Today one article that came across Twitter started me down a vicious rabbit hole of Theory of Design and much, much more.  For kicks and because I believe they are read-worthy, I’ll try and trace that track:

1. “5 options when website budgets get slashed” -great article, sent me to the following sites:
   1. “Good Designers Redesign, Great Designers Realign” - This A List Apart by the famous Cameron Moll says “The desire to redesign is aesthetic-driven, while the desire to realign is purpose-driven”. Sure it’s great to have a fresh new image, but sometimes shifting does better than redesigning. Design-wise, I personally tend to want to flatten and start with a clean slate, but that’s expensive and sometimes it’s just a couple of functional tweaks that make the difference, like in the next article…
   2. $300 Million Button - Amazing article on how changing up 1 thing and understanding user perspective can make you millions… literally.
   3. Laws of Simplicity - I didn’t know this site existed, but it’s the personal blog of RISD President John Maeda who I’ve watched on TED before. This guy just oozes niceness.
      1. “The Laws of Simplicity” - This is a subsection and the thesis of John Maeda’s site. It’s a condensed version of his 100 page book. Almost all the articles in the site link-to or highlight themes chapters covered in his book, which I added to my Amazon Wishlist.
      2. Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) - I followed the our.risd blog and watched some videos of teaching staff speaking and I fantasized about going there until I realized that It would involve a) moving across country and b) lots and lots of money. But, what a beautiful opportunity it would be to become an expert in design - design not in the “pixel pushing” sense, but in the functional innovative sense.

I’ve read so much and was so inspired I’m feeling pretty enlightened. Like I read the whole Bible in a single word. Maybe that’s to esoteric or imaginative, but I really do feel like I’ve gotten a fresh revelation on what I do, and what we as Paravel do best. We’re not just a Design Team. Websites are just the tip of the iceberg of what we want to do to make businesses better.

Dave Rupert | January 29th, 2009 | Interweb Design, Web Zen |