Yes, it's already early June — this year is flying! — but we didn't want to fully close the book on May without recapping some of the design and UX stories that have caught our eye recently. Here's a sampling of what made our reading list over the past month or so:
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Massimo Vignelli: A Master in the Grammar of Design by Julie Lasky, New York Times - In May, the world lost a design icon. Massimo Vignelli, mostly known for his brand designs including the original American Airlines logo, Bloomingdales’ Big Brown Bag, and the New York City Subway map, died on May 27. As a designer whose work spanned many industries, and who created memorable designs for everything from stackable dishes to calendars to furniture, he leaves quite a legacy.
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Snarkitecture-Designed Beats Headphones Hint At What The Apple Era Could Look Like by Dan Nosowitz, Fast Company - Speculation about whether Apple would be buying music company Beats Electronics and streaming service Beats Music was swirling throughout May. (Spoiler alert: It happened!) So how will the design sensibilities of Beats and Apple fuse in the future? This article takes a look at one design collaboration Beats pursued, and while it had nothing to do with Apple — the work was completed before the acquisition — The Snarkitecture headphones are all white, modern and clean. One might say it’s flat design in physical form. Sound familiar?
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The Hidden Beauty of Airport Runways, and How to Decipher Them by Joseph Flaherty, Wired - We’re no strangers to sharing our interest in transportation UX and design, so this article jumped out. The writer takes us through the ins and outs of airport runway design and the meanings behind various markings. It’s a great read and a look at how good design can be both functional and beautiful.
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This Redesigned Airplane Armrest Will End Those Armrest Battles Forever by Rebecca Borison, Business Insider - Speaking of airplanes, almost everyone in the office has some nightmare story about fighting over the armrest on a plane or at a ballpark or theater. Well, say hello to the Paperclip Armrest. This armrest uses a twisting design with two levels, leaving room for two arms to sit comfortably side-by-side. Designs like this that stem from real user needs and behaviors always make us happy.
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Hands On With the LG G3 by Christina Warren, Mashable - Hey, it's another big phone! Similar to the Samsung Galaxy line, LG's new phone is quite large. It’s interesting to see this trend of larger devices when not too long ago, the goal was making everything smaller. (And it presents an interesting challenge for us as designers, since people may be accessing interfaces and apps on so many different screen sizes). We wonder where we'll be with this in a year or two — still big and bold? Or small screens with ear buds like in the movie Her?
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Let It Go: Say Farewell To These 5 Web Design Trends by Ilya Pozin, Forbes - Trends come and go ever-faster these days. In this article, the author points to five once-huge web trends that he feels are leaving us. (So long, mobile-specific websites?) One that really caught our eye is pay-per-click advertising. We never loved this model, which was clearly created with the advertiser and not the consumer in mind, and we're curious to see what more-targeted advertising can do for our commercial interactions in the future.
What made your reading list this month? Let us know in the comments below, or @EchoUser on Twitter, to keep the conversations going!
Want to see what’s been making our list all year long? Check out all of our Spotlight on Experience posts.
