Wonderfully insightful article on the origins of the X in UI Design: X to Close
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I'm am so thrilled that I am going to be speaking Saturday Aug 16th at WordCamp Birmingham! This year, the incredible Andrew Searles has headed up as lead organizer with an incredible team of co-organizers and volunteers. What they are bringing to our community this weekend is going to be FABULOUS and I can't thank them enough for their hard work. Get your ticket if you haven't yet already & come learn from all the incredible speakers!
The past two years, I had the great pleasure of co-organizing the camp but was unable to speak because of organizer duties. The last time that I spoke at WordCamp Birmingham was in 2010 on “Beyond the System Font – Advanced Web Typography.” I am so thrilled to be speaking again and can't wait! This year my topic will be: "Typography & User Experience."
Type on the web has many roles: it is an interface, a brand, sets tone, and directs the user. Typography has many roles and can either add or take away from User Experience. In this beautiful and exciting talk we’re going to look at various ways type is used, implemented, and dissect the role that it plays in user experience on the web.
Join us at WordCamp Birmingham!!!
An incredibly powerful combination of typography and a cause, HomelessFonts.org takes the handwriting of the homeless and turns them into typefaces. These typefaces are then sold to support the Arrels Foundation, who is working on getting people off the street. The symbolism of the personal hand drawn street begging signs turned into an actual source of real aid is quite incredible. I'm still wrapping my head around it.
A great article on PostStatus by fellow Ranger and friend Brian Krogsgard on how to price website work.
Truly amazing story about a chalkboard Blog. A great reminder about the importance of self publishing and community. - S
This is Alfred J. Sirleaf, the founder and sole editor of a ‘blackboard newspaper in Monrovia, Liberia’s capital city. Everyday, Alfred updates his newspaper, The Daily Talk (I can’t even paste a link), neatly writing the latest headlines using sticks of chalk in his “newsroom”, a small wooden shack attached to the back of his blackboard.
This weekend Range is at WordCamp Chicago! As a team, we were on a panel today about "How to do big things with a small team" and then I gave a solo talk on "Smart Design." Check out the slides below and I'll post when the video is up. Looking forward to more talks tomorrow!
Smart Design from Sara Cannon
My house gets really hot in the Alabama heat. I have central AC controlled by a Nest Learning Thermostat. But the upstairs is decidedly hotter in this 1912 house despite new insulation in the attic. For a few months out of the year, the upstairs rooms need an extra boost to keep things comfy without freezing out the downstairs and making the power bill insane.
I had been using a fridgid air for a few years and decided to put that in a different room and "upgrade" to a tech savvy model: the Quirky + GE Aros Smart Window Air Conditioner
Pro's:
- syncs to your smart phone for easy-anywhere control.
- the wink app knows when your gone and when your home because of your phone's location and will turn on or off the unit. amazing.
- the wink app keeps track of your budget for running the unit to save you money and energy
- the look of the unit is incredibly more beautiful than normal models
- despite being not functional, the wings on the unit are pretty
- the UI is simple and easy to use
Con's:
- the unit came with two detached parts that were not in the instruction assembly manual. put those on first before installing the unit. they hold the wings in place.
- the wink app keeps logging me out and its a pain to have to enter your password from bed when you want to adjust the unit.
- the unit blows air up out of the top instead of straight into the room. I have made a modification using a Baseboard Register Air Deflector
that works pretty well.
- they are pretty, but the wings on the unit are flimsy roller shades that do not seal well and let bugs in
- the unit is louder than my fridgid air
- the blue lights are very bright but seem to auto shut off after a bit
Annoying log in screen when I just want to turn the unit down
Insane Customer Service
I reached out to Quirky, they have excellent customer service. They are even mailing me more bug-proof wings to install on my machine after telling them about the issue. Quirky even offered to have me speak directly to an app developer/technician because my phone keeps logging out. I don't think I've had such a great same-day response with a product before.
Conclusion
I really think that the model needs some improvements, but this is expected of a first run product. Hopefully they'll improve the unit significantly on the next model. I am not sure if I am happy shelling out the amount of money that I did considering the con's, but I am keeping the unit anyway. Technology makes me happy.
disclosure: this post has amazon affiliate links in it. ;)
Here's to you, Maya Angelou. Thank you for living a beautiful life of encouragement, wisdom, and grace.
Nothing can dim the light which shines from within
- Maya Angelou
I'm in love with the work of anonymous artists "Dangerdust". Seriously stunning work!
All of the above is good and all, but for some reason I am extremely drawn to the photos of the art being erased and washed off. Its surprisingly poetic and beautiful.
via Each Week, Two Anonymous Students Named Dangerdust Create This Amazing Chalkboard Art.
Interesting article about attempting to develop a coding language in arabic.
Artist's Notebook: Ramsey Nasser - ANIMAL. h/t @mitcho
Sara Cannon is a Web Design and Branding Specialist | Helping brands build seamless digital experiences.
She's also an Artist.
Do you have a project she can help you with? Contact Sara at sara@saracannon.com.