Just found out about Political Streams.
I really do like this idea, but reinventing the pie chart with those desaturated squares is not a good start. I’ll be checking it out to see how they iterate on representing the concept, which is fascinating.
It mines information from all the blogs and Web sites out there, and all [...]
After a few months of work, we have gotten a new wireframe of the mobile app running on the iPhone.
Actually this is better than Thursday morning TV, which, in my hometown at least, was pretty weak. This stuff is amazing.
First some of the best nonprofit advertising I’ve ever seen.
Second a great bike water filter pump.
Lastly a favorite app redesigned.
(more type video if you’re into it)
And the bike:
The wacky bike was designed by [...]
Smartly presented information is a nonprofit’s best friend. If you can’t communicate the problem, no one is going to give a damn. Hash’s blog just pointed me to some powerful charts Sokwanele mapping project , which I’ve mentioned previously. These charts are extremely important data to have in the public domain, and it’s great that [...]
Glenn Gould; he was at his best when he was young, wearing his bathrobe, hunched waaay to low, and doing incredible interpretations of Bach … and doing this awful singing thing …
Just like he is here:
And Margaret Kilgallen, the archetype of San Franciscan brilliance:
I’ve never seen gadget hype reach the levels that have been achieved by the iPhone. And I’ve never been so caught up in it myself. After visiting eyesondarfur.org I’ve decided that I’m giving my iPhone budget to Amnesty International: $50 a month over the next year.
In the culture jamming spirit I spliced an iPhone ad [...]
The Darfur Wall is a beautifully executed charity project that fills a very simple, traditional purpose (collecting money) using an innovative and stark interface. The black and white, no-images design reinforces the tragedy of the situation without being overwhelming. I think this is a great example of online design serving a progressive cause — which [...]
John Maeda writes thoughtfully about simplicity and design at his MIT-based blog. He just posted a great bit about Paul Polak’s design for a low-resouce flashlight. Design under difficult conditions can lead to the same creative insight as design on a limitless budget.
“… this prototype flashlight that is completely solar powered (recharged in sunlight), easily [...]
Wow. Steve at Slayeroffice.com has an amazing color palette generator based on the design technique of Andy Clark.
You enter a hex code value for a color, then another to mix it with, and out comes a beautiful png graphic of the color scheme. Extremely nice work, Steve. This is a great resource for brainstorming color [...]
Recently in my commutes to work I’ve been using these incredible flash-based, interactive representations of development statistics. (Don’t worry, I ride the bus.) These modules, created by a Swedish group called Gapminder, are attractively designed and highly educational. I have long been a great fan of sharp design in the interest of development. These [...]
Drosphilia researchers have a leg up on web designers.
Well, at least they’ve got a decent explanation of colorblindness. A short paper on colorblind audiences was written a few years ago for researchers presenting their findings on the very latest in the world of flies. The guidelines are easy to understand, and the changes are [...]
Stock photography is pretty essential for web developers and designers. If your organization doesn’t have a large budget for that kind of thing (stock photos are $50-$250, usually), there are a few alternatives with a decent selection — and the pictures are only a few bucks, if not free.
The best of these new, inexpensive resources [...]
Stephen Pinker writes in his book How Minds Work that “the emotions are mechanisms that set the brains highest-level goals.” This, it seems, is a good description of why small, mission-driven nonprofits exist despite the innumerable difficulties of keeping such an operation afloat. It’s also an essential idea to consider when advertising your organization.
People are [...]
