100 Things Every Designer Should Know About People

My co-worker let me borrow this book and I really freakin dug it. It's essentially a book on psychology and how you can apply it to your designs. More often than not it's discussing UI/UX principles.

It focuses on web / digital deliverables. Testing. Focus groups. UI/UX. Data analysis. Metrics. blah blah blah.

Each entry is only between 1 to 3 pages long. It's easy to chunk up. You can pick it up for a bit, put it down, and come back to it a week later and it doesn't make any difference.

Psychology is very important to every designer, but it's especially important when you're dealing with HMI design. Whether you do print or mobile or whatever, this book is worth a read. Fo' sho.

As you'd expect, the author puts forth theories that she's culled from various people's research and spits it back to you in a simplified and easy to digest manor. Sources are cited and main points are reiterated. It's good shit.

Scratch

I was talking to a co-worker about turntablism and the 4 elements of hip-hop. I mentioned I loved the b-boy doc, Planet B-Boy. He told me if I liked that then I needed to watch Scratch.

So I streamed it on YouTube at lunch. It's dope. You should watch it.

It's a pretty comprehensive overview of where turntablism came from and where it's going. It breaks down the art into various aspects and facets and gives you a great overview of the sub-culture.

I was blown away with DJ's ever since I got the Return of the DJ double LP when I was 18 or so. This doc happens to interview the man behind Bomb Records and most of the cats featured on that LP. So that's kinda cool.

Anyway, check this doc out. You'll be impressed.

Senna (audio commentary)

So, I think this is my fourth time watching Senna. Marie bought me the Blu-Ray for my birthday so I popped it in and watched it with the audio commentary on.

The Director, Editor and Producer are all talking if I recall. But it's mostly the Director and Editor. Anyway, I don't have anything new to add that I haven't mentioned any of the other times I've watched the film. The commentary is obviously only for die-hards. If you've seen it three times then maybe you'll wanna watch the commentary. I learned a few interesting tidbits. I'd love to see a longer cut of the film because their first cut was five hours long. Then they got it down to three. Then two. And finally 100 minutes for theatrical release.

This was the first time that I didn't cry like a baby while watching it. But that's only because there were two or three other people talking over the whole film. You couldn't get emotionally involved while the Director was going on about access to Bernie Eckelstone's archives...

It got me stoked to watch it again, though. So I'm pretty sure I'll be watching it for a fifth time by year's end...best. documentary. ever.

I Vitelloni

Fellini's third film, I Vitelloni. I hadn't seen it in years so I bust out the DVD and watched it last night. It's good stuff, man. It's just about some dudes hanging out. Being dudes. And dealing with shit.

The main characters are all in their late 20s and early 30s. But in small town Italy in the 50's...well, things are different. Most of them live with their parents and are unemployed. I don't know how the hell they have any money to live...but I don't know mid century provincial Italian culture. They're not terribly mature for their age. Anyway, it's a film about friends, romance, responsibility, and intrinsic passion. Each cat has a different motivation. Each cat comes from a different angle. But they support each other like friends do.

They all come to turning points in their lives. And this movie is about those people and those events.

It's quintessential Fellini. The editing, the cinematography, the story...it's really good stuff. It's not as "wacky" as some later Fellini stuff is, though. It's a somewhat autobiographical tale that's told beautifully.

I wouldn't casually recommend this, though. You either like Fellini and 50's Italian cinema or you don't.

the Exorcist

Picked this up at a garage sale last summer, I believe. Just read it for the first time. It's fucking brilliant.

Rosemary's Baby and the Exorcist are two of my favorite horror films. Two of my favorite films, period. And their respective novels are top class.

There was a lot more cut from the Exorcist than Rosemary's Baby. There are quite a few additional subplots in the original novel that never make it to the screen. That's fine. The film is amazing as-is. But when you read the novel you certainly get introduced to a much deeper world than the portion that's portrayed on the silver screen. It's definitely worth a read.

This is a quick, easy read. It's very compelling.

Read it.