Web Design Culture (Archive)

Page 2 of 6 (51 total articles)
  • April 1, 2009 in Web Design Culture

    SXSWi 2009: Virtual Goods - Making it Work for Your Community

    The recent explosion of the virtual goods market has changed the way the world thinks about economic value and has pushed our culture one step closer to a sci-fi existence unimaginable to previous generations. At first, virtual goods seemed like a mere sub-feature in a social internet sphere that has existed in some form since the computer network was first conceived. But as virtual goods grew into a multi-billion dollar industry in just a few years, it was clear that their real significance had been underestimated. This SXSWi panel featuring Susan Wu (pictured right) as moderator took a look at the current state of the virtual goods market and discussed strategies for implementing virtual goods in various types of social networks. I'm going to give a brief overview of the three social networks represented on the panel and then take a few paragraphs to analyze the virtual gifts phenomenon from a Christian worldview.

  • March 25, 2009 in Web Design Culture

    SWSWi 2009: Not the Same Old Story (Jason Santa Maria - Moderator)

    The SXSWi panel "Not the Same Old Story" was a look at how design is used to enhance story-telling and more specifically how web design is lacking in this area. With Jason Santa Maria (formerly of Happy Cog) as the moderator, I knew it would be a panel worth checking out. The other panelists included Ian Aldeman (New York Magazine), Daniel Burka (Digg), Nicholas Feltron (Feltron.com), and Liz Danzico: an all-star cast for sure. Also, speaking of all-stars, Jeffrey Zeldman was sitting in the front row just a few yards away from me.

  • March 18, 2009 in Web Design Culture

    SXSWi 2009: Tony Hsieh Opening Remarks

    Tony Hsieh, co-founder of Link Exchange and current CEO of Zappos.com, kicked off SXSWi with the opening remarks on Saturday March 14th. In fitting SXSW style and spirit he conveyed the story of his .com success which has touched two decades (a rare winning streak in internet entrepreneurship) and shows promising signs of continuing into a third. I say his presentation was in fitting SXSW spirit because of predictable worldview claims and a smattering of hip socio-techno phrases and themes. Unconventional hiring and firing methods, "company culture", "create fun and a little weirdness", and "the science of happiness" are just few in a long list. But I'm getting ahead of myself. There was much in Tony's presentation that the Christian worldview would find agreeable and may even fit more neatly than many of the methods of so-called "Christian businessmen". I'm going to discuss the shiny side of the coin first and then briefly explore the implications of the deeper philosophy being promoting by Tony and other "happiness experts".

  • March 10, 2009 in Web Design Culture

    Ceremonial Habits: Looking for Liturgy in Design

    What is culture without ceremony? From the grotesque ritual child sacrifice of the ancient Carthaginians to the inauguration of a modern American president, a culture is defined by its liturgy. These liturgical ceremonies shine forth through time as a symbol of the essence of a people. Without ever peeking into the life of a particular individual within a culture, yet we can infer astonishingly accurate knowledge about his daily life simply by studying the liturgy of his people. In recent years liturgy has become one of the primary battlegrounds of theology and philosophy. As the tendrils of postmodernism slither quietly into the thoughts of western culture, a new question is being asked: liturgy or not?

  • October 29, 2008 in Web Design Culture

    Andre Braz, The Experience Design Manifesto, and the State of Design

    Recently, I've run across several references to Andre Braz's Experience Design Manifesto. His short manifesto is apparently being welcomed and applauded by the design community in general. I, on the other hand, found the document to be poorly planned, poorly executed, and riddled with cliches and pop-philosophy. On the positive side, this is a perfect opportunity to turn deconstructivism against its master (postmodernism) and discuss a rare modern attempt at defining purpose.

  • October 22, 2008 in Web Design Culture

    Interview: Stephen Olmstead of Sonata Creative

    This week Mirificam Press will be taking on a slightly different form. It's my pleasure to introduce my readers to Stephen Olmstead, owner of Sonata Creative in Phoenix Arizona. Stephen and his wife Celeste have recently launched Sonata Creative as an independent design studio—quite successfully, I might add. Stephen is also a blogger and a reformed Christian. We met just a few weeks ago through Mirificam Press and I was immediately impressed by his grasp of Christian worldview concepts as they relate to design. I'm sure you will feel the same.

  • February 4, 2008 in Web Design Culture

    Keepers of the Cloud: Who Will Hold the Key to Our Information?

    Years after the first Orwellian-like predictions about centralized data storage started gaining some validity, it appears as if the conspiracy theorists may have been right for once (almost). But unlike 1984 we weren't dragged to centralization by a tyrannical dictator--we gradually migrated there on our own. We did it because it's easier, cheaper, and more fun. Oh, and that central data center is more like a network of individual storage centers--a data cloud.

  • January 21, 2008 in Web Design Culture

    9 Web Design No Nos for the Newbie

    I admit I've committed just about every crime against web design on this list. That's probably why it flowed so smoothly from my mind. They are all easily avoidable sins that, if transgressed, will cost a web designer big. So if you want to avoid humiliating yourself in front of clients and burning unnecessary midnight oil, take heed. It will save you a lot of anguish to learn from my mistakes instead of your own.

  • January 2, 2008 in Web Design Culture

    The Law of Evolution: Silencing Dissension by Redefining Science

    Clive Thompson contributed an article entitled A War of Words to the November 2007 issue of Wired Magazine. The tag line on the article was "Science will triumph only when theory becomes law". The gist of the article was that the theory of evolution has become so overwhelmingly confirmed by scientific evidence that it should now be referred to as the "law of evolution". This move, in his opinion, will finally suppress all the dissidents by placing them in a position where they will "sound insane" for questioning a proven scientific law. I take issue with Clive's proposal, and I could write a whole book about why. But for now I will try to give a quick overview and hit the high points.

  • December 19, 2007 in Web Design Culture

    When Good Clients Ask You to Do Bad Things | 4 Tips for Weathering the Storm

    Bad clients are easy to come by. Just lower your prices enough and you'll have a whole school of them swimming around waiting to bite the hook. Good clients, on the other hand, are much more elusive. They seem to materialize out of thin air--usually by some complicated word-of-mouth train. And once you catch one, they stick with you. They listen to what you say and they keep coming back for more. You may find one of these clients a year--maybe not even that often. After a few years of doing business, you find that that little collection of good clients is the fire behind your passion for web design. You want to do everything you can to keep them with you. That's where the problem occurs.

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