Cullmann Design Blog

Digital media is changing constantly. Never before have there been so many channels and platforms to share information and experiences. This new series, Weekend Projects, will take some of these channels and break them down to something approachable and hopefully get people excited and better oriented.

What is twitter? Twitter is an online service that provides users a platform to broadcast messages of 140 characters or less. These messages or “tweets” are posted to your twitter homepage which can be made private or available for anyone to see.

Once you get started, you’ll want to “follow” other people on twitter to be updated when they make a post. You can also follow other people you might know or find interesting. This interaction, the people you have in your group and how you interact with them will shape your Twitter experience.

How do I get started? If you don’t already have a twitter account, you can visit Twitter.com and create an account. It’s free and the process is easy. Once you have your Twitter account, you’ll be shown a list of people to follow who might be interesting. You can also click on the “Who To Follow” link at the top of your homepage. If you see a post you like, you can simply click the “follow” button and you’ll then see that person’s account on your own Twitter homepage or “stream”.

If you’re interesting in a particular topic or person, you can search for a term or phrase in the search box. The search results will pull be returned in chronological order based on your term or word. This is an excellent way to find other Twitter users who have similar interests. Search for “advertising” and you will be shown a running list of tweets that include the term in the 140 characters provided for posts. Give the results a look-click on the interesting profile pictures to see what else the Twitter-er may have written and if it’s interesting, Follow them! You can always “un-follow” someone (it’s not rood and the person will never see that they have been un-followed).

So how do I use this Twitter thing? There are as many uses for Twitter as there are people using Twitter-over 175 Million. How you choose to use it, depends on you: Some people post small facts about themselves, some use it as a journal, others use it as a chatting service. It can be used to share links, spread news, deliver messages, broadcast a brand.

One of the more powerful aspects of Twitter is the “re-tweet”. The re-tweet is a way for you to share with your group of followers, another person’s tweet. You can do this on the Twitter website by clicking on the “retweet” button in the right-hand interface pain. You can also do the same by adding “RT” and a user’s name, RT @cullmann, for instance. If you find a post to be informative or useful, a retweet is a show of appreciation.

In addition to the retweet, you can also address another user by adding their twitter handle to your tweet. If they are following you, they will see this reply in their feed. They will also see your reply, regardless if they are following you or not, in the “mentions” tab of your Twitter homepage. Its a great way to begin communications or send a public message.

If you want to send a private message, you can send a “direct message” or “DM” to anyone who is following you. Simply click on the envelope icon of anyone’s twitter profile who follows you. Use private messages with caution: It’s very easy for these messages to become public.

Now you’ve got a Twitter handle and a few followers. Now what? Those first few tweets can be hard, but just jump right in. The nice part about this micro-blogging format is that it’s light and fun. You should be trying to have a good time and share that experience with other people. One way is to use something called a “hashtag”. A hash tag is a way to create a searchable term or “tag” that can be shared with others. A simple example of a hashtag might be:

In this tweet, I reference the typeface Futura. By adding the hashtag #Futura and #typography, I am making myself visible to people who are looking for topics about Futura or typography. You can also use it in reverse: hashtags in your Twitter stream become clickable. The resulting URL is a live feed that is similar to search results. This is a very popular technique for following large events like the #superbowl or #AHA.

This was just a simple overview of Twitter to get you started. If you want to learn more, you can see my previous post on Twitter or a some more advanced techniques. You can also follow-me on Twitter. Don’t just sit there, start tweeting!

I’ve had the pleasure of working with a lot of very talented designers and art directors. Some have been mentors, some peers, and others, colleagues who I’ve found inspiring. What I have found common (besides amazing design talent) in all of the creative people whom I admire is an ability to create client oriented solutions and also leave their unique mark on the project. 

It can be very easy to leave some unique signature or style on a client project that makes it your own. Many great designers have specific methods or tactics they employ. Some clients court specific creatives specifically to obtain such a mark. What I am referring to is an ability to make a project very specific to a client’s needs and desires as well as still being able to nurture it and carry it through as a form of personal expression.

This is a subtle nuance to the craft of Design and Art Direction. It’s very easy to apply your own approach or style to a client project. Many Designers getting their start begin their client work by fitting their client branding into an aesthetic they want to work with. That is not great design.

Great Design is about more than compelling visuals and perfect proportions. Great Design and Art Direction is about the client and consistently delivering great aesthetic that answers the client’s needs. Brilliant design is turning a great brand into art.

Google is quickly moving ahead with the release of their Chrome OS to the public in the form of 2 new hardware options. The operating system in unique in being a “thin client” that does not rely on a local hard drive for file storage. The idea is simple: a computer that acts as a window to the internet for all of your applications and files.

I received a CR-48 as part of the Google pilot and have really grown to like it. The hardware is very simple: Black on black (what the macbook *should* look and feel like). The screen is bright, it’s lightweight and there are no identifying marks on it whatsoever. The OS is stored on a solid state hard drive, so boot time is very fast. The log-in is your Google ID (your GMail address). It only requires an WiFi connection. From this point forward, you’re working from “the Cloud”.

Google is hoping that “the cloud” means that you will be using and engaging in all of their web-based services. GMail, Google Docs, Google Chat, all of the Google offerings in fact, work brilliantly on the CR-48. You will also have access to the Google Web Store, a service provided by Google that pulls over 2,000 applications and web services designed for Google Chrome OS and the Chrome Browser into one central location.

The use-case for the Google Chrome OS is very similar to the use-case for tablet devices. They are perfect for email, Facebook, Twitter, writing a few emails and online shopping. If you are doing much else, you will likely be looking for something more powerful. Google’s Chrome OS is ideal for a second computer or to have an “always” accessible device for your living room or kitchen. It would also be ideal for children or teens as it has very little, physically or in software, that can be damaged or act as a platform for malware and viruses.

By having all of the software and data that you use live  in the cloud is a new way to look at computing. The platform you use become completely irrelevant provided that you have a browser and internet access. Google packages this concept up perfectly with a true set-it-and-forget-it approach for end users. The operating system updates itself to have the latest patches and updates and having your apps living on the web means that there are no more updates or waiting for hot-fixes to download. It’s a pretty strong plan with one point of failure: you must always have access to the internet.

The reliance of WiFi or wireless data is the primary reason why I cannot consider a device like the CR-48 a primary device. It’s very cool and I do use the cloud for much of my work (I write all of my posts in Google Docs), but there are many instances where I am working and do not have access to the web or WiFi. For a second machine or something to use while puttering in front of the Television, the Chrome OS is ideal.

If you’d like to try the Google Chrome experience yourself, you can apply for a CR-48 online. You can also have a similar experience right now by downloading the Google Chrome Browser and looking through the Google Web Store for applications you can use instead of your desktop applications.

Previous entries and thoughts on the Google Chrome OS:

A View of the Google Chrome Store, Dec-2010
Impressions of the Google Chrome Operating System, Nov-2009