More on CodeIgniter
Over at EE Insider, I’ve written another article about CodeIgniter, a lightweight PHP framework. While my previous article there was a synopsis of CodeIgniter’s philosophy, this one is the first in a series about building a tumblelog with CodeIgniter (very similar to Jeff Croft’s excellent website). The series will be four parts and appearing every week so please check it out and I welcome your thoughts at EE Insider or over twitter (@kennymeyers). Thanks again to Ryan Irelan for his aid in editing and publishing the article.
Blue Flavor in .net
Both Jeff and I had the honor to do some writing for .net Magazine recently and our work is out (in his case) and almost out (in mine) over in the UK. The US versions will follow shortly.
Jeff’s piece (found in issue 189) is about creating a custom CMS with Django. It’s an interesting tutorial that covers well the basics and gives a pretty good perspective on development with Django, which really is a nice framework for publishing content and perfect if you need a custom CMS solution.
My article is a feature (in Issue 190) about project management. I go over the essentials, talk about some do’s and don’ts, offer up a load of advice and explain why I feel that while project managment is essential to running smooth projects, it’s not something you need to over do.
Also, just a plug for .net. I’ve been picking up the American version, Practical Web Design, for about a year now and it’s a really good read. The content is well-written, interesting and relevant. They’re doing a great job and if you’ve not checked them out, you should.
Let Mark Bittman Teach You Business
By now, we’re probably all in love with minimalist celebrity chef and food writer Mark Bittman. We love his blog over at the NYT, we love his accessible cookbooks, and we especially love the common-sense, approachable, enviro-conscious philosophy that drives his work.
I think people in business—and especially people running their own businesses—could learn a ton from Bittman’s style.
Jeff Croft Interviewed at Mirificam Press
Check out this interview between Blue Flavor’s Jeff Croft and Matthew Griffin of Mirificam Press, where Jeff waxes poetic about his philosophy in life, the purpose of design, and the nature of truth. That’s right. Prepare to be enlightened.
Nick to Speak at PS-SIGCHI
On May 28th, Nick will be speaking at SIGCHI. In his talk, he’ll dive deep into the Life Cycle of a Wireframe: from methodology, to process, to delivery.
If you’re an information architect, interaction designer, visual designer, or regular old user experience-curious creature, you’ll like this one.
In case you’re interested, here are the details:
When: May 28, 2009, 06:00 PM - 08:30 PM
Where: The Boardroom in the One Union Square Building, 600 University Street, Seattle
What: Networking and food between 6p-7p. Nick’s presentation will start at 7p.
Hope you can make it!
Don't Lose That Creative Thinking
This one is for all the designers out there.
(For the purpose of this article I’m defining “designers” as information architects, interface designers, visual designers, web designers, software designers, user experience professionals, etc. If you don’t see your job title in there and you’re involved with design at all I’m still likely talking about you.)
So, designers… Have you fallen into a rut? I think you might have.
The "How Are You Different" Question
Over at BF, we’re doing some preliminary work for our new website, which has got us all thinking about story telling, explaining who we are, and providing compelling reasons to go with us, versus the competition. It’s got us asking: How, exactly, are we different?
A few answers to that question come to mind:
Excitement and the Design Process
Lately I’ve been PM’ing a lot more, and therefore thinking a lot about what makes the big web projects we do go smoothly. As you might expect, smooth projects typically involve realistic expectations that both the client and agency understand. They also tend involve empowered, communicative project managers on both ends. And they tend to be scoped very well, with enough time and money budgeted to do the job right.
Saying Farewell to Tom Watson
I can’t convey in words the true pleasure it’s been working with Tom and watching him grow over the last few years. When we brought him on it was to be a front-end developer; something he’s perfectly capable of doing, but no where near his true calling. In fact, I recall fondly (ok… maybe not ALL fondly) as Tom struggled a bit at first, never really realizing that it was just because his true talents lay elsewhere. I’m very glad he stuck with it and we were able to work out a good place for him. Over the months and years Tom helped out with just about every aspect of our business, eventually growing into the multi-talented interaction designer he is today.
He brought a rare blend of technical savvy, design sensibility, organizational skills and hard work to the table every day and he’ll be hard to replace. He’s certainly going be missed! (Well, except for by Jeff who can now rule the roost at Ping Pong!)
I know I speak for the whole Blue Flavor family when I say we wish him nothing but the best and expect to hear great things from his time down at Facebook.
May Refresh: Jared Spool on Intuitive Design
Get pumped: Jared Spool, master of magic and User Engineering, will speak at Refresh Seattle on Sunday, May 3rd, about what makes a design seem intuitive. We’ll all head over to the Red Door for no-host drinks and great convo afterwards. Here are some specs for you:
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