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Required reading for digital product designers

Eric Stevens — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 22:42:00 +0000

One of the most light weight yet consulive refereces I have ever stumbled thus far in my career is a page curated by Robert Lenne, head of design at Artsy.net, called Required reading for digital product designers.

Header & thumbnail image from robertlenne.com/requiredreading

My day job is incredible...

Eric Stevens — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 21:49:00 +0000

Image courtesy of General Electric’s Tumblr, follow them. Video from their YouTube.

The Manual

Eric Stevens — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 04:52:00 +0000

The Manual #1 is the tip of the iceberg, underneath is the curated talent of six contributors. As a designer, this should be required reading. Period. Is this a good way to start the post?

Three beautiful, illustrated hardbound books a year, each holding six articles and six personal lessons that use the maturing of the discipline of web design as a starting point for deeper explorations of our work and who we are as designers.

One short and powerful article “The Space Between You & Me” has sold me on the unique vision of The Manual. Giving a tangible look at distance in relationship to humanity and the space with which we interact, Frank Chimero’s perspective is brilliant. Here are a few excerpts:

The connections we make in the course of a life—maybe that’s what heaven is, Tom. We make so many connections here on earth. Look at us—I’ve just me you, but I’m investing in who you are and who you will be, and I can’t help it. -Fred Rodgers (Mr. Rodgers)

Tom Junod, “Can You Say… Hero?” (Esquire, November, 1998)

When we think of ourselves, we picture our complex inner monologues: we believe that we are not simple but rather complex, romantic, self-contradicting—beautiful messes. …

… Technology runs counter to personhood; technology is complicated and shallow, but people are simple and deep. Our true needs are not complex. I remember asking Brandon what everyone needed. His answer was profound and human: “To be understood.” …

… See, I’ve just met you, but I am invested in who you are. We are a part of a human network. Maybe that’s heaven. Frank Chimero “The Space Between You & Me” (The Manual #1, 2011)

Get a subscription to The Manual here: http://alwaysreadthemanual.com

Follow @themanual

Into the Fog

Eric Stevens — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 05:02:00 +0000

In thick fog there is something wonderful. Allowing you to focus on what is just in front of you and nothing more. It simplifies. To most it is a negative, our expectations pushing to be clear, accurate, and together. When things are uncertain, the mind thinks, hopes, imagines, and dreams. Into the fog I go.. Hope to find you there.