Documanga from Google

Googlers have come up with an awesome document about the architecture of their open-source web browser, Google Chrome. The book grasped 100% of my attention the very moment I opened the link.

This 38-page document is presented as a comic book drawn by the creator of the classic "Understanding Comics", Scott McCloud. The content is rather technical, but the graphics of real Chrome team members and direct speech in baloons are so catchy that I swallowed all the -- otherwise rather boring -- techie stuff immediately and had perhaps the most pleasant tech-reading this year. What a perfect way to tell a story! Grade A!

My new "digital inkpot"

This morning I got hold of yet another "freaky mouse" as one would call it: Wacom Bamboo A6 digitizer (a.k.a tablet). I've been considering this buy for 1.5 years now, doubting all the way if I'll really use it after my first wow's evaporate. But finally, I got "ready for a tablet". Yeah, I feel a happy hippo today. :-)

Here's what it looks like:

Like with the trackball, it took me some time to get used to the device. I liked the vendor's interactive tutorial: it brought me up to speed with the tablet in less than 30 minutes.

I initially planned to use the tablet for editing graphics, drawing raster / vector schemes, and adding smart hand-written callouts and notes to documents and images. Now I also consider the tablet as another handy alternative to a regular mouse. I liked to scroll / zoom in documents using the tablet's touch-wheel, and speed buttons proved nice to navigate back / forward in web browsers. Anyway, I'll need several weeks to fully test the tablet's usability and understand which tasks it covers best. First of all, I can't wait to try it out with pressure-sensitive image editors. The ability to draw wider / narrower lines by pressing the pen firmer / softer against the tablet impressed me in the tablet's tutorial.

P.S. Mind the round-shaped pen holder that looks very much like a real inkpot. Now I feel a real writer! :-D

The rights of the reader

I liked this short discussion of a humorous poster entitled "The rights of the reader" by Daniel Pennac (he wrote a book with the same name). Indeed, this poster is quite in tune with what user-centered technical writers keep in mind as they write. :-)

Hilarious video from Font Conference

Ha-ha-ha!.. Can't stop laughing. :-D

Just imagine typing fonts... gather together and hold a conference! All those TNR, Arial Narrow, Futura, Comic Sans, Wingdings et al starring in a short clip. Acting and makeup are superb! Tech writers and all font-concious people will appreciate. :-)

10 mistakes in icon design

Here goes a handy checklist that helps fight typical mistakes in icon design. The author keeps things simple and gives nice illustrations to support his point. Just what an amateur designer like me would need next time when the need for drawing a simple custom icon arises. :-)

Summary:

1. Insufficient differentiation between icons.
2. Too many elements in one icon.
3. Unnecessary elements.
4. Lack of unity of style within a set of icons.
5. Unnecessary perspective and shadows in small icons.
6. Overly original metaphors.
7. National or social characteristics not being taken into account.
8. Images of real interface elements in icons.
9. Text inside icons.
10. Outside the pixel framework.

P.S. Thanks to Desh for sharing the link.

Trends in web design

Today I was surprised to learn that writing about trends in web design is so popular. Just google for something like "web design trend" and you'll get tonns of opinions and design samples!

The topic is not straightforwardly "techwriting", of course. Nonetheless, taking a look at carefully selected galleries boosts both mood and imagination. :-)

Once again about TOCs

Huh, it feels like my blog needs emergent revival with some fresh posts. ;-)

To start with, here comes yet another (wider) collection of creative and beautiful TOCs. I loved it!

The grace and beauty of TOC

Guys from the Design Observer blog have published a small book, The Next Page: Thirty Tables of Contents. It features Table of Contents (TOC) pages from 30 different publications that range from poetry and fiction to non-fiction prose of all kinds. Meeting so much different TOC styles, designs, and structures gathered in one place was fun. The collection inspired me to pay more attention to TOC design and, as the book's authors promised, I found the examples "engaging, the discrepancies between them even more so."

The book is now available as online slideshow at Design Observer's site. Also, these and 40 more TOC snaps are available on Flickr.

P.S. Thanks to Boris for sharing the link.

No new ideas? Here they come!

Check out a wonderfully inspiring post -- The Birth of a New Idea -- in Dan Blank's blog. Smile and creativity pepper-up guaranteed! :-)