Why Does Apple Offer Free Engraving?
This Black Friday, I had the occasion to ponder why it is that Apple offers free engraving on iPods and iPads (hereafter, iP*ds).
New Bézier curves for vector graphics
Mathematical insights create a more intuitive UI for Bézier curves.
Which colours dominate movie posters and why?
I analysed 58,687 movie posters from the past century to see which colours dominate, how their use has shifted over time and what each hue signals to audiences.
The Canon Cat
A software design framework for humans, distilled from Jef Raskin's Humane Interface.
Don't force users to register before they can buy (2015)
Guest checkout with optional registration on e-commerce sites simplifies the purchase process and invites users to register when they feel comfortable, rather than forcing unwanted registration.
You need 4 colors
2 for text and background(primary & secondary colors). 1 accent color to highlight important elements(number 4 & buttons). And an optional tertiary color to add a bit of personality(the hue slider).
Mona Sans and Hubot Sans
Learn how to use and express yourself with GitHub’s open source variable fonts, Mona Sans and Hubot Sans.
How deceptive design is used to compromise your privacy and how to fight back
Today, we’re releasing a new guide explaining how to compel companies employing deceptive design to dodge data protection requests—like those for data deletion or access—to comply. It encapsulates five years...
Chinese Mobile UI Trends
A summary of common idioms and visual language found in Chinese smartphone apps.
What's Wrong with the iOS 7 Icons?
That was the first reaction I heard to iOS 7. I’m not going to lie, when I saw it for the first time myself, I freaked out a little too. Like any good simplicity-loving designer, I was eagerly waiting for Jonathan Ive to reveal a fresh, clean take on iOS.
Google Bar: The next stage in Google redesign
Insights from Googlers into our products, technology, and the Google culture
Dark Patterns, the Ratchet
A dark pattern in the design world means something that is purposefully created to mislead users and to get them to perform actions against their own interest.
How to Make Your Own Spooky Magic Eye Pictures (Autostereograms)
The simple standalone C++ code that goes with this post and makes autostereograms, can be found at The 1990s! They felt like a wasteland of culture at the time, but looking back, there was hyper co…
Calendar types in watches
Mechanical watches that can show a date correctly are pretty rare, and the ones that do are very expensive (starting at $10k). But why? Let me explain.
Font-size-adjust Is Useful
In this article, I will describe a recent addition to CSS, the font-size-adjust property. I am also making a bold claim that everyone in the world misunderstands the usefulness of this property, including Google, MDN, and CSS Specification itself. (Just to clarify, no, I am not a web designer and I have no idea what I…
Obsessed with Cuttle: Parametric CAD for prototyping, producing, and procrastin
Write-up of a bunch of laser-cut projects designed with Cuttle.
Blurred rounded rectangles
Blog of Raph Levien.
Modern CSS for Dynamic Component-Based Architecture
Explore modern project architecture, theming, responsive layouts, and component design. Learn to improve code organization, dig into layout techniques, and review real-world, context-aware components that use cutting-edge CSS techniques.
Pebble Time 2* Design Reveal
It's real and it's magnificent
How Intuitive Are Macs Really?
My kid sister has been using Macs for about 5 years. She bought her 2012 MacBook Pro used on eBay for $500, and it lasted longer than any other laptop she has bought new or used. When she accidentally spilled orange juice on her MacBook two days ago, she asked my recommendation on getting the new M1 MacBook Pro or…
Death by design patterns, or On the cognitive load of abstractions in the code
After many years coding in different teams — big and small — I think I can now finally explain to myself why and when do we need, or not…
Looks vs. Results: My ugly ad got 150% more clicks than a professional design
Making things look nice can take a long time, either due to lack of resources or abundance of opinions. This could delay launches, frustrate people, and waste precious energy. Those are high costs for startups or companies hoping to move fast. Is it worth it? Long ago I got fed
Top Web Design Mistakes of 1999
New technology and conventions have led to several new classes of usability problems in Web design.
Creating Windows XP Icons (2001)
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The Basics of Legibility: A Short Guide for Non-Typographers
The Nuberodesign Blog
Design Token-Based UI Architecture
Describing established patterns for organizing design tokens and practical approaches for automation