Aesthetically speaking…

I just came across this collection of fantastically clever advertisements from around the globe. Take note that most of them are aimed at foreign demographics, likely due to the fact that too many of us in the States might be offended by some of the visuals. It’s sad, really, to think that such a progressive nation as the good ‘ol U.S.A. is still so sheltered from edgy concept art and marketing metaphors.

Or is it something else? It irks me to think we’ve become a culture that’s just not clever enough to “get” these ads and barely have the wit to react to dumbed-down, kid-friendly versions. *sigh*

Nonetheless, hope you enjoy.

Popularity: 16% [?]

One of the best books I read in 2009 was Miggy’s copy (presumably from his MIT days) of Edward R. Tufte’s Envisioning Information. The book is a plethora of infographics — both gorgeous and terrible — spanning the history of modern man. In as little as the 2 months I’ve spent with this treasure, I learned many of the principles that have helped me understand what makes a great representation of data shine and how to avoid the pitfalls of those that leave users confused or misinformed.

So today, when Awesome Jon told me about this one day course with Edward Tufte, I couldn’t help but start planning my trip to the Big Apple for a day of cartography, statistics, art, complexity, symbolism and cognitive science explained by a master Information Designer.

New York, here I come.

Popularity: 21% [?]

This little piece of awesomeness by Ramon Cortez has been shooting up the CSS charts since he published it earlier this week and it has inspired me to get my preech on.

Passion projects such as this (and the paper bird that proceeded it) is what drives front end designers and developers to invent new forms of web interaction. Many of us with day jobs and families don’t often find the time to experiment with CSS or other DOM scripting but I believe it’s uber important that we strive to make that time. Google’s “20-percent time” for their engineers has proven effective — leading the way for big ideas like Orkut and AdSense to come to life — but why are we so reliant on our companies to set up these types of policies? It’s easier, by far, to make this a lifestyle change on our end while at home.

So, I’ve officially committed my Saturday mornings to doing just that. 2 hours of uninterrupted time on whatever shiny new project UI/UX and design related ideas that come to mind. This Saturday: jQuery to make Ramon Cortez’s CSS Coke can 1) zoom into view,  2) auto-scroll and 3) consider similar applications. Next week: Cinema 4D text experiments. Proper.

Here’s another goodie from Ramon Cortez: Pac-Man CSS!. It’s not 100% in terms of the original game play, but it further illustrates the potential of tapping JS to turn CSS powered designs into engaging pieces of multimedia gold.

Popularity: 29% [?]

Miggy recently introduced Jennifer and I to the delightfully elegant Phở on 6th (just west of Marion). Since last Friday, we’ve eaten there three times and on all occasions were treated to mouth watering beef broth (no veggie broth option here) with perfectly cooked noodles and an array of quality meat selections. The grilled chicken is a piquant change from the boiled chicken options at most Phở sit downs and the dim sum offerings are stellar — with the steamed pork bun cooked to salty, chewy perfection.

The weekend offers patrons a hip hangout for drinks and snacks before hitting the town and I couldn’t have been more impressed with the modern, dim lighted decor. Simple, elegant and comfortable.

On the downside, the wait staff seems to be a little laggy in checking up on larger parties and the curry dishes are not their strong suit. Stick to the Phở, don’t be shy about flagging down the friendly waitstaff and enjoy.

Phở 79 on Havana and Mississippi has been my go-to joint for the past 4 years or so but, as you might have guessed, Phở on 6th is new fav. I literally can’t wait to go back there.

Popularity: 17% [?]

One thing I love more than a good beer is a well designed beer website. Yeah, I said it — a website can be better than a beer.

Case in point: Jennings Brewery’s website out of the UK. Slick, transparent PNGs over a massive JPG depicting a refreshing, picturesque mountain setting. Makes me thirsty just looking at it.

Here’s some more CSS powered beer goodness:
beerenberg.com.au (Austrailia)
flyingdogales.com (Denver, USA)
johnboston.com.au (Australia)
odellbrewing.com (Ft. Collins, USA)

It’s safe to assume that Aussies and Coloradans have a large concentration of beer loving front end designers. Cheers to them.

Popularity: 27% [?]

2009 showed us the potential and promise of HTML5 and it seems 2010 has already started delivering in a big way — starting wth YouTube. Last week, YouTube announced that users will be able to watch some of the site’s videos without a Flash plugin using the video and audio playback support included with HTML5.

Want to check it out for yourself? You can do so via YouTube’s TestTube site. To get the new player to work be sure to use Chrome, Safari, or ChromeFrame on IE. I should note that this functionality has not been rolled out all of YouTube’s videos. It seems you can only watch videos that aren’t being monetized and haven’t been annotated. Nonetheless, I’m excited to see a “mainstream” media outlet take such a big step towards moving HTML5 into the lime light.

After testing it myself I did experience one bug using Chrome for the Mac (clicking full screen crashed my browser) but the only way I could truly tell it wasn’t a Flash player was by right-clicking and not getting the “about Flash…” dialogue.

All of this got me wondering: Is Adobe freaking out by the idea of media sites no longer relying on the Flash plugin to deliver content? Are they already planning for any kind of revenue loss from multimedia developers shifting focus to doing what they do using HTML5? Probably not, but 2010 should offer many insights into what kind of impact HTML5 will have on content delivery in the long run.

Popularity: 17% [?]

I often find inspiration in the sometimes minimalist, sometimes colorfully-bubbly and always cutting edge style found in UI designs from our Asian counterparts. In fact, some of my favorite work comes from the Eico Design firm out of Beijing which consistently impresses me with their inviting, intuitive and downright slick user interfaces.

Click here for even more beautiful examples from the Pacific rim via Woorkup.com. Domo origato, dudes.

Popularity: 40% [?]

These cupcakes simply blew me away. And I’m proud to report that I was able to name 92 of the 100 game titles they represent. Click the image to the right for a detailed view.

My favorite, you ask? Definitely the Battleship design on the top-right group, although Laura Croft’s bust on the bottom-left drew the eye. The attention to detail and creativity is simply remarkable on all of them.

Try to name all the game titles yourself then check out the original Flickr post from Z Andrei to see the answers. If you’ll excuse me, I’m off to find a cupcake and someone who will accept my Hungry Hungry Hippo ghallenge.

Popularity: 48% [?]

Alkaline Trio is best described by some of their own lyrics — a band who has stolen all of my best lines. I first saw these Chicago emo-punk rockers with JC (not Jesus Christ, although he may have been there) at the Fillmore in Denver back around 2002 and have ventured as far out as Los Angeles and San Francisco to see them at their best. Their sound is dark, doom-pop and potent in its simplicity, their lyrics clever and elegantly damning and their live shows have never let me down.

So this Friday, tickets go on sale for their February 25th show at the Gothic via LiveNation.com and I’m stoked. They’ll be joined by the Omaha, Nebraska-based indie-rock band Cursive who’s also delivered plenty of crazed and inspired tracks since 1995.

Please enjoy some of my favorite tracks and hope to see you at the show!

Alkaline Trio: Clavicle (MP3)  |  Cooking Wine (MP3)  |  Calling All Skeletons (MP3)

Cursive: From The Hips (MP3)  |  The Recluse (MP3)  |  The Casualty (MP3)

Popularity: 39% [?]

I spend a lot of time thinking about CTAs (or call to actions) over the course of an average work week. My team puts together advertising units, widgets and mini-site mock ups almost daily for big name brands and it’s important to create CTAs that are clear, eye catching and effective in converting to clicks. Some of the things we pay attention to mirror the tips mentioned here but there are a few more things to keep in mind that can help ensure you’re designing an effective CTA:

1) Size matters – make sure the CTA is big but not obnoxious. I’ve seen designs that go so big that the CTA ends up resembling an ad unit rendering it invisible to less savvy users. Find a good balance between your buttons and the surrounding elements but always strive to make it stand out, without scaring the user way.

2) Shape it up – Making your CTA look like a nice, inviting, rounded corner button makes sense about 90% of the time, but if you’re designing within an existing site or ad unit be mindful of the existing style. Sometimes, a link may be your best bet rather than using something resembling a button or badge. Whatever you end up doing, remember to use high contrasting colors to draw the eye and mouse.

3) Stick it where it counts – Positioning the CTA is probably the most important thing to consider. Remember that a user’s eye will generally track from left to right, top to bottom so the top-right portion of whatever you’re designing will be your hot spot. It often seems natural to place the CTA at the right/bottom-right of your design, but we’ve found that even with something like a 728×90 ad unit the CTA on the far left will perform more effectively. This is an excellent example of good positioning. Learn it.

Popularity: 41% [?]