A few links about innovative new ways to do librarianship along with challenge to build a Pinterest collection that describes envisions what future libraries will be.
New in CS5, Adobe Kuler is present in Photoshop and Illustrator. It's a live palette item that features color palettes created by various designers from around the web (professional and non-professional).
You can save favorite palettes, browse the live palette library and submit your own palettes for consideration.
It's a great resource.
An interesting article on brainstorming. READ WITH A GRAIN OF SALT because it is an opinion piece. Brainstorming DOES work - I have personal experience with it doing so when I worked with a multiple CLIO winning advertising team. The way that the New Yorker writer defines brainstorming is very limited; but the article does have some insight into the creative process using measurable results.
Example of a library using Pinterest for book lists. Very visually appealing. They linked the cover images to the catalog in some cases although it's inconsistent.
A Beautiful Boilerplate for Responsive, Mobile-Friendly Development
There are other tools like this. We may be interested in learning more about them when the time comes.
Some interesting tips such as:
1) start design with mobile and expand out for larger screens
2) even numbers of columns provide easier wrapping options than odd numbers
In this blog post by a Microsoft developer, there are examples of scrolling on a single webpage by moving left to right (vs. scrolling up and down). Also, some main navigational buttons and menus are now on the RIGHT side of the layout instead of the long-used left side of the layout location for these elements.
I believe this is an example of the influence of touch screens on tablets, phones, and computers affecting the long held paradigm of left side menu navigation. The gesture navigation of touch screens is making another mark on design and layouts.
Due to the Library's frequent movement of collections the last few years, interactive floor plans are not currently available. Below is a description of what can be found on each floor while new floor plans are being devised.
Insight into user's issues regarding pay vs free content. I thought this was a good article that explained the future direction in which media providers have to look. Not everything can be free.
This is an example of how there are rules in design, but with experience, they can be bent or even broken.
The leading on this paragraph is so tight, that the ascenders and descenders of letters are touching each other. Accessibility is our goal, of course. I just wanted to share this as an example that is inspiring to me.
An inspiring use of graphic repetition. Some of my bookmarks may not immediately "make sense" as to their significance. The design process though, is not a logical one; and inspiration passes through our own filters.