Take a look at this site and see. These may not be the first magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of fruits and vegetables, but they’re the first I’ve seen. Check out the way these common food items change and pulse as we watch. Broccoli can look like fireworks, and mushrooms like jellyfish …

… it’s a good reminder that things we are used to can look very different if we take the time to see them in a new way.

The next time you’re trying to debug that CSS code, or talk to a difficult customer, or figure out why that filter isn’t working on your image, stop for a second, breathe, and try to look at the situation with fresh eyes. Who knows what associations will pop up, triggering your brain to come up with a new solution?

Enter a couple of paragraphs of your writing and let the “I Write Like” analyzer tell you which famous writer your prose resembles. Try it now! It even gives you the code for a “badge” you can post on your blog or Facebook or wherever.

Then, for more information about how the statistical analyzer works, read the interview with creator Dmitry Chestnykh.

(I entered the lyrics to the Beatles’ song “Give Peace a Chance” and it said I write like James Joyce!)

In case you do not know what CSS is here is quick review. CSS is a coding that web designers use to visually style websites. Adding styles like font color, size and font, width and widths of items on the page.

To show the import role that css plays in the current world of web design here is a screen of this page with and with out CSS.

Now something new has emerge, CSS3

CSS3 is the latest version of css and it allows for some very cool styling features. Now I could list off 10 ten new features or do a step by step how-to with CSS. Instead i’ll just show you something that is amazing.

The CSS Monster!

It’s pure css, no graphics at all. Click on the photo below to link to code version.

If you like this, you can see how it was done at Un blob CSS.
And if you would like a how-to CSS3 or CSS tutorial just ask.

Now maybe no one would notice, but all those small details mean the difference between a “B grade” website and an “A grade website”. The thing I am finding tho is the closer you get to being  100% done with a website the long and hard things seem to be. I would go so far as to say that the first 89% of a project is about equal to the last 11% of project in terms of effort or time.

This kind of art takes time, organization and dedication.

Kevin Cornell one of my new favorite illustrators has a website that is great example of what that extra 11% looks like. THE WEBSITE (you will also find Kevin’s work all over AlistApart.com)

This is the screen I landed on after making a PayPal purchase from Kevin’s store.

This type of customer care and detail in web design is inspiring to me. The thank you screen has a custom illustration and humor, even tho I have already bought a product. This kind of foresight and effort is noticed.

What makes Kevin’s  site is it’s attention to detail, which is something that take a lot of time, and to me means that someone cared a lot about there work, and about there customers. So kudos to that extra 11%.

**Look for Kevin’s art on the walls of the MAC soon.

Sites Sighted :
Kevin Cornells the Illustrator »
A list Apart.com »

Prompted by an outcry over the use of Papyrus for the subtitles in the movie AVATAR, this article from last week’s BBC News Magazine online relates the passions—pro and con—that were provoked. Various other heinous examples of crimes against typography are included.

In 2009, the Swedish retail giant IKEA changed its signature typeface from Futura to Verdana—a font that had been created by Microsoft specifically for screen display.

As in other cases, widespread outrage ensued, with bloggers and tweeters madly weighing in:

“On Aug. 26, Romanian design consultant Marius Ursache started an online petition to get Ikea to change its mind. That night, Verdana was already a trending topic on Twitter, drawing more tweets than even Ted Kennedy.”

It must be noted that some opinionators were more sympathetic.

While typography has a rich history that goes back to the earliest written forms, new typefaces are always arriving on the market, making it tempting for designers to stray from the classic choices. And, sometimes, with good reason. Depending on the target audience and the branding message, it may be perfectly reasonable to select one of the very latest typefaces, especially if it can be effective across a wide variety of corporate needs—website, business cards, magazine and billboard advertising, price tags, serial number labels, Hi My Name Is badges, exterior and interior signage … the list goes on.

I found some great Best and Worst lists. Here’s one that I particularly like because it includes my favorite two Worst examples—#2 and #3, where companies invested in a logo redesign when what they really needed was an overhaul in corporate practices.

If your scroll wheel (or your two-finger touchpad action) is in good shape and you have an extra half hour, check out these collections from Smashing Magazine, an online resource for web design.

• 80 gorgeous typefaces for professional design, in no particular order, based upon suggestions from designers and web developers all over the world (scroll past the well known fonts at the top of the list to see more unusual examples later in the list)
• 60 effective typefaces for corporate design, offering a much quirkier selection than the first list
• 30 new typefaces for corporate design—just what it says: new typefaces

I saved the best for last, but this one isn’t strictly typography. If you have read this far, you may be interested in two visually engaging articles on Writing Systems And Calligraphy Of The World. Part 1 is here, and part 2 is here. My bet is, you’ve never seen such an array of writing samples from so many historical language roots and from virtually every corner of the world.

Calligraphy from illuminated Armenian Gospel manuscript

(Bonus points if you noticed which typeface I used in the numbers in my thumbnail illustration at the top.)

In August the MAC has its second birthday. We are now up to 15 members, with an additional two just about to come on board. Some of our original members have moved on due to job changes or relocation. In Internet years, this might mean the MAC is coming of age. Things are evolving. We miss our colleagues who leave but we welcome new blood and the strength it gives the group.

BILL:

The same happens in our small businesses. Customers we had at first, go somewhere else. Employees we hired at first, move on. And we reminisce about how wonderful the “old days” were. Maybe they were wonderful, but they’re in the past, and businesses that are successful relentlessly focus on the future. In other words, nostalgia’s not good for business (unless you’re an antique dealer).

Yes, I remember my first big client. It was thrilling and rewarding. But what was exceptional for me then, is normal now. In fact, I’ve come to believe firmly that the best clients I’ll ever serve have not yet presented themselves.

I remember my first big hire. I was so excited to steal him away from a large corporation. But again, as wonderful as he was (and still is), attracting top talent to small business quickly became my new normal.

LAINIE:

And yes, we remember with fondness–great fondness–the first members of the MAC. They are wonderful, talented, creative professionals, every one of them! But the best MAC is yet to come, which challenges all of us to be our best.

And that’s good for business.

Lainie Turner
Bill Zipp

I’ve owned an HP psc 2410 photosmart all-in-one “printer-fax-scanner-copier” for around 6 or 7 years—long enough to have the last major Mac OS update blow away my ability to scan. No, wait—make that: long enough that HP decided not to update their driver for this release. Maybe they were thinking “Hey, it’s about time these people bought a new printer!” or maybe “What. Ever. There really aren’t that many Mac users out there, anyway.” At least, that’s how it felt since I upgraded to Snow Leopard late last fall. How frustrating! I searched the boards to see if/how other folks have solved the problem. I downloaded software designed to work with any scanner. I even hauled out my old Agfa ScanPro and tried to find the power cable. No luck. If I had to scan something, I had to bring it in to the MAC to do it.

And the funny thing was, I sort of couldn’t get over it. Every time I drove past the HP campus here in Corvallis, I’d think, “I won’t be buying my next printer from that company.”

So, I was pretty surprised earlier this month to find that HP just released an updated driver for my all-in-one. Now, instead of feeling like a customer who doesn’t matter once the check has been cashed, I feel great! I get my seamless user experience back, and I’m not mad at HP anymore. In fact, the opposite. It feels a little like the Carly is wearing off and the old HP is showing through: the company that has always known that every customer matters. But in the end, I don’t really care why they decided to update the driver. I’m a customer! I don’t need to know why. I just need my all-in-one to work the way they told me it would in the first place.

Thanks, HP! Good work.

He used 300 million tweets in real time to map mood in a kind of heat map fashion.
Well I am not sure what this means its interesting to look at.

There does seem to be more and more of these large data aggregation and I am skeptic of how much I should read into it. Check out the video and a few other posts below.

» Article on New Scientist

» Article on Fast Company Blog

» Alan Mislove

One lucky non-profit got $250,000, 4 won $100,000 and 195 runner ups got 20,000.
See the top 250 here »

This was exciting for me to see my web work make a difference in real lives, working hard in the real world! Just wanted to share some success and a great story about social media and the web.

Music Saves Lives website »

Ok so Nike+ is an amazing little bit of technology that I have been using. No, it’s not that new, but there website is! Basically it’s a tool to track your runs, one part in or on your shoes and the other a watch you strap on a add on for your iPod/iPhone. I use the watch which has a removable USB port.

I love user experience

I went for a run a few days ago and I ran the fastest mile I have yet to run using nike+. I plugged in my usb watch, it loaded the workout, pulled up the website but before showing me my run data a video pops up, a famous run tells me “I know fast when I see it, congratulation on your fastest mile yet” the screen closes, and well its kind of cheese its kind of awesome to. The site is easy to use and it feels… fun and fast.

A Little History

Last year I ran a marathon (hardest thing I’ve ever done) and a half marathon, much nicer : ). During this time I was running with my iPhone and tracking with GPS, running 16 miles well holding and iPhone is not so great. Nike+ is small and well it’s not GPS the benefit is when its cloudy nike+ still works, and its very light.

Design is what makes the product

I’ll just say that the nike+ site has “top shelf” design and interface, take a look.

Anyways I am not a fast running, but I love it so if any one wants to go on a jog let me know. Currently using this new website to train for a 10K!