Jason Tiernan: Archive

2 tags

Github for Recipes

Someone make it please? #thehungerideas

May 19th

4 notes

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Start making something useful

The design community in general seems to be very inwardly focused. Many of the problems we try to “solve” are those we ourselves create and like talking about. For example, the world really doesn’t need a new photo sharing app. I think we can move on to something else. We should all start trying to make things better for the normal people. Not designers or those that love...

May 18th

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The slow death of Flickr

Great article on how Yahoo killed Flickr. I originally started using flickr as another form of backup for photos. It was quick, would save my camera settings, and be easily sorted/shared with friends. Simple. The main problem with flickr is that it never really evolved. Aside from the slick uploader, the rest of the site remained unchanged for years. I find myself wanting to leave flickr for...

May 16th

3 tags

If not the whole head, how about an ear?

It looks like we have some confirmation of Apple debuting a new Maps in iOS 5 that will supposedly “blow your head off”. Oh hyperbole, how I love you. *fingers crossed*

May 11th

So now that Facebook has bought Instagram

Will Google buy Viddy? Seems like a logical acquisition.

May 10th

3 tags

App Store Wishlist

With WWDC around the corner, I started to think of how the App Store could make the world (ok, mostly nerds) happier. An option for video previews. There is only so much you can get from still images. Automatic App Updating Options. I’ve said this before, but I hate the amount of work I have to do just to keep everything updated to the latest and greatest version. Better...

May 9th

513 notes

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Which cloud storage is right for you?

With the announcement of Google’s foray into consumer cloud storage comes a great side by side comparison on The Verge. Dropbox is still the winner in my opinion.

Apr 24th

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Light Table

A couple of months ago, Bret Victor posted a fantastic video, Inventing on Principle showing some experimental UI concepts and the future of software engineering. It left everyone asking, “Why haven’t we been thinking about it that way before?”. Our tools looked outdated. Live debugging/coding/however you want to describe it is the future. Chris Granger has introduced something...

Apr 24th

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iOS 6 Wishlist

After playing around extensively with both Android and Windows phone interfaces I still believe that iOS is the best mobile operating system available. Of course, I’m only talking about the latest iteration of iOS on no phone older than the iPhone 4. That being said, there is always room for improvement. In the next couple months we will start to get a peek at what the next generation of...

Apr 21st

1 note

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Scrubbing Bubbles

Designers should be taking a page from the book of Scrubbing Bubbles. Make the technology do the work so we don’t have to. Time is valuable. Let’s not forget that. A person only has so much time to waste during the day. Let’s make shit that gives people time back, not sucks it up. One exception. Angry Birds Space team….keep doing what you’re doing.

Apr 19th

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Wearable computing is about to get real.

Within a week of Google’s Project Glass announcement comes a similar foray into wearable computing from Valve. Great insight and article. The future is looking radder. I am curious though if the recent Tim Cook meeting at Valve had anything to do with this. Fanboys, start your engines.

Apr 14th

4 tags

Instagram

So Facebook bought Instagram. A product I can’t stand buys a product I love and I’m still pretty conflicted about it. I’m still mourning Gowalla, after all. On one hand, Instagram had no business model. It was only inevitable that they be acquired by a larger company, or start introducing shitty features (advertising). Being bought is clearly the better option here. My problem...

Apr 10th

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Project Glass

So Google has quasi-unveiled their Project Glass initiative. Watch the concept video here. I’m excited honestly. I can separate my bad taste for Google with a new technology that could be really cool. It seems that most tech journalists are looking at this as yet another ad platform for Google. Well, it is. But that doesn’t only have to be that. The best software on the iPhone, aside...

Apr 6th

Dieter Rams' Ten Principles of "Good Design"

Good design is… Innovative Makes a product useful Aesthetic Makes a product understandable Unobtrusive Honest Long-lasting Thorough Environmentally friendly As little design as possible

Apr 3rd

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From the ashes of Courier

Paper. The next great app everyone will be talking about for a few weeks at least. Check out the really well produced video and download the app. (free!) Like Clear before it, Paper lacks on-screen UI. You navigate between layers with pinch and tap gestures, undo with a two finger backward circle (awesome) and slide from the bottom to bring up your tools. It seems that Paper plans to make...

Mar 29th

Dangerously Delicious

Following in the footsteps of Louis CK, Aziz Ansari releases his new comedy special, Dangerously Delicious, for $5. Go buy/watch it. It’s better than a similarly priced Frappucino or Subway sandwich. I’m curious how successful comedians of the past would have been with this model. I’m all about cutting out the middle man when it comes to paying for creative material.

Mar 24th

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On the subject of Kickstarter

It goes to show that some of the best and most successful projects on Kickstarter make a great video case for themselves. Galileo, Twine, Cosmonaut, Elevation Dock, to name a few. I definitely wouldn’t try and ask for thousands of dollars from the community without having a great and succinct pitch video.

Mar 24th

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Galileo

From the creators of the Joby and Gorillapod tripod accessories come Galileo, a 360° degree panning and tilting mechanism for iOS devices. Looks great and my brain is already coming up with possible project ideas around the SDK they mention. I also wonder how monstrous an iPad version would look. Hmm… View more info and help make this happen at its kickstarter page. As of right now...

Mar 24th

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Photoshop CS6 Beta

Wow. What a great list of improvements. It’s like Adobe actually listened to its users and integrated some long asked for features. CS5 didn’t seem like too big of an update but CS6 is shaping up to be quite an improvement. Vector pixel snapping, layer searching, character/paragraph styling, on canvas dimensions, new UI, pasting HEX colors, the list goes on for a while. Check out...

Mar 22nd

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Making QR codes better.

QR codes, the latest and greatest thing to be tacked onto advertisements near and far. But are they effective? The idea of a quick scannable code is great, but how can we make them work better. The biggest problem with QR codes is that they’re extra work for little payoff. Most of the time you’re looking at a complex code that simply drives to the website of the ad you’re...

Mar 20th

The most exciting time to be working in the...

Great article. Nice to get some inspiration flowing over the weekend to make some cool shit.

Mar 17th

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George Carlin Had a Point

There are few great artists whose careers consisted of the same work or technique. It was always evolving,changing, getting better, getting worse. You have to be willing to make mistakes and put yourself out there in new ways if you hope to evolve yourself. In this video from Louis CK he describes asking George Carlin how he continued to come up with new material? His response: Well I just...

Mar 16th

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Sparrow for Mac

Not only is the app beautiful, but it’s also so well designed you will grow to hate the built in mail application.

Mar 15th

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Up to 5 Times Bigger

With the new iPad starting to get into people’s hands, we’re starting to see just how big some of the new Retina screen optimized apps are. iMovie for example was 70MB and the update weighs in at 404MB. I know there will be factors which influence this such as use of texture, if it’s universal, etc but still. We’re looking at a huge jump in file size for the future of...

Mar 14th

Leaving Google

Great article regarding James Whittaker’s recent departure from Google. I have a love and hate relationship with Google. I’ve never really been comfortable with the fact that around 96% of their revenue comes from advertising. In the back of my mind I see every decision the company makes as a step towards trying to sell me something or implant advertising into an new facet of my...

Mar 14th

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Less Fart Apps Please

Make Tools, Not Toys. Despite it being attached to Blackberry, It truly is a great idea. Designers are always trying to bring new products into the world but few are actually interested in making the world better. I’m not implying we try to fix world hunger or poverty, but instead try and make people’s lives easier. Too many new apps introduce a new set of rules and routines into...

Mar 14th

Mar 13th

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Picle

One of my favorite things to come out of the past week of SXSW is Picle. It’s a camera application that captures a sound clip as well. I don’t just love it because I thought someone should do it last year either. It’s a well polished experience and team behind it, Made By Many is super supportive. It’s definitely feels more personal than Instagram so far. Just because...

Mar 13th

Interested in being wrong

Q: What makes a great designer? A: It is so important to be light on your feet, inquisitive and interested in being wrong. You have that wonderful fascination with the what if questions, but you also need absolute focus and a keen insight into the context and what is important - that is really terribly important. Its about contradictions you have to navigate. Great stuff. Read the rest here.

Mar 13th

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Skeuomorphism and You.

I think 9/10 designers can agree that Apple’s recent surge of skeuomorphic design in iOS is kind of an eyesore. Most of the decisions that have been made such as iPhoto’s new tool brush selector makes my eye twitch. It’s strange because Apple’s hardware design lacks any sort of ornamentation and its software is becoming more and more kitschy. If there is anything Realmac...

Mar 13th

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Underestimating the new iPad

After Apple’s new tablet launch last week, the media tended to be on average underwhelmed. It seems now that with every new product launch there is a certain level of expectation that for the most part is impossible to live up to. Ah, the hype machine. Now looking at the differences between the old and new model, it’s pretty easy to come to a similar conclusion: processor bump, higher...

Mar 12th

A New Beginning

I don’t know at what point I stopped writing but I do know it’s something I want to remedy. What better way to do so then making it the first thing someone sees when they go to my site.

Mar 11th

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