We’ve been making some tweaks and updates to AllDevJobs.com, refining the interface and making the job listings easier to read. Do you like it?
We recently launched a new WordPress theme shop called UpThemes which has been in the works for quite some time and we’re extremely pleased with the response we’ve gotten so far, as well as the awesomeness of our UpThemes Framework, which makes it super easy to customize our themes and import and export your theme configuration to other WordPress installations.
Make sure to download Holding Pattern, our first free theme with the new framework, and see just how easy it is to customize. Oh, and did we mention our themes are all licensed under the GPL?
The shirt I designed for the Red Is White Design-Off contest vs. Kyle Steed is now for sale at RedIsWhite.com. Make sure to pick up a shirt (or twelve) because proceeds go to charity!
Utility vs. Beauty
A good designer always works to keep the form, function and the aesthetic quality of a design in balance throughout the life of a project. Just because something looks good doesn’t mean its useful. And just because something is useful does not make it beautiful.
More often than we want to admit, we use glitz and glam—or worse, the current popular design trend—to hide the areas where we simply dont have an elegant solution appropriate to the problem at hand. It is too easy to get caught in the trap of focusing on “making it pretty” without giving consideration to the actual purpose of the design.
At the same time, a designer should understand that even the most utilitarian product can benefit from subtle, refined aesthetic treatments and turn what is a dull and boring, yet necessary, task into something enjoyable and engaging.
The most elegant solution will yield a design that is gracefully tempered with restraint and precision—both useful and beautiful.
Our Confession
We are addicted to interfaces. It's like a disease. We can't help it. We want more.
Join us in our self-inflicted misery by submitting interface awesomeness to help feed our addiction.
This is the official blog of Lift, a user experience company.
