Tag Archives: writing

DesignSwap: Yaron Schoen & Trent Walton Talk Takeovers

May 5, 2010

(Republished from Carsonified’s Think Vitamin) Beautiful profile illustrations by Kyle Steed Stories that begin with, “It all started at SXSWi . . . .” always seem to end in something appropriately best describe in webtalk as “EPIC.” It’s true, in spite of excessive commercialization, long lines, and the frenetic schedule of panels and parties, magical stuff happens in Austin. Tools like Twitter, Dribbble, and newcomer Forrst have further accelerated and facilitated serendipitous meetings between designers. Suddenly we’ve become a lot [...]

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10 Tips on Building Apps That Can Impact Voter Turnout on Election Day

November 4, 2009

If Facebook apps can inspire people to buy/give virtual gifts and even try on random hair styles, can a web app get someone out to vote in a local election? I believe it can, and if this year’s turnout proves anything, it’s that there’s a great opportunity for developers, designers, and campaigns to innovate with apps.

Charles Lenchner and NYC’s Working Families Party bootstrapped and designed “Candidate Finder.” Proving that simple can be sexy, a voter can input her street address and zip code, data magic happens, and she can share, download, print the list of candidates WFP supports in her district and get directions to her polling place.

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10 Tips on Writing Hero-Worthy Error Messages

October 20, 2009

Originally published on Carsonified’s Think Vitamin Blog (many thanks Ryan!) “Doh! %&^%&^%&!” Another forehead-smack-worthy curse-laden moment: I’ve filled out a lengthy online form and hit the submit button only to find myself staring back at an empty form peppered with red errors. Has this happened to you? Of course it has. While considering how much I really need to complete this form, I start making notes on how I’d design it to be a better experience. Seriously, how many date [...]

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