“Appearance matters. As the tag line says, ‘Sometimes it’s not just what you say but how you say it.’ Welcome to the esthetic economy. Technology and competition are driving down the cost of beauty, from four-color printing to cosmetic surgery to mass-market furniture. Meanwhile, we’re getting richer and demanding a more esthetically pleasing environment. More beauty is a natural product of increased affluence. Good design is an important source of economic value and competitive advantage.” Get more information here: Look and Feel.

“Appearance matters. As the tag line says, ‘Sometimes it’s not just what you say but how you say it.’ Welcome to the esthetic economy. Technology and competition are driving down the cost of beauty, from four-color printing to cosmetic surgery to mass-market furniture. Meanwhile, we’re getting richer and demanding a more esthetically pleasing environment. More beauty is a natural product of increased affluence. Good design is an important source of economic value and competitive advantage.” Get more information here: Look and Feel.

“Are there two information architectures? One influenced by presentation and one influenced by structure? Is the presentation-based IA better served by the name ‘information design?’ Does the medium really matter? Is print IA/ID different from web-based IA/ID in meaningful ways? For its April 2001 issue, Design Matters contacted several people and asked them to respond to these questions informally…”

“Are there two information architectures? One influenced by presentation and one influenced by structure? Is the presentation-based IA better served by the name ‘information design?’ Does the medium really matter? Is print IA/ID different from web-based IA/ID in meaningful ways? For its April 2001 issue, Design Matters contacted several people and asked them to respond to these questions informally…”

“There are two extremely common myths about Macintosh Web development software: *That with the demise of many of the early Web tools (PageMill, SiteMill, FrontPage, VisualPage, HomePage, etc.), the only applications left are too expensive for anyone but already-successful developers and designers; *That in order to be a professional Web developer or designer, you need to use professional (i.e., expensive) tools. The goal of this site is to show that, not only do these products exist, but that lots of these products exist. While there’s no doubt that some of them may not even be worth their small fee, this category is large enough that something here should scratch your itch. To be listed on this site, products must be: *Not a beta release *$50 or less; *Released within the last two years (with the exception of online applications).”

“For the blind child who once asked, ‘What is the sky?’ educator Benning Wentworth now has an answer: a tactile book called Touch the Universe, based on the cosmic images made by the Hubble Space Telescope. The book features some of the most famous Hubble pictures of planets, galaxies and other cosmic objects, in color, but with plastic overlays that have raised lines, bumps and other touchable textures to allow those with vision problems to feel what they cannot see.”