Blog Posts about Voices That Matter

On Thursday, June 25, @Peachpit and @RahafHarfoush threw down for a live, full-hour Twitterview about the Obama campaign’s use of social media. Check out the transcript and suggest the next Twitterview author!

In a recent conversation with the authors of A Project Guide to UX Design—Russ Unger and Carolyn Chandler—we chatted at some length about the various roles on a Web team, both best case and worst case. (Here’s the full interview.)

In a recent blog post, author and photographer David duChemin asked his loyal followers, “If you do not shoot vocationally but perhaps have been thinking about it, what is that number one question that keeps you up at night, or about which you just really wish you had some wisdom on?” As David’s publisher, I suggest that before you answer, you read his book, Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision. There is so much wisdom within its pages and images, it will change the way you think—and the way you work.

I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by and inspired by creative professionals my entire career. As a result of the sum of those experiences, I feel as passionately about the core principles of visual communications as practicing creatives do. Yes, creatives value aesthetics. Yes, they value inventiveness over stylization—but not at the expense of functionality. They are thoughtful, smart business professionals who value communication of real meaning over decoration.

Norman Hollyn's The Lean Forward Moment book is nothing short of brilliant. And his message is relevant for any creative professional, not just for filmmakers.

Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, gave his keynote at SXSW on Saturday. After describing his company culture to the post-lunch crowd (Zappos—now ranked high on Fortune Magazine’s top 100 places to work in 2009—is noted for its outstanding customer service), Hsieh outlined seven key ways a company can build a brand:

Nine years ago, when I signed Jeffrey Zeldman to do his first book for New Riders, Taking Your Talent to the Web, it was in what I call the “dot-com hoo-hah days” when all things Web were golden. A year later he finished the book, and it was published. By that time, the dot-com collapse had changed everything.

Why are so many designers and creatives also musicians?

We chose Nashville for our Voices That Matter: Web Design conference this June because it’s a center of creativity that offers a rich backdrop for our designer audience. Whether your tastes run to Robert Altman or the nearby Bonnaroo festival, offbeat galleries or botanical gardens, this city is sure to tweak your aesthetic sensibilities in unexpected ways. Read on for some examples.