When the Mac App Store was released, I downloaded one and only one app through it: Twitter for Mac. It was the only way to upgrade from Tweetie, and from all accounts was worth the upgrade.

Since then, I haven’t opened the Mac App Store, mostly so I wouldn’t have to face the temptation on a constant basis. I even removed it from my dock — as they say, “out of sight, out of mind.”

Until I went to download my second Mac App Store app (ironically enough, it was to purchase a license for Twitterrific). As the Mac App Store opened, I noticed an update was available for the one app I had downloaded previously. I clicked to see the details, and was absolutely shocked by what I found:

I had never been made aware that there was an update available for Twitter for Mac (and I usually am pretty good at staying on top of this type of thing). So, for almost two months I’ve been running an outdated version of the software, which could potentially be full of security holes or other issues.

Now, the updates for the app seem to be more related to UI issues, but what if that wasn’t the case? What if one of the problems this update fixed was “stops crazy hackers from scooping up all of your personal data”? I would have left myself open to over two months of possible attack.

I get that up until the Mac App Store was launched, Application downloading and installing could be a little confusing for the average user. But, once the application was installed more often than not the application used some sort of internal updating system to notify you when new versions were available.

This makes me very nervous about using the Mac App Store for purchasing any more software from it. I’ll be buying Twitterrific right from the Icon Factory’s website instead. As for apps which can only be bought from the MAS, I’ll be very hesitant to do so without carefully considering the value and stability of the applications I look to buy.

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The Mill Pond, which is located on the Dorchester Creek and runs into the Thames River, is an exquisite place. The 3.5 km trail is my all-time favourite places to run, and my childhood memories are full of hockey games and bike rides on and around the pond. It is the first place I recognized as something related to “the environment,” and was often the location of school trips.

As amazing as the pond is, I hate this bridge. Not because the bridge itself is bad. It’s well built, sturdy, and is wide enough for people to pass on both sides. No, my issue is that it brings to mind my one negative memory of the Mill Pond: the day I couldn’t draw a Blue Heron.

It was grade 4, and we took one of our usual field trips to the pond, this time with pencils and sketchbooks in hand, with the goal of sketching either a scene or object we found interesting. When we went down there, there was a beautiful blue heron sitting at the bottom of the waterfall just below this bridge. Even with 30+ students running around, the bird stood completely still. I decided I would try my hand at drawing this beautiful creature, found a rock close by to sit, opened my sketchbook to the first empty sheet (which was the first sheet in the book), and froze.

I couldn’t draw.

I trace my finger in the air along the circumference of the blue heron’s head, down its side, around its beak and back up again. I tried to copy that pattern on the paper, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t do it. The lines didn’t look right. The proportions were all off. I couldn’t see a bird in my blob of lead.

So, I gave up. Once in a while I’d give it another shot, even pick up a book at the library to see if I could figure it out, but I’ve I’ve never successfully drawn anything other than stick figures and maps. I was so dumbfounded by inability to draw that while approaching the end of school and trying to decide what career path to take, I vowed I would never do anything in art or design. I clearly wasn’t capable.

Fast forward 17 years from that fateful day at the pond, and I’m nearing my first year anniversary of working as a freelance designer. No, I’m still not drawing anything, but I have decided I won’t let that stop me from being the best designer I can be.

Maybe you’ve got a limitation that, no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to get through. My advice to you is to give up, not because giving up is the goal, but because there are so many other things you can latch your time and talent onto that struggling endlessly on a single skill just doesn’t make sense. Instead, find something you do seem to have a bit of talent in, even if it’s basic and unrefined. Work at refining and polishing and perfecting that talent until it becomes a skill, or even a strength. Don’t let something you can’t do discourage you from doing something you were quite possible made to do.

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Since my introduction to the world of online publishing, I’ve tried my best to be as genuine as possible, sometimes to a fault. I’ve been very transparent on some of my past blogs, talking openly about some of my personal struggles and my victories. On several occasions people have commented that perhaps I’m a bit too transparent online, that maybe I need to tone it down a little.

The topic has come up again as it relates to my use of Twitter. For me, Twitter isn’t a marketing channel or a brand management solution. When people ask, I tell them that who I am on Twitter is the real me. However, it also isn’t the whole me. It’s who I am when I’m in a specific subset of moods, when I have something to say that can be compacted into 140 characters. Of any of my online writing separate from my professional writing, it is really my least personal display of who I am.

In real life, I am almost never terse. I think internally well before I speak out loud. I listen, intently, to what those around me are saying. In a conversation, I soak up every word being spoken to me, and do my best to seek a better understanding if I’m confused about something. I admit that most of the time, I’m wrong about whatever it is I think I know.

I find it very difficult to do any of these things on Twitter. Terseness is championed, listening to everything that’s being said is next to impossible, seeking understanding is even less so, and no matter how much I try, I simply cannot communicate clearly enough that what I say isn’t set in stone. It’s bits and bytes.

I am not trying to say that who I am on Twitter isn’t really me. It is. If I seem like a dick on Twitter, it’s because I’m a dick in real life. If I seem insightful on Twitter, it’s because I’m insightful in real life. If I seem pushy, self-important, humble, caring, compassionate, egotistical, fanatical, abrasive, persuasive, passionate, dissonant, intelligent, mischievous, or stupid on Twitter, it’s because I am. In over 16,000 tweets, I have been all these things. Yet, I am still more. I’ve got 228,338.8 hours under this belt (not to mention about 60 lbs of weight I need to get rid of). There’s simply no way the entirety of my character and personality can be revealed in just a few thousand sound bites.

I promise, I will never judge you based on a few misguided tweets. Leave a stupid comment on a blog somewhere, and I’m sure I can look past it. At the end of the day we’re all just a bunch of humans trying to swim our way through a series of tubes that will hopefully lead us to a deeper level of connection with each other and ourselves.

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Probably close to five years ago, a friend bought me a copy of “On The Road” by Jack Kerouac. We had been talking about the idea of just packing a carry-on sized bag and seeing the world, and this book was our way of promising we’d embark on that journey.

Five years later and that promise has yet to be fulfilled. That’s not to say my life has been void of adventure; from day-long drives to play concerts to a dozen people in a church in Ohio to spending nights gazing at the stars in panoramic vision in a field in Apsley, Ontario, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to discover the world around me.

Of all the things I’ve experienced in my first 26 years of life, my most cherished memories are the people I’ve met along the way. I’ve had the incredible opportunity to meet amazing people, people of passion, people who are challenging the world around them, people who simply give themselves to others every day. I sometimes struggle to express to these people just how profound an impact they have had on me. Perhaps not fully an introvert, but certainly not an extrovert, I am seemingly unable to get past my inhibition to simply tell someone “who you are and what you do means a lot to me.”

These people are the yellow roman candles in this world, the ones who burn, burn, burn and bring light to a dark world. While I may be temporarily unable to travel the world, I can certainly bask in the light of these people who I find in my own community. And maybe, just maybe, a little spark will find its way to my soul and re-ignite the fire in me.

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This year, I’ve learned that life can’t be pared down to a list. It’s our modern nature to compartmentalize everything, and I’m a modern creature. A roller coaster is the perfect analogy for life, though the downs are certainly not something I’m throwing my hands up in glee to get to. The ups are just as exciting to anticipate as they are to experience.

Every choice you make has a consequence, and those consequences are not always what you’d think they’ll be. You accept the things you cannot change, but realize that list isn’t actually as big as you think. In fact, that list of things you can’t change is one of the things you can change. Courage is prettier than fear, but they are both agents of change.

Girls are still the devil.

You will get the most joy out of working in your strengths. You don’t have to accept compromise. People who say otherwise are simply scared of the relational consequences, but don’t think of how accepting those compromises affects their relationships just as negatively. Living for you is one of the greatest things you can do for others. The best you is the person other people love you for.

I’m wrong about almost everything I know. You think this changes as you get older, that you get right about more things. The thing is, the more things you know, the more things you’re likely wrong about. As a kid, I was wrong about Santa and the Easter Bunny. As I’ve gotten older I’ve just found new, more mature fairy tales to believe in.

Hey Rosetta is one of the greatest Canadian bands we’ll ever know.

Time is precious. Take some of it and enjoy it. Stop, meditate, breathe. You won’t believe how much time you have until you stop filling it up with shit to do.

I’m not who I was yesterday, and today I’ll never be who I’ll be tomorrow. Live right now. Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Each moment more so. Take as much time to breathe as you possibly can.

The moments you are awake are most defined by the time you take to rest.

The first 26 years of life are the best years of your life, until the first 27 years of your life are the best.

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Designers, for the most part, are geeks. And geeks, for the most part, are trailblazers. They are willing to give new technology a chance, even if it means building their own computer from spare parts, waiting for a dial-up connection to be made, or waiting in line for 4 days for a phone.

2010 saw the rise of the web font. Fantastic services such as Typekit and Web Type have provided a way for web designers to leave behind relics like Georgia, Verdana and Arial. We’ve seen some pretty incredible work done with typography on the web since, and I am sure that more work is on the horizon.

I’ve been using Typekit on my personal site for a year now, and have always been pleased with how things look on my machine. Today I was playing around with the type on my site and decided to start using FF Meta Serif Web. FF Meta Serif looked fantastic on my Mac. I knew that on computers powered by Windows the type might look a little jaggy, but that has been the case since the day I designed my first website over 5 years ago.

I assumed that using type served by these services were at least readable on operating systems and browsers. However, this screenshot from Derek Silva shows I was terribly mistaken:

It turns out that on Derek’s Windows 7 machine running Chrome, the text is beyond jaggy; it’s almost entirely unreadable. If a potential client were to visit my site from a Windows machine, they would think I’m completely unprofessional.

What confounds me even more about this situation is that FF Meta Serif Web, specifically, was endorsed by respected typographer Stephen Coles, among others. I thought I had done my due diligence by selecting a font which had been hinted for the screen. It seems there’s much more to it than I initially thought.

This experience has caused me to wonder, are today’s web fonts ready for prime time? Are we, as designers, wise in making fonts—which aren’t properly designed for the screen—widely available for use on the web?

Or maybe there are web fonts that I’m not seeing that are specifically designed for the screen like Georgia and Verdana were. What fonts are you using on your personal projects and client work?

Addendum

Well, it appears as though there is in fact more to this story. After I published this article I was able to get my hands on my parents’ Windows PC and test my site out on Google Chrome. As Derek experienced, the type was almost completely illegible.

I did a bit of digging, and remembered a bit of CSS code I had picked up from Tim Van Damme a while back that related specifically to font antialiasing:

-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased

At one point when I was using Helvetica on my site, I had used this bit of code to smooth out the look of the type on Webkit browsers. However it turns out that when you use this code on a font that’s already hinted for the screen—like FF Meta Serif Web is—the font is in effect over-aliased to the point of being unreadable. Once I went back into my CSS code and removed that declaration, the type on the Windows machine was as clear as any other font on a Windows machine. For a before and after comparison:

While I would still argue that we need to be mindful of the fonts we choose to use in our web design work, I am glad to know that there are in fact web fonts which are designed for the screen which are available to use today.

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I almost made it. At the beginning of the year I set out on a path of taking a photograph every day, and for the first few weeks I did just that. I then took a spur-of-the-moment trip to Palo Alto, CA that derailed my progress for a couple of weeks. I was finally able to get back to my camera this past Sunday evening, but missed out yesterday again.

Now that I’m in a new month, I’m setting for myself the simple goal of just making it this month. From there, I will re-evaluate whether I’m capable of pulling the project off for the rest of the year, but I definitely hope I can.

As a way of introducing some of you who may not be following the project on Flickr or Tumblr to what I’m doing, I’ve decided to publish this post, highlighting some of my favourite shots from the series so far. Clicking on any of the following photos will take you to Flickr where you can read the story behind each of the photos and, in some cases, read what others have said as well.

I hope you enjoy!

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When I was working on the design of my site, I knew that I wanted to add a flair of personality to the copy of the site. Because my design style is generally pretty minimal, I wanted the copy to show that I wasn’t some boring guy stuck behind his grids and his white backgrounds and black type.

There were a few places I had in mind where just the right amount of personalized copy would increase the quality of the interactions visitors would have with the site. Those areas are:

1. the About page.
2. the Comments section.
3. the Contact form.

In this article I’m going to share how I used thoughtful copy to communicate personality to those interacting with my site.

A Personal Biography

I was nervous about the biography I wrote for myself when I first launched the site. Nervous because it was long and it was personal. A mix of professional and personal information is included in the About section, including info about my family, my reasons for getting into design, information about my music career, etc.

I made the decision to include personal information because I want potential clients to feel comfortable not only about what I can do, but also about who I am. I want them to know my story, with the hopes that they can see themselves in that story and want to move ahead to hire me for their project.

The same goes for those interested in my blog. When I read a blog that interests me I want to find out who the author behind the writing is. Who they are influences what they write, and I want to be able to make that connection.

Urging You to Comment

When I made the decision to add comments to my site, I knew it could be an opportunity to add some personalization to a common user interaction.

Using a mix of ExpressionEngine’s Conditional Global Variables and Channel Entries Conditional Variables to determine whether comments were open for an entry and how many comments there were, I was able to serve up either a more personalized invitation to leave a comment, or a kind indication that comments were no longer open.

{exp:channel:entries channel="blog" limit="1" disable="trackbacks|member_data|pagination"}
{if allow_comments == FALSE}

I'm sorry. Commenting is closed on this entry, either because it is more than 30 days old, or simply because I have turned comments off. If you'd like to continue the conversation, please feel free to contact me directly or strike up a conversation on Twitter!

{if:elseif comment_total == 1}

There is 1 lonely comment. Feel free to leave another!

{/if}
{if:elseif comment_total == "0"}

No one's left a comment. You should get the ball rolling!

{/if}
{if:elseif comment_total > 1}

There are {comment_total} comments. Why not add one more?

{/if} 
{/exp:channel:entries}

First, I determine if comments are allowed. I have my site set to close comments on entries once they are 30 days old. This may seem confusing to some users, so I make sure to apologize and clarify. I then offer other methods of continuing the conversation beyond the comment thread. This is much more user-friendly than ExpressionEngine’s default “Commenting is not available in this section entry.”

Next I determine how many comments there are and based on that information, I serve up one of three different phrases. For entries with no comments: “No one’s left a comment. You should get the ball rolling!” For entries with one comment: “There is 1 lonely comment. Feel free to leave another!” And finally, for entries with more than one comment: “There are {comment_total} comments. Why not add one more?”

The key to this is the invitation to continue the conversation. Using directives like “get the ball rolling,” “leave another,” and “why not add one more?” engages users in the conversation. Starting a conversation is always difficult. Being prompted into a conversation is much easier. These directives are my way of asking the user “so, what do you think?”

Thanking You For Connecting

One of my proudest examples of adding a personal touch to user interaction is on the Contact page. Everyone has seen a page like this before: a big, scary form that may or may not end up in the recipient’s inbox. I’ve had too many conversations with people who feel uncomfortable when the only feedback they get from submitting a contact form is a “Message Sent” warning to not take this interaction seriously.

On my form, there are three types of inquiries available to choose:

1. Request for a Quote
2. Request for Information
3. Say Hi!

There are several reasons why I’ve divided the nature of a user’s inquiry into one of these three types. The main reason is that I want to provide contextual feedback based on the type of inquiry they are making once they submit the form.

Here are the three feedback statements I give, based on the nature of the user’s inquiry:

Request for a Quote

Thank you very much for your request for a quote, {name}! I will be taking a look at the information you provided regarding the {project_type} project you have requested a quote for, and I will be in touch in the next 48 hours. Have a great day!

Request for Information

Thank you very much for your request, {name}! I will try to get back to you with the requested information in the next 48 hours. Have a great day!

Say Hi!

Thank you very much for getting in touch, {name}! It is very kind of you to say hello. I will do my best to be in touch within the next 48 hours. Have a great day!

The reason each type of inquiry generates a different message is so the user knows interaction has occurred. When the only feedback they receive is “Message Sent,” how does a user know that’s actually the case? With these feedback statements, the user knows at the very least that some form of interaction has happened, and that the type of information they input into the form has produced a result specific to their inquiry.

You’ll notice a couple variables in each of these feedback statements.

{name} - This field pulls the “Name” field from the contact form, so that the feedback statement can address the user directly. This type of interaction ensures that user that at least something happened, so they can probably rest assured that the form did in fact get their message to me.

{project_type} - In the “Request for a Quote” statement, I’ve included their selected Project Type in their feedback statement. This gives the user assurance that the form successfully gathered more than just their personal information, but also specific information about their specific inquiry.

Creating Delight

Every interaction on your website is an opportunity to create delight. You have an opportunity to use your own voice to directly impact the interactions your users have with your site. Whether your site is a personal site, a corporate site, or even a web application, your users will benefit from hearing your voice direct them, guide them, welcome them and thank them.

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Last week, I had the opportunity to shoot portraits for my friend Becci and her siblings. It was a Christmas gift to her parents. We went out on a cold, wintery afternoon to her family’s farm to shoot. While the sun was hidden behind the clouds that day, there was enough light from the love of the Bennett family to make for some truly brilliant portraits.

If you or someone you know would like portrait photographs taken, or if you have any other photography needs, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

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I’ve been contemplating what to write as a way of summarizing this roller-coaster of a year. There have been plenty of ups and downs, but what I want to focus on this year is what I was able to ship. As Seth Godin wrote earlier this week:

If it doesn’t ship, it doesn’t count.

Freelance Career

I still consider myself in “shipping” mode with this, but back in May 2010 I made the leap to full-time freelance and I haven’t looked back. This has been one of the best decisions of my entire life, and has been the launching point for so much of what I’ve been able to ship this year.

Tim Latham

This past spring, I received an email from Tim Latham, a Grammy-winning music engineer from New York City. He had seen a project I had worked on previously and wanted me to redesign his website. We launched in the Summer of 2010 and I’m very proud of how the project turned out.

Church & Charity WordPress Themes

I was approached on a couple of occasions this year to design premium WordPress themes. Adam Pickering of ChurchThemer asked me to design a set of WordPress themes aimed at churches and para-church organizations. We were able to ship that theme this past Fall.

I was later asked by Chris Wallace of UpThemes to design a WordPress theme for his company. I ultimately decided to design a WordPress theme for charities. The theme was shipped this past December.

Photography

This is an interesting aspect of my life that I don’t talk about a whole lot, other than when I post some of the photographs I’ve been taking. Ever since purchasing my Nikon D90 last December I have been working hard at learning the craft and expanding my experiences with it.

I consider that I have “shipped” photography this year, not only because of the photos I have shared, but because within one year I was able to grow in the craft, enjoy some incredible photography-related experiences, and even land my first paid photography gig. In fact, I’ve even lined up my second one for some time next year. While I don’t expect photography to take over my design profession any time soon, it’s nice to have a hobby I enjoy which also brings in a little cash on its own (hopefully enough to start paying for some upgraded equipment!)

Simple Desks

What started as a personal project has turned into… well, I’m not even sure what to call it. Whatever it is, over 4000 combined readers/followers have found something to enjoy about Simple Desks.

With the new year upon us, I’m very proud to announce that Simple Desks has been added to the Fusion Ads roster. I’m so pleased to now have both my personal site and my fun side project included in this amazing network.

Boss Rebel Album

Over the course of the Spring, my band Boss Rebel was in the studio recording our newest full-length album, “Heavybad.” We shipped the album in August 2010, and have had an amazing time promoting it at shows and other venues since its release.

Heavybad Music Video

In the Summer of 2010 my friend Edward Platero offered to shoot a music video for my band. 3 days, 30 extras, a keg of beer, two guitars destroyed by a pool, and a now infamous Speedo led to what became my band’s first music video. We shipped in the Fall, and began work on our second video in October.

New and Improved Website. And Another.

Last month I was proud to release a new site for my portfolio. Powered by ExpressionEngine (affiliate link), it was the first step towards bringing harmony to everything I do online. This week, I shipped the second iteration of that design, and so far it has been rather well received. I couldn’t be happier.

It’s amazing to look back on the year focused on the positives. Viewed through the lens of some of the struggles that have come this year, it’s even more amazing I was able to accomplish all of this. I want to make sure I effectively communicate to all of you how much it’s meant to have your help, support and encouragement this year. Thank you. Thank you very much.

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