Articles 2011

From the NA team and guest contributors. RSS.

Hello

Simon Collison | January 2011

In June last year, I was sat at the back of Greg Wood’s editorial design talk in San Francisco. The workshop content itself was really valuable, but the group discussion that followed was a revelation.

Your journey and mine

Mark Boulton | January 2011

Growing up as an architect’s son, I was encouraged to walk around with my eyes open. Quite literally: he told me to always look up as you miss all the detail at eye level.

We live in the future

Brendan Dawes | January 2011

Take a moment to look around you and you’ll see we’re continually surrounded by magical objects, systems and devices ripped from the pages of a Ray Bradbury novel.

Code Rite products

Trent Walton | January 2011

Ahead of his first visit to Nottingham, Texan designer Trent Walton highlights some of the most important — and quite incredible — products in his toolkit.

A note from Frank

Frank Chimero | January 2011

Our friend Frank created a profound and rather beautiful gift out of a situation that would've crushed most of us.

Jack A Nory

Jon Tan | January 2011

Stories are everywhere. When they don’t exist we make up the narrative — we join the dots. We make cognitive leaps and fill in the bits of a story that are implied or missing. The same goes for websites. We make quick judgements based on a glimpse. Then we delve deeper. The narrative unfolds, or we create one as we browse.

And the moon held the poet: subjective attachment in collaborative design

Jason Cale | January 2011

Solitary creation gives birth to ideas with an umbilical noose; once nourishing, it now slowly strangles. How can we learn to cut the cord and free the creations we so personally create?

Establishing a visual grammar

The Standardistas | January 2011

Having a great idea doesn’t always translate to a great design. Fantastic, original concepts can still end up as run-of-the-mill executions, merely leaning on recent trends and contemporary visual approaches.

Critiquing academia

James Willock | January 2011

I am sat, staring into middle distance, totally aghast. It’s Friday afternoon on the first week of university and we’ve just been given an assignment. “You must produce a portfolio website, derived from these templates, which will house your work for the following three years.” I’m sorry — what?

The centrefold!

Greg Wood | January 2011

Seeing as we made a newspaper, Greg thought it'd be nice to have a traditional centrefold full of cartoons and silliness. He was, of course, the right man for the job.