interface inYerFace

Mechanically impractical but geometrically beautiful

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 21:58:40 -0500

Mechanically impractical but geometrically beautiful

I question the hierarchical flow from ‘special’ to...

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 21:43:51 -0500

I question the hierarchical flow from ‘special’ to ‘regular’ and from ‘keeper’ to ‘resale’, but otherwise, this categorization of t-shirts is amusing.

thedailywhat:

Infographic of the Day: Nick Foster says: “I have a T-shirt problem: after years of buying them, my house is now full. Whilst recently trying to tidy up the situation I realised that I was subconsciously categorising them. As with everything on the internet, it ain’t a ‘thing’ until it’s visualised in an infographic.”

(Embiggen.)

[kottke.]

YES. integrated into the border of each image is a power cord,...

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 01:29:21 -0500

YES.

integrated into the border of each image is a power cord, which is conspicuously unplugged. The imperative couldn’t be clearer: Turn off the computer, get out of the house, and go hear to some live music.

(via GOOD)

thedailywhat: Lost Sign the Day: Spotted in...

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 00:58:11 -0500

thedailywhat:

Lost Sign the Day: Spotted in Minneapolis.

[thanks phil!]

Cheeky neighborhood communication design. Gotta love it. This is to the tune of one I found in West Philly on Labor Day weekend:

The scotch tape in the former flyer takes the cake, however. Well done, you facetious flyer creator! I salute you.

Brain: Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Pinky?

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:43:22 -0500

Brain: Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Pinky?
Pinky: Egad, Brain, I think so, but if Google tries to have Facebook and Twitter's babies, won't they suffer from severe genetic deficiencies? …And who will get custody of the children?!

The Traceability of an Anonymous Online Comment

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:04:52 -0500

The Traceability of an Anonymous Online Comment:

azspot:

A recent privacy study from Berkeley shows how far such a strategy might reach. The Berkeley researchers found that nearly all of the top 100 sites on the web contain some sort of “web bug,” another term for the hidden web connection that allows a third party to automatically track a user on the site. Some of these sites will load dozens of web bugs on each page visit, which will litter user data far and wide on third party servers.

Read the whole post at Freedom to Tinker.

Or, check out KnowPrivacy.org, and watch their short video on web bugs.

And download the Firefox (ahem) add-on Ghostery. It’s amazing and scary:

Now that’s what I call a delightful baking interface. (via...

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:00:51 -0500

Now that’s what I call a delightful baking interface.

(via justbesplendid)

Buzzed and confused

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:37:36 -0500

Google Buzz, day 1:

If nothing else, Buzz thus far has lived up to it’s name.

But inYerFace says, “Buzz, buzzz…boring!!”

Yes.

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:41:23 -0500

dailydropcap:

orem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec mauris lorem, luctus nec imperdiet a, porttitor eget erat. Quisque suscipit congue neque id adipiscing. Vivamus ornare nisl id lacus egestas quis varius dolor vehicula. Cras ac lacus in massa sagittis sollicitudin quis in lorem. Aliquam et diam ac massa convallis tincidunt. Aenean convallis consequat tincidunt. Vestibulum lobortis, nibh at sodales eleifend, nunc lorem sodales arcu, sit amet sodales diam felis ac nisl. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. In arcu ante, adipiscing nec pharetra ut, cursus vitae lorem. Nam eget mauris eget neque sagittis vulputate. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Donec diam enim, pretium iaculis elementum id, faucibus non lacus.

To place this cap in your blog post, copy this code at the beginning of your text (You’ll need to be in the html editing window.):

http://jhische.com/dailydropcap/Q-4-cap.png" title="Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische" align="left" alt="Q"/>

Don’t forget to delete the letter in the text you are replacing with the initial cap!

——

A critical moment for my gmail filters

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:29:56 -0500

A critical moment for my gmail filters

Will someone please create a vid like this for the iPad? I find...

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:12:00 -0500

Will someone please create a vid like this for the iPad? I find the sparkly wifi much more entertaining.

Kthxbye.

Now that’s a big font. binkythedoormat: Whilst watching...

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:10:33 -0500

Now that’s a big font.

binkythedoormat:

Whilst watching Up In The Air (very good by the way) the other day, I was distracted by the massive American Airline logo on a tail-fin of a 747. And then a question popped into my head that I can’t shift: what/where is the biggest type in the world?

Dr B, ever patient with my inane fontular ramblings, suggested the Hollywood sign. Possible, I thought. After a quick visit to Wikipedia and few taps into Convertbot, it turns out the sign is set at an impressive 42,520pt. Pretty darn big.

And then I was directed to Woodtyper’s post on the Tillamook Air Museum, a massive hanger sporting the words “AIR MUSEUM” in gargantuan 120,000pt Helvetica. Now that’s BIG (see the comparative scale image above and shudder in vowel-fear).

But I’m sure that can’t be it. There must be something bigger. Probably in Vegas. Can you think of anything? Please send any suggestion on the back of a stamped addressed tweet to the usual address.

kari-shma: (via jared)

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:42:22 -0500

kari-shma:

(via jared)

The London Underground cares. (via kapi)

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:13:14 -0500

The London Underground cares. (via kapi)

"…knowledge workers believe they are paid to be effective, not to work 9 to 5."

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:49:08 -0500

“…knowledge workers believe they are paid to be effective, not to work 9 to 5.”

- Eric Schmidt (via azspot)

You autocomplete me.

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:37:04 -0500

For fans of Let Me Google That For You, here is Autocomplete Me:

I guess self-actualization isn’t everything Maslow cracked it up to be.

For an explanation of how Live Search, including Google Suggest, works, see here.

Thanks to Bianca for the find.

pity this busy interface, door un-knob

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:24:00 -0400

I encountered this door latch recently at Tria Cafe on 11th and Spruce. I’m sure Donald Norman, Steve Krug, and
E. E. Cummings would all have something to say about this. But none of them are here, so I will share my thoughts.

The conceptual model for this door latch is several notches past a just noticeable difference, so it necessitates an explanatory diagram. The diagram, however, is the saving grace of this interface, simply because it shows the user very plainly how to do the two things one would need to do with the door of a single-stall public restroom: 1. Lock the door upon entering. 2. [Unlock and] open the door upon exiting.

But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Liza Potts, it’s that if a common interface merits a technical explanation, it’s poorly designed. The sheer fact that I must consult an explanatory diagram to operate a door latch in order to ensure that no unfortunate soul interrupts me whilst I am emptying my bladder is my case-in-point.

Do I need to mention that most of the people attempting to use this door un-knob will most likely be inebriated with delicious wine? I’ve had a glass of zippy white followed by a funky red, and now I must decipher an infographic to lock the bathroom door?? You’ve added an unnecessary step to my public-restroom user workflow, and all I really want to do is urinate.

One can only conclude that the architect must have been under the influence of several funky reds himself when he sat down to design this bathroom.

Suggested uses for this interface:

Landing a plane
Keeping your diary safe from prying eyes
Getting your two Euros back from the locker at the Munich Hauptbahnhof
Extra security for the indecisive hermit

Gmail labels, remixed

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:25:00 -0400

Along with many others, I was skeptical at first. I felt just like this person:

But the smartees at Gmail are right—I don’t need to see all 34 of my labels. I’ve narrowed it down to seven and it only took a minute.

I love the idea of dragging a label onto a message or vice versa, but for the most part, I’ll probably stick to using the keyboard shortcuts (“L” to label, “V” to move).

However, I still agree with many dissatisfied former right-side label users, that we should have a choice (or at the least, a heads-up).

Now all I want to know is:

1. What happened to auto reply-all?

2. Can I move my gCal and gDocs widgets to the right side now??

Cancel or OK??

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:09:00 -0400

Wait, what?

Which part am I canceling or which am I okaying?

(Thanks to @edw for pointing this out to me.)

about:blank

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:47:00 -0400

The structured bits and atoms we encounter everyday exhibit both subtle and provocative qualities. Interfaces are meant to be used but are not always useful or usable. They can evoke the whole gamut of emotions—from :D, to OMG!!, to GRRR!!!—and I intend to explore the how and why of these interactions.