February 28, 2011

Interface Details: Sussner Design Company to Indie Labs

Discovered via blog Grain Edit: Minnesota-based Sussner Design Company’s welcomed innovation on the ubiquitous “About Us” label. Scoring bonus points for losing the preposition, “THIS IS US” is bold and brief.



Artist John Baldessari’s “Biography” navigation behaves like a mind map. It’s heady yet appropriate, considering that his pioneering work is in conceptual art.



Another discovery from the Grain Edit blog is Scotty Reifsnyder—a maker who demonstrates “mid-century design and illustration sensibilities.” He lives and works in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His online shop makes this place known, and acknowledges those who make it special. It’s always refreshing to see individuals state their sense of place, simply, visibly, proudly.



It’s no surprise to see 37signals’s UI designer, programmer and product manager Ryan Singer keep his site writing narrowed to a sparse but substantive minimum. He shares about those who have made an intellectual impact on his thinking and doing. The inclusion of the “Key idea” was particularly helpful to me. It summarizes the one enduring principle that keeps influencing Singer’s approach. He manages to articulate this in one sentence, without sounding over-clever.



Speaking of clever, Indie Labs’ combination of “No” and “Openings” may appear to violate the cutesy clause, but it’s witty. Plus it matches the cunning attitude of the rest of the writing, from the makers of simple eCommerce platform Big Cartel.