Parker Ehret

one of the best videos that I’ve ever watched on design...

Sun, 20 May 2012 14:50:00 -0700

one of the best videos that I’ve ever watched on design thinking and user experience.

choice

Thu, 03 May 2012 16:39:20 -0700

today, I realized why there’s drastically less traffic in Seattle (where I currently am), than there is in LA (where I currently live).

choice.

every street is one way and there’s no left turns anywhere. drivers aren’t given choices. they have to go in the direction that the city deemed the most efficient routes. by stripping away choice, you create more efficiency.

there’s a design lesson here.

this is great. really really great.

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:17:00 -0700

this is great. really really great.

my two favorite things: data and coffee (at Balconi Coffee...

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 09:23:00 -0800

my two favorite things: data and coffee (at Balconi Coffee Company) — https://path.com/p/2or94A

new design

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 09:48:21 -0800

i redesigned my blog.

why?

i believe in building for mobile first. the new design was almost entirely built with the iPad in mind. tumblr has a default mobile theme, so i didn’t really have to design for mobile or worry about it being responsive. i wanted it to be content-driven. i wanted it to be extremely readable. i wanted the reader to know, without a doubt, what were links and what were not links - something that i think is wildly important as we move towards having more and more touch screen environments. i wanted it simple, clean, and fun. i believe in constantly reinventing.

one of the most amazing, insightful, and inspirational videos...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:11:00 -0800

one of the most amazing, insightful, and inspirational videos that i’ve ever watched. thanks to chase reeves for sharing.

curiositycounts: “We Are Music” – breathtaking spot for the...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:50:00 -0800

curiositycounts:

“We Are Music” – breathtaking spot for the 54th Grammys from Bon Iver.

this is what advertising should look like.

good: Is Sweden’s Classroom-Free School the Future of...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:14:22 -0800

good:

Is Sweden’s Classroom-Free School the Future of Learning?

Sweden’s Vittra Telefonplan says goodbye to the “conventional classroom” and focuses on creative design. This means in place of desks, there are “sitting islands,” and students can collaborate with peers in “the village”—a tiny house for group work.

Check it out on GOOD→

…we obviously need to rethink eduction. this is a great place to start.

fun fact: netflix

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:07:00 -0800

about once a week, i pick up my ipad, open the netflix app, and start browsing. nearly 20 minutes later, i’ll have 3-5 new movies or tv shows that have been added to my instant queue. then, i put my ipad down. i now have over 100 movies and tv shows in my instant queue. i haven’t actually watched a movie on netflix in months.

simplified: product. ux. ui. server. datacenter.

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 11:31:00 -0800

the spectrum of user experience

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 11:09:22 -0800

the spectrum of user experience

jawbone UP

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:06:00 -0800

if you’re already aware of the amount of sleep you get, what your exercise habits are, and the meals that you eat, the jawbone UP may be an unnecessary purchase.

the one thing it does well is make you aware. however, it’s a pain in the ass to constantly keep it current.

you can’t add past meals. so, if you don’t log your meal at the moment you start eating, it doesn’t get tracked.

also, you can’t add past sleep. so, if you don’t put it into sleep mode, it doesn’t track your night’s sleep. i will say, that on the nights that i put it into sleep mode, it did a great job of recognizing my sleep cycle and woke me up during a period of light sleep, just as advertised.

but, right now, i don’t see how it provides any long-term value. it doesn’t make recommendations. it only makes you aware.

you can add friends and create a “team”, which allows you to track all your habits, and compare them to your friends. i feel like jawbone tried to put a gamification layer on top of your daily health habits in an effort to make you compete to be healthier.

eventually, people will get tired of games and need something useful and helpful. however, i’m unsure of jawbone’s long-term plan as to what they’re gonna do with all the data they’ve collected from each user.

i would love to be notified, and given personalized recommendations, of ways that i can be a better person, or feel healthier, based on my past habits. i would love if the jawbone UP found holes in my schedule and told me the best times to schedule a workout. i would love if i got a push notification saying that i’ve average 6 hours of sleep for the past 5 nights and should make a plan to get a full night of sleep soon. i would love if it told me when i might be prone to having an unhealthy snack and that i should opt for baby carrots instead of a cookie.

until jawbone figures out how i can input data easier, and how all of that data can be useful on a long-term basis, it’s more of a hassle than helpful.

just when I thought microsoft couldn’t possibly be any...

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:20:00 -0700

just when I thought microsoft couldn’t possibly be any dumber, it goes and does something like this… and totally redeems itself!

knowledge is power

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 22:07:33 -0700

knowledge is power…

…that’s the problem that I have with major social networking sites.

when you confirm a request on a social networking site, you’re authorizing the knowledge of your life. your past interactions, moments, and photos, all become public knowledge. people can go through your conversations, and sift through past documented relationships.

the issue that I have is who people become when they are on these sites, and the problems that follow. when you hand over this power, a person is given two options… respect it, or abuse it. even if someone takes advantage of this given power, they should respect the fact that it was willfully given. unfortunately, I’ve found that most people abuse this power. drama ensues.

incredibly fantastic.

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:20:00 -0700

incredibly fantastic.

Video

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 12:34:08 -0700

“northern love” oh, my northern love the days are...

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 19:00:47 -0700

“northern love”

oh, my northern love

the days are long without you
time moves by so slow
i don’t know what i’d do
if you were with me, wherever i would go

oh, my northern love

no matter what i say
i can’t get you to leave
i just want you closer
want to wake up with you next to me

oh, my northern love

"Rather than beautifying one’s own creation, make better the environment that surrounds it."

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:16:38 -0700

“Rather than beautifying one’s own creation, make better the environment that surrounds it.”

- Yugo Nakamura

all this content

Sat, 07 May 2011 21:00:34 -0700

what happens with all this content? what happens with all the stuff i’ve “liked” and bookmarked? most importantly, where will it all end up?

i currently have a twitter for little thoughts, tumblr for big thoughts, flickr for film photos, instagram for mobile photos, i use gowalla as my social passport, i have vimeo for big videos, and now viddy for mobile videos.

that’s 7 sites that i add content to. 7 places that i bookmark content, and 7 places where i “like” things.

i consider myself a minimalist, yet have now become an online pack rat. different accounts filled with years of uploads, and hearts, and thumbs up, and stars.

but why?

what am i ultimately gonna do with all of that content?

what am i gonna do with the 200 photos that i like on flickr? …or the 300 blog posts on tumblr, and dozens of photos on instagram, that i’ve hit the heart button on?

something needs to happen with this content.

i didn’t “like” things because i wanted to make someone else feel good, i did it because at that moment i sincerely felt attached to that piece of content.

somewhere, on each site, it’s all been archived.

something should be done with all that content, but i really have no idea what to do with it.

i would love hear people’s thoughts and ideas on this matter.

Photo

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:56:47 -0700