Here’s a poster I’ve been drawing up for the upcoming holiday weekend. It’s about 90% complete, but I wanted to post a preview before the holiday. There’s still some minor tweaks to do, but I think it’s looking good. I’m thinking of using it as a foray into screen printing — actually working with a printer to get a limited edition run on a nice paper stock. The hard part will be pairing down the colors. I tried to keep it to four colors, but kept coming up with other ideas — and that was before I started working on the texture for the background. In any case, I think I get a version that is somewhere around 4-6 six colors for screen printing (although that’s still a lot). It’s 22″ x 28″.

Sometimes meaning is unintended. Here’s an example I ran across recently that couples hand written text and improper installation to create new meaning.

It’s from a panel of scaffolding on a neighborhood home renovation. Obviously, the panel has been installed upside down and the text is supposed to read, “520 W.”

Instead, when viewed upside down — and very importantly, with the specific handwriting — it now reads, “Moes”

There’s something wonderful in how the “2” transforms into a lowercase “e” right in the middle of what appears to be an all uppercase word. And the number “5” doesn’t always make a good capital letter “S” but yet it works in this case. Additionally, there appears to be no space between the zero and the “W” helping to create a single word. All very accidental and more wonderful for the fact.

Beyond typography and design, it also made me think of “Moe’s Tavern” from The Simpsons.

Mmm…beer.

Now, I’m am in no way a specialist in user interface design, but as a designer and more importantly as a user, I find this example to be particularly annoying.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Look closely at the positions of the “Next” and “Previous” buttons. See what I’m getting at? In our western, left to right reading world, the “Next” button should be on the right to indicate, well, the next item. Items position on the left indicate “back” or in this case “Previous”. Look at the position of the back button on your web browser. On the left, correct? And the forward button on the browser? Yeah, it’s on the right.

For someone unknown reason, the buttons used in this interface are reversed. And it’s annoying. Not that I spend time clicking the wrong button, but more that I have to actually take a second to ensure I’m clicking the correct one. It’s a small detail, but why would you go against convention and standards and make your product more confusing to use.

Some background on the example. It’s from a product called eRoom from EMC which is basically a web based content management system. The interface isn’t the only flaw — they call the Windows-only .EXE application a “plugin” and they do not yet, despite many years on the market, have a Macintosh version of the app. Mac users (such as myself and my team) can still use the CMS — but without many of the features of the full application.

This is exactly the kind of thing corporate users are forced to deal with on a regular basis. Software that seems to be missing key thinking in it’s initial design. It’s what they complain about (and I hear them). You don’t need a focus group or a board meeting to figure out that the “next” button is intuitively in the wrong position. You need a designer.

Sometimes good design is the product of true inspiration.

Sometimes good design is a matter of trial and error.

I’ve recently become acquainted with a product that I think expresses both of these in a single package of form and function.

It looks absolutely beautiful and yet still manages to function with precision.

It’s beauty was instantly apparent when I first used it. It’s function slowly revealed itself over time as time after time it worked perfectly.

It’s a Tiffany’s crystal decanter.

From the first time I filled it with a fine single malt, the reflected light from the decrative cuts and the amber liquid even impressed my wife — although like many women, she expected nothing less from a Tiffany’s product.

And as I filled, the first part of the functionality became evident. The decanter holds exactly one entire 1.75ml bottle of booze.

The function brought to my mind a sense of history as I imagined scores of well-heeled people using the decanter. The rim of the decanter, along with cradling the stopper, serves to catch the last drop of liquid and gently guide it back into the decanter. Genius — and for those of us drinkers on a budget, practical.

That little detail, that little piece of functionality won me over completely. (Sipping fine scotch while admiring it and contemplating it’s functionality didn’t hurt either.)

And I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the lovely young couple who gave us this fine Tiffany’s decanter as a wedding present, the eminent Dr. and Mrs. Robert Epstein. Thanks guys!