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Quote of the Week:

All solitary dreamers know that they hear differently when they close their eyes.
-Gaston Bachelard

Notes from Notchcode

3.07.2008

No Sagmeister for me tonight....

...I've had baby duties come up that require me to be at home. But I've sent a note to the AIGA to free up my seat, so at least that means one of you other folks can get into this sold-out event. I'm bummed, especially since Mindy, Andy and the others at AIGA/CO HQ had made it possible for me to attend, but life has other plans sometimes. I'll eat a banana, in Sagmeister's honor at 6 tonight. And contribute this:

What I've Learned:

  • You can never eat too many bananas.

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posted at 2:19 PM Leave your comments here: 0 comments

2.21.2008

Apparently, it was just a bruise on that banana

Yesterday's post about not getting advance notice about the AIGA/CO Steven Sagmeister talk prompted a timely, lovely response from AIGA/Colorado's President. Read it here. If you didn't get a notice, it might have been a bug in the system that sends e-mail info from AIGA/National to AIGA/CO's folks. If you've had an issue, contact AIGA/CO to let them know, as it might help them track down what happened.

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posted at 2:05 PM Leave your comments here: 0 comments

2.20.2008

Rotten Banana

Member of the Colorado chapter of the AIGA? Thought you'd have a chance to RSVP to attend designer Steven Sagmeister's talk this next month? Well, too bad. Looks like it sold out before the announcement that reservations were even available. Shame on you, AIGA: not even an e-mail announcing when RSVPs would be taken, much less waiting to take RSVPs until the printed invite/announcements went out.

Usually, events like this are preceded by a postcard announcing the topic/date/other relevant info, and there's usually an html e-mail blast that goes out to members. Not this time, apparently. AIGA/CO is generally pretty good about promoting their local events, but this gets a D- for timely execution. wassup with that?

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posted at 1:34 PM Leave your comments here: 2 comments

2.11.2008

Easier voting through graphic design


A nod in this run up to the November elections towards the importance of good graphic design in everyday things. Like ballots, for example. We all remember the hanging chad debacle of the 2000 general election, right? As Alice Rawsthorn writes in her article appearing in the International Herald Tribune,

One glance at the [Palm Beach County] punch card explains why they did so: the layout is hopelessly confusing, as is the blizzard of text. Those ballots are such a (booby) prize example of lousy information design that it's a mystery how anyone managed to vote correctly.

Indeed.

Even before the 2000 election, the AIGA had begun an effort to make voting easier for voters and provide more accurate results at the same time. The crux of the problem lies in how to present a large amount of content in the small space of a ballot--be it paper or on-screen. AIGA Design for Democracy advisor, former AIGA board member and AIGA Chicago president Marcia Lausen wrote a book, Design for Democracy: Ballot and Election Design which outlines best practices for accurate, meaningful, and understandable graphic design of ballots.

The AIGA also created, with the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), Ballot and Polling Place Guidelines which can be immediately implemented for state and federal elections. By making ballots more easily understandable, good design best practices can help the will of the people be accurately and clearly heard.

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posted at 8:45 PM Leave your comments here: 0 comments

11.24.2007

Musical Artist of the Week: DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid


I have featured DJ Spooky here previously, but BoingBoing brought yet another great mix of his to my attention yesterday. Spooky is a thinking-man's DJ, with a deep understanding of history, both arthistorical and musicological (well, it seems like a real word...). I saw him speak at the AIGA conference in NYC in 2001, and he's one smart cookie, especially when it comes to looking at art and culture. Interestingly, most of what he discussed related to visual art, but after his presentation I could see how he has extended his sense of aesthetics into the aural world as well.

I would wager a lot of the best DJs have a hand or arm in the visual art world as well. One of my friends from SCAD is now a great DJ down in Atlanta, and I am sure she is not the only one to make the transition from visual to musical imagery. DJ Spooky has long brought cultural, social and political issues to bear on his mixes, and the latest effort, Ghostworld (Africa Pavillion Mix) is no exception. Check out what he has to say about it, and then download the eighty-nine minutes of soundscape and listen. If it doesn't move you, you aren't alive.

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posted at 9:59 AM Leave your comments here: 0 comments

11.28.2006

secure



I've been reading Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon over the holiday weekend, and it reminded me just how paranoid I can be sometimes. It's basically a sci-fi mysery thriller set in the late 1990s and World War II, and is about gold, codebreakers, nerds like Alan Turing, marines, and more nerds. But the thesis is this: encryption is a good idea.

So to that end, I've reviewed Notchcode's security practices, and made some improvements. All client data is now encrypted, as is all communication and data on our project management site. And all the backups and archives are encrypted. Never mind that they are already locked in a Fortress of Solitude-like structure, but now in addition to being physically secure, the bits are secure, too.

I've posted some queries up at Apple's Support Discussions database about this issue, too. The Mac has a mostly-useful feature called File Vault, which encrypts your "Home" directory, where, presumably, all of your documents are stored. Except when they're not. File Vault also has the added problem of being a bit slow, and buggy--at least in my experience. So there are a lot of people who have given me some other options to think about, including everything from general backup strategies, to specific products to use.

One thoughtful poster asked me what my industry's standard practices were regarding encryption and data security, so I checked: the AIGA, at least, has very little to say on the matter (this seems to be a theme with them: when it comes to some of the nitty gritty operative details of how to run a Creative Firm, they avoid all discussion, choosing instead to talk about the larger issues. Which is fine. But when you are getting pragmatic, it's a bit annoying for your professional organization to be so high-minded).

So, I solicit your opinions, gentle reader. Leave a comment for me using the Notchcode Contact Form, if you have any experiences to share or advice to give. Now excuse me, while I type in my new 4096-character password and get back to work!

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posted at 9:41 PM Leave your comments here: 0 comments


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