I love receiving animated gifts as a response to an email. Thank you internet! Also, feel free to send some my way @davidarrigotti
Photo courtesy of CO+HOOTS and eeko studio.
Thanks, Jenny!
Here are some things I’ve learned so far. Take these tips and run with them. Why should you listen to me you ask? Well, for one thing my business card title has “Social Media” on it. No joke, I hustled enough to get it. And second, I just had 3 people write to me on the same day last week asking to pick my brain on this very subject. Instead of keeping all this between us four, here they are for your benefit.
Last week Kris Layon of Two Apps Per Day brought up an interesting point about designing for the iPad. He related it to the great Wild West. It was such a good description for not only iPad design, but social media and the new frontier of our web culture.
For instance, there is no degree for social media. Every now and then I get a random job offer in social media for a national organization and even other web firms in town. That said, here are some predictions for social media and our web future.
In the mid to late-90s, every company and anyone with an idea hurried to put up a web site so they could start marking money. Corporations couldn’t grow their web business fast enough. And the web industry made quite a bit of money. In 2000 our bubble crashed and all the bad ideas fell through the floor. We took a step back and refined what worked online and adjusted our perceptions and actions accordingly.
E-commerce is now commonplace. We trust it because it’s become part of our lives. We know the pitfalls and procedures. One of the most amazing inventions was Amazon.com‘s patented one-click ordering system. If you use iTunes, you use this system everyday without even thinking about it.
This week I chat with Kristofer Layon about his two big projects. Aesthete Software, an iPhone app design and delivery company and Two Apps Per Day conference, which introduces designers to iPhone app design and iPhone app building and distribution. Kris has released apps for kids and apps for clinicians and medical staff around the world.
This is part two of two. Read part one if you missed it.
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Number of additional employees: solo design practice — it’s just me!
Aesthete Software website: http://www.aesthetesoftware.com/
Aesthete Software Twitter: http://twitter.com/aestheteware
Two Apps Per Day website: http://www.twoappsperday.com/
Two Apps Per Day Twitter: http://twitter.com/twoappsperday
In a very sincere way, this workshop is an outgrowth of my app design experience and overall design philosophy, warts and all. So I am aiming for an experience that is not particularly razzle-dazzle or infotainment, though I do hope to continually improve the quality of my content and presentation and learn from the experience. But my major goal is to instruct, not to entertain.
One difference that I am very conscious of is my delivery of sample code that are not just snippets, but entire apps – albeit small and simple apps – that work. Every attendees gets a USB drive with these files on them, so when they get home or back to work, they have apps that work. This differs greatly from other similar events I have attended where I watch someone on stage do amazing stuff, but then when I try it later I can’t make it all work. The presenter made it look easy, but did not share enough to allow me to easily do the same thing. That’s frustrating. And designing things can be frustrating even when you know what you are doing, but at least I’m giving people a much stronger start then just inspiration and demonstration.
This week I chat with Kristofer Layon about his two big projects. Aesthete Software, an iPhone app design and delivery company and Two Apps Per Day conference, which introduces designers to iPhone app design and iPhone app building and distribution. Kris has released apps for kids and apps for clinicians and medical staff around the world.
This is part one of two.
When I think about world change I don’t immediately think of Zappos, the online shoe store. But after reading Tony Hsieh new book, Delivering Happiness, I can’t believe I missed this association. Tony and co have built an amazing company culture as shown here and here.
They’ve intentionally designed a culture that encourages and supports their people to seek happiness at work. They didn’t set out to be a poster child for the most awesome company to work for but that’s what they’ve built with their core values.
They set out to be honest, supportive, and people focused. They value transparency, personal growth and information sharing. If you haven’t heard, they also offer each new employee $2,000 to quit. So obviously the goal is to hire people who are committed. By not focusing on money and by focusing instead on people and passion they’ve turned out to to be hugely profitable.
One of the core pieces of their company culture is the Zappos employee handbook, which I would love to see. It has a quote from every single employee. And the book is not edited (save for minor typos). It’s an honest look, both good and bad, at the company and how the employees view their own company. Don’t you wish your company had one or that you read one before you accepted your last job offer?
Ultimately, the company wants people to be happy. They have a culture that people want to join. They’ve built something that is bigger than even their own company. They’ve tapped into the world change movement and continue to inspire people and companies to find their own happiness. Bravo.
Recently, I spoke about a pro bono project we worked on here at Fervor Creative. The video of that speech is now available online.
The event is called PechaKucha, which means “chit chat” in Japanese. These social gatherings are held all over the world and bring the creative community together for about a dozen fast-pased mini-talks. The Phoenix attendees were friendly, excited and easy-going. Luckily, there was beer on hand which added to the unique speech-giving atmosphere.
I’m happy that Phoenix has brought this event to our community. It’s not often that we as designers, architects, city planners, artists, librarians and students gather, get up on stage, and share our work in a supportive atmosphere.
You can also use this form to contact me. Send an email (hello @ lonnietapia.com) or call me at 480 332 4898 to start on your next web or design project.
Before you do that, take a look at my design and social media portfolio then read more about me and see if we're a good fit for each other. Thank you!