little brand idea.

Mad Men 5

Ben — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:49:02 +0000

Mad Men 5 Poster … this is the most beautiful, clever piece of advertising I’ve seen in a long time.

P.S. things aren’t looking good for poor old Donny.

via intweetion.

Shirts for you

Ben — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:54:27 +0000

How great is this website. Powered by the APIs of Spotify, Last.fm, Rdio and Pandora, Shirtify is a cool little website that sends you band shirts that are relevant to your music interests – while the artists earns money.

Shirtify – via Native Digital’s latest email.