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Flash developer Mr. Doob well known for his Actionscript experiments has recently started experimenting with HTML5 and Javascript. By incorporating various drawing algorithms with the <canvas> tag he created the Harmony experiment. The image above was created with Harmony.
Mr. Doob’s blog post on the experiment | Video screen capture of the experiment in action
Edit: It appears that the power of the internets took Mr. Doob’s server down
Three universal truths for why projects are not completed on time -
- Clients are never as prepared as they say they will be.
- Clients always change their mind.
- People always underestimate the amount of time it will take to do something.
Often understanding what causes the problem is enough to figure out how to prevent problems.
“A designer is an emerging synthesis of artist, inventor, mechanic, objective economist and evolutionary strategist.” —
One of the many things that keeps me active with Tumblr is the insane attention to detail and polish. The easy approach to handling a credit card checkout process would be to use a standard page full of form fields, secure icons, and the default pictures of the credit cards they accept (along with virtually every other site online).
I was pleasantly surprised by Tumblr’s checkout method when grabbing a featured directory spot earlier this week. After filling in the details the oversized “Make me famous!” button triggers a lightbox style overlay where you fill in your credit card information.
Well done Tumblr.
Interactive agency Struck/Axiom with offices in Salt Lake City, UT and Portland, OR recently relaunched the brand focused site for Newcastle Brown Ale (with the help of agencies Vitro Robertson and TWC). Their new approach uses almost nothing but beautifully shot video scenes and minimal text overlays. Impressive work!
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From 37signals’ book REWORK, illustration by Mike Rohde
Our culture celebrates the idea of the workaholic. We hear about people burning the midnight oil. They pull all-nighters and sleep at the office. It’s considered a badge of honor to kill yourself over a project. No amount of work is too much work.
Not only is this workaholism unnecessary, it’s stupid. Working more doesn’t mean you care more or get more done. It just means you work more.
Workaholics make the people who don’t stay late feel inadequate for “merely” working reasonable hours. That leads to guilt and poor morale all around. Plus, it leads to an ass-in-seat mentality—people stay late out of obligation, even if they aren’t really being productive.
- Excerpt from 37signals’ REWORK released today, download PDF excerpt
There has been several times in my career where I fell into this cycle working countless nights and weekends. Looking back a lot of what drives workaholism is insecurity in your work and approval from your peers. When you fall into the cycle of workaholism it always takes far longer to make creative decisions, think critically and produce exceptional work. In my personal experience, after putting in the long hours any ground I gained was usually lost the following day or week as I struggled with not having enough downtime for my mind to be fresh.
There is a distinct difference from being a workaholic and pulling the very rare all-nighter in an effort to sprint towards a deadline. One will leave you constantly trying to make up for lost productivity with endless hours and the other gives you a sense of pride and accomplishment in launching a project.
Over the last few years I have actively worked at shifting mindset from working around the clock to working with intense focus and productivity. As a result I have been able to accomplish more that I am proud of, and more importantly I have been able to spend far more time with family enjoying life.
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Portland based Mac software studio Panic recently posted their new status board that gives realtime stats on projects in progress, email queue, revenue, employee Twitter accounts, and local bus schedule. Read more about the Panic Status Board.