Bite-sized book review: Playground — Richard Powers

I came close to not finishing this a few times. I didn't dislike it but never really got into it. The ending felt a bit gimmicky.

Does listening to an audiobook count as "reading"? I'm not sure it does. Either way, I listened to Craig Mod reading his (audio)book Things Become Other Things while working in the yard. Craig made the opposite move from me, he emigrated from the US. I immigrated here instead. It felt perfectly appropriate to listen to Craig's story while tending to my little suburban piece of America.

Go give it a listen, or read the actual book. I highly recommend it. If you listen to the audiobook, don't miss the photos, they're in the extras.

I recently reread The Vignelli Canon, still as great and inspiring as ever.

I don't usually get too excited about winning industry awards. Making digital products better isn't — and shouldn't be — a competition. That said, the Show Me for Emergencies app (Android, iOS) deserves all the recognition and promotion it can get. It was an honor and a pleasure to be a part of the team bringing this to life.

I love fun, creative, data visualization. Information is Beautiful is a source of endless inspiration. This interactive visualization of how true "based on a true story" films actually are, is a great example.

The challenge The VA's AboutFace website provides Veterans, families, and clinicians with stories and resources about PTSD from people with lived experience. The site needed a redesign that prioritized Veterans' voices, made navigation more intuitive, and ensured accessibility and compliance with federal standards. After conducting…

I just posted a free (!) UX writing tip to LinkedIn. You never know, you might find it helpful.

Bite-sized book review: Cal Newport — Slow Productivity

A promising premise. But ultimately disappointing. At least it was short and entertaining.

I'll always be a bit nostalgic for the NYC subway map I used when I lived there. But as a fan of Massimo Vignelli, I love that the new design is reminiscent of the 1972 Unimark map.

As a health communicator and a user experience designer, I fully endorse this. Owls in towels is a great website.