GraphiteMind

My first Threadless design is up for voting! It’s a detail...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:26:00 -0500

My first Threadless design is up for voting! It’s a detail from the mural I did for DevBootcamp Chicago’s new space.

I’m excited to do more designs from my past pieces, so if you have a favorite you’d like to see on a shirt, iPhone, or whatever, tweet it at me here: @agentFin

“Consume or Be Consumed”

http://www.threadless.com/threadless/consume-or-be-consumed/

Over the years, I’ve gotten used to people leaning over my...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:06:54 -0500

Over the years, I’ve gotten used to people leaning over my shoulder to watch me sketch, at conferences, at coffee shops. I’ve always meant to do some kind of recording of my process, but til now, I just hadn’t.

Showing process, showing the hours that happen behind the scene, the indecision, the overwhelming question of “where to start?” … this matters to me HUGELY.

In essence, I am a curator of ideas. I distill and coalesce what others say, find cross applications and common patterns. But mainly, it’s listening.

This mural was different. Pulled straight from the ether. But it was informed from conversations with Dave Hoover who commissioned it for DevBootcamp, drawn from all the previous metaphors I’ve constructed at the design and developer talks I’ve gone to… and then I had to actually put first chalk and then ink to the wall.

There was no map or path provided. There was only this idea of what the mural was intended to inspire: for people to think, and to share those thoughts, visually, on a surface.

So here you go. A glimpse into the making of a sketchnote on the large scale.

Threw down a quick sketchnote of Shay Howe talking about 1871,...

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 13:09:00 -0600

Threw down a quick sketchnote of Shay Howe talking about 1871, StarterLeague, collaboration, freelancing, finding developers… good lord. That was a LOT to fit into just two-minutes!

You can watch him speak for himself here:

UX-pert Shay Howe on Freelance Front End Developers & Networking

I always love a talk that starts by lighting a fire in...

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:35:00 -0600

I always love a talk that starts by lighting a fire in someone’s corner, and Jen Myers, Instructor at the freshly launched DevBootcamp Chicago, did not disappoint at this week’s Geekfest.

It might not seem like it, but the best way to get folks to learn is to tell them they CANT do something. Design is like that. Telling developers they can’t design… well, they’ve been hearing that on the sly for a while. The trick is you have to then provide some direction, some resources for those you’ve just knocked.

Design, like art in general, has become this mystical thing that you’re either born knowing how to do, or will fail at epically for your whole life. Malcolm Gladwell [now getting props from Macklemore] has shed some light with the 10,000hrs theory. But unless the process is revealed, those 10,000hrs can be spend flailing, rather than learning and practicing efficiently.

I’ve experienced the challenge of this when I’ve taught my sketchnote classes. Explaining my process, the tricks I use that are now so naturally embedded in my habit, was incredibly difficult at first. But in teaching, I learned more about what I really do.

So, developers, ask designers better questions. Ask them if you can watch their process. Designers, when a developer tells you “we can’t do that” ask them to explain what it would take. LEARN FROM EACH OTHER.

The distance between design and code is shrinking, between prototype and implementation, between build and ship. If we don’t start learning what happens on the other side, it’s going to get really ugly around here.

Some good start points:

“Design for Hackers” - David Kadavy: Great for the coders, but also important for designers to realize how obtuse some of what they take for granted really is.

“The Non-Designers Design Book” - Robin Williams: The most straight forward and easily digestible entry into design, complete with exercises to help you realize why red really isn’t the right color there…

[see full size here]

Troy Henikoff swung by Starter League to tell the story of not...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:55:00 -0600

Troy Henikoff swung by Starter League to tell the story of not only where he came from, but also where Excelerate Labs [now TechStars Chicago] is headed. You wouldn’t expect someone with boat building dreams to wind up in startup land, but maybe it makes perfect sense. After all, incubators are all about putting wind in someone’s sails, about streamlining and surviving the taking and jibing to make it to the finish line.

[see full size here]

Ray Hightower, President of WisdomGroup, presented...

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:48:00 -0600

Ray Hightower, President of WisdomGroup, presented “Extending Ruby Motion with Gems and Pods” at this week’s Geekfest.

So, you want to build an app, but your team is Ruby based… That’s exactly what RubyMotion was created for. Objective-C isn’t evil, it’s just not efficient to try to work another code base into your team process when you’re already rolling in Ruby land.

Yes, you still need XCode, but such is the life with iOS anything. At least they’re upfront with the guidelines they want you to follow to get into the AppStore! [HIG]

As you dig in, it’s pretty much gems all the way down [haha] making every step of your app building process as Ruby-ified as possible. From testing with MacBacon, to Ruby syntax for your Objective-C method calls with Bubble-Wrap, it’s all there for you and your team to keep on truckin.

[see full size]

It’s been a while since I got to go to a Geekfest, and...

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 15:45:00 -0600

It’s been a while since I got to go to a Geekfest, and this past week was a treat. Adrian Holovaty did a demo and deep dive into Soundslice. Created to smooth the path to transcribing guitar tabs and using all HTML5 Canvas, it’s an elegant addition to the music-tech world.

Caught with just my moleskin I went “all pen” this time. Been interesting giving myself the chance to try out the single-phase technique. Oh, and no. That’s not a real triple-fold moleskin.

[see full size]

CEC [Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center] presented their second...

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 16:32:48 -0600

CEC [Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center] presented their second annual StartupForecast at Chase Bank Auditorium. Their panel of predictors touched on the top trends in the tech world, including how tech is breaking out into the real world.

Panel: Harper Reed (@harper) CTO of Obama for America, Luke Shepard (@lukeshepard) CTO of eSpark Learning, Marcy Capron (@marcymarcy), CEO of Polymathic, and Craig Ulliott (@craigulliott) CTO of Belly. Moderated by Kevin Willer (@kwiller)

What do we do when we “fail?” C4 [Chicago Consumer...

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 14:24:25 -0600

What do we do when we “fail?”

C4 [Chicago Consumer Culture Community] brings research by Linda Tuncay Zayer and Cele Otnes on how failure is dealt with. The four main tropes identified are:

1) Failure Inherent to the Service Context

2) Failure as a Mobilizing Frustration

3) Failure as Fated

4) Failure as a Cue to Re-evaluate.

“Consumers’ Conceptualizations of Failure in a High-Risk Health-Related Service Context”

http://chicagoconsumerculture.com/Current.html

Josh Evnin, Kurt Peterson and Jack Kent [the UX team for...

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 10:48:59 -0600

Josh Evnin, Kurt Peterson and Jack Kent [the UX team for GrubHub] present how they combatted the dreaded Kitchen Menu Drawer. #XDCHI

Making enterprise sexy and being a wedge. Jeff Lawson CEO,...

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:45:58 -0600

Making enterprise sexy and being a wedge.

Jeff Lawson

CEO, Twilio

Aaron Levie

CoFounder & CEO, Box

[TwilioCon]

by/ @agentfin

A Startup is not a small company… it’s an idea in...

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:43:28 -0600

A Startup is not a small company… it’s an idea in search of a business plan.

Steve Blank

Serial Entrepreneur

[TwilioCon]

by/ @agentfin

How to get funded… or not. Dave McClure Founder, 500...

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:41:00 -0600

How to get funded… or not.

Dave McClure

Founder, 500 Startups

Naval Ravikant

Founder, AngelList

[TwilioCon]

by/ @agentfin

Don’t forget about the magic! Jessica Lawerence Managing...

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:38:00 -0600

Don’t forget about the magic!

Jessica Lawerence

Managing Director, New York Tech Meet Up [TwilioCon]

by/ @agentfin

Connecting to customers in the middle of NOW-WHERE....

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:31:45 -0600

Connecting to customers in the middle of NOW-WHERE. [TwilioCon]

Nilofer Merchant, author of 11 Rules for Creating Value in the...

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:15:00 -0600

Nilofer Merchant, author of 11 Rules for Creating Value in the #SocialEra, on being your onlyness and owning your baggage. [PITCH Refinery]

by/ @agentfin

Liz Strauss, Founder of SOBCon, on telling your one best story....

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:40:20 -0600

Liz Strauss, Founder of SOBCon, on telling your one best story. [PITCH Refinery]

by/ @agentfin

Heather Gold, geek comedian and un-presenter, on how in order to...

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:28:20 -0600

Heather Gold, geek comedian and un-presenter, on how in order to present effectively to someone else, you have to perform in your skin. [PITCH Refinery]

by/ @agentfin

Caleb Gardner, Digital Strategist at Digital Intent, on how to...

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:18:00 -0600

Caleb Gardner, Digital Strategist at Digital Intent, on how to go beyond spray & pray with the press. [PITCH Refinery]

by/ @agentfin

Amber Naslund, Co-founder and President of Sideraworks, on how...

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:12:00 -0600

Amber Naslund, Co-founder and President of Sideraworks, on how by doing less you can connect more. [PITCH Refinery]

by/ @agentfin

GraphiteMind

My first Threadless design is up for voting! It’s a detail...

Over the years, I’ve gotten used to people leaning over my...

Threw down a quick sketchnote of Shay Howe talking about 1871,...

UX-pert Shay Howe on Freelance Front End Developers & Networking

I always love a talk that starts by lighting a fire in...

Troy Henikoff swung by Starter League to tell the story of not...

Ray Hightower, President of WisdomGroup, presented...

It’s been a while since I got to go to a Geekfest, and...

CEC [Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center] presented their second...

What do we do when we “fail?” C4 [Chicago Consumer...

Josh Evnin, Kurt Peterson and Jack Kent [the UX team for...

Making enterprise sexy and being a wedge. Jeff Lawson CEO,...

Making enterprise sexy and being a wedge.

Jeff Lawson

Aaron Levie

A Startup is not a small company… it’s an idea in...

Steve Blank

How to get funded… or not. Dave McClure Founder, 500...

How to get funded… or not.

Dave McClure

Naval Ravikant

Don’t forget about the magic! Jessica Lawerence Managing...

Don’t forget about the magic!

Jessica Lawerence

Connecting to customers in the middle of NOW-WHERE....

Jolie O’Dell

Bastian Lehmann

Mina Radhakrishnan

Ash Rust

Nilofer Merchant, author of 11 Rules for Creating Value in the...

Liz Strauss, Founder of SOBCon, on telling your one best story....

Heather Gold, geek comedian and un-presenter, on how in order to...

Caleb Gardner, Digital Strategist at Digital Intent, on how to...

Amber Naslund, Co-founder and President of Sideraworks, on how...