I often take screenshots (both web and mobile) of interesting, unique, and captivating interfaces and then upload them to Evernote. They are used as inspiration, and often help in everyday decision making when building interfaces and experiences.

I thought that showcasing 5 recent ‘screen favorites’ from my Evernote and why I like each of them can help others when they are searching for ideas and inspiration. If there is a theme to these it is ‘simplicity and function.’

Without further ado…

MixCloud Player

Why I like it: This player is simple, not cluttered, and shows the artist and track playing during a mix. Perfect for if you want to click to purchase a track you’re into.

This is Service Design Thinking

Why I like it: While the visual design of This is Service Design Thinking could use some sprucing up, the concept is strong. Segmenting an …

There are more and more articles online about ‘Lean UX’ (I’ve also seen Meetups focusing on the topic, as well as numerous conversations amongst colleagues). Is it as simple as working in shorter iterations rather than longer deliverable releases? Does it mean you show deliverables to the client and team(s) more often? Less annotations? First, let’s try to determine a baseline definition of what constitutes Lean UX and move forward from there.

Jeff Gothelf of The Ladders has recorded a Webcast regarding how he uses Lean UX (I recommend you check it out!). Others, including Jared Spool, have questioned whether it is worth giving any attention.

To me, Lean UX is about questioning the nature of deliverables and not working ‘in silo’ in Agile Development settings.
There are three parts to this.

1. Questioning the nature of deliverables: It doesn’t mean that there are …

When I started making music in Logic, learning about the Arpeggiator was light a lightbulb going off – so many creative possibilities opened up. The tutorial video below shows how you can spice up a Dubstep track with use of the Arpeggiator.

Here are the source files used to make this tutorial: Logic Pro Files

Other great tutorials on how to harness the power of the Arpeggiator:

Setup an Arpeggiator within Logic Pro
Creating Arpeggiated Patterns in Logic

I decided to re-design Google Calendar for fun, and attempt to create 10 new improvements in a design exercise. Their current calendar leaves a lot to be desired. I use it for almost every single event I attend, so it’s pain points really resonate with me.

The picture above is a my proposed revision. Below is a snapshot of my current Google calendar.

The top 10 things I would change in it are:

1. Integration of Google Places reviews and stars.
Nowhere is it so bewildering that reviews for locations are left out than Google Calendar. Google highlights reviews and a star-system into places found on Google Maps. Why leave these out of events? My calendar is filled up with various Meetups, and one way I filter out the ones I want to attend vs. those I don’t are ratings, price, and the number …

I’ve spent the last few months struggling with ways of creating high quality mobile games using Unity3d. During that time I’ve worked with a great team and developed a solid (i.e. working) pipeline and process to design and develop engaging games. (These notes / thoughts relate to indie game developers working ‘in the wild’, certainly not larger studios with numerous resources).

Tip 1: Don’t overcomplicate things

Let’s say you have two people in a room, and both have ideas for a game.

One person states that he has an elaborate storyline thought out. It involves Viking warriors stopping an ancient clan of wizards from destroying their village. The Vikings become more powerful after every wizard they kill. The wizards come in droves, and some have magical powers, and the spells they cast can wreak havoc on the Viking longships you are building (while …

Screengrab from an in-progress game made with Unity3d.