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Hicksdesign Go to the source

Since publishing a section from The Icon Handbook as part of 24 Ways last December ( Displaying Icons with Fonts and Data- Attributes ) I’ve been involved in a few discussions regarding its cons, some of which have since gained workarounds, and it felt a good time to do a follow up post. First of all, its worth mentioning the context of the article – it’s from Chapter 6, where all the various possible methods for deploying icons on the web are laid out. This includes creating icons with CSS , which isn’t something I’d recommend, but just may be a solution for someone out there and work well in a particular context. In the same vein, using fonts to display icons is just one of the options. Lets go over the 2 cons that keep coming up: Unicode Mapping Jon Tan states (rightly) that where matching unicode characters exist , the key should be mapped to that (such as the heart symbol for Favourites) and others that don’t to Private Use Areas where they have no associated meaning or content. This isn’t a problem with the technique as much as the current implementation of the fonts… Read the rest here

Hicksdesign Go to the source

‘The Bacon and Cheese Machine’ is a collaboration between Illustrative genius McBess and P-G Bikes for Dudes Factory I’m a sucker for art projects like this, and really fancy having a go myself! This video shows the intricate painting process unfold: … Read the rest here

Cameron Moll Go to the source

You’ve Already Seen This : Unless your entire social circle was under a rock yesterday, you’ve already seen Facebook Timeline. But what’s most interesting to me is seeing the influence of two notable designers, Tom Watson and Nicholas Felton, craft and shape this refined concept. Many designers likely had a hand in this, I recognize that. But consider Tom Watson’s Level & Tap , a site with a focus on impressive — and impressively large — images. … Read the rest here

Jason Santa Maria Go to the source

Stephen Doyle, that super smart guy that everyone loves, created some lovely tape illustration/lettering/installations for a New York Times Magazine story this weekend. Lots of people do these type illusions, but few do it this well. Check out the tape on the skeleton’s ribs! I want to be Stephen Doyle when I grow up. Also, don’t miss the behind the scenes video. … Read the rest here

Cameron Moll Go to the source

HTML Email Boilerplate : Tables for layout are lame, but they really are the only way to reliably craft HTML emails (currently). View source on the HTML email I sent recently and you’ll see markup similar to that of Sean Powell’s boilerplate. (I prefer only one td as a single wrapper rather than individual cells for the layout — div s can usually handle that just fine.) Update: Some of you have mentioned that the Authentic Jobs email I linked to doesn’t display nicely in Outlook 2007 or 2010 ( screenshot ). For the most part, I’m okay with those three items being stacked rather than in a row. However, if having your HTML email appear as similar as possible across all clients (which is still virtually impossible today), table cells are really the only way to go… Read the rest here

Hicksdesign Go to the source

I’d be the first to admit that the geekery of bike components appeals to me as much as the actual cycling. As the author Robert Penn says It’s all about the Bike . I’m currently fiddling away on a road bike project , using a 10 year old Peugeot picked up off ebay as the basis, and choosing replacement parts is great fun. My tastes started off retro, or ‘vintage’ as the cycling crowd would call it (retro to them means the ’80s), preferring steel, honey brown leather and highly polished metal. Recently though, I’ve been getting into the look of more contemporary parts just as much. … Read the rest here

Hicksdesign Go to the source

Is a Macbook Air up to the job of being a primary working machine? It has for me… Since 1995, I’ve always used a Mac laptop as my primary (and only) work machine. When at the office, I plug it into a large screen with keyboard and mouse, and then at home or travelling I’ve got absolutely everything I need with me. Having seen the new generation Macbook Air in the flesh/aluminium, and how small and light it is compared to my unibody MacBook Pro, I wondered if it could be the way forward. The fact that I now cycle to work gave me more impetus to get something that wouldn’t be so heavy on my back. … Read the rest here

Cameron Moll Go to the source

Moleskine PSD : Worth downloading (free) if merely to see how the image was created, layer by layer. Be warned, it’s a pretty complex, processor-intense piece. … Read the rest here

Cameron Moll Go to the source

Feltron 2010 Annual Report : Visually stunning, as always. Except this year’s is different: The 2010 Annual Report is an encapsulation of my father’s life, as communicated by the calendars, slides and other artifacts in my possession. The text is set in H&FJ’s Gotham and Tungsten . Update: Photo showing some of the source materials . … Read the rest here

Snook Go to the source

As web developers, we want a way to ask “can you do this?” And there are varying degrees to which we can determine this. One of those ways is to use user agent (UA) detection. We ask the browser some information about itself and it tells us. Based on what we know about a browser, we can make certain assumptions. If a browser tells you it is Internet Explorer, chances are you support the HTML, CSS and JavaScript that Internet Explorer supports. This detection could happen on the server-side or client-side… Read the rest here

Cameron Moll Go to the source

That was a nice 10-day break from blogging. I’m back after turning my attention to some projects that needed full-time attention. Accordingly, I’m growing convinced that, unless one works late nights and weekends like a Bay Area startup, it’s difficult for an independent team of two or three to move much faster than a corporate team of twenty. The team of twenty has quantity on its side — more hands and specialists to execute the work. With that, of course, comes all the red tape, political baggage, and countless meetings that accompany such teams and the organizations that employ them. … Read the rest here

Cameron Moll Go to the source

On Wearing the iPod Nano as a Watch : John Gruber, referring to an article by Nilay Patel : Relevant today because I just got my TikTok band for the Nano , as my reward for backing the wildly-successful Kickstarter project . The TikTok is everything I could have hoped for: the Nano fits perfectly and the wristband is supple and comfortable. But for the reasons outlined by Patel above, the current Nano just isn’t ideal for use as a full-time wristwatch. Not promising for me, as I believe my TikTok is sitting in my business UPS mailbox as I write this. The good news? … Read the rest here

Cameron Moll Go to the source

On Wearing the iPod Nano as a Watch : John Gruber, referring to an article by Nilay Patel : Relevant today because I just got my TikTok band for the Nano , as my reward for backing the wildly-successful Kickstarter project . The TikTok is everything I could have hoped for: the Nano fits perfectly and the wristband is supple and comfortable. But for the reasons outlined by Patel above, the current Nano just isn’t ideal for use as a full-time wristwatch. Not promising for me, as I believe my TikTok is sitting in my business UPS mailbox as I write this. The good news? I ordered the TikTok before shelling out cash for a Nano, which I still haven’t done… Read the rest here

Cameron Moll Go to the source

On Hiring Front-end Engineers : Speaking of freelance gigs and jobs, Chris Zacharias, former YouTube engineer (I believe), authors some thoughts on what to look for in front-end engineers. On scripting: Bad front-end engineers are dependent on jQuery and other libraries. Good front-end engineers make use of libraries like jQuery to empower themselves, but are not beholden to them. On art: Nearly every first rate web developer I have worked with had some kind of extracurricular, no matter how casual, that focused around some form of art. … Read the rest here

Cameron Moll Go to the source

On Hiring Front-end Engineers : Speaking of freelance gigs and jobs, Chris Zacharias, former YouTube engineer (I believe), authors some thoughts on what to look for in front-end engineers. On scripting: Bad front-end engineers are dependent on jQuery and other libraries. Good front-end engineers make use of libraries like jQuery to empower themselves, but are not beholden to them. On art: Nearly every first rate web developer I have worked with had some kind of extracurricular, no matter how casual, that focused around some form of art. … Read the rest here

Cameron Moll Go to the source

How Nike’s Visual Tricks Made Oregon Look Fast : Ah ha, so at least there was some strategic thinking behind Oregon’s brightly colored socks in last night’s game: ‘Oregon is one of the fastest teams in the nation, and we wanted them to look fast,’ Todd Van Horn, Nike’s top football uniform designer, tells us…. Visually, the colorway of the uniforms is meant to bring your eyes to the fastest moving parts of the player’s bodies — the hands, and in particular the shins, which move twice as fast as the thighs do while running. The bright yellow socks, which blended seamlessly into the cleats, drew attention to that fact. Despite the visual trickery, Oregon lost 19-22 to Auburn in an excellent match that was decided only in the final seconds. Congrats to both teams — and to all of college football — for an exciting 2010 season. (And say what you will about the socks, but I thought Oregon’s helmets looked fantastic.) … Read the rest here

Cameron Moll Go to the source

How Nike’s Visual Tricks Made Oregon Look Fast : Ah ha, so at least there was some strategic thinking behind Oregon’s brightly colored socks in last night’s game: ‘Oregon is one of the fastest teams in the nation, and we wanted them to look fast,’ Todd Van Horn, Nike’s top football uniform designer, tells us…. Visually, the colorway of the uniforms is meant to bring your eyes to the fastest moving parts of the player’s bodies — the hands, and in particular the shins, which move twice as fast as the thighs do while running. The bright yellow socks, which blended seamlessly into the cleats, drew attention to that fact. Despite the visual trickery, Oregon lost 19-22 to Auburn in an excellent match that was decided only in the final seconds. … Read the rest here

Clagnut Go to the source

I don’t know who’s more surprised, me or you, but here it is: episode 2 of the clagTunes podcast. Thanks to a Christmas present of a Snowball microphone there will be more episodes to come. Visit the clagTunes page for full subscription details, or click one of these links (thanks Huffduffer ): RSS Via iTunes The afore-mentioned microphone was thanks my bro who also records a podcast – an excellent half hour of music on behalf of his barista (how noomeeja is that?). Episode 2 And so to the details of Episode 2. Here’s the track listing: Am I Just a Man by Steve Mason from Boys Outside Qwerty Finger by Everything Everything from Man Alive 9/11 by Delta Spirit from History from Below On the Wheel by Curve from Blackerthreetracker Chase Scene by Broken Social Scene from Forgiveness Rock Record And here’s the download link: Episode 2 (34.1 Mb) Read or add comments … Read the rest here

Clagnut Go to the source

I don’t know who’s more surprised, me or you, but here it is: episode 2 of the clagTunes podcast. Thanks to a Christmas present of a Snowball microphone there will be more episodes to come. Visit the clagTunes page for full subscription details, or click one of these links (thanks Huffduffer ): RSS Via iTunes The afore-mentioned microphone was thanks my bro who also records a podcast – an excellent half hour of music on behalf of his barista (how noomeeja is that?). Episode 2 And so to the details of Episode 2. Here’s the track listing: Am I Just a Man by Steve Mason from Boys Outside Qwerty Finger by Everything Everything from Man Alive 9/11 by Delta Spirit from History from Below On the Wheel by Curve from Blackerthreetracker Chase Scene by Broken Social Scene from Forgiveness Rock Record And here’s the download link: Episode 2 (34.1 Mb) Read or add comments … Read the rest here

Cameron Moll Go to the source

NYT: The Words of the Year : I needn