Some Random Dude

Identity On the Web – Are Logos Relevant Online?

Posted on 16 March, 2010 5:55am | 6 comments.

Identity systems have become a mainstay for companies that are trying to secure a presence among their target audience. Strong identity systems have worked miracles for brand awareness through the years. With all the potential recognition that can come from a good branding, it seems logical that would translate well into the sphere of dot com organizations. Like many times before however, equating historical norms to loosely-related metaphors on the web can prove problematic. Being that the internet is first and foremost informational, how vital is a strong visual identity system for a dot-com company? If you ask me, not very. Read the rest of this post…

Iconic Loves OmniGraffle

Posted on 10 March, 2010 7:36am | 3 comments.

While I am working the final pieces of a new article, I wanted to tie up some loose ends. Iconic is still a living/growing project. I continue to design icons for the set as they are needed – as expected, the set grows in spurts. Yesterday, I added 11 more icons to the set, a few of which really should have been in the original release. The new icons consist of a link, thumbtack, two map pins, horizontal move and vertical move (both in three styles) and cursor. The set has increased in number by roughly twenty new icons since its initial release and there is still plenty of room for it to grow. More importantly though, the icons are now available as an Omnigraffle stencil – hopefully this will be useful to all the beautiful IA/UX peeps around the world. Read the rest of this post…

New Beginnings

Posted on 2 March, 2010 9:17am | 13 comments.

Since sometime in 2007, I have had the fortune to be self-employed. The process was at first frightening, quickly evolved into empowering and eventually phased into a quite comfortable space. Like all things, the work had its ups and downs, but when everything was added up, it definitely netted positive. If you asked me a few months ago if I saw myself moving back into an employed role, I would have laughed it off. Things change. Read the rest of this post…

The Off Franklin Tumblr Theme

Posted on 22 February, 2010 7:51am | 5 comments.

The decision to offer up all the work related to this site has been as grueling as it has been rewarding. Iconic was a huge hit and has seemed to have helped a quite a few people. The next on the list of tasks was the Tumblr theme. I had previously released a theme based on the old design, but it never quite satisfied my expectations (similar to the prior design as a whole). Therefore, once the blog was redesigned, it only made sense to redesign its Tumblr counterpart – which brings me to the new Off Franklin theme. Read the rest of this post…

Flash, the iPad, He Said, She Said, the Frying Pan and the Fire

Posted on 9 February, 2010 7:35am | 3 comments.

Even if the iPad is not a success, media producers are understanding the implications of using a technology that could be rendered lame almost overnight. It is as if in an instant the world saw what has been taking place for years; HTML/CSS/Javascript has been catching up to Flash – pushing it closer to being inessential. You cannot put the cat back into the bag. However, Apple is not to be applauded. They are upping the ante for how closed an experience can be for next-gen mobile devices. After the unveiling of the iPad we have heard sniping from both Adobe and Apple, however neither have the best interests of the public in mind. Read the rest of this post…