Monthly Archives: August 2011

The Design of Scrolling Text

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I’ve been trying a change at work. I’m very reluctant to get too comfortable with a piece of software once the developer abandons it, and that seems to be the case with my favorite workhorse text editor, TextMate. It hasn’t seen any real updates in a couple of years, and it’s a bit frustrating.

But it’s a very unique piece of software, and five years of constant use has gotten me pretty comfortable with it. If it stops working, I need an alternative. I’ve decided to give BBEdit a try. But it’s a tough transition.


A Fresh New Website for Midlothian Dermatology

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As the Northwest sun finally joins us in the last month of summer, it seems completely appropriate that we would put the final touches on a new website for Midlothian Dermatology, located in Midlothian, Virginia. (Fact: Midlothian is the inspiration for the town of Middlesex, Virginia in Donnie Darko.)

Completely unsatisfied with dermatology websites that currently existed—”I want something different…I want design!”—Dr. Bohannon-Grant approached us to create a clean, minimal website with personality. We took the office’s passion for their work (they were, after all, just voted Richmond’s best dermatology office), art, and design to heart and created a site that is clean and modern with a friendly, upscale, artistic flair.

The end result is a far cry from a typical, sterilized doctor’s website (but, of course, has all the necessary accouterments: downloadable forms, easy access to information, easy to update). Midlothian Dermatology now has a site that reflects their honest, engaging office atmosphere and personality.

Do You Have an Auteur?

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One thing we’ve found over and over is that it’s much easier to work with a single decision-maker than to work with a committee. The Auteur vs. the Committee by Randall Stross reminded me of how important this distinction is in design.

The author’s point is that Apple has “taste” because Steve Jobs has taste, and that Google, by comparison, doesn’t have that kind of advantage. It’s in the very DNA of the company, started by two Stanford students, and run in a very compartmentalized way. Apple has an auteur, who makes the final call on every major decision the company makes.

First Thursday Wrap-Up (What You Don’t Want to Miss)

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Last night, we headed out on our First Thursday gallery walk. The Gigantic Gallery and Upper Playground shows were everything we had hoped for. We also stopped in a handful of shows that were complete surprises.

Davide Neevel’s show at Downtown Stumptown is worth the trip downtown. I can’t stop thinking about his disco chainsaw piece.

Finally, the Daniel Johnston Art Show at Wieden+Kennedy  was a last minute bombshell not to be missed.

One of the stand out shows of the night, WE MAKE, was only a one night event. But, you can still see all the rest of these shows through the month of August. And, don’t forget Driscoll and Amy’s show at land tonight.

A Balmy First Thursday & Friday

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First Thursday

We’ll be out and about in Portland tonight soaking in the heat and awesomeness that is First Thursday. We have a handful of must-see shows on our agenda.

The First Look

Our dear friend Anisa is joining a slew of fashion designers at Gigantic Gallery showing pages from their sketchbooks. I adore this sort of behind-the-scenes peek at the creative mind. (If you happen to chat up Anisa’s programmer husband, Graeme, the correct answer is: “Yes, it is reasonable to fly to Istanbul to source fabrics. In fact, I’d recommend it!”)

There is a compelling trifecta of shows at galleries within blocks of each other (around 5th and Couch): Upper Playground has a sweet group show, including work by Amy Ruppel; Compound is showing work by Stacey Rozich (a new name to me with a show that looks remarkable); and, finally, a little birdie told us that Michelle Valigura’s show at the Grass Hut is not to be missed.

First Friday

Our friends Amy Ruppel and Driscoll Reid (or, according to our daughter, Driscoll Monster) are pairing up for a not to miss art show opening tomorrow at land (6 pm). (If you see Amy, ask her about her secret for grilling bacon for BLT’s. To. Die. For.)

The Windows Form-Filling Culture

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I’ve just now finished with the unpleasant task of installing some software on a Windows PC. It’s not enjoyable, and what makes it particularly tedious is the form-filling. Windows has a culture of form-filling.

Installing a simple PDF viewer required me to click through no less than five screens of questions during the installation process. One was the usual license click-through screen, but the rest were a series of questions I was forced to answer and make decisions about.


On the Choice of Computer Display for Design

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We’re certainly big fans of Apple products, that’s no secret. We have a number of Apple’s LED Cinema Displays in our office, but since we’ve used them for so long, we decided to get a “budget” display for our Mac Mini at home, which we use to do occasional bits of work as needed, when our laptops are handy.

First of all, there is a huge difference in price. I’m talking about a 27″ Apple display, which has as high a resolution as any display I’ve seen. It’s simply astounding. For $999, you get an amazing display, which also includes a power adapter for your laptop, a camera and a speaker, several USB adapters, all built into one very stylish package.

For home, we picked up a ViewSonic 22″ LED display. It’s certainly not as attractive, and while it has the proper connectors to work with a Mac, it’s not as elegant. It’s much smaller, but that’s not a bad thing in our living room. But critically, you can find it for $159 online, about 1/6th of the price. That’s cheap.

So why bother with an office full of pricey displays, when these can be had for so much cheaper?