Cheers to my boys up north at Analogue for the relaunch of their company blog.

*I think they’re using a little too much sIFR sauce, but it looks lovely.

Yes, you’re gonna lose.
In fact, you’ve been losing for a long time.
And I know you won’t go down quietly. You’ll continue to kick and scream until you hit the canvas.

seat, originally uploaded by combustionchamber.

Mr. Orange in shades, originally uploaded by combustionchamber.

legs for days, originally uploaded by combustionchamber.

Thanks for introducing me to Metric, Jory.

Every time a go back to the WSJ, they’ve made more incremental changes to their site (mostly for the good).
One particular area they’re putting more effort into is data visualizations:

Since the redesign, articles have been set within a tab structure, with the first tab being the article, then any addition video/visualizations/slideshows within another tab, with the last tab for Comments.
While appreciate that they’re trying to move in a more interactive realm within journalism, visualizations like the one above need some serous help if they want to get up to the level the NYTimes is at.
Here are a few of the talented people who make the NYTimes so engaging (under design director Koi Vin):
http://gabrieldance.com/
http://shancarter.com/

hood, originally uploaded by combustionchamber.

Paul Lee Design (via)

As someone who graduated from a very tough design program, Jack Moffett’s advice on disowning design rings true:

It can be devastating to have a project that you spent a lot of time on and thought was decent be ripped to shreds by your professor and peers. It is, however, a necessary experience. One must not only learn to accept it, but embrace it—welcome it, knowing that it will make the end result better. To do this, you have to disown the work, and see it as something other than yours.

On a slightly exaggerated level it calls to mind Alec Baldwin’s epic scene in Glengarry Glen Ross:

You think this is abuse? You think this is abuse, you cocksucker? You can’t take this — how can you take the abuse you get on a sit?! You don’t like it — leave.

Cameron Moll contemplates, Is it time to move beyond 960?

So what’s the ideal width? I’m not sure yet. Let’s figure it out together. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
• 1020 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15 but not 8 and 16. It’s not much wider than 960.
• 1040 is divisible by 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 16 but not 3, 12, or 15. Yet it has a reasonable width that sits somewhere between the lower end of 960 and higher end of users browsing full screen (many don’t, of course).
• 1080, which is what I’m taking for a spin with a site right now, is divisible 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15 but not 16. It pushes the upper end of the width spectrum, and measure (line length) could become an issue if not dealt with appropriately.

I’ve actually used the 960 CSS framework he speaks of on my last two projects at Roundarch.
I remember the day my friend Jory IM’d me when Apple launched their new 984 pixel-wide website a few years ago. It was a sign, at least for us, that we could officially, safely, move beyond 800×600.
Laugh if you want, but 184 pixels is a big deal when your life revolves around those tiny, square sons-of-bitches.
Now CNN, NYTimes, BBC and Amazon all are optimized for at least 980 (Amazon is an elastic layout, but locks to around 980 on resize).

RAY
Boy, I’ve gotta get some sleep. I’m dying.
PETER
You don’t look good.
RAY
I don’t?
PETER
You’ve looked better. You didn’t used to look like this.
– Ghostbusters

When ideas do happen, it is not by accident. What separates creative people who make their ideas happen from the constant dreamers? Perhaps we all have an obligation to show our ideas some respect. Behance is partnering with Cool Hunting to host “99%”: a conference that focuses less on inspiration, and more on how idea generation and organization come together to make ideas happen.

– from the 99% Conference

As much as I think some conferences are important to go to, I can’t go to them all.
I learned about the 99% Conference only a few days ago. It looked interesting – although I wasn’t down for $490 per ticket (whether or not my company was paying).
The good news is we have people like Tina Roth Eisenberg always online and in attendance at these events. Now I can grab some of the nuggets of knowledge she mined and posted:
99% | Cheryl Dorsey
99% | Ji Lee
99% | Seth Godin