I’m finally getting somewhere with the new design of AMBERAlert.com, so it feels good to show some of the progress I have made with the homepage in the last two days. I will be making some small changes to the layout and filling the gaps today before opening the flood gates of criticism at the office. In the meantime, comments on what you see now are welcome here.
I have been struggling with projects at work. It would be lazy to blame it anything else but me. Some call it designer’s block, a massive brain fart, but I just think it’s a lack of inspiration.
I haven’t felt inspired to be instantly creative lately and it stinks. Usually I can find something and make it happen. The longer I go without that driving spirit to do something good, the harder it is to focus on getting back on track.
How do I find inspiration? There are many ways, but here’s one:
Talk to a stranger
Let someone in on your project and ask them what they honestly think. Discussing the issues with a stranger is good because they don’t know the answers you want to hear. A friend may tell you exactly what you want to hear, which will get you nowhere. Even if the stranger doesn’t give you the boost you need, it’s nice to hear what others are thinking about the work you do.
Most people like it when someone is interested in what they think. Play off of their willingness to share their thoughts. Their ideas might not be great, but you can always add your own flavor.
While doing some research on taxonomies, I came across a nice explanation of faceted classification:
The [faceted] classification of a book on Norwegian rural architecture in the 17th century might run something like this:
- Personality — architecture
- Matter — wood
- Energy — design
- Space — Norway
- Time — 17th century
With the addition of tagging to Wordpress 2.3 I was trying to figure out a standard way of adding terms to each of my posts. How do you tag things?
