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We have more technology and knowledge at our fingertips now than in all of history. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the technology that we lose sight of what we can really do with it.

The world is full of complexity and challenges, and with the tools available we can be solving more pressing problems than how to integrate our social media accounts. We may not be able to solve everything, but we can make things that benefit the communities that we live in. We have a wealth of opportunity right now to make things of real worth, let’s try to do that.

Posted on April 1 2012

Rob Girling published a very insightful article for Fast Co Design yesterday, arguing how our increased ability to encourage people to make better choices should be viewed as a social responsibility.

It stems from a fact that designers have long known in theory but are only just beginning to see the full and subtle implications of. It’s that people don’t make rational choices based solely on the information to hand, no matter how convincing. Subtle emotional or psychological cues can often determine someone’s decision, regardless of the data.

“Designers are beginning to understand how irrational thinking plays into the decisions people make. That knowledge can be used to openly influence consumers to make responsible choices.”

What’s really refreshing is that Rob Girling is talking about using the psychology of design to do something good. Something I have noticed is that the people with selfish and often damaging interests are more adept at the more subtle points of persuasion (because they have to be to get what they want). I agree with Rob. If people want to contribute to positive change they not only need to state the facts, they need to consider irrational thinking too. And if there’s anyone that should be able to do that, it’s designers. We are human beings after all.

Read the mentioned article at Fast Co Design here

Posted on March 2 2012

If you are a web startup with a great idea, please read this, it might make the internet a less angry place

It really amazes me what some people think could be a good idea. I opened my twitter feed this morning to find many of the biggest names in web design in a state of shock. The responses ranged from bemusement to fury to a new site called “allthis” where you can buy 10 minutes of anyone’s time. The concept seems pretty interesting when you first hear it, Mashable would tend to agree. That’s until you find out one thing.

Allthis are selling people’s time without their consent.

Continue reading ›

Posted on December 19 2011

I recently came across a pretty mind boggling infographic, created by the talented Brooklyn based illustrator Jennifer Daniels (check out her site for the best web address ever) for Bloomberg Businessweek. It breaks down the statistics of pharma spam to reveal a multi million dollar industry with all the infrastructure of a legitimate business.

What really amazed me was the funnel that guides revenue from 365,000,000 spam email links goes to just 45 merchants. This graphic is a fascinating and slightly spine chilling look at how a few racketeers can make millions off of people’s gullibility. This is despite the fact that only a fraction of a fraction of a percent of their emails get acted on.

After a minute I started thinking about what a sad state of affairs it is when Americans can’t afford healthcare so they will resort to the black market with no guarantee of what they are paying for. And then I looked at the breakdown of what most of them are buying. Oh, right.

Spam, and pharma spam in particular, is influenced by a startling number of factors and I think the design of this infographic helps not only convey the scale of the issue but offers some surprising insights that might help us get a little less of this flooding our inboxes.

Take a look at the full graphic on flickr.

Posted on December 18 2011

Google+ was recently released into public beta and has been rapidly gaining popularity over the past month. Here are my experiences on the new social network from the people that define a lot of what we know as the internet. Continue reading ›

Posted on August 9 2011

Probably one of the most fun parts of re-branding your company, after you’ve gotten past the hard part of actually coming up with the ideas, is getting some lovely new business cards.

These cards were sourced and printed by the fine folks at Spitting Images, a print company based in Bobcaygeon, Ontario. They offer a wide range of print services including digital, large format and canvas printing, all with a sharp eye for craftsmanship. The cards are offset printed two colour on sturdy off white stock with a red edge paint.

Posted on August 2 2011· Tagged: Business cards, Print

It’s been two months since I relaunched this studio as Bitfoundry, and they have been a very busy couple of months.

The site has been featured in many web design sites and blogs including The Best Designs, Adbuzeedo, Web Design Ledger, Line25, CSSMania and more. I’ve met lots of new people on Dribbble and Twitter, and have gotten lots of new projects cooking with people either as clients or collaborators. I’ve been so busy doing things that I haven’t really had the time to talk about doing them!

Thanks to everyone that stopped by the site, picked up the phone, said hi on Twitter or gave feedback on Dribbble. Also thanks to Mark Ridout, who put his formidable photography skills to the test by trying to take a shot of me not blinking, and to Garnet Brydon for some great advice and feedback about many things indeed.

There are lots more exciting things to come this year, I’m looking forward to sharing them!

Posted on August 2 2011

There is a vast choice of web design and development sites out there and they are certainly not all created equal. While some sites post cutting edge ideas and helpful tutorials, others can be vague and badly explained, or worse still, full of mistakes. I have had a few questions about good design and development resources lately, so in this post I want to share with you what I think are the very best online design & development resources.

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Posted on October 31 2010

Ever since people have worked on the web, there has been a constant squabble between various breeds of designers and developers, each saying that another’s work encroaches on theirs and damages its effectiveness. There are many versions of this debate, especially due to the wide variety of roles in this field. Marketing, design, coding, SEO, they all clash at some point and its always the same argument. It goes something like this (delete as appropriate):

“Well you see, we can’t {SEO technique/design element/development practice} because that will mess up the {SEO technique/design element/development practice}”

Continue reading ›

Posted on August 10 2010

Whether you are a web developer looking for the best all round platform to work on, a blogger who needs something powerful yet easy to maintain, or you want a website to promote your company, I’m totally confident in saying that WordPress is the way to go.  I use it for every client project I can because of the simple fact that it makes both my life and the clients much happier.

Here’s why.
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Posted on August 1 2010

You’d think that web designers would have a dedicated toolkit that is specifically designed to help them do their work, but this is actually not the case.  As web design has grown as a profession, designers and front end developers have had to make do with a set of applications intended for print media and photo manipulation and bend them to our rather specific needs.  Continue reading ›

Posted on July 26 2010

Over the past 6 years, the use of the internet as a social tool has exploded. The opportunities for businesses to meaningfully connect with a wide audience are constantly expanding in exciting ways. However, in order to make the most of this opportunity, small businesses need to understand that the internet, and social media in particular, requires it’s own distinct approach to promotion.  This article hopes to serve as a primer covering the basics of successfully marketing your business online.

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Posted on June 27 2010