Sometimes in the midst of designing a screen, I wonder to myself why Adobe Photoshop has to be such a complex tool. But then I saw this photo and it quickly shut me up and made me into an appreciative Photoshop-lover once again.

Election Day is over, a new president has been chosen, and the country is breathing a sigh of relief. The campaign drama has ended, and a new drama will begin.

Some of the best pictures of the new president-elect can be found at the Big Picture, one of the best sites (in my opinion). Great pictures like the one below find their way to its pages.

Designers talk about the use of white space in their designs:

• “It needs to breathe a little better. Maybe a little more white space?”
• “I’m having a hard time figuring out the different pieces. Maybe some more white space is in order?”
• “Maybe there’s too much white space? The design looks a little too loose and not held together well.”

Yes, I’ve heard that and a whole lot more. There’s a lot of merit to it. But have you ever heard of using white space as the premise for a game? This isn’t web design or user experience related, but it’s a pretty cool idea and marvelous execution. It’s also in the spirit of Halloween.

The Unfinished Swan - Tech Demo 9/2008 from Ian Dallas on Vimeo.

Talk about cool, this is a fascinating new sketch tool. I don’t know that it’s terribly relevant to web application design. However, I can see its relevance for 3-dimensional modeling, particularly for video game character and environment design; automobile or airplane conceptual modeling; animation concepting.

It’s neat to see tools for artists continue to advance in such a way that their creative modes need to constantly change and adapt to take advantage of these new mediums.

ILoveSketch from Seok-Hyung Bae on Vimeo.

What a technology team Obama has, bringing the Obama campaign to the iPhone:

Download Obama ‘08: The Official Application

Obama ‘08 is your official, comprehensive connection to the heart of Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s campaign, giving you the tools you need to make an impact and stay in the know.

Making a difference takes only moments using the Call a Friend feature. Want to do more? Find your local Obama for America HQ or look up local campaign events.

You’ll have instant access to Barack’s positions on important issues, as well as local and national campaign news as it happens. Photos and videos from the campaign trail are all here, too.

Talk about trying to get in touch with the political (technological) mavens and connectors. Obama’s team has demonstrated they move fast, and they move well.

I’ve written previously about mobile texting as a way to engage constituents in the issues organizations care about, and even mobile texting as a new revenue driver. Connection Cafe even profiled the cell phone as the killer app for Election ‘08.

What’s fascinating about the Obama iPhone application is that an organization (Obama’s campaign, in this case) isn’t restricted to just one engagement channel with their constituents, namely texting. Texting, after all, is fairly limited, not terribly empowering, and doesn’t do a whole lot more than tell you people are engaged and interested. Tapping the power of the iPhone on the other hand places an entire application at the fingertips of a mobile user who’s a technological savant, at least savvy enough to purchase an iPhone. Chances are you put such a cool application at the fingertips of such a person and they’re going to use it. Functionality in the Obama iPhone application includes:

• Call Friends: A great volunteering tool that lets you make a difference any time you want by talking to people you already know. Your contacts are prioritized by key battleground states, and you can make calls and organize results all in one place.
• Call Stats: See nationwide Obama ‘08 Call Friends totals and find out how your call totals compare to leading callers.
• Get Involved: Do more. Find and contact your local Obama for America HQ.
• Receive Updates: Receive the latest news and announcements via text messages or email.
• News: Browse complete coverage of national and local campaign news.
• Local Events: Find local events, share by email and get maps and directions.
• Media: Browse videos and photos from the campaign
• Issues: Get clear facts about Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s plan for essential issues facing Americans.

Talk about wow. Maybe non-profits and organizations can start hiring some iPhone developers to do this for them. On top of that, it looks cool.

I’ve been in projects where the objective and goal (read: requirement) was very clear.  Crystal clear, in fact.  There’s a market need or problem, a solution has been prescribed, and that project comes to the Product Design table.  My job is to take the solution and think about what it should look like, feel like, and work.  Think: Zune or iPod.  It’s an iterative process, of course, and there’s plenty of back and forth with the developers on what’s actually achievable.

But, frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever been on a project this bad.  Cheers, and happy Friday!

Viral videos like this one–

Inspire emotion.  But it’s just an idea, word art, and accompanying music.  The website is well-designed too, but not being able to copy/paste any of the snappy, smart text throughout the site is a big usability no-no.

But speaking to the video, the takeaway lesson is that simple can be extremely powerful, but only if its execution is top-notch.

Link of the Day, inspiration for the person who’s looking for the pick me up.  Pretty cool shot of sunset on Mars (courtesy NASA picture of the day):

Good usability is like housecleaning – you only notice if it’s not done. So I’d never thought much about my alarm clock – the same one I’ve had since I was around 13 (that’s well over half my life at this point). But then I came across a discussion of bad design in everyday objects and realized how lucky I was.

If you’re anything like me, you put enormous trust in your alarm clock. “Waking up naturally” and “not being chronically late” are not two ideas that can co-exist in my world. Most of my home electronics are strictly about convenience (microwave, coffee maker) or entertainment (music, television). Even my cell phone, while handy, is not that crucial to my everyday life. But without my alarm clock I’d be – well, I’d probably be home in bed. Which doesn’t sound so bad, actually; but it would certainly have an effect on my professional life. When I travel, I always have some degree of anxiety that I won’t wake up. If I’m in a hotel, I typically set the alarm clock, and also the alarm on my phone, and also request a wake-up call, just in case. How do I love my alarm clock, (and eye other, lesser models with suspicion)? Let me count the ways…

• It has two alarms. I don’t like setting my alarm on the weekends, but I inevitably have to. So I reserve Alarm 2 for weekend wakeups. This way I never really have to worry about if my “work” alarm is still set for the right time, since I rarely change it. The display tells me which alarm is currently on.
• It’s easy to set the alarm. The time setting controls are touch-panel buttons – fast and slow, forward and reverse. “Fast” in either direction moves the setting at the truly fast rate of about 15 minutes per second (actually, less than a second — I’ve done agility training with my fingers and that fast button, and I can’t get down to below 15 minutes per touch). “Slow” is about one minute per second. I don’t have to worry about going over my desired time, because I can always back up.
• It’s easy to NOT set the time. Both the alarms and the time set controls are slide switches. The time-set slide switch is on the side, far away from the alarm-set controls, which are on the front. Since the time setting function only works if the time-set switch is on “time set,” it’s almost impossible to change the time by mistake. If I do need to set the time, it’s just as easy as setting the alarm. Many alarm clocks require you to press two buttons simultaneously to set the time (or the alarm, for that matter). Time setting should not depend on timing, if you know what I mean.
• The snooze button is prominent and nowhere near the “off” button. All I have to do is slap the top of the alarm in my sleep-fogged haze, and I get 7 more minutes of blessed sleep time. I know some people don’t believe in snooze buttons, but I don’t understand those people.
• The snooze button obeys me, for as long as I tell it to. I’ve heard of some snoozes that simply stop working after an hour. I don’t often feel the need (or have the luxury) of snoozing for over an hour, but if it happens, I don’t want my snooze button to get distracted from its job.
• The alarm stays on for an hour. This was less lovely when I used the buzzer setting, but since I’ve discovered that I can actually wake up to the radio, it’s nice to then get ready for my day with the radio on. And if it turns itself off, I know I’m running late. I usually turn it off as I’m headed out the door, but if I forget, it will do it for me.
• I can turn the alarm off without un-setting it. I can also turn the radio on and off throughout the day without disturbing the alarm setting. The controls to do this are two wonderfully simple panel buttons – one says “On.” The other says “Off.”
• The display has two brightness settings. As I’ve gotten older and also developed the habit of keeping my alarm far, far away from the side of my bed, being able to set the display to “bright” has come in handy. The “dim” setting is appropriately dim, and the “bright” setting is appropriately bright.

Sadly, my alarm clock is also incredibly ugly. I didn’t realize just how ugly until I was photographing it for this article. Here it is in all its 20 year old glory:

It’s true that my alarm clock favors function over form. It was made in the 1980s, after all, and has been with me through 3 states and probably 10 residences (I moved around a lot in college). But for all its boxy brown dowdiness, I wouldn’t trade it for another model if you paid me. And I guess that betrays my design bias, too - first, make it usable. I promise, though, that nothing I design will be quite as ugly as my beloved alarm clock.

Being a big fan of the Apple Pro Application videos, I was quite tickled by this video my friend, Jim, sent me. I got a good dose of humility as you realize your so-called innovative ideas of today are just plain givens in the future. “The future is in the past”