New Flick Icons for Cue

I designed Cue, a gesture icon system, to satisfy a mental itch. However, it has been flattering and exciting to see people actually using the system in their daily work. Now that this icon set is no longer just a pet project, I want to be aware of its shortcomings so it can continue to be useful. One of the most requested additions is a “flick” icon. I intentionally withheld designing a flick gesture because I have always been a little fuzzy as how it differed from a swipe gesture. I understand how it differs in “feel”, but I always got tripped up determining the technical differences of a flick and a swipe.

To be honest, I am still a little fuzzy on it and it seems like I am not alone. However, I asked for some guidance on Twitter and got two similar and logical definitions. Which led me to this most recent update. Read On…

Write Like You Design

I have long held the opinion that writing was part of design. I simply did not practice it. Writing was not given much priority while I attended art school. Writing continued to be of secondary concern during the early years of my career. Evidence of this can be seen on this blog. I started taking my writing more seriously after my wife, who has her master’s degree in English, started editing my posts. It progressed further while working at Adaptive Path, where it was clear that how we communicated our work could be as important to our job as the work itself. Currently, the attention given to language in the work at Seabright solidifies a dedication to the writing process in my practice. Read On…

An Open Source Manufacturing Future

A few months ago, I listened to a talk by Chad Jennings where he discussed the upcoming shake-up around small scale manufacturing. This is due to the advancements in both 3D scanning and 3D printing. The things that can be accomplished with today’s 3D scanning/printing process is truly amazing and if the technology behind it follows the same trajectory as personal computing, these devices will be within consumers’ reach in the years to come. If that does come to be, what are the possibilities and implications of such a future? Read On…

Redesigning the iPhone – is it Necessary?

Three weeks ago, Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S. The phone was a tremendous leap ahead of its predecessors, yet the much of the feedback contained a tint of disappointment. Most of that disappointment stemmed from the news that Apple did not showcase the iPhone 5. Under the hood, the iPhone 4S had been drastically improved, however it did not provide the one thing so many people had been frothing at the mouth for, a new body. This response saddened me because it displayed a general misunderstanding of product design by the media and public at large. Would it be a problem if the iPhone 5, 6 & 7 looked the same? To many, yes. However, I believe the physical design of the iPhone has reached a level of quality that should make us question changing its design to meet the public’s insatiable need for new. Read On…