design

I don’t know why, but every city, no matter how big, has some insanely stacked dictator-looking McMansion somewhere outside the city limits. If you sort your Zillow results as Price: High - Low, this house will pop up first. It costs something like $5,000,000. It is 10,000 square feet. There are usually frescos and tawdry gildedness of some variety. The realtor’s text brags of marble and uses the word “Manor.”

Today, our house, squarely in this category, is found in the suburbs of Milwaukee, WI, not really a place known for unhinged 21st century robber barons. In fact, I find Wisconsin to be one of the least McMansion-dense states in the country. Even the guy who invented Culvers or the Milwaukee Bucks probably has a much less insane house than the one I’m about to show you:

Even people who didn’t get deathly ill. Who aren’t still struggling to recover. Who didn’t lose a loved one—or more than one. Who didn’t bear the brunt of it because of their race and class. Who didn’t lose a job because of it.  Those who didn’t miss out on senior year. Or the play. Or […]

The post Not one of us appeared first on Zeldman on Web and Interaction Design.

Herewith, a scene from last night’s interview with legendary web & book designer (and Dean of The Cooper Union School of Art) Mike Essl, who shared his portfolio, career highlights, early web design history, and more. Fun! If you get a chance to meet, work with, or learn from Mike, take it. He’s brilliant, hilarious, […]

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Blue Beanie Day in support of web standards is celebrated around the world on November 30. Hey, that’s today. So how can you help? Glad you asked! Take a self-portrait wearing a blue beanie (toque, tuque, cap) and post it to your website and social media channels with the hashtag #BlueBeanieDay. And for that extra […]

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She’s Got It by The Leonard Simpson Duo; Mittrom by Mach-Hommy & Earl Sweatshirt; Open the Brain by Quelle Chris; Snake Oil Scientist by Marlowe; and Aunties Steak & Rice Hold the Cabbage by Camoflauge Monk (from Chopin Prelude in E Minor by Les Baxter). #SpotifyWrapped

The post #SpotifyWrapped appeared first on Zeldman on Web and Interaction Design.

Bring popcorn.

The post <strong>Enabling Folks to Express Themselves on the Web: State of the Word 2021</strong> appeared first on Zeldman on Web and Interaction Design.

In 1999, I had the good fortune to work alongside Dan Licht at an NYC digital startup called SenseNet, RIP. Back then, although still in his early 20s, Dan was already an accomplished art director and digital designer. Today he’s a fantastic comics illustrator, artist, and creative director. Check his recent art on Instagram and his client work at Daniel […]

The post Looking Back, Looking Ahead: artist Dan Licht appeared first on Zeldman on Web and Interaction Design.

Back when I was in advertising, one of my team’s clients was a well-known Irish Airline. They could only afford an 1/8th-page ad in the travel section of the paper. But my partners and I didn’t think creativity was dependent on budget. We were determined to deliver great ads for them—ads that would make a […]

The post Fear of getting noticed appeared first on Zeldman on Web and Interaction Design.

You may not know his name, but he played a huge part in creating the web you take for granted today. And he’s back—kind of.

The post He Built This City: The Return of Glenn Davis appeared first on Zeldman on Web and Interaction Design.

My longtime friend and former collaborative partner Craig Hockenberry bids a dignified adieu to Twitterific, Twitter, and his mom … and calls for a standards-based universal timeline. — The Shit Show

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