A few years later, I wrote some code that allowed me to hit a keyboard shortcut when visiting evhead.com — I believe it was the letter ‘n’ — which would bring up a modal textarea. When I typed into that and hit submit, that text would show up at the top of this very web site. It felt like magic.
In ~2004 I had a website hosted on a friend’s server. Several times per week I would manually update the homepage with my latest thoughts and observations. It wasn’t too difficult: edit a text file, upload via FTP, refresh. I thought of it as a web-based AOL Instant Messenger away message. I tried to simplify this process similar to what Ev describes in his recent blog post. I guess it was a good idea.
Apple’s coveted Best of 2019 awards were announced, and iPhone App of the Year was awarded to Spectre Camera by Lux Optics. Coincidentally I tried Spectre recently while photographing the sunset against the Golden Gate Bridge during a Photosprouts landscape photography course.
Spectre is amazing. It allows anyone to capture gorgeous long exposure photos with minimal effort. I also use Halide, the app that allows you to shoot photos in the RAW format and was built by the same team.
The San Francisco mall was set to revolutionize urban entertainment in 1999, burning bright before a spectacular fall.
Today we think of the AMC Metreon as a movie theater complex with an average Japanese restaurant, small food court, robot cafe, Target, and Bitcoin ATM.
In 1999 though it was the Sony Metreon, an attempt to shove Universal Studios into downtown San Francisco. I actually went with my family when it opened. Tickets were approximately $20 each for complete access (there were multiple tiers for some reason). There were short 3D films, a Microsoft retail store, a large food court, and a gigantic arcade. It was fun for an immature teenager, but as one can imagine there was little desire to ever return.
I highly recommend reading the San Francisco Chronicle article about the Sony Metreon (or at least look at the photos). Afterwards listen to The Big Event podcast episode for some fun stories about San Francisco and this unusual development.
When you’re looking through other people’s portfolios, what stands out? Do you have any advice And could you share any practical wisdom to creatives on how to showcase their portfolios better?
Khoi Vinh:
I’d be much more interested in a portfolio full of made up projects that are representative of exactly what a designer wants to do more than anything, than I would be in a portfolio of highly competent but passionless work executed by someone who’s not thrilled by any of it.
The passion is the difference maker.
Portfolios should show personality and passion. Both are tricky to depict in a portfolio vs. a video chat. Spend extra time writing about who you are, how you solve problems, and what you’ve learned along the way.
Which brings us to some of the more contentious principles of the Bauhaus’s modernist typography: the liberal use of sans-serif typefaces, for both headlines and text, as well as the use of exclusively lowercase letters. In their historical and cultural context, these choices were far more scandalous than they appear to us today. At that time sans-serif type was not wholly uncommon in advertisements or headlines, and had been experimented with by earlier avant-garde movements, but its use for running text was still regarded as unorthodox, and less readable than roman or blackletter.
Gmail’s mobile apps recently received a crisp visual refresh, but the fundamental reachability issue was not addressed. The most important buttons in the app are still in no hand’s land. The Gmail team should consider the button layout Superhuman uses which places archive, reply, trash, etc. at the bottom to be more thumb-friendly.
Left: Gmail. Right: Superhuman
Gmail’s update is intriguing because Google Tasks already transitioned to an interface that focuses on reachability. I predict more redesigns that utilize half-sheets throughout the year.
This is a first attempt to write about what I’m listening to, reading, watching, designing, learning and thinking about. I took notes throughout the month in my current note-taking and task tracking app, Bear. For March I will begin to transition to Day One for journaling.
Listening
The Dropout Podcast
The Dropout is a new podcast from ABC Radio about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. I’m not as familiar with Theranos as I should be considering the drama, fraud, and damage the company has caused. After listening to the first few episodes I purchased Bad Blood too. The story is… insane.
Ron Burgundy Podcast
The Ron Burgundy Podcast is a new podcast from iHeartRadio starring Will Ferrell as the character Ron Burgundy from the movie Anchorman. The podcast starts off a bit simple and expected, but it’s still enjoyable to listen to such a confident idiot.
Fresh Air
This month on Fresh Air Terry interviews Random House copy chief Benjamin Dreyer. Listening to someone nerd out on words and grammar is thoroughly enjoyable.
How Did This Get Made
Minisode 206.5 – Jason, Paul, and I are equally freaking out with excitement over the trailer for the next movie in the Fast & Furious universe: Hobbs & Shaw.
Little Italy – This might be a tough sell and I understand. Little Italy is a terrible movie, but it’s worth watching if you enjoy listening to Jason, June, and Paul discuss the details.
Watching
A Star Is Born
In my opinion A Star Is Born is highly overrated. Yes, Shallow is a good song that I have listened to many, many times. However I did not buy the love story, and the ending felt both rushed and random.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Rami Malek rightfully won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in Bohemian Rhapsody. Learning to sing and speak with a British accent with large, fake teeth in your mouth must be incredibly difficult. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. To learn more about his experience listen to his Fresh Air interview. Have I mentioned Fresh Air? 😉
The Walking Dead
Even though the ratings are down, I think the second half of season 9 is interesting and scary. The new villain and her group provide an innovative and unexpected story.
I’m sad season 5 will be the last season of Broad City, but so far it’s enjoyable. The first episode is told entirely as Instagram Stories. I got to see Abbi and Ilana at the first Clusterfest in San Francisco. The first 3 minutes and 45 seconds of their set was the two of them dancing to Jennifer Lopez’s Get Right. So fun.
Even with this awesome cast Widows is mediocre. Skip.
Black Earth Rising
If you like BBC dramas that are mostly slow but have powerhouse actors and actresses with occasional intense scenes, Black Earth Rising should go on your watch list.
Robocopalyse came highly recommended, but I would not recommend it. War, artificial intelligence, robots, etc. Yawn.
First Draught
First Draught (clever name) is a newsletter written by MG Siegler that covers a wide variety of tech topics. MG has an uncanny ability to use his previous posts as arguments. I guess that’s an option when you consistently write year after year.
Design in Tech
The prolific John Maeda has a brief yet fulfilling newsletter named Design In Tech (not a clever name but simple never hurts) for those interested in the intersection of design and tech.
Ridgeline
Craig Mod, author, photographer, and podcaster, has a newsletter named Ridgeline that focuses on walking. I enjoy it for both his writing style and photos.
Dense Discovery
Dense Discovery is the best design newsletter I’ve found. It includes links to high-quality articles, apps, and products.
Photographing
Ocean Beach
I recently ran from my home in the Inner Sunset district of San Francisco to Ocean Beach. The angle of this ramp combined with the water collected at the bottom and the beach behind it spoke to me. I shot it with my iPhone XS Max and edited it in Lightroom on iOS.
iPhone XS Max · 1/12800, ∫/1.8, ISO 25
Rodeo Beach
The various hikes around Rodeo Beach in Marin County offer incredible views of the ocean and a small beach.
iPhone XS Max · 1/2300, ∫/2.4, ISO 16
Learning
SBI
I recently took a management course at Salesforce, and learned about the SBI tool for providing and responding to feedback. I was surprised by how difficult it is to give feedback for a problematic situation.
Adobe Lightroom
The Adobe Lightroom team occasionally Tweets short video tutorials to take a quick look at tools on both the Mac and iOS apps. A video to demonstrate the gradient tool was particularly helpful to adequately edit the above black and white photo. Take a look at the before and after. The first has an overexposed sky, and with a couple taps and swipes I managed to only darken the clouds making the photo more dramatic.
Experimenting
Run & Yoga
My fitness goal right now is to switch off every day between a 3-5 mile run and a 30 minute yoga session. I find that practicing yoga at home allows me to maintain an extended feeling of calmness. Like most habits once you have completed approximately one week of a new routine it feels unusual to miss a day.
Headspace
I recently subscribed to Headspace and set aside a few minutes each day to meditate in a quiet room. Fortunately Salesforce provides “mindfulness” rooms on each floor. So far I find that after completing even a brief Headspace session I feel relaxed for a couple hours.
Pixel 3
For years the iPhone was the clear leader in mobile photography, but something changed with the Pixel 3. It appears that the tech media and consumers are beginning to recognize the Pixel’s potential. However, I think there is some nuance worth discussing.
Apple’s mobile camera philosophy appears to be let’s show you either precisely what the image looks like in the real world, or, with HDR mode active, a few minor adjustments to enhance the details. Google’s philosophy appears to be let’s enhance what the camera sees as much as possible to ensure you get more likes on Instagram. This isn’t a bad thing! Google is making photography exciting. Apple is still playing it safe which, as a budding photographer, I believe is the right philosophy.
I took this photo using my Pixel 3 at Forest Hill Station in San Francisco. I strongly recommend you tap on the link to see Marcin Wichary discuss the station’s architectural details.
Steve Jobs was of course infamous for wearing a uniform:
In the process, however, he became friends with Miyake and would visit him regularly. He also came to like the idea of having a uniform for himself, both because of its daily convenience (the rationale he claimed) and its ability to convey a signature style. “So I asked Issey to make me some of his black turtlenecks that I liked, and he made me like a hundred of them.” Jobs noticed my surprise when he told this story, so he showed them stacked up in the closet. “That’s what I wear,” he said. “I have enough to last for the rest of my life.”
5 years ago today Facebook Paper was released. So cool to see this incredibly thorough archive of all the little interactions we worked so hard on. https://mobile-patterns.com/iphone/facebook-paper
Facebook Paper launched in 2014 and I recall the overall reaction to be simultaneously “wow!” and “what?” Reflecting now it’s clear that Paper was an inspirational yet unusual attempt to combine Facebook with periodicals. You were able to follow publications and topics, and then swipe between your Facebook feed and these other sections. I consistently used Paper to browse my feed, and, more importantly, communicate with friends using instant messaging after Facebook removed messaging functionality from the main app.
Tilting through full-screen photos using the phone’s accelerometer was cool, but my friends don’t usually share gorgeous photos on Facebook. The assumption that people carefully edit photos after shooting with fancy cameras was also a misstep with Facebook Home.
As an interface designer I was floored by the details: the animations were perfect, the swipe gestures were fun, the onboarding tutorial was clear, and the primary interaction was horizontal instead of vertical. For right-handed users this was a very pleasing interaction (although Instagram recently tried a similar approach with less success). Paper pushed me and the rest of the now defunct startup I worked for at the time to get the details right.
I hope to one day build an app as beautiful and delightful as Facebook Paper.
Alas, it was time again for the San Francisco Unplashers to congregate and capture. This event was a bit more ambitious than the previous get-togethers and schmoozes. We decided to hop on the ferry at the Ferry Building and ride over to the quaint yet delightful town of Sausalito. But first, coffee at Blue Bottle for some pour overs and lattes.
I recently hosted another photowalk event for Unsplash. Read about it on Medium.
When you receive a new project, listen to your manager. Ask for requirements, historical information, the definition of done, timelines, etc. When you show your designs, listen to your design team. Ask follow-up questions. Consider every piece of feedback even if you disagree with it. Try their suggestions. Make a few more iterations. When you show your prototypes, listen to your users. They will surprise you by interpreting interfaces in ways you did not expect. Ask why. Ask what they’re thinking. Ask what they expected. When you hear concerns and clarifications, listen to your engineers. They need to solve problems you most likely didn’t consider. If they have a tough sprint they may need to find ways to simplify your proposal. Cooperation and compromise are key to building strong relationships.
