static : pulse from Samuel Cockedey on Vimeo.

From time to time I get people asking me to recommend some books on Design, Website Development and User Experience, so hopefully this list can be useful.

Printwork

“Printwork” showcases the intimate relationship between prints and publications or promotions design. Graphic designers are continually challenged to find new ways to lend impact and interest to their work. The special printing methods collected in “Print Work” are employed to great effect in book and product design in innovative and exciting ways. Colors, gloss, and texture all add visual and tactile appeal to products, packaging and print designs. “Look and feel” has never been more important to the success of a product or campaign. “Print Work” encourages designers to experiment with unusual printing methods and techniques and challenges them to think beyond the computer screen and into the dimension of the realm of the senses. Presenting actual techniques featured in the book inviting readers to touch each page, allowing them access to the haptic quality of the finished products.

Sketching User Experiences
by Bill Buxton

Sketching User Experiences approaches design and design thinking as something distinct that needs to be better understood-by both designers and the people with whom they need to work- in order to achieve success with new products and systems. So while the focus is on design, the approach is holistic. Hence, the book speaks to designers, usability specialists, the HCI community, product managers, and business executives. There is an emphasis on balancing the back-end concern with usability and engineering excellence (getting the design right) with an up-front investment in sketching and ideation (getting the right design).

Universal Principles of Design
by William Lidewell et. al.

Richly illustrated, this book is the first comprehensive, cross-disciplinary encyclopedia of design. It pairs clear explanations of every design concept with visual examples of the concepts applied in practice. From the “80/20 rule to chunking, from baby-face bias to Ockham’s razor, and from self-similarity to storytelling, every major design concept is defined and illustrated for readers to expand their knowledge.

Designing The Obvious
by Robert Hoekman Jr

Designing the Obvious explores the character traits of great Web applications and uses them as guiding principles of application design so the end result of every project instills customer satisfaction and loyalty. These principles include building only whats necessary, getting users up to speed quickly, preventing and handling errors, and designing for the activity.

Slide:ology
by Nancy duarte

From the firm that created the presentation for Al Gore’s Oscar-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth, this book is full of practical approaches to visual story development that can be applied by anyone. The book combines conceptual thinking and inspirational design, with insightful case studies from the world’s leading brands.

Don’t Make Me Think
by Steve Krug

Five years and more than 100,000 copies after it was first published, it’s hard to imagine anyone working in Web design who hasn’t read Steve Krug’s “instant classic” on Web usability, but people are still discovering it every day.  In this second edition, Steve adds three new chapters in the same style as the original: wry and entertaining, yet loaded with insights and practical advice for novice and veteran alike.  Don’t be surprised if it completely changes the way you think about Web design.

Designing Web Interfaces
by Bill Scott & Thomson Neil

In this book, UI experts Bill Scott and Theresa Neil present more than 75 design patterns for building web interfaces that provide rich interaction. Distilled from the authors’ years of experience at Sabre, Yahoo!, and Netflix, these best practices are grouped into six key principles to help you take advantage of the web technologies available today.

Graphic Simplicity

Simple, high-quality design work: not just crisply elegant and eye-catching, but uncluttered and distinctive, colorful and refined, making subtly effective use of fonts and logos. In short, sophisticated designs seduce all who see them. This book presents a collection of just such work for those who appreciate genuine quality in graphic design, featuring a selection of the finest in simple and superlative design from the U.K., Italy, France, Spain, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, the USA and more, presented in a stylish, understated volume.

UX Design
by Russ Unger & Carolyn Chandler

User experience design is the discipline of creating a useful and usable Web site or application—one that’s easily navigated and meets the needs of both the site owner and its users. But there’s a lot more to successful UX design than knowing the latest Web technologies or design trends: It takes diplomacy, project management skills, and business savvy. That’s where this book comes in.

So we walked to Akasaka Grand Prince hotel which was only a few minutes away and waited to be picked up by the tour bus. On the way there, we stopped to take a photo near a cherry blossom tree and I saw a big ING billboard near our hotel. Geez…it seems like I can’t escape from work! Anyway, the tour leader didn’t look very Japanese! But it turned out he wasn’t our guide for the day. The weather forecast for that day was showers, but it didn’t rain. We were also notified later on by the tour guide that we’re able to drive to Station 4 (2200m above sea level) on Mount Fuji, whereas previously only Station 1 was open due to the bad weather. So from the Sunrise Tour terminal, we headed off to Mount Fuji on a long drive, passing through a tunnel (see picture) and arrived at the Mount Fuji Information Center. I got excited with the sight of Hello Kitty goodies at the souvenier shop (tourist trap?). Then we went to the 4th Station on Mount Fuji. As we ascended, we could see patches snow on the side of the road. We got off the bus at the 4th Station and it was freezing outside – winter wonderland. There were plenty of snow and the corn cobs on sale looked like a yummy relief from the cold. We spent around 1/2 hour there and then went to a nearby hotel for lunch. We sat on one table with 2 Sydney couples and 2 other people from the US. After that we travelled to Lake Ashi and I enjoyed the view along the way. The souvenir shop at Lake Ashi was very inviting. We wanted to stay and browse but only had 9 minutes to spare, so it was a mad rush trying to decide what to buy (Hello Kitty was on top of the list). We went on a ferry to the other side of the lake, browsed through more souvenier shops (which we didn’t mind doing) and then rode on a cable car to the top of the hill and back again. Towards the end of the tour, we went to Hakone and boarded a shinkansen back to Tokyo station. Those trains are amazingly fast! Their normal speed is around 300 km/h, but apparently they slow down (210 km/h) as they pass through a station. Even then it was difficult for us to take a good snapshot of it. In the evening we met up with Kim/Dwina for dinner. They took the same tour as us, but travelled with a different group. We were planning to have dinner at Yabu Soba but they were closing as we arrived at the restaurant. A quick look at our Lonely Planet book revealed that there’s another good restaurant nearby called Marugo and it’s famous for their tonkatsu. The restaurant is located near Akihabara and took us a while to look for the restaurant because we’re not familiar with Japanese street address system. We actually walked past the restaurant a couple of times when circling the block but because the shop doesn’t have a very visible number and the shop name is written in kanji, we weren’t too sure. We decided to bite the bullet and walk in and fortunately it is the right shop. Finally we could enjoy a good dinner meal.

Photos

Panic kicked in… T ran around trying to sort things out while I stayed with the luggages. We ended up buying a Suica Pass (turned out to be a good thing) and the Narita Express to go to Tokyo. We left the big suitcase at the airport (500 yen per day) and headed off with the smaller ones.

We thought we’d have to carry all our luggage all the way to the train platform but we were pleasantly surprised to find out that all trolleys in the airport works with all escalators (not travelators mind you). This was the first of “why-can’t-we-have-this-in-sydney” moments we often experienced in Japan.

We went straight to our hotel (Akasaka Hotel Monterey) and had to walk 3 blocks from the station to the hotel in the pouring rain while dragging our luggage. It felt like a miserable start to the holiday, but we didn’t let it ruin our honeymoon. It’s all part of an interesting holiday!

Another interesting sight we encountered was a locker for umbrellas which was strategically placed outside the hotel. The locker allows you to place your umbrella and lock it in position by using a combination number you choose yourself so you can have the peace of mind knowing that someone won’t steal your umbrella whilst it was unattended

We arrived at the hotel 2 hours prior to their normal check-in time, but thank God we were told that our room is ready. We took a shower, change into complimentary pyjamas provided by the hotel, and went to sleep until around 6pm. Nothing feels better than a hot shower after hours of travelling. After the nap, we still felt exhausted but were eager to go out and explore the area, and satisfy our hunger.

It was cold and windy and we weren’t sure what to have for dinner and decided to stroll around Akasaka area. To our surprise, we found a Jangara Ramen shop which specialises in Kyushu style ramen and was on our “to-try” list. Apparently they just opened another shop here in Akasaka. Ramen was good… the broth was good and it was a very satisfying experience for our first day in Japan. We’ll write a separate post about this one

We then walked around Akasaka area on the way back to the hotel. We stopped over at the Kinokuniya supermarket and bought some goodies just because they looked good!

Photos

We were very excited to be on board the A380 and loved every minute of it. My eyes were hurting because we’d been lacking sleep for several days, so I couldn’t watch the movies for too long. I tried to read the Nikon D80 camera’s manual but found myself falling asleep after a few pages. Luckily the inflight entertainment system also features “educational” stuff, so I decided to learn Japanese language and read information about Japan. T on the other hand made the most out of the in-seat power supply and did some last minute work stuff before switching to “holiday” mode.

We arrived at Changi International Airport – Terminal 3 at around 2pm. We got off the plane and took some photos of the plane from the boarding ramp before entering the terminal. We saw other passengers were taking similar shots. I guess they were impressed too! Changi Terminal 3 is huge and has closer resemblance to a shopping centre than an airport. The ceilings were designed to utilise natural light during the day and yet keep the heat out. Exclusive (read: expensive) stores also at the ready to serve you should you wish to shop for items like Vertu, Chopard, Mont Blanc, etc.

The terminal is so huge that it has its own monorail inside the terminal running every 3 minutes to take you to departure gates located towards the end of the terminal (in our case it can take up to 16 minutes to walk there – by using monorail we got there in 5 minutes)

I loved the koi ponds – HUGE koi fish kept coming up to the surface with their mouth opened wide. They probably thought we were going to feed them because we visited the pond close to their feeding time. You can easily find resting areas, free internet connections, yummy foods, glorious shops…and the toilets…ach, the toilets…some have views to the tarmac area, and there’s one in the centre (for ladies) which features a section that looks like a salon but without the hairdressers and equipments, plus 2 change rooms. Nice!

We had several hours to kill before our next flight to Japan, so we decided to go to the city to meet up with T’s friend. We took the MRT to Orchard Road and ate prawn mee (recommended by H). At first I thought it would be tasteless because it looked bland, but it turned out to be delicious! A small serve was enough for both of us. I can’t imagine how big the large serving is. We sussed out several shops as we waited for T’s friend, then we went to a cafe in Borders (it’s much nicer than the usual Gloria Jeans counters we have in Sydney) for a quick meal before heading back to the airport.

The next flight to Narita was at 11.40pm. We were extremely tired by then and my eyes were sore, so we slept as soon as the plane took off. Mind you, the flight was on the ‘normal’ 737-400 airplane (ie. small sized monitors) so we couldn’t be bothered to watch any movie. I was a bit annoyed as a stewardess woke us up at around 1.30am for “light refreshment”. Breakfast was served around 4 hours later and my stomach was confused.

Photos

Yeah I know, we’ve been quite lazy and busy at the same time ever since we got back to Sydney. Plus the thought of updating this blog is overwhelming- there’s so much to write about that we keep on postponing it.

Last Saturday we went to see the Michael Buble concert with two of our friends at the Entertainment Center. It was good, but Michael Buble looked drunk. I don’t know whether it was part of his act or he’s simply like that. I was more thrilled about the opening act by Naturally 7. They’re awesome!!!

Then on Wednesday night we went to see Phantom of the Opera at Lyric Theatre (Starcity). I’ve been waiting for so long to see that musical and I am glad to have watched it. I read on SMH that Anthony Warlow and Ana Marina were sick the previous week, so they were replaced by their understudies. Luckily we were able to see them perform that evening.

Booking and Reservations

We booked our ticket online directly from Singapore Airlines website. This simplified the reservation process as everything is linked to our Krisflyer frequent flyer membership. One further benefit is that we can also choose our seat prior to check-in. A quick look at SeatGuru reveals that row 71-83 is located on the upper deck. Singapore Airlines’ website doesn’t indicate this and instead simply shows these rows as if they’re just more rows towards the end of the plane. We decided to reserve row 80F & 80G as they provide plenty of legroom due to their position near the emergency exits. Alternatively, you may want to get 81H or 81K (or both if you’re a couple) if possible. We’ll let you know why later.

Check-In

We purchased the economy class ticket, so there’s not much to write about the check-in process. You still have the usual queue and even though we did internet check-in, it seems that the number of people queueing at the “Express (Internet Check-in)” counters is about the same as the regular line. But this is no biggie.

Our boarding pass showed 80F and 80G which is no surprise to us. We also noticed a bright orange sticker on it and wondered what they’re for.

Upon boarding the plane, we noticed a long queue at the gate and as we prepared to be stuck in line for the next 10 minutes we noticed another gate next to it with a sign “Business & Economy (Upper Deck)” and no queue. We were able to board the aircraft immediately when we showed our boarding pass (the bright orange sticker indicates that we are seated in the upper deck). We gave a cheeky smile to those still waiting in line as we walked towards the plane, and a few seconds later we were on board the biggest and most advanced commercial aircraft in the world.

Those who are lucky enough to sit in the First Class or better known as the ‘Suites’ get their own walkway to the aircraft and completely separated from other passengers.

Cabin & Interiors

Upon entering the aircraft we noticed a small vase with flowers on the wall. There were also some paintings located near the staircase. They definitely tried to improve the interior design and without the rows of seats you can easily forget that you are entering an aeroplane. The ambience of light can also be adjusted to not only different brightness levels but also colour (warmer colour on cruising altitude and the usual bright white when on the ground or whenever food service is in progress). The ambience transition is very smooth although we found it happening too frequently on our trip back to Sydney. We’re not quite sure if they are really that necessary (most passengers were asleep) or the captain was simply showing off his new toy.

Another reason that you should try to get a seat on the upper deck is that they are arranged in a 2-4-2 format whereas lower deck is 3-4-3. This not only means that you have less people to fight over the restroom but you also feel less cramped when seating on either sides and provide extra privacy when travelling in pairs.

A new feature (and a pretty good one!) is the additional compartments on the window seats. There is now a gap of about 20cm by the window where you can store some personal items. Very handy if you have valuable items but worry someone might pinch it from the overhead locker or from your lap while you’re asleep. We managed to fit a laptop (in it’s bag), an SLR camera (in it’s bag), 2 winter jackets and our complimentary blankets in it. We were very impressed.

Comfort

The seats on A380 economy class aren’t that much different from the typical economy seats found elsewhere however the extra 2-3 cm legroom and higher ceiling gave a more spacious feel overall. When reclining the seat we found that the bottom part moves forward slightly too. This is pretty minor but we felt that we should mention it anyway.

They also seem to have improved the cabin pressurisation system. We didn’t feel as much dryness or discomfort compared to the usual 737-400 Megatop or 777-300 Jubilee.

Business travellers are no strangers to in-seat power points but in yet another world-first offering Singapore Airlines provides this facility on economy class seats. That’s right, you can charge your phone, laptop, watch a dvd (not that you need them – we’ll get into that soon) or finish off your work so later on you can enjoy your holiday. Next on our wish list is the internet connection and looking from the RJ-45 port (which currently doesn’t do anything) on every seat, we shouldn’t be waiting for too long. Bear in mind that only 2 in 3 seats has the in-seat power supply.

Other handy features include personal storage space for spectacles and small personal items, a coat hook, a separate cup holder and foot rest.

The take off was smooth and quiet. No more worries of whether the plane can lift itself up or not. As a matter of fact the whole flight was very quiet considering this aircraft uses 4 x Rolls Royce engine where each engine takes in 1.25 tons of air every second.

On our way to Singapore the ride was bumpy with plenty of turbulence and swings but the flight back home was just fine.

Unfortunately because we were located near the emergency exit with plenty of space, other passengers tend to linger around this area to stretch or cross sides (from the left aisle to the right). We don’t really mind but others might get annoyed by this.

KrisWorld inflight entertainment system

Gone are the days when you feel bored during a flight, at least on A380. We all know that the KrisWorld inflight entertainment system is one of the best in the world (if not the best). It features hundreds of latest movies on demand, games, music, etc. Passengers in A380 can now enjoy the whole experience much better with a hi-res 10.6″ display (and a very slick UI) on every economy seat. Watching movies is also more convenient as you can turn on/off subtitles or switch between languages (a la DVD). Once you experienced the new KrisWorld you probably won’t bother with the ones found on Megatop or Jubilee.

There is also a USB port on every seat so you can plug in your USB key and continue working on your files using an array of office productivity utilities (Hint: it’s running OpenOffice). Although this is not meant to replace your business function entirely, it’s sufficient for simple changes or document review. KrisWorld is now also an inflight productivity suite.

Underneath the screens are 4-5 LED with adjustable brightness levels which functions as a non-intrusive reading light (you still get the usual overhead reading light).