A designer who writes.
I have blogged intermittently since the mid 90s. Thankfully, much of the early teenage angst is lost to time. This collects my writings from this site, an earlier personal website, and some newsletter projects over the years, in mostly chronological order. I also publish new writing here. I publish somewhat more formal writing about content strategy and design careers at Content Career Accelerator.
In case you‘re as unobservant as me, I thought I’d point out this useful button on the iPad keyboard. I didn’t notice it for at least a month: A quick tap in the bottom-right minimizes the on-screen keyboard. This is essential in making stuff work in your web browser. Form fields and the like are … continue
Finished reading Close Encounters with Humankind recently. The writing is not great but it did contain several interesting facts I’m still mulling over, so hey. A few favorite notions: Some of our earliest tools were used to break open bones so we could eat the marrow. One reason humans may have lost our “fur” was … continue
Made my first trip out to Sioux Falls and to Now What Workshops last week to talk about writing tools with some lovely folks. I wasn’t able to stay as long as I’d have liked but I did get to sit in on Laura Creekmore’s morning workshop on content modeling. I sketched a few notes: … continue
Found notes from a Donna Spencer workshop on information architecture I took back in 2012. I paid out of pocket to attend and though it seemed a small fortune at the time I’m very glad I did. On where content “is”: I don’t talk about where things are in a site because they aren’t anywhere. … continue
When I know what I want to say I start at the top-left corner of the page. “Dear Sir or Madam, I demand satisfaction!” When I don’t know what I want to say — or even what I think — I start in the middle of the page. Then I can go up. Or down. … continue
My friend Ange invited me back to share my talk about designing friendlier interfaces with the UX and engineering cohorts at Prime Academy last week. Their new space downtown is really cool. I meant to take pictures, but despite arriving 25 minutes early I got lost in the building itself and spilled in out of … continue
I know a lot of people who are nervous about going to things by themselves. In my experience, it gets easier with practice, and some situations are more comfortable than others.
A ship is more than the wood it’s made of, and a website is more than code, content, and design. It’s the ownership, policies, history, even the culture of the organization that publishes it.
Clearing out some old notes and found this card from a Nels Cline lecture at Music University back in 2013: “Show up on time and have your stuff work.” Nels Cline He was speaking in the context of being a studio musician but pretty good advice for just about any gig (especially public speaking).
From a 2014 journal entry: One thing that worked well today, at work especially, was taking a simple breath before every decision. Every one. Even deleting an email. “Pause. Breath. Think. What’s happening here? What’s important? Let’s let it happen slowly.” This is a habit that’s stuck with me. I don’t do it all the … continue
Or you will, if you subscribe. Personal dispatches from the desk of Scott Kubie, a designer who writes.