Musings on design, user experience, culture and working life
Design research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I am doing
User experience 9 min read
As the massive B-17 Flying Fortress touched down, the pilot flicked the control to slow his[…]
Poetry by design: a brief but practical guide to writing microcopy
User experience 8 min read
Microcopy is anything from error messages, hints to button text and form labels. Here are a few of my favourite recommendations for formatting and dealing with microcopy.
Our hero: Storymapping the user experience
User experience 8 min read
Mapping out how a user might interact with a product is key to creating a fluid user experience. Flowcharts and task flows are pervasive design tools, yet they lack the human factor and lead to a less than engaging ways to conceptualise the user flow.
The art of visualising music
Culture 4 min read
Design and music intersect in many ways; fashion, album art, set and instrument design. I look at the mysterious and fascinating craft of creating graphic scores.
NoUI and the danger of invisible design
User experience 5 min read
Product designers are hiding the workings of the system as they try to create a better user experience. Users are becoming increasingly divorced from their actions. Is there a danger here? Why should designers counteract this and can we be smarter without sacrificing simplicity?
Design podcast pleasure: recommended designers to listen to
Working life 5 min read
A selection of articulate and informative UX and Web experts in design land who are perfect to listen to on your commute to work if you are so inclined.
The Vignelli Canon: a Modernist design classic
Art and design 7 min read
The Vignelli Canon is the little red book where Italian designer Massimo Vignelli presents his life’s work through his design philosophy and a wealth of examples.
Design for non-designers: five visual principles to give you a head start
Art and design 13 min read
Are you depressed about your design skills? Panic attacks over that presentation? Looking down the abyss of artistic failure? Well, it’s not that bad. All you need are a few basic principles to help you through.
Cardew’s Treatise: the greatest musical score ever designed
Culture 3 min read
Described as the ‘Mount Everest’ of graphical musical scores, Treatise still manages to surprise with its invention and beauty of graphic notation.
Designer’s Stockholm syndrome
Working life 3 min read
They are overly expensive, closed to any modification and difficult to fix by oneself if hardware goes bad. So why are designers so fixated by their Macs?
Absolute Bull: how Picasso can teach us to be better designers
Art and design 2 min read
How Picassos’ series of simple and brilliant bull sketches can teach us about creating better user experience.
Design and UX books that are genuinely enjoyable to read
User experience 4 min read
How many UX books have you read that were uninspiring reads? I present some of the best UX books out there for your reading pleasure.
An utterly depressing, but ultimately enlightening example of what not to do when designing an online experience
User experience 5 min read
Badly designed software and bad user experience can make the user feel that they are in a Kafkaesque nightmare. Here’s an example that will make your eyes water.
My favourite pens for sketchnoting
Working life 3 min read
I have tested out some of the best gel and ink pens for design and UX sketchnoting.
A design classic: Barry Lyndon film poster
Art and design 2 min read
I take a look at one of the finest film posters by French designer Jouineau Bourduge, which perfectly complements arguably one of Kubrick’s finest films.
Anatomy of a redesign
User experience 10 min read
This is a design case study on HireHive, an online recruiting platform. I go through the design process and design thinking behind the project.
Notable album covers of 2015
Culture 6 min read
Album art is not dying. Not this year anyway. It is as inventive as ever. Here are my favourite album covers from the last year.
A great user experience in a tiny app
User experience 3 min read
MailChimp have really come up with something great here. A great user experience in a small package. Drum roll please.
Manoeuvre and mislead, but always deliver – the world of Jed Kurzel
Culture 3 min read
“Treat them with respect and they will be with you all the way. They’ll also give you something different.” Jed Kurzel talks about his life and career creating film scores.
Download HAL display wallpaper
Art and design 1 read
I saw the remastered version of 2001: A Space Odyssey recently and was struck by how[…]
Offset Dublin 2015 Sketchnotes
Art and design 1 read
Some of my messy and unbelievably incomplete sketchnotes from Offset 2015 in Dublin.
Notable album covers of 2014
Art and design 4 min read
It wasn’t the best year for album cover design. Oh dear… I now imagine an army[…]