I wanted to get an early start on my reading goal of 24 book this year and didn’t feel like doing much of anything on New Year’s day so I burned through this compilation of (very) short stories about time. Einstein’s Dreams is essentially a series of though exercises on how our reality would change if time behaved differently.

It was amusing and thought provoking at times he takes some large liberties with basic logic and some of the stories seem to go nowhere. Other stories were quite relevant to my experiences and mind set with my current mobile life style. Especially this little bit from the story: 24 April 1905.

“Then there are those who think their bodies don’t exist. They live by mechanical time. They rise at seven o’clock in the morning. They eat their lunch at noon and their supper at six. They arrive at their appointments on time, precisely by the clock. They make love between eight and ten at night. When their stomach growls, they look at their watch to see if it is time to eat. When they begin to lose themselves at a concert, they look at the clock above the stage to see when it will be time to go home. They know that the body  is not a thing of wild magic, but a collection of chemicals, tissues, and nerve impulses.”

I have had The Back of the Napkin for awhile and even tried to read it a couple of times, but for some reason I had trouble really getting into it. I found this to be a little odd since the topic of “Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures” is essentially what I do as an interaction designer.

So I gave it another shot and realized that it was pretty much the introduction portion that I was getting stuck on. I have heard it all before and didn’t need an explanation of why these skills are valuable, I just wanted to see his process. So once I got to the meat of the book it was gold. Dan Roam’s visual thought process is pretty sophisticated and could instantly help any business man or designer who is struggling with presentation of ideas.

I have started using his techniques to help visualize the technological environments that I end up working in. This helps give me and my clients a better understanding of where their products are and where they should be going.

I dispute his claim that this book is designed to be read on a long flight, but would still strongly recommend this book to anyone who has to communicate abstract and complex ideas to others.

I picked this up at a used book store in Hood River, OR as I had just finished Making Ideas Happen and wanted something a little different. While Symmetry: A Journey into the Patterns of Nature presents itself as the authors struggle to define an abstract corner of math that deals with symmetries in 10 to the Xth dimensions, it is really the story of math.

The author takes us through the history of math and how it developed from simple addition to mind bending complexity we deal with today. He uses symmetry and his own quest to publish a new theory to explain the development of greater and greater applications of math.

It was certainly interesting to hear the authors thought process and see the parallels between his field and design. While both are controlled by some strict rules (math and physics) they Both require a great amount of observation and creativity. When you truly dive deep into a problem you become intimately familiar with it and can see the patterns emerge.

It was also interesting to hear his thoughts on the stages of communication and what each level takes.

“There are three stages to understanding something. The first is when you suddenly get it. The second is standing in front of a seminar audience and trying to convey to others the vision you’ve had. The equations on the blackboard combine withe the physical presence of the speaker to conjure up ideas to the listener. But the third and hardest stage of understanding something is translating it to the printed page. There, maths is going to be read without you present as a guide. everything must be well signposted so that the reader doesn’t get lost.” pg. 208

“I must judge the amount of detail so that the reader doesn’t get so bogged down that they lose the overarching narrative. This is the art of writing up your ideas, and it often involves creating new language to describe them.”

It is also true in design for an idea that is not communicated does not exist. Different levels of explanation are necessary for different audiences and media formats. Information has to be weighed so as not to overload and confuse.

I actually burned through this book in about a week, but wouldn’t recommend for those with a fear of numbers.

In ReWork the founders of 37 signals discuss the problems with the work place status quo and how new entrepreneurs can avoid these traps and create a successful business in the modern day. Most of their lessons are in the form of their experiences starting and building 37 signals.

It’s a pretty interesting look at how they have succeeded in a seemingly crowded industry, but also sounds a lot like other books on this topic. You’ve heard it before, meetings are wasteful, 9 to 5 is not a natural way to live, putting in more hours doesn’t equal more productivity, etc. It is good to re establish these points from time to time so as not to get pulled back into conventional thought, but it wasn’t necessarily mind-blowing.

I picked up the audio version and was able to get through it pretty quickly as we were driving down the coast. So it’s definitely a worthwhile read, but not required unless thsi is a new topic for you

While I am traveling around the US in an RV I will not be updating this blog regularly. If you want to see what I am up to you can visit our travel blog at TrippinWithStanley.com.

Just thought this was a great video on the old trial and error approach to product development. Not to mention the speaker is pretty funny.

Maria and I made this for a friends birthday, but figured an organization this awesome should shared.

Store Link

I certainly don’t agree with message, but the presentation is nice.

I picked up Crush It! on a recommendation from my friend Jonny Arkin and the fact that I had followed the exploits of the author Gary Vay-ner-chuk over the last couple of years. Gary’s back story is that he took his father’s business, “Shopper’s Discount Liquors”, from a $4,000,000 a year business to $20,000,000 through his vidcast WineLibraryTV and his extensive use of social media.
Gary is an energetic and passionate guy, and this book essentially lays out his plan for how you can cash in on your passions. Very few people in the workforce have a job that is in line with their true interests (the ones you are excited to go home and work on). These are your passions and the niche that Gary says you can turn into money and happiness.
If that sounds pretty cheesy, it is. I also happen to believe he has the correct approach in need to build a personal brand. With the current financial instability the only thing you can count on is yourself. Building a personal brand creates value in yourself and gives you and identity independent of your employer. Being known in social circles as a php guru will be immensely helpful should you get laid off or the company folds.
The book is good on motivation and theory, but the actual “how to” chapter is little thin. The author makes a valid point (several times) that there is no 1, 2, 3 guide for building your personal brand and that everyone will be different. He points out some popular tools to utilize in your brand building and a couple pointers about each.
For a relatively quick read it gave me a lot to think about and apply to what I am currently doing as a designer and entrepreneur.
I would also add the Tim Ferris’s 4-Hour Work Week has a section that outlines the benefits of being perceived as an expert and a how-to guide on to gain expert status in 1 month.

I though it was about time I get to some professional education reading and decided to finish a book I had started last year but could never quite complete (yes it still counts towards the total). As a designer communication is probably the most important skill you can have. I have always been a fan of how good information design can make complex subjects accessible to all. So I figured a book called The Information Design Handbook would be able to add some new insight to me.

The book itself is structured is written in more of a text book style format, where the topics are clearly laid out and there isn’t much narrative form section to another. I think this was part of the reason I could never get too involved in the book and would set it down frequently.

However it is filled with a lot of good information and because of it’s instructional style structure it works quite well as a reference book. You can pick it up  and read any section without having to reference those that preceded it. Each section is quick to read but rather in depth in information.

In the end it was good for me to brush up on some aspects of information design, but it seemed like most of it was a rehash of things I had learned before, whether through Design school or independent reading. It would be a great primer for any new designer (graphic, industrial, or interaction) and not a bad reference book for your office book shelf.