I was reading ‘A list Apart‘ and discovered a true gem of an article called Orbital Content by Cameron Koczon. Cameron talks about content in the web today and the shift of content from being rooted into pages and discovered laptops and computers and being consumed by tablets and digital portable devices through users.

An example of this shift would be your Facebook wall. Instead of all that content which is dear to you being spattered throughout the web, its all conveniently located in one section and tied to your user account. The shift is not complete because your wall only holds links to this content. In the future this will be different.

Be the center of your content

Imagine your facebook wall, but bigger. Now imagine the links to the articles are gone, but the full article lives there instead. Don’t copy a link to that image you found moving to click back to later, just copy that entire image. Your personalized content will be centralized to you. This is the future that Cameron sees and I agree. This way you can library and consume content in your own fashion. Thats the movement of content on the web.

Content, Copyright, Compensation

The 3 killer C’s of the web. If your holding someone elses content, yet you didn’t produce the content, is that not some sort of copyright violation? Cameron brings this up in his article. In the end he concludes that it is all about compensation:

It is a question that belies a concern about something slightly different: compensation. If publishers were compensated $10 every time content was shared and $1 every time it was read on their site, they would do everything in their power to get their content shared. Copying is not the problem—compensation is.

-Cameron Koczon

After reading this the first thing that popped into my mind is Spotify. The latest and greatest for music lovers. They completely reworked the compensation model for streaming content and holy hell its paying off for them. If your not familiar with Spotify you can find out more at the Spotify Wikipedia page.

Conclusion

Overall I agree strongly with Cameron and his views on the liberation and shifting of content that will be the future of the web. So when your content is shared through some new-age app to be consumed on a different platform, don’t hate it. Embrace it.

The article is called “Dark Patterns: Deception vs Honesty in UI Design“. It’s about deceptive tactics used by websites to either get information, solicit and/or auto-sign you up for premium services.

Many of the sites I build aren’t geared towards converting readers into profit. For some strange reason all of my sites are the opposite, just good ol’ fashion free information.

Don’t Click the Download Button!

The article reminds me of my early days on the interweb, it could have been I was a web rookie or maybe I have just become cynical over the years, but have you ever been to a website that your trying to download a file and you see a big download button right where you’d expect one to be. Only after you click on it do you realize it was just an ad for some useless website. Deceptive!

In the article Harry gives examples of different levels of deception in UI design. There is white – straight up honest. There is black – completely deceptive. Everything else is gray. He also touches on some psychological points on where we as end users get taken advantage of:

• “We don’t read pages. We scan them” —Steve Krug
• “People tend to stick to the defaults” —Jakob Nielsen
• “People will do things that they see other people are doing” —Robert Cialdini

It is a fact that I scan websites. Besides, nothing is better than picking up some great information in just a few seconds. The ‘white’ side of UI design will make things obvious in headings and font that stands out. The ‘dark’ side will bury the facts in WOT’s (wall of text).

I can’t say I stick to defaults anymore. I learned after my first 2-3 email accounts to start scrutinizing the check-boxes a bit better. I knew I was never popular enough to be receiving 20 emails a day anyhow.

Would you like fees with that?

One of the most interesting parts of Dark Patterns was something that hit very close to me. The DAMNED fees that come with certain web checkout processes. The article states that most of these fees do not give disclosure until the checkout process and that the fees are so minimal that users end up paying them rather than finding another site and going through the checkout process again.

End the Deception

Overall I enjoyed the article and the information is very informative when it comes to UI design and ways to avoid deception. Make sure when your in the checkout to see if any fees are added, watch out for lack of important information and be weary of those check boxes!

-Maynard

2 weeks ago I was only focusing on my school work. Since that time I have had 3 projects come in. 2 websites as well as a complete identity design for a friends restaurant.

One project I am excited about is my good past time friend Ethan Law has requested a site update. He is a performing artist with many disciplenes ranging from acrobats to break dancing. Should be able to get some nice creative juices flowing.

I am close to completing one of my projects for a Professional Image Production company known as Best and Delicious. The name is a little odd indeed but the man who runs the company knows his shit. I thought I’d show you all the prototype that he’s agreed on so now its time to get coding. I plan on writing a PSD -> HTML on this so keep an eye out for that coming soon.

If you need a website or know someone who needs a website. Hit me up.

-Maynard Out

A websites’ mission

Brad starts off describing that creativity is different when put into context, so for his sake of web design he says creativity is defined by producing something useful and in the end explains that people generally visit websites because they are trying to accomplish a task. Its the designers job to find out what those are before starting, this will make the most useful site for the users. All of this I strongly agree with and was a focusing point of my current Web Design class I am taking at the university. We talk about it more as a website’s strategy.

Brad continues with the psychology to make people do something. He doesn’t explain too much besides making a site likeable and social proof. He doesn’t explain much more here and left me wanting a bit more.

Finally Brad concludes his article talking about Neuro Science Marketing that says poor user experience can cause stress on websites and that you should ditch the fancy stuff that may be confusing. In other words keep it simple.

Conclusion: Don’t me make think!

Overall this article this article resembles much of the information I have received from my university studies regarding User Experience. First of build a strategy for your users to come to the website and accomplish the task they came to your site for in the first place. Fancy widgets and overly complex applications on the site will cause stress and return users are not as likely. Most of all, as Steve Krug says: DON’T MAKE ME THINK. The tasks that your site accomplishes should be straight forward and available with ease.

For more information great information on Web Design advice are some links for your reading pleasure:

• 7 Key Secrets to a Successful Website
• How to Up Your Game as a Web Designer

Project Sketch 1

This first one was just something I cam up with not looking at competitors or trying to use specific design elements like the golden mean or rule of thirds. I was thinking a slider/rotator image on the main page that would let you select the 3 product this site will offer.

Project Sketch 2

On this design I was going with a ‘golden mean’ design. I am not sure I am liking how sidebars work out with the dimensions of the golden mean, but with some tweaking I could see it working well.

Project 3 Sketches

On this particular design I was looking at a site that caught my eye from Designbombs.com. I took it in a slightly different direction.

Recently I read The Expert Mind, a nice little article for my current Digital Media degree, that backed up this theory of becoming a true ‘master’. In the article, written by Philip E. Ross, he talks mainly of chess players and their journey to becoming chess Grand-Masters. It is here he brings up the ‘10-year rule’, which states that it takes approximately a decade of heavy labor to master any field. And its not through mere effortless playing, but wanting to grow and wanting to improve. Philip gives an example of casual golf with your friends. Your knew so you learn to play, but once you reach the same level of skill that your friends are at, there is no real motivation to continue the learning.

Success Breeds Success

Another interesting point from the article is the fact that success is usually followed by more success. The article talks about children, who by chance are born at a certain time a year. The way soccer leagues are setup typically is by age. So certain children have the size and agility advantage compared to others in the league. They get more chances to score and are ‘better’ players and they are more likely to take there skills to the next level and play in collegiate sports and possibly the pros.

So can I truly be a master at anything?

I find this article to be well written and true. I believe that through hard work and wanting to improve you can truly become a master of anything. Saying that I think would be hard to devote so much time in today’s world. Most of us are out there working our 9 to 5’s, raising children, commuting to here from there. But what if becoming a master just happens because its part of your job? That is what I imagine happens to most experts in their respected fields. They were challenged enough to ‘push the envelope’ in their learning. Web designers who spend 10,000 hours over the course of years taking on new challenges from different clients could easily become masters.

Final Thoughts: Don’t believe in the current idea of ‘Jack of all trades, master of none.’ Just realize the path is long and only with perseverance can you become a true master.

For some ideas of how to become a master, check out How to Master Anything.

ANTS in my scanner > a five years time-lapse! from françois vautier on Vimeo.

This guy put an ant colony in his scanner and scanned it once a week for 5 years!

Do you have an over sized folder for all your stock photography on your desktop? Have you created a couple of Wordpress themes that are now just sitting dormant? Are there are a handful of flash pre-loaders you have designed but aren’t being used? Start putting those small little files for work for you with some micro stock!

We as designers need to protect ourselves sometimes. We all know that cash flow coming in is hardly stable when freelancing. We can do this with micro stock. You’ve heard of it before. iStockPhoto, Flashden, Graphicriver, these are all micro stock sites; places for you to upload your work to be sold on their marketplaces and you will get a small commission from each sale.

Do work once, have it pay forever.

The beauty of these micro stock sites is that you do the work once and get paid a multitude of times. For example here is a link to my background maker on GraphicRiver.

At this time I have 228 sales over the past year. I get a 40% rip from every $4 sale which is roughly $400 over the course of the year. Now this was only 1 item. Imagine if you add 1 item every month. Before you know it you have a dozen items each bringing you in money, and you only did the work once!

Build your Micro Stock Portfolio Right

A secret I found is to try and mix your micro stock work into your design work together. For instance, a company wanted a nice web 2.0 look, so I created a background that had a web 2.0 feel in photoshop. I then used that background photoshop file and built a background maker out of it, something any designer can use and just change some colors and can bang out designs nice and quick. This way I am getting paid on a design gig PLUS I get the benefit of building another micro stock portfolio piece.

So, if you design websites, build some themes and throw them on The Theme Forrest or if you compose music throw them on Audio Jungle.

For more information on micro stock websites and using them to build a passive income check out The Residual Bacon.

I can’t really recall what I knew how to do first. Design or snowboard. I got on my first snowboard when I was probably 11 years old, but I had my first set of crayons around the age of 3 or 4. Both of these components have played key roles in my life, and have helped me become who I am today. From climbing my first hill to learn to carve, to my first actual design class where I learned about texture, value, and color.

Learning can be painful

I remember my first snowboard scorpion like I remember my first design. Downright painful. For those who don’t know a snowboard scorpion is where you tumble forward face first, your feet go up over your back and the momentum either ragdolls you forward if your lucky or the snowboard slaps you in the back of the head, OUCH! My first design was an eye soar that could have made a baby cry.

In both cases I lacked the foundation I needed in order to achieve what I wanted. I needed to study some of the basic principles that could help me grasp the larger picture. In snowboarding I needed to learn the idea of balance with motion, edge control, and the ability to stop. With design I needed to study principles of depth, line, color, texture, value. In both cases when you grasp the smaller ideas you can put them together and form a masterpiece.

Finding Your Unique Style

After spending a few(12) years of putting that rusty peice of metal to my feet I found I was capable of getting around the mountain at will, but after time I had defined my own unique style of snowboarding. I would be charging down the lifts under the chair in my incognito black gear and people would shout at me because they could tell who I was from the way I charged the powder and sent rooster tails shooting up behind me. I was almost branding myself just for being me, and that is exactly what to do with your designs.

If you look at all the big names in art and design, most have formed a unique style that let them stand out of the crowd. I believe that everyone has their own style and it comes out naturally as long as you let it. Both snowboarding and design have a flow involved, this flow may be your process of design but it will help define your own unique style. When your style is recognized you can use it to your advantage by setting yourself out from the crowd.

Don’t Hate, Be Inspired

One problem I see in both design and snowboarding is a small jealousy built towards others when they experience success or get acknowledged for doing something great. We all work hard (at least most of us) to try and be successful and when you see others succeeding where you are trying so hard it is easy to feel resentment towards their triumph. You have to take this negative and turn it to a positive. Look at how that person was successful and maybe ask them what steps they took to achieve that success. Try to determine why their unique style was successful and how you could incorporate that yourself.

With so many styles around you there should never be a lack of inspiration. In snowboarding watching others do something impressive encourages me to get out of the norm and think out of the box, do the same with design. Look at others design with hopes of learning something you can use in your own design, not with an eye of jealousy.

Progression Never Ends

The beauty of both snowboarding and design is that progression never ends. You can continue to push the envelop. The only person that is going to stop you from learning new things, tackling new challenges and expanding your ability is yourself. Good for self-motivators, bad for lazy bung-holes.

The hard part is staying focused and maintaining your skills. I noticed when I was out shredding everyday it was easy to learn more, but after the extended break between winters it would take me a little time to get back to where I left off. I see the same for design, if you don’t keep your skills sharp you may waste time relearning ability.

What I Have Learned:

So the years of both snowboarding and design have taught me a handful of valuable lessons. Here is a quick rundown:

• No pain, no gain: Learn the basics to build a foundation of skills to create a masterpiece.
• Be Unique: Everyone has a style, find yours and use it to stand out.
• Inspire and be Inspired: Look for inspiration wherver it may be hiding, and don’t be jealous of others success, learn from it.
• Stay Sharp: Don’t let your progression decay, keep your skills sharp even between projects.

What in your life has taught you about design? Where do you find inspiration? Share your thoughts below in the comments.

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