Design &mdash; notebook https://notesfromjason.writeas.com/tag:Design [« From Jason](https://fromjason.xyz) <span>|</span> Free typos included. Tue, 12 May 2026 15:43:33 +0000 Design & Art https://notesfromjason.writeas.com/design-and-art?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[There's a fundamental misunderstanding of what design sets to accomplish. Scrolling design-focused forums, you get the sense that design and art are viewed as interchangeable ideologies. We've somehow formed the belief that design, like art, can exist for its own sake without any consideration for function or purpose. By all accounts from great designers, this aesthete view of design is a misguided dogma. Design can absolutely be a work of art. But unlike, say, a painting, a logo design derives its beauty from function. Art may live without any justification. It is art, and its purpose is simply to exist. Design, however, must prove it is worthy of existence by demonstrating a functional ability. If design fails to meet this threshold, it is neither art nor design. It is noise. --- Type: #Note Re: #Design ]]> There's a fundamental misunderstanding of what design sets to accomplish. Scrolling design-focused forums, you get the sense that design and art are viewed as interchangeable ideologies. We've somehow formed the belief that design, like art, can exist for its own sake without any consideration for function or purpose.

By all accounts from great designers, this aesthete view of design is a misguided dogma.

Design can absolutely be a work of art. But unlike, say, a painting, a logo design derives its beauty from function.

Art may live without any justification. It is art, and its purpose is simply to exist.

Design, however, must prove it is worthy of existence by demonstrating a functional ability. If design fails to meet this threshold, it is neither art nor design. It is noise.

Type: #Note Re: #Design

]]> https://notesfromjason.writeas.com/design-and-art Tue, 10 Oct 2023 19:42:44 +0000 He killed something beautiful https://notesfromjason.writeas.com/he-killed-something-beautiful?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[You know how when you push down on your feed, it refreshes? Twitter's design team invented that feature. They invented it; something so ubiquitous and elegant you don't even think about it. Type: #Note Re: #Technology #Design !--more-- Twitter was one of the first social media companies to brand user interactions within the platform— tweets, retweets, hashtags— that was all Twitter's wildly inventive dev team. Twitter's user interface is so incredibly well-structured, with such a strong design language, that it feels as natural as the multi-touch screen it lives in. Companies, to this day, shamelessly copy everything Twitter does. When mobile websites started gaining popularity in the early 2010s, Twitter released Bootstrap, one of the first responsive front-end frameworks, for free. Today, millions of websites are built on Bootstrap because how well structured it is. I learned how to code using Bootstrap and I still use it often. Twitter has one of the best logos ever created. It’s iconic in its simplicity and thoughtfulness. It was one of the first to consider mobile interfaces, designed to be recognizable no matter the size. All this to say, to watch the brand fall victim to the antithesis of good design is gut-wrenching. I can't think of a worse death for the bird app. Elon bought something beautiful, and his instinct was to destroy it. It almost feels as if he's punishing it for achieving something he could never have achieved on his own— good taste and measured execution. You wonder if the only reason he hasn't destroyed Tesla is because he has shareholders to tell him no. I want Twitter to die. Not because of what it was, but because of what it has turned into. Twitter deserved a dignified death. Elon denied it that. He snuffed it out in the ugliest way possible. --- Creation: 7/25/2023 Last Evolution: --]]> You know how when you push down on your feed, it refreshes? Twitter's design team invented that feature. They invented it; something so ubiquitous and elegant you don't even think about it.

Type: #Note Re: #Technology #Design

Twitter was one of the first social media companies to brand user interactions within the platform— tweets, retweets, hashtags— that was all Twitter's wildly inventive dev team.

Twitter's user interface is so incredibly well-structured, with such a strong design language, that it feels as natural as the multi-touch screen it lives in. Companies, to this day, shamelessly copy everything Twitter does.

When mobile websites started gaining popularity in the early 2010s, Twitter released Bootstrap, one of the first responsive front-end frameworks, for free. Today, millions of websites are built on Bootstrap because how well structured it is. I learned how to code using Bootstrap and I still use it often.

Twitter has one of the best logos ever created. It’s iconic in its simplicity and thoughtfulness. It was one of the first to consider mobile interfaces, designed to be recognizable no matter the size.

All this to say, to watch the brand fall victim to the antithesis of good design is gut-wrenching. I can't think of a worse death for the bird app. Elon bought something beautiful, and his instinct was to destroy it. It almost feels as if he's punishing it for achieving something he could never have achieved on his own— good taste and measured execution. You wonder if the only reason he hasn't destroyed Tesla is because he has shareholders to tell him no.

I want Twitter to die. Not because of what it was, but because of what it has turned into. Twitter deserved a dignified death. Elon denied it that. He snuffed it out in the ugliest way possible.

Creation: 7/25/2023 Last Evolution: —

]]> https://notesfromjason.writeas.com/he-killed-something-beautiful Sun, 24 Sep 2023 00:42:13 +0000 If Apple doesn't fix Siri soon, I'm out. https://notesfromjason.writeas.com/if-apple-doesnt-fix-siri-soon-im-out?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[I have everything a person entrenched in Apple's ecosystem would have— iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook Pro, etcetera, etcetera. Type: #Note Re: #Design #Siri #Technology !--more-- I have a thousand purchased songs and 250 movies on iTunes. My AirPods are an extension of me during work hours (and after work if I'm honest). Leaving Apple for another ecosystem would be a messy divorce in which I would lose everything. Yet, I yearn. I long. I flirt. Anytime I shout, "Hey, Siri," I wonder what could be if my virtual assistant wasn't a fucking idiot. It didn't take long for Chat GPT to become an everyday tool. I use it to flush out concepts, for technical writing, and javascript coding. Hell, last night, I worked with the AI to create an ADHD playlist to help me find my focus when I work. It was a huge success. Today, Open AI keeps Chat GPT in a chatbot format. Unless you're Microsoft or one of Open AI's "friends," you can't do much more with Chat GPT than text back and forth. The same goes for Google's Bard (or whatever they're doing now). This format will soon evolve, and AI will power our virtual voice assistants. Cortana and Google Assistant are poised to take a giant leap forward and be for us everything we hoped Siri would achieve by now. Siri is shit. Even by non-AI standards, Siri fucking sucks. Half the time, it doesn't respond. And when it does, it's a coin toss on whether it will actually help me with what I need. Siri is slow, unhelpful, and dumb; I can't take it anymore. I want Siri to answer my questions without sending me to the web. I want to write an article as I walk down the street and know what I'm dictating is making it to the page. I want Siri to understand the context, remember conversations, and know when to reference them. I know what you're thinking— Jason is like that guy in the movie Her. He's going to fall in love with his virtual assistant. Let me tell you something. I am ready to break my heart if that's what it takes to get the virtual assistant we were all promised. I'll jump ship if Microsoft or Google can put a powerful, conversational AI in my ear before Apple. I'll be the green text bubble in everyone's group chat. Do you hear me, Tim Cook? I'll fucking do it, bro. So help me, God. I don't want three thousand dollar virtual reality goggles. I don't want new spring colors for our iPhone cases (I do want that). I want you to fix Siri. Do it now. This is embarrassing. I hate it. Get your shit together. --- Created: April 5, 2023 Last Evolved: -- ]]> I have everything a person entrenched in Apple's ecosystem would have— iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook Pro, etcetera, etcetera.

Type: #Note Re: #Design #Siri #Technology

I have a thousand purchased songs and 250 movies on iTunes. My AirPods are an extension of me during work hours (and after work if I'm honest).

Leaving Apple for another ecosystem would be a messy divorce in which I would lose everything. Yet, I yearn. I long. I flirt. Anytime I shout, “Hey, Siri,” I wonder what could be if my virtual assistant wasn't a fucking idiot.

It didn't take long for Chat GPT to become an everyday tool. I use it to flush out concepts, for technical writing, and javascript coding. Hell, last night, I worked with the AI to create an ADHD playlist to help me find my focus when I work. It was a huge success.

Today, Open AI keeps Chat GPT in a chatbot format. Unless you're Microsoft or one of Open AI's “friends,” you can't do much more with Chat GPT than text back and forth. The same goes for Google's Bard (or whatever they're doing now). This format will soon evolve, and AI will power our virtual voice assistants. Cortana and Google Assistant are poised to take a giant leap forward and be for us everything we hoped Siri would achieve by now.

Siri is shit. Even by non-AI standards, Siri fucking sucks. Half the time, it doesn't respond. And when it does, it's a coin toss on whether it will actually help me with what I need. Siri is slow, unhelpful, and dumb; I can't take it anymore. I want Siri to answer my questions without sending me to the web. I want to write an article as I walk down the street and know what I'm dictating is making it to the page. I want Siri to understand the context, remember conversations, and know when to reference them.

I know what you're thinking— Jason is like that guy in the movie Her. He's going to fall in love with his virtual assistant. Let me tell you something. I am ready to break my heart if that's what it takes to get the virtual assistant we were all promised.

I'll jump ship if Microsoft or Google can put a powerful, conversational AI in my ear before Apple. I'll be the green text bubble in everyone's group chat. Do you hear me, Tim Cook? I'll fucking do it, bro. So help me, God.

I don't want three thousand dollar virtual reality goggles. I don't want new spring colors for our iPhone cases (I do want that). I want you to fix Siri. Do it now. This is embarrassing. I hate it. Get your shit together.

Created: April 5, 2023 Last Evolved: —

]]> https://notesfromjason.writeas.com/if-apple-doesnt-fix-siri-soon-im-out Fri, 22 Sep 2023 21:57:54 +0000