Jonathan Moore

Three universal truths for why projects are not completed on time

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:11:54 -0800

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.

- unclutterer.com

Often understanding what causes the problem is enough to figure out how to prevent problems.

via The 99 Percent

"A designer is an emerging synthesis of artist, inventor, mechanic, objective economist and..."

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:02:57 -0800

“A designer is an emerging synthesis of artist, inventor, mechanic, objective economist and evolutionary strategist.”

- - R. Buckminster Fuller

via Surfstation

Tumblr Checkout Process One of the many things that keeps me...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:40:43 -0800

Tumblr Checkout Process

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.

Newcastle Brown Ale Interactive agency Struck/Axiom with offices...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:20:01 -0800

Newcastle Brown Ale

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!

Explore the Newcastle site

Tron Legacy Trailer I am absolutely in love with the art...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:49:16 -0800

Tron Legacy Trailer

I am absolutely in love with the art direction and design of the upcoming Tron Legacy. Also from the trailer I can’t wait to hear the movie score produced by the famed Daft Punk.

Anyone know someone who works at Disney Interactive Group? I’d love to do the site for the new movie.

Reblogged from Luke Seeley

Workaholism

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:28:42 -0800

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.

Making of “Strange Worlds” Two months ago I posted...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:18:06 -0800

Making of “Strange Worlds”

Two months ago I posted photographer Matthew Albanese and how he crafts detailed landscape using photographic techniques and clever use of objects and materials. Today on Behance I discovered behind the scene images of how he crafted the landscape models. Seeing all the work that goes into his art makes me appreciate it that much more.

View the full set of behind the scene images and the original Strange Worlds photography.

The Panic Status Board Portland based Mac software studio Panic...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:37:37 -0800

The Panic Status Board

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.

The Taco That Travelled 64,000 Miles Students at the California...

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:10:26 -0800

The Taco That Travelled 64,000 Miles

Students at the California College of the Arts URBANlab program took on the surprisingly difficult task of tracking the ingredients from a taco purchased at Juan’s Taco Truck in San Francisco’s Mission District.

-Fast Company, The Anatomy of the Taco

Read the full article on Good.is, Your Taco, Deconstructed

Longboarding at Goat Hill Brian Freeborn and Mammoth Media took...

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:52:55 -0800

Longboarding at Goat Hill

Brian Freeborn and Mammoth Media took advantage of the first nice day of the year to longboard down Goat Hill capturing it all on their Nikon D90. The color grading and track fit the video perfectly.

Reblogged from Matthew Buchanan

My Tumblr is Naked Unfortunately Media Temple is having issues...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:53:05 -0800

My Tumblr is Naked

Unfortunately Media Temple is having issues with several of their server grids resulting in all my sites being offline today. Since all of my Tumblr theme files are hosted on my server my Tumblr is going naked for the day.

"The real world isn’t a place, it’s an excuse. It’s a justification for not trying."

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:27:28 -0800

“The real world isn’t a place, it’s an excuse. It’s a justification for not trying.”

- Rework: A Better, Easier Way to Succeed in Business

37signals posted excerpts of their upcoming book Rework on ChangeThis.com. I have Rework pre-ordered, and can’t wait to read it when it comes out on March 9th.

Bank Run - Interactive Action Movie Remember the Choose Your Own...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:12:39 -0800

Bank Run - Interactive Action Movie

Remember the Choose Your Own Adventure books as a kid? Bank Run is like combining one of those book, with the production quality of an action movie, and an interactive game. Interactive shop SilkTricky run by Chris Lund recently launched this site along with part II that’s playable as an iPhone game.

Go ahead. Kill some time on this site. It’s worth it.

Pedigree: Catch Using a Phantom camera to capture the action at...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:04:38 -0800

Pedigree: Catch

Using a Phantom camera to capture the action at 1,000 fps, director Bob Purman films dogs jumping to catch Pedigree dog food. The best part is watching the expressions on the dog’s face as they first see the food flying through the air.

Agency: TBWA, Toronto | Full list of credits on Creativity Online

Reblogged from aparticularpath and maniacalrage

"Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise..."

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:50:24 -0800

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”

- Sun Tzu

via Mark Gallager @brandexpression of Black Coffee

Ace Hotel and Swim Club by Commune Design Commune did a...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:43:58 -0800

Ace Hotel and Swim Club by Commune Design

Commune did a fantastic job designing the renovation of a 1950’s style motel into one of premiere locations for the boutique hotelier Ace Hotel. If you’re ever traveling to New York, Portland, Seattle or Palm Springs look into staying at Ace.

Take the time to explore Commune’s other retail, office, and restaurant design. Their portfolio is full of great work.

The Ostrich A short, dark handmade film by Lucas Zanotto and...

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:57:52 -0800

The Ostrich

A short, dark handmade film by Lucas Zanotto and excellent sound design by David Kamp.

Root by Art in the Age In the 1700’s ‘Root...

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:57:50 -0800

Root by Art in the Age

In the 1700’s ‘Root Tea’ was a popular Native American-created spirited beverage and herbal remedy made of sassafras, sarsaparilla, birch, bark, and other roots and herbs. When prohibition hit America in 1920 a pharmacist created a non-alchohoic version of the drink, ‘Root Beer’, to meet the demands for a similar flavor to ‘Root Tea’.

Philadelphia distiller Art in the Age recreated the popular ‘Root Tea’ and assures that it’s not just a root beer flavored spirit. Aside from an interesting recipe, history and drink they have fantastic packaging with great typography using Hoefler & Frere-Jones’s Ziggurat and Font Shop’s DIN. More information about Root.

I would love to try this interesting drink, but for the time being it seems that it’s unavailable in California.

via Kistune Noir as well as photo by Kitsune Noir

Playstation Refresh From Odopod San Francisco based digital...

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:10:28 -0800

Playstation Refresh From Odopod

San Francisco based digital agency Odopod refreshes Sony Playstation’s site with a well organized, clean, and fresh design. I’m a big fan of the straight forward design of the content, but still allowing the featured imagery to be displayed larger than life.

"The truth is no online database will replace your daily newspaper, no CD-ROM can take the place of a..."

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:49:00 -0800

“The truth is no online database will replace your daily newspaper, no CD-ROM can take the place of a competent teacher and no computer network will change the way government works …”

- Clifford Stoll

From an essay on “Why the Internet Will Fail” written in 1995