Notebook Entries from July 2008
July 29, 2008
The Survey for People who Make Websites 2008 •
A List Apart is has sounded the call for participation in the 2008 census of The Survey for People Who Make Websites.
What started as a quest to quantify the working conditions of the online design industry resulted in the first complete glimpse into what it means to be a working Web professional. This year’s survey looks to ferret out answers to some of the leftover questions and grow the body of knowledge about the profession for people who make Web sites.
So if you’ve ever scrutinized the alignment of one stubborn pixel or nit-picked the semantics of a page’s HTML source, take five minutes and help define what it means to be a Web designer.
July 28, 2008
Metro Logos Around the World •
More than 150 metro logos from around the world.
July 16, 2008
Western Spaghetti •
Really cool stop-motion animation by PES (via 37signals). Incredible.
July 11, 2008
T-STEM Transition
Today marks my last day with the Texas Tech University T-STEM Center and the end to a rewarding part of my career.
Over the last few years, I’ve had the unique experience of helping to create and market a center that’s part of the largest K-12 education experiment in the nation. As part of the Texas High School Project, the T-STEM Center is doing important work to reform science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and help students and teachers adapt an aging education system to meet the needs of tomorrow’s technology-driven workforce.
In my time with the center, I’ve learned a tremendous amount about marketing nonprofit organizations, done some of the best work of my life and built more than a few rockets and robots in the process; it’s been a lot of fun.
The decision to leave the center was difficult. The T-STEM Center has an incredible amount of support going for it, and they have exciting things in the works for K-12 educators and students. But, I’ve always been drawn to new challenges, and with a new opportunity that matches up with my skills and interests, the timing is right.
Monday I start a new job with the Texas Tech University System, which supports three higher education institutions: Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Angelo State University. I’ll be working for the Office of Institutional Advancement, where I’ll be focusing on online and new media marketing and helping their marketing team tell a larger part of the Texas Tech story.
It’s been a great couple of years at Texas Tech, and I’m excited to see what happens in this next chapter.
July 8, 2008
Ira Glass on Storytelling •
Ira Glass:
Most everybody I know, who does interesting creative work, went through a phase of years where they had really good taste and they could tell that what they were making wasn’t as good as they wanted it to be…It’s totally normal.
An honest and reassuring look at the creative process from NPR’s Ira Glass.
On Content and Design •
Zeldman nails the relationship between content and design, in 14 words.