Author: dhilhorst

  • Life in the Fast Lane

    I have been rather busy lately and posts have been rare — this entry will explain some of the reasons but will probably leave you with more questions than answers. Bear with me. In a few weeks time you will know why. Right, let’s start some rumors.

    First. I will be moving to Italy in September. Some of you may know why, yet some of you may have to wait a little before understanding what the heck is going on. It may not come as a surprise to you that this new endeavor is design related. This decision will change my life and career. Trust me.

    Second. I will have my own blog. Yes. I must be the last designer in this business not to have his own blog. That will change. I’m currently working hard to get everything ready and figure out how to hack my way through Movable Type 3.0. Yes, I did cough up the $69. Six Apart needs to make money too, you know.

    So why leave SB? There are a few reasons. First and foremost I want my own design. Something I can play with and change the way I see fit. Furthermore my own blog will be associated with my voice more clearly. Expect some thought provoking content in the future. So when will it launch? Ah, good question. I can’t let you know an exact date at this time. But in a few weeks is probably realistic. Don’t worry, you will hear about it.

    Third. You probably noticed that there have not been any new issues of FAST, Weekend Reading and Guru on Paper. Again this is due to the lack of time at the moment. As any blogger knows, quality content takes time. Blogging in general takes time and dedication. In the coming weeks you should not expect a whole lot of posts. But I will be back (you know how to pronounce that…)

    Some links

    To avoid posting an entry exclusively about me, here are some links to noteworthy stuff related to design, usability, blogging and what not.

  • Dude, That’s My Airbag

    Saturday afternoon and nasty hangover. “The airbag.ca domain can not be found.” Retry. No luck. What? Greg? Greg? No Greg? What? Dude, you can’t do this to me — you’re like my cup of coffee and cigarette in the morning, ermm, afternoon. This is so unfair. What am I supposed to do without your witty words, thoughtful commentary and stylish design?

    Check email. Hurray, email from Greg!

    So, it appears that thousands of Canadian domains have been suspended and are pending immediate removal from the world wide web. Uh? I’m not sure as to why this is happening, or the rationale behind this decision for that matter. In all honesty I don’t give a rat’s ass — airbag is alive and kicking, allbeit at a new address:

    http://www.airbagindustries.com

    Update your bookmarks, links and blogrolls! Now!

  • Business Logs

    What makes a great company? Their dollars? Their products? Their services? No. Eventually it’s the people, human capital, that makes a company better than good. Business Logs is a new venture created by three talented individuals, each one of them adding their expertise to create a company that can help a business move forward by using online communication tools. These individuals are Paul Scrivens, Mike Rundle and Matthew Oliphant.

    Personally I’ve always been interested in business in general and high technology. Using blogs as a means to improve communication is nothing new. Using blogs as a means to make money is nothing new either. But how about combining the two? Blogs are definitively catching on in the corporate world. Business Logs aims its services at those companies that see the power of blogs in business. It will be interesting to see what they come up with, how they will tackle problems and what different strategies they will develop in the future. I wish them nothing but good luck.

  • Apples and Oranges

    My second column, entitled “Apples
    and Oranges
    ,” was published over at Digital
    Web Magazine
    , while being asleep. This time around I take a shot at understanding
    the relation between the fields of usability and design and why, more often than
    not, they collide. Yup, that topic — again. Both fields are mandatory and
    I think the web at large, as well as high technology in general, will benefit
    greatly from a (better) mutual understanding. Digital Web Magazine now features
    the possibility to comment on articles, so consequently comments on this entry
    are closed, but
    speak out
    !

    This column would not have been half as good if it wasn’t for the valuable
    feedback of Donna
    Driscoll
    . Who? Yup, Donna! Remember her name because there’s a lot
    this lady has to let know — mark my words (the pressure is on!) Additionally
    you can read Donna’s
    bio
    for more background information on her professional experience. Coincidentally
    Donna is married to the Michael Moore of design, none other than my friend Andrei
    Herasimchuk. Both are currently enjoying their honeymoon on the wonderful Greek
    island of Santorini. I just came back from Greece (Crete) and I already want
    to return. Enjoy your time in Greece, both of you, you deserve it, and keep
    those superb
    photographs
    coming.

  • First Publication

    We are pleased to announce the availability of our first eBook, in PDF format, entitled “Budget Design: Increase Profit by Improving Process.” We postponed launch several times due to our busy schedules — but Dan e-mailed me last night to announce that the web site was live and that downloading can start as of now. Many thanks to Dave Shea for adding his stamp of approval by way of contributing the foreword.

    The best part? We offer it free for 7 days! Yup. Free. So get it for free while you can. After 7 days we will charge $9. That’s still a bargain. The payment phase will be an experiment of sorts, to see what kind of interest there is in this sort of publication. Please let us know what you think. Leave a comment here or send us a message.

    As for me, I’m somewhere in Europe waiting to catch a flight to Greece. Vacation indeed. Dan e-mailed me that he was catching a flight too (nice timing, eh?) so I decided to find a moment to write up this entry. See you all again in 10 days.