Design is a Side Effect

Design should always be a means to an end, with that end being to solve a well-defined problem. If we over-inflate design and allow it to obscure other aspects of a process, we make it harder to address core challenges.

Read the article

Posted in Design | 6 Comments »

Cranky update

Have you seen the new design for my personal site? I got rid of all that old weak crap and concentrated just on stuff I think is interesting. The professional blah blah is up there, sure, but it's got a bit of an edge to it and I've also added drawings, photos, and some of the other butterflies that I tend to chase around (like illustrated haikus). I hope you'll check it out and let me know what you think.

Other Cranky voices

“People who don’t show their colors in the group but then get behind the scenes and peck away are poisonous. I can usually spot those people fairly soon and I weed them out.”

Brad Bird

Undefine Design

December 16, 2009

I’m not one of those designers who stays up nights worrying about how best to define a thing, but I’ve found it useful to figure out what I think design ISN’T.
Read the article

Be Russian

November 22, 2009

Problem-solving never happens in a vacuum. Culture creates the context for our solutions, directly affects our processes, and influences how we view our goals. That’s why the 1960s space race between the Soviet Union and the U.S. remains relevant to development work done today.
Read the article

Cranky tweets see @uxcrank on Twitter

Who are your favorite Philly, Baltimore, DC, Richmond and NYC speakers in the UX field? (Please RT)
@ebrewer http://www.jhu.edu/artwork/resources/images/zippy/web/zippy_spindr.jpg
RT @semanticwill: Big Design is back: Bigger, Bolder & Badass http://bit.ly/cg7eak /cc @BigDesign
Dropped off work computer to be gutted like a fish (finally updating OS)
@elreiss death metaphors? Yikes. Gotta be a better fraternity to reference
#ixd11 O-fer all of my lightning round submissions. At least I'm in good company ...
@livlab Metaphorically?
RT @AngryPaulRand: The only thing winning a design award proves is that you are good at winning design awards.