Matt Thomas

Enraptured by Mockups

Matt Thomas — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:18:09 +0000

There’s a set of theoretical designs for iOS 7 going around, and while they’re pretty to look at I’m a little disappointed by those declaring that it should be Apple’s next move. John Gruber thinks differently:

There are a lot of clever ideas and nice designs in this iOS 7 “concept” by Philip Joyce of design firm Simply Zesty. But they’re only clever and nice in the abstract, as possible designs for a touchscreen phone interface. Nice and clever though they are, this would be a disaster as a new design for the actual iPhone. A new look is one thing (and we’re going to get it), but when you’re well established and have a large user base, as iOS does, you need to maintain familiarity. If users are asking “What is this? Where am I? Where’s all the stuff I’m used to?” it’s going to be a disaster.

I haven’t been a user interface designer for very long in the scheme of things. I trained as a print designer, learned how to draw typography, and created color separations for press runs. Interactive design is still something we’re all making up as we go along. But one thing I have learned is that users have no fundamental problem with a redesign. They do, however, recoil in horror when you introduce them to something that is a top-to-bottom replacement for a product they’ve grown to feel comfortable with, while calling it a “redesign.” It’s fundamentally dishonest — Windows 8, whatever your opinion of it (and I am generally a fan), was not a “redesign” of Windows. It’s an entirely new design for an operating system that happens to still be called “Windows.”

Designers wanna redesign. It’s in our DNA to seek out and eliminate every trace of hokiness, or half-assedness, or what seemed cool at the time but now looks tired. If WordPress were run entirely by designers, it would likely have an all new interface every year, but a fraction of the user base.

This is the challenge in continuing to freshen and update the design of software that millions (or billions, in the case of iOS) of users already know and understand. But those millions of existing users are what makes the work worthwhile. It’s the guiding principle behind the MP6 redesign project for WordPress. We made it our goal to refresh WordPress’ aesthetic styling and improve accessibility by making the dashboard responsive — but doing this without making major changes to the way users interact with the software. It’s not that there aren’t opportunities for it — I could spend an entire cycle alone on the Edit Post screen — but through years of experience we’ve found how much users appreciate it when we separate visual redesigns from major, sweeping architectural changes. In short, it’s about iteration, something both WordPress and Apple have always embraced.

Flat design is sexy. And simplicity rules the day. Both of these concepts should inform the future work done by all interaction designers (including for WordPress and for iOS). But to paraphrase Gruber’s quote from above: a new look is one thing (and WordPress is going to get it), but when you’re well established and have a large user base, as WordPress does, you need to maintain familiarity. If users are asking “What is this? Where am I? Where’s all the stuff I’m used to?” it’s going to be a disaster.

Outlook already improving

Matt Thomas — Sun, 05 May 2013 20:35:02 +0000

Say hello to MP6 1.0

Matt Thomas — Sat, 04 May 2013 01:55:16 +0000

Tonight we released version 1.0 of MP6, our experiment in WordPress admin design. It’s hard to believe that it was just back in March that Otto landed the first commit of MP6, which at that point consisted solely of Ben Dunkle’s new flat icons that had been in consideration for 3.6. Ten weeks later, we’re well on our way to a totally updated, responsive, modern design for WordPress. To date it’s been downloaded nearly 10,000 times, and it’s also available for WordPress.com users to test.

And while MP6 is still a work in progress, 1.0 is a nice milestone at which to look back and reflect. I’m very grateful to Joen Asmussen, Mel Choyce, Ben Dunkle, Michael Erlewine (mitcho), Isaac Keyet, Till Krüss, Andy Peatling, and Samuel Wood (otto) for all their contributions, and of course Matt Mullenweg for conceiving the idea in the first place. Many thanks as well to all of you who have shared your feedback and suggestions with us. I’m very proud of what the team has done so far. And I expect the list of contributors will grow even larger before we’re all said and done! If you’d like to help us out, follow along on Make WordPress UI.

Shady Cat

Matt Thomas — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:51:57 +0000

The frisbee is the true source of all Maggie’s happiness.

Matt Thomas — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:43:05 +0000

This is going to make the dog so sad.

Matt Thomas — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:06:48 +0000

Found a Maggie-free place to feed the cat, finally.

Curiosity

Matt Thomas — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 22:41:06 +0000

Love those happy accidents.

Smart TV

Matt Thomas — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 21:00:10 +0000

You can tell it’s smart because it says it’s sorry.

MP6

Matt Thomas — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 03:30:57 +0000

If you like

border-radius: 0;—
Matt Thomas (@iammattthomas) December 15, 2012

and

box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0,0,0,0.1); you'll be glad you did.—
Matt Thomas (@iammattthomas) March 07, 2013

you just might like MP6, an experiment in WordPress interface design.

All kidding aside, we would appreciate all the feedback and ideas you may have; please share them with us on Make WordPress UI.

An Open Letter to the Guy Who Thinks He Can Fix My Life in Five Minutes

Matt Thomas — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 14:39:11 +0000

Thank you so much. When you asked if you could talk to me privately for a few minutes at that party, I totally didn’t know that you wanted to lecture me about my health. That was so unexpected and appreciated. It’s certainly not as though there’s been some version of you ever-present in my life. Uncles, friends’ dads, total strangers who “used to be [my] size.” So thank you; thank you so much.

As you know, part of your duty as a fit and healthy person is to remind unfit people that they are unhealthy and in need of your help. When you do this, don’t forget to say something patronizing about how you “want to keep them around for a long time.” It’ll really make them feel good about themselves, showing how much you care by insinuating that you’re going to outlive them. Be sure to mention how easy it is, how it’s just a simple combination of diet and exercise. That’s probably not something they’ve ever tried before, so there’s no need to consider whether it’s insulting to assume they don’t already know it. What’s that? No soda? Shouldn’t eat carbs? No kidding.

I’m not sure what the world would do without the Guy Who Thinks He Can Fix Our Lives in Five Minutes. Overweight people would simply go about their day, blissfully unaware that they are disgusting and probably going to die soon. Women might walk down the street without realizing that they are dressed like sluts. Coworkers might have to do their jobs normally, without a helpful mansplainer nearby to constantly watch over their shoulder. Wherever you go, you’re just making sure that the people around you can benefit from your expertise. And for that, on behalf of all of us, I salute you.

Mardi Gras vs. Bourbon Street

Matt Thomas — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 18:15:10 +0000

Mardi Gras is over now, so I’m a little late to help this year. But I’m writing this in hopes that some guy will stumble across it and remember it next year.

There’s a strange thing, founded in a misunderstanding, about Mardi Gras. I’ve noticed it before, but the number of times I heard or saw it yesterday baffled me. Men, saying to women (whom they don’t necessarily know that well) some variation on the following:

Wow, look at those beads! I better not ask where you got them!

If you’re entirely unfamiliar with New Orleans, Bourbon Street has a reputation for debauchery. It’s really only half of Bourbon Street that deserves that reputation, but whatever. Yes, women — and more than a few men — do bare their bodies sometimes in exchange for cheap beads thrown from balconies. But that happens year-round. It happens more anytime there’s a big crowd in New Orleans — Super Bowls, Southern Decadence, Essence/Voodoo/Jazz Fest, Mardi Gras — but it’s a Bourbon Street thing, not a Mardi Gras tradition. Millions of strands of beads are thrown from parades, which are overwhelmingly family-friendly affairs. If you whip out your tits or your dick on St. Charles Avenue or in Mid-City, you’re going to jail. So yes, it’s certainly possible to trade flesh for beads in a certain neighborhood of New Orleans. But please, fellas, think about what you’re insinuating before asking a woman that question.

Chart of the day: Apple as the world's No. 1 PC maker

Matt Thomas — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 02:37:25 +0000

Reblogged from Fortune Tech: Technology blogs, news and analysis from Fortune Magazine:

This assumes you believe that iPads and Kindle Fires are personal computers

FORTUNE -- Market researchers at Canalys made headlines Wednesday when they reported that Apple (AAPL) was the world's No. 1 personal computer manufacturer in Q4 2012 with shipments of 27 million PCs -- almost twice as many as No. 2 Hewlett-Packard (HPQ).

It was a finding that flew in the face of the "

Boy Scouts of America still undecided if gay people are too icky for scouting

Matt Thomas — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:20:56 +0000

I was a Boy Scout for a few years as a young kid. I loved it. But if I had a son today, there’s no way our family could be involved in scouting. That’s sad to me, because I think the experience is valuable — not only was it a lot of fun, but I learned life skills beyond making a fire with flint. It doesn’t seem like the people in charge of the BSA learned them though. You don’t have any honor, any integrity, any honesty if in this day and age, you can’t stand up to elements of intolerance within your organization. Quite frankly, in 2013, it doesn’t even take that much bravery for large organizations in America to take a stand for LGBT equality, making today’s non-announcement a little extra lame. Meanwhile the Girl Scouts continue to stand as models, both for young girls and for other youth organizations.

Boy Scouts of America still undecided if gay people are too icky for scouting

Same-sex couples request marriage licenses, knowingly face rejection

Matt Thomas — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 18:47:01 +0000

Reblogged from MSNBC:

In the Southeast, where legal same-sex marriage remains a distant hope for many, some are challenging the law of the land in a very direct way: gay couples are requesting marriage licenses knowing they’ll face rejection under state law.

Through the “We Do” campaign, organized and executed by the gay rights group Campaign for Southern Equality, roughly 50 couples have sought marriage licenses in South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee–all states with constitutional bans on same-sex marriage.

Google wants to give Project Glass the ability to project a full QWERTY keyboard onto your arm

Matt Thomas — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 16:16:29 +0000

Reblogged from BGR:

We all know that Google's (GOOG) Project Glass will be capable of projecting images directly onto your eyeballs, but now it looks as though it could project images onto other surfaces as well. Engadget has found a Google patent filing showing that the company is working on technology for Glass that "would use a tiny laser projector mounted on the arm of the spectacles to beam out QWERTY and other buttons" onto other surfaces.

Showcase Your Creativity with a Portfolio Site

Matt Thomas — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 21:09:46 +0000

Reblogged from WordPress.com News:

Do you shoot photographs or video? Illustrate, paint, or draw? Design things? If you answered "yes" to one or more of the above, WordPress.com is the perfect place to show your stuff. We've just launched WordPress.com/portfolios to help you build an online portfolio you’re proud of.

Over 30 portfolio themes

You need a canvas that lets your work shine. With over 30…

A tour of the ISS

Matt Thomas — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:29:22 +0000

Reblogged from Koke's Journal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doN4t5NKW-k

I so want to go to space now :(

I honestly can't think of another 20+ minute YouTube video I've ever managed to watch all the way through. This look at the International Space Station is a dream come true for those who were total space nerds as kids (that would be me).

Nest & Cave House by Idis Turato

Matt Thomas — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 16:44:13 +0000

Reblogged from KARMATRENDZ:

The hinterland of the Opatija Riviera in Croatia is dotted with villas (built within a century and a half). Their upper, front side reveals nothing but entrances beyond which we can only imagine their spaciousness.

Photo of the day

Matt Thomas — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 10:33:05 +0000

Reblogged from Fully Myelinated:

From National Geographic Best Space photos of 2012 (you should really check them all. Many super-cool photos):

Helix Nebula

Image courtesy ESO

The intricate structure of the Helix Nebula, seen in January, is featured as one of National Geographic News editor's picks for the best space pictures of 2012. (See more nebula pictures.)

The rust-colored remains of a star like our sun, the Helix puffed up as it died and shed its shells of gas and dust into space.

Republicans Voting for Tax Hikes

Matt Thomas — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 02:38:50 +0000

Sure it’s trolling, but I just had a great time writing a letter to my Congressman expressing my disappointment that he “voted against the Obama tax cuts.” Progressives may not be entirely happy with the deal, but the President and Congressional Democrats just managed to pass a tax cut and get 151 Republicans in the House to vote against it. The next election cycle should have some fun ads.