March 30th, 2008 — Design
Animal House - Clever Product and Packaging Design
Originally uploaded by JHawbaker1800
Having helped launch a telephone whose industrial design was inspired by an ice cream scoop, I knew I had to write about this clever ice cream spade I recently saw in Target.
I love the concept of the Animal House product line, which takes ordinary kitchen gadgets and gives them a sense of fun through the animal-inspired forms. The packaging takes the concept one step further by placing the shapes in context — take a look at the ocean/iceberg illustration behind the “tail.” Clever, fun and definitely memorable.
For a near-daily dose of packaging design reviews, be sure to visit The Dieline, which has become one of my favorite blogs.
March 27th, 2008 — Music, Photos, iPhone
Rascal Flatts on a Milk Carton
Originally uploaded by JHawbaker1800
Rascal Flatts on a milk carton? If only.
And they could take the rest of CMT with them. Well, Carrie Underwood can probably stay.
March 27th, 2008 — Photos, iPhone
March 25th, 2008 — Blogs
I’m a little late to the party on this one, but Stuff White People Like is absolutely hilarious. It’s basically a send-up of pretentious intellectual/cultural elitists, and it’s funny because it’s true. According to NPR (ironically enough, #44 on the list of things white people like), Stuff White People Like has caused a bit of controversy. But in an LA Times article about the blog, author Christian Lander had this to say:
“I’m writing about the white people who think they’re absolutely unique and individual,” Lander told me. “I’m calling them out and poking fun of myself. The things I post are all the things I like too!”
The full list of Stuff White People Like is up to 91 entries, and I’m guilty of a whopping 64! Here are a few of my particular favorites:
March 23rd, 2008 — Life
Fun and Educational
Originally uploaded by JHawbaker1800
Bailey has been spending a lot of time at www.starfall.com
March 21st, 2008 — Life
Do you remember the scene in Spider-Man 2, the morning after Peter Parker decides he is Spider-Man no more? He’s strolling through the city, a bit clumsy but nevertheless quite pleased with himself…
That’s me, walking to the office on the days I manage to hit the gym.
March 19th, 2008 — Design, Internet
I just eFiled our family’s federal income tax return this week using TurboTax online. (Confidential to Ella: Thanks for the additional tax credit!) This was probably my fourth year using TurboTax and I was struck by the fact that it has gotten consistently better every year.
I wish I’d thought to take some screen captures along the way to demonstrate a few particular things I liked about it, but I honestly wasn’t expected to be quite this impressed. Intuit is doing a really nice job with usability; Specifically: setting and meeting expectations, guiding users through a lengthy process, writing copy that is clear and concise without being condescending). I remember hearing Avinash Kaushik speak about their impressive analytics and testing programs a couple years back at a Frost & Sullivan conference. He may have moved on, but it seems Intuit’s sharp customer focus is firmly intact.
Another nice feature they’ve added is a community questions and answers section that ties in to whatever section you’re currently working on. I thought that was a perfect example of taking a “Web 2.0″ concept and making it relevant and useful, and it seems to be fairly popular, based on the number of questions and answers available throughout.
Full disclosure: Wait a sec… This is an honest-to-goodness unsolicited rave review. Seriously, if you haven’t done your taxes yet (Hello, procrastinators!), check out TurboTax.
March 19th, 2008 — Internet, Sports, Twitter
Despite a bit of sluggish play in the ACC Tournament, this is North Carolina’s year and I really believe Roy Williams is bringing home the second championship since his return to UNC. Go Tar Heels!
Are you bracketized? I’m taking part in the CBSSports.com/Facebook challenge and the Twitter Tournament 2008.
March 18th, 2008 — Life, Photos, iPhone
Urban Night Bicycling ™
Originally uploaded by JHawbaker1800
Last night I celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a nocturnal bike ride, touring St. Elmo, downtown and the North Shore. Our official pit stops included Big River, The Local and some lady’s front yard near the finish line.
That’s the world-renowned Josh Green posing triumphantly for the camera.
March 12th, 2008 — Internet, iPhone
I’ve become a big fan of mobile web browsing over the last few months. Having the “whole internet on your (i)phone” is great, but I’ve also come to appreciate a well-made mobile site. The best example I’ve seen yet is Facebook (or Ta-Da List, if I actually used it). It loses the annoying third-party apps in favor of the essentials, and it’s quick and easy to use.
So it was with a good bit of anticipation that I tried the new mobile beta version of LinkedIn. It, too, is optimized for iPhone and has a nice look, but it is ultimately unsatisfying.
I specifically like their choice of using the Updates tab as the home screen. That’s the first place I look whenever I visit LinkedIn, and I’m guessing that’s pretty common. I’d love to know if they used web analytics or even eye-tracking to make this decision, or if this was simply based on their gut feelings. Browsing through your contacts is simple and the sidebar alphabet listing is a nice touch, since it ties into an existing iPhone convention.
Unfortunately, this is where things start to go downhill. One disappointing omission is the ability to send messages to your contacts or to view your inbox. If I get an email invitation to connect, I’d love to be able to log in on the mobile site and confirm the request.
That’s not what bothered me most about the new mobile site, though. I fully expected that when viewing one of my own contacts, I’d be able to then see their list of contacts (aka “my network”) and maybe even have the option to get introduced or send them a message. When you’re building your brand around your ability to connect people, leaving that functionality out of your site — even your mobile site — is not a good idea.
I really believe this can be a great mobile site if they take another look at what the priorites of their users are. But for now, I’ll be sticking to the standard version of LinkedIn.
