Strangers of Significance

These are people who don't know me, but have had significant influence in my life. Perhaps in seeing some of their work, you may also be inspired by these outstanding individuals.

The Influence of Space and Time

Michio Kaku is one of my first major influences, my physics rock star. He wrote Hyperspace, which explained theories of spacetime and multiple dimension theory in an understandable way. Though Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time was the gateway that nudged me to explore impossible things, Michio Kaku was the author of my confidence to explore complex matters normally reserved for geniuses. Though my perspective on these topics has changed greatly since this book, I would still highly recommend it to anyone who wants a stepping stone to exploring the possibilities of the world around us.

Nature's Creator

Andy Goldsworthy doesn't paint with acrylics or oils, he paints with leaves, icicles, twigs, mud, stones, holes, balance, and pressure. He paints with nature itself. Using only what he has around him, his work may only last a few hours, or mere minutes. Taken by tide, melted, windblown, eroded, the most lasting impression of his work may be a photograph, if he chooses to make one. Understanding that his works are made entirely with nature's materials makes it all the more impressive. Extremely simple, yet stunning; incredibly complex, yet temporary. What makes his work most striking is the clear organization amongst chaotic surroundings. Seeing how long they last is part of the experiment. The relationship of stability and permanence of his works is great fodder for meditation.

His creations show how simple reorganizations will give rise to objects of awe. It is of a genius easily passed by casual onlookers. The depth, intensity, and patience in his work is extraordinary.


I highly encourage you to check out a gallery of his work here to see what may strike you.

Rethink

Social commentary, irony, freedom, societal introspection. These are the topics and conveyances in much of Banksy's art. It lays bare the conflict between society, its citizens, and its keepers. The cracks in our structure that we'd be all too comfortable to ignore. These are made open to ponder, if we don't mind being uncomfortable for a few moments. Mostly, it should give cause to rethink. His methods influenced by Warhol and graffiti, his meanings influenced by internal compass. Banksy is the Batman of art. He is a street artist who kept a necessary secret identity, all the while posing as a playboy benefactor.


Check out a gallery of his work here to see if there's anything that doesn't strike you.

Where the Heck is Matt?

A regular guy with ideals and ideas. Matt Harding was tired of his routine as a video game engineer. He "didn't want to spend two years of my life writing a game about killing everyone," so he quit his job and began traveling. A friend asked him to dance a jig once while filming, and the dance went on to each place he visited. As you will see in the videos, it became much more than that.

Dance with it in full screen!

I may or may not tear up a wee bit watching this video. There are contrasts, and commonalities. It shows things that bring people together no matter what. Be it differences in culture, race, politics, religion, economic standing, education, there are things we appreciate across all of these. Joy, dances, smiles, laughter. These give us hope, and can bind us together in trying times.

What else can we learn from Matt? Well...maybe you only do one thing well. Maybe it seems insignificant like dancing, reading, cooking, charades, or blogging. Just keep doing it. Evolve it. Though you may never be world renowned, you may find a way to bring joy to someone, and with any luck, you could bring joy to many someones.

---

---

My inspirations are based on what I take from their efforts. Are you familiar with any of these strangers of significance? If so, what did you take from their work?

New Media Techniques

Web and mobile media aren't new, but its creators are still new in adjusting to the techniques that work well with it. New media benefits from the lessons of media that came before, yet not all of the old lessons apply in the same way.

The Fold

The fold is a concept that came from newspapers, and was applied to websites heavily when there used to be (briefly) a common monitor size. With mobile and HD aspect ratios, that concept is obliterated. People expect to scroll web pages, and "the fold" is no longer the barrier it was to your content. So make web pages that scroll vertically, but make it obvious that they do. Some designers will say the fold is an outdated concept, but this is not true. Many people will still be fooled by a web page that appears to contain all of its information in a neat manner above the fold. If you need proof, perform some user testing, or use Google Analytics, which provides information on what your viewers are seeing and clicking.

Horizontal Scrolling

Horizontal scrolling is still one of the web’s 7 deadly sins. Mobile, not so bad, it just has to be extremely evident that you can scroll horizontally. 'Nuff said.

White Space

This is in an age old battle between content delivery practitioners and layout designers. Most people will want to pack "everything important" above the fold. Good design with white space is best for getting your main message out. Use it to entice your audience to look into more details, or perform your content goals. Prioritized, arranged in a pleasing manner, and free of distraction, white space will make visitors pay attention to your message.

Wireframes

Wireframes are an indispensable part of efficiently creating well structured web and mobile media. One of my favorite tools for this is Balsamiq. It does a great favor to your layout designers by keeping the layout visibly unfinished, indicating a work in progress. However, Blasamiq has an option that allows you to clean up your layouts by turning all of those drawn lines into straight lines. Instant polish for those times when you need it. The interface is very easy to use, and very capable of filling most of your web and mobile needs.

Mock-ups

Simply coloring in the wireframe boxes, slapping in some icons, and calling it a day is a mistake. As a layout designer, you may think your job has been done for you when delivered a wireframe, or after creating one yourself. Your true task is to now go beyond the wireframe. Think beyond the boxes, while living within the guidelines. Add some real design to the product. This is your time to shine, discover what you can add to the process, add some life and appeal.

Prototype

A favorite tool of mine for prototyping is Justinmind. It allows functional mobile and web wireframes in higher polish without being too complex, and without letting design details get in the way. Justinmind is a great way to test out your UX flow with both your team and outside testers. I recommend creating in this stage without adding color or full design details. That’s a process that can be done concurrently in the Mock-up process.

Warning 1: You could create your wireframes in Justinmind to shorten the entire process from wireframe to prototype. However, the UI of Justinmind is not intuitive at times, and sometimes performs opposite your expectations. Since a lot of iteration can occur during the wireframe phase, I still recommend Balsamiq, due to ease of use.

Warning 2: Prototypes are best when "thrown away" after approval. Creating a prototype in your final language (HTML, C++, JavaScript, Java, etc.) is the best way to ensure that bad code gets introduced into your final product before it’s even started. Often prototypes are rushed and not a lot of forethought goes into the code that creates them (as it shouldn't). Justinmind removes the risk of bad code becoming the groundwork for your project.

Justify and break the rules

Some of these concepts are abstract to describe, even if we know and live them by heart. In the field, we often have to justify our decisions. Weenudge is an interesting site to help you formulate your reasoning for your design decisions. Experience will show us that every rule has a time to be broken, but we must know those rules first, and then break them responsibly.

---

---

Do you know of any other great tools for these purposes? Are there other rules in new media that people are abusing or not using? Let me know in the comments!