Recently in Design Category

Part of my job here at Microsoft is leading the visual design and branding efforts for the Windows Server division.  That includes icon design and branding graphics such as autorun screens, boot screens, desktop wallpapers and more.  I was recently asked by one of our UX Evangelists, Scott Barnes, to explain some thinking behind our icon design here at Microsoft.  I tackled it together with my counterpart on the Windows Client team, Brittnie Hervey (she leads the icon design for Vista, IE, Live.com, etc), and here was the result: Microsoft Mix Blog.

Maybe I should have been a Ninja for Halloween this year?  :-)

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Technorati Tags: Microsoft

I know I have been slacking pretty hard on posts lately, but I am just getting around to catching up on my feeds.  I have to hand it to my buddy Jody, he finds some great stuff out there.  Here's another website you are gonna love.  Just sit back and watch, this is absolutely hilarious...

Clearification: http://clearification.com/

Technorati Tags: Cool Sites, Humor, Microsoft, Stoner, Web Design

Ok...I know what you are saying...WTF is that logo doing on your site Frank?  Ummm hmmmm.  Boy, that's a great question.  One for which my fellow Apple peeps need to make sure they are sitting down for the answer.  Before I continue, please make sure you are not holding any hot objects or consuming liquids of any sort while you read the following few paragraphs.  You have been warned.

As you can probably guess by now, there is a disturbance in the force.  The dark side has been calling for about the last six months or so now and I have been making the rounds at the mother-ship.  Not THAT mother-ship in Cupertino.....oh noooo.  Yes, the OTHER mother-ship also known as the Redmond Giant.  Yes people, it has happened.  I have been officially assimilated by the Borg!  For those of you less-than-geek types, I am talking about Microsoft.

I have been sitting on this for a week now, but I can officially release the news that I have accepted an offer at Microsoft as a User Experience Designer with the Windows Server Management Experience (WSMX) Group.  Before you all have a heart attack and start throwing daggers and the pigmy's come running to hunt me down with axes, hear me out. 

This is a GOOD thing.  It was the best move for my family, and to be quite honest, one HELL of a career opportunity that anyone would be brain-dead not to accept.  And if you are wondering if I have to move to Seattle, the answer is a resounding YES!  Rather than re-hash what I have already gone into great detail about elsewhere, follow the link and read the first post on my other "new" blog on Windows Live Spaces (and I don't wanna hear any wise cracks about using Spaces, remember where I work now) ::: UX Design by Frank: http://uxdesign.spaces.live.com

I know this is a shocker to some of you, but you'll understand that things aren't always what they seem from the outside.  You have to dig deep and peel back all the layers to reveal the truth about anything.  I did my homework, I liked what I saw, I took the gig.  It's really that simple.  Now get on over to my other blog and get the full scoop...

Technorati Tags: Design, Microsoft

Ok folks...so keeping along with sites that kick ass and are most definitely out of the norm...you have got to check out Ms. Dewey's Site.  Try asking her something "inappropriate" a few times.  Keep asking until she goes off!  :-)

Technorati Tags: Cool Sites, Design

What in the heck is a Treemo you ask?  It's yet another Web 2.0 newcomer to the social media space, but this one comes with a twist!  To quote Treemo:

"Treemo is a media-sharing community where you can upload anything -- photos, videos, music, words, visual art -- and retain complete control of your content. And our mobile-browsing application makes it simple to stay connected. You can even upload photos and video straight from your mobile phone.

Treemo is a community with a conscience. We're committed to being a positive force by initiating social programs and enviro-initiatives. We make it simple for Treemo members to donate unused gear to our non-profit partners, so those mobile phones and digital gadgets get recycled or find a new life in the hands of those who need an avenue for expression. We're all in this together."

So what's all this mean and how are they different from the plethora of other social media sites?  There are a few very key differentiators about Treemo that will make this an interesting alternative to everything else on the market.  For starters, you retain control of what you post via the use of Creative Commons licenses.  Second, you can actually make money from your content.  TechCrunch is reporting that Treemo will be offering a revenue-sharing model with it's users that allows the user to decide whether they want to show advertising with their audio / video content or not, and share in the profits if they do.  There's no information about this on the website, but TechCrunch is reporting the the company's founder, Brent Brookler (don't ask me why, but that name just reminds me of Dirk Diggler), stated the the split will probably be 50/50.  Not a bad twist if I do say so myself.  Another major twist the environmental angle that the company is taking. Treemo is going all-out by enabling the recycling of used (and new) digital cameras, camcorders and mobile phones.  This benefits not only the environment, but through Treemo's partners, it enables youth of all ages to find new ways to explore their creativity.  I have to not only applaud them, but command mad props to the forward-thinking this group of people has done on with regards to keeping things "Green".

Overall the site has been tastefully done, graphics and visuals are clean, the UI so far is pretty decent and they provide more storage and bandwidth than FlickR.  The mobile related features are pretty outstanding as well.  It looks like this might actually be the service that consolidates my needs from using FlickR and Text America, down to one service.  I can't wait to see what additional features are in the works and how the service will unfold over the coming months.  My only request for the Treemo team so far is to RSS enable a "News" section of their site so I can keep track of them via my news aggregator.  Having a company blog would be pretty cool too.  I know where they can find a blogger looking to join something new and exciting!  ;-)   

Technorati Tags: Cool Sites, FlickR, Social Media, Treemo, Web 2.0

So you've been surfing the web for what seems like decades and everything just kind of seems to look the same.  Yeah - I know exactly how you feel.  But have you been checking out what some of the hottest talent on the web is doing lately?  I bet you haven't, so here's a taste.  If you are a Dixie Chicks fan, then you are really going to love this site, if not - you are still going to love this site!  For the best user experience, you'll want to make sure you are viewing this site on a fairly spiffy machine.  Breakin' out that beige G3 won't cut it for this one.... The Dixie Chicks Underground

Make sure you surf through EVERYTHING.  Don't ignore the nav bar below the blog, don't overlook the map tp the left, it's a key part of the site.  Make sure to look for the Dope Squirrel (hint: look in the tree), and don't forget to take a ride on the jetski!

Technorati Tags: Cool Sites, Design

I know I know....where have I been, blah blah blah.  I won't bore you with excuses, just know I have been up to some interesting things around here lately.  Hopefully I will be able to post about that soon and you will fully understand why life had come to a grinding halt for the last month and a half.

In the meantime, I had to post something about this.  I have always been a hard-core Sony fan, although I may not always like the proprietary nature of some of their hardware.  However, when it comes to sleek, sexy electronics, you can't beat Sony.  Sony recently started shipping what I think is one of the absolutely coolest devices on the planet, the UX-50.  This thing is incredible.  The full power of Windows (no wise cracks, yeah - windows), in the palm of your hand, and I don't mean a Windows mobile device either.  Sony claims that the UX50 is Vista ready as well (they know something I don't know? - I would love to see Vista Beta 2 on this device).  The guys over at MicroPCtalk.com have documented the unboxing of their UX50 in what is probably the most thorough display of ultimate geekdom I have seen yet.  Over 180 images of the entire process.  I love it.  Now if Sony would only come back to planet earth and make that price point a little more realistic...they might have a chance at selling a few of these.

What really intrigues me about this device is that lately, I really haven't been using my laptop for anything more than email, basic surfing the web, and reading my RSS feeds.  For the heavy-duty design work, I stick to my Dual 2.5 G5 at home, which just cranks beyond any laptop out there at the moment.  So my big beef right now is with portability and not having to lug around a huge laptop case when I go to the local Starbucks. I love my Powerbook, but lugging that 15" machine around, with accessories, can become a bit much at times.  Having this UX-50 would allow me to carry a simple messenger bag with things like the computer, a book and misc. odds and ends, while keeping the weight to a minimum.  I'm all about portability right now.  Not even a tablet can offer this kind of flexibility.  This little device connects to the online world in almost any way you can think of (Wifi, Bluetooth, WWLAN, etc).  That WWLAN is an interesting feature too (only available on the higher-end UX180P).  Provided you fork over the cash for Cingular's data plan, when you aren't within reach of a Wifi Access Point, you can use Cingular's Edge Network to connect to cyberspace from anywhere you can get a cell phone signal.  Lets not forget there's also EVDO out there, which is even faster (although I haven't read all the specs on the UX-50 to see if it can handle PCMCIA cards).

So now the real questions will start to flow concerning this new trend in Micro PC's.  How will this affect design trends for the future?  As these devices become more popular, will users demand content formatted to fit within these devices screen constraints?  How will the User Experience and overall usability be affected? Just when you thought you were making progress with going beyond 1024x768 designs, are we going back to the retro small screen real estate of yesteryear?  Or now with all the new Web 2.0 sites and CSS making huge progress on the web, will designers have to "think different" in how they present content to their users?  In theory, if the site has been coded correctly, we could address this issue with something as simple as a Micro PC style-sheet.  But who is going to determine what those Micro PC standard screen sizes will be?  Will the rest of the industry follow Sony and adopt their screen size as the new standard for Micro PC's?  How will banking and other critical sites render on these smaller devices? I suspect a lot of these questions will start floating around the design scene within the next year as more players come to market with similar devices.  I think it's safe to say that even software vendors should take a good hard look at their applications and see if they can incorporate an option to run an alternative UI based on the device you are using.  Imagine something like Outlook on that tiny screen.  Yes, you can connect an external monitor to the device when you are in the office, but the whole point of the Micro PC is to get AWAY from the office while still maintaining productivity.  Could Microsoft feasibly create alternate UI's for these devices?  I suspect the answer is yes, but the question there is whether there will be enough user demand for the feature.  You gotta love technology, it gets more interesting every day!  Until next time...

Technorati Tags: Mobility, Portable Devices, Design, UMPC, PC, Windows

Posting has been slow around these parts hasn't it?  It's been over 2 weeks and Bellsouth STILL doesn't have a clue how to fix the problem with my DSL line.  Surprising isn't it?  Every time I call I get someone in India who is clearly having to call back to the states to actually get a real Bellsouth employee to tell them what to do.  I have had it, I am sooo over Bellsouth.

There is light over the horizon though.  By the time I get home tonight, I should have a brand spankin new 6Mbps connection through Adelphia.  I originally thought Comcast serviced my area, errr - technically I guess they do since they bought Adelphia, but for now everything is branded Adelphia.

I had the cable tv installed this weekend and got 2 Motorola HD / PVR receivers to boot.  I can't begin to express how absolutely AMAZING the HD picture is from regular cable or Satellite.  Watching Discovery HD Theater has just become my favorite past-time.  DirecTV, you lost.  If you offered me the upgrade at no cost, you would have most likely kept me as a customer.  So sad, too bad.  If the cable modem is anywhere near as fast as I am thinking it will be during those heavy peak hours, I will be one happy camper.  Next step - order up Supra telecom and completely dump Bellsouth services and related affiliates.  Unfortunately I am stuck on Cingular for another year, but rest assured - their days are numbered too.

For now, you can get your bisonium fix over at Gear Live with the following posts:

Sony Ericsson P990: The Ultimate Mobile Phone

Put Some DICE In Your Ride

VMware Server Released for Free

Major Nelson Giving Away Xbox 360 for Dummies

Adobe On Mactel: An FAQ

[ via Signal vs. Noise ]

Introducing Vitamin:

Vitamin is a  brand new website from Carson Systems, aimed specifically at web developers, designers and entrepreneurs.

We're going to be offering six different RSS feeds:

1. Features
2. Training (Podcast - We'll offer sections of our Workshops for free)
3. Reviews
4. Interviews (Podcast)
5. Events
6. News

You'll be able to come to the site to view all the content, or subscribe in your favourite RSS reader. All the content will be absolutely free.

We're creating a Vitamin Advisory Board, comprised of 12 of the world's most innovative and talented web professionals. The Vitamin Advisors will be writing  Features on a monthly basis, which will be on a variety of topics, including CSS, Usability, Standards, PHP, Rails, AJAX, Accessibility, Business Tips, and much, much more.

If you want to be notified when we launch, sign up at thinkvitamin.com.

WOW...just when you think you * might * have some talent, something like this pops out and kicks your humbled ass...

[ via CreativeGuy ]

Cool Web sites:

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a "Cool Web Site" so I thought I would drop this recent find on you. HybridWorks fits the bill.

I’m not a fan of Flash-based Web sites, in fact I usually hate them. But every once in a while I come across one that really is well done. HybridWorks is one of those sites. Not only is the design EXTREMELY nice, but the use of sound is great and the site offers some nice content.

Be sure to check out the downloads (icons and wallpapers) as they are quite good.

It's not often you get free legal advice from some competent attorneys.  AIGA has worked for over a year putting together a great resource for any small to medium sized design firm.  Head over to the AIGA site and grab your free copy!

[ via Creativepro.com ]

The Art of Business: Finally, a Design Contract for the Little Guy:

Client contracts are essential, but if you're a small to mid-sized business, hiring a lawyer to create them may be beyond your means. The new "Standard Form of Agreement for Graphic Design Services" published by the American Institute of Graphic Arts can help -- and it's free!

[ via TUAW ]

Adobe offers Adobe-Macromedia software bundles:

Hot on the heels of completing its acquisition of Macromedia, Adobe is offering bundles of Adobe and Macromedia software. The first two bundles, the Adobe Design Bundle and the Adobe Web Bundle, contain the latest releases of software from Adobe and Macromedia. These are just the original products, with no additional cross-product integration. The Design Bundle includes Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium (Photoshop CS2, Illustrator CS2, InDesign CS2, GoLive CS2, Acrobat 7.0 Professional, Version Cue CS2, and Bridge) along with Macromedia Flash Professional 8. The Web Bundle also includes Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium, along with Macromedia Studio 8 (Dreamweaver 8, Flash Professional 8, Fireworks 8, Contribute 3, and FlashPaper 2). A third software bundle, Adobe Video Bundle, is expected to be released in early 2006. There's no word yet on what it will include.


Pricing is steep. Adobe Design Bundle sells for a cool $1599, and Adobe Web Bundle for $1899 at the Adobe Store. There are upgrades from earlier versions of Adobe or Macromedia software suites. If you own Adobe Creative Suite 1 Standard or Premium, you can upgrade to Adobe Design Bundle for $949. If you own Adobe Creative Suite 1 Standard or Premium or Macromedia Studio MX or MX 2004 you can upgrade to the Adobe Web Bundle for $899. Those of us who bought the latest versions of the software may be left out of the upgrade path. Adobe suggests that if you bought Adobe Creative Suite 2 recently, you may be able to return it to the location from which you bought it and buy a bundle instead. There is no upgrade path from individual Adobe or Macromedia products to a bundle.


If you can get the education discount you're in a better position. Adobe's education price is $549 for the Design Bundle and $599 for the Web Bundle.

My interest in INXS has been rekindled ever since the hit show INXS: Rock Star over the summer.  I have been patiently waiting for the new album since it should have been out by now.  I figured I would cruise on by their website at www.inxs.com and I was greeted to a brand new re-design of the site.  The best part is that apparently their designer is one of the few that have a clue when it comes to the next generation web design, they decided to incorporate RSS News Feeds and make use of CSS.  Nicely done guys....nicely done.  Now if you could only release the damn album on iTunes Music Store, we could all be happy campers.  :-)

You gotta hand it to some folks. Creativity is one thing, but isn't this taking it a little too far? Someone had WAY too much time on their hands and not enough money for the basics. This guy actually built the furniture for his apartment out of FEDEX shipping materials!!! You gotta take a look at the site for more pictures. Fellow geeks of the universe...here is a hint for those of you about to start off on your own. If you can't afford furniture for that new apartment, you aren't ready to leave home! :-) Anyone out there got a UPS furniture pad? :-)

Seems like people just can't get enough of Apple these days. In yet another unimpressive attempt to rip off Apple's design teams work, here is a new case (via KREX Computers) for those in the PC world that are jonsing for a taste of Mac. A valiant effort I must say, but it's still no G5. The price is certainly right at $79.95. If I had a decent PC laying around, I might have gotten this. I do however like the blue LED's everywhere. I don't know what it is, but it seems like blue LED's are taking over everywhere these days.

[ CreativeGuy ] has a great tip for Photoshop. Does anyone know for sure if using this tip can replace using Genuine Fractals or pxl Smart Scale?

PS: Increasing resolution in Photoshop:

There's an old rule that states you should NEVER increase the resolution of your Photoshop file simply by upping the dpi in the Image Setup dialog. That old rule is dying away fast.

Incase you haven't noticed, Photoshop CS offers Bicubic Smoother as one of its interpolation algorithms. Bicubic Smoother is virtually always the best way to increase the size/resolution of your image - including the old wives tale of increasing the size a very slight percentage over and over.

Of course, if you are downsizing your image, choose Bicubic Sharper.

Once you're done sizing the image, run the Unsharp Mask filter to clean up the edges - play with the settings to suit your needs. And remember, the quality of the enlargments still depends GREATLY on the quality of the original image, as well as the output device.

I think you'll find that Photoshop's Bicubic Smoother is, in most cases, better than the 3rd party image resizing plug-ins such as Extensis pxl SmartScale or Genuine Fractals Print Pro.

Our dearest Adobe Systems Inc. announced this morning that it has agreed to buy "Web King" Macromedia, Inc. in a deal worth $3.4 BILLION in stock.

[So who can guess the new name? Acromedia? Adomedia? Macrobe? Macrodobe?]

The deal values Macromedia���s share at $41.86, 25% higher than Friday���s closing price of $33.45. Adobe also plans to buy back $1 billion of stock after the purchase. Adobe Systems��� CEO, Bruce Chizen, will retain his position, while Macromedia���s Stephen Elop will become president of worldwide field operations, Adobe announced.

"The primary motivation for the two companies' joining is to continue to expand and grow our business into new markets,''

[I bet! Talk about a monopoly! I am not sure if this is a good thing or not yet. My guess is, NOT.]

"While we anticipate the integration team will identify opportunities for cost savings by the time the acquisition closes, the primary motivation for the two companies' joining is to continue to expand and grow our business into new markets," Mr. Chizen said.

Adobe said it expects the transaction to be "break- even to slightly accretive to earnings" in the first 12 months. It expects the deal to close in the fall of this year.

The deal still requires shareholder and regulatory approval.

[Hang on folks...gonna be a wild ride this year!]

Scott Kelby and his group are on the move again and have outgrown the "Mac Design" title for their monthly magazine. Reasons cited for the change in name are that the magazine covers much more than just design. Although they cover digital photography in-depth, most photographers just wouldn't grab a magazine with the word "Design" on the cover and expect to find information they were interested in. The magazine also shifts focus to an entirely Adobe based content. The Final Cut Pro and Dreamweaver columns will now appear online only. The magazine will still have plenty of Apple coverage for us Mac freaks, but as any organization grows, it has to spread its wings and do what is right for the business. You can get the full version of the story by visiting the new LAYERS magazine website. I have enjoyed reading Mac Design magazine for years (since its launch) and consider it a must-have magazine for anyone in the creative field. Great job Scott, keep up the great work!

Yesterday Adobe and Six Apart announced that GoLive would have built-in support for creating and editing the templates used in Movable Type. This is some really interesting news for anyone that is running a MT blog (such as this one). We have been asking Six Apart for an easier way to edit and design MT templates for quite some time, and it looks like they were listening. My only question is if they will also offer this support in Dreamweaver anytime soon. For now, this is a great step in the right direction. Thanks Six Apart!