Pleased to say that this blog has been updated to WordPress 3 – ‘Thelonius”.  So far so good.  We’re going to get the Annunciation Interactive site updated soon as well.  From what I’m seeing, WP3 continues the evolution of WordPress toward a more general content manager versus its blog-centric roots…

Neat quickie shot of the stuff on our mantle at my office at Annunciation Interactive.  Photo by our friend and client David Guidry of Lakeside Photoworks.  The ‘Peace’ card was from our buddy Jake at PeopleMover last Xmas I think.

I was a huge fan of Marvel Comics growing up, and love Scott McCloud’s books on comic art’s ability to communicate across languages via symbology, etc.  Found an article recently by Lukas Mathis of ignorethecode.net that applies cartoon principles to User Interface (UI) design.  Not quite ‘less is more’, but rather ‘just enough is correct’ – check it out, it’s an interesting read.

People are confused by symbols if they have too many or too few details. They will recognize UI elements which are somewhere in the middle.

The goal is not to make your user interface as realistic as possible. The goal is to add those details which help users identify what an element is, and how to interact with it, and to add no more than those details. UI elements are abstractions which convey concepts and ideas; they should retain only those details that are relevant to their purpose. UI elements are almost never representations of real things. Adding too much realism can cause confusion.

I saw this described as passive aggressive warfare this morning.  Adobe’s taking the gloves off re: Apple’s mobile Flash support (or lack thereof).  Seems they’re taking a lead from the ‘Death to IE6′ shame campaign also being waged very publicly.

Our friend Travis in Breaux Bridge has released CSS Fu – a batch CSS Gallery submitter. It’s still in beta, and submissions are currently free – check it out!

My business partner of more than two years, Jonah Langenbeck, is making a big career move, recently accepting the Interactive Media Manager position at the National WWII Museum. We partnered back in 2007 and spent the last two years working (sometimes frantically) on dozens of websites and interactive assets for various local and national clients. It has been among the most productive periods of my working life, and certainly the most rewarding challenge I’ve found in New Orleans. I join our team of designers and developers in enthusiastically wishing Jonah much success and fulfillment in his new role!

Whether serendipity or just plain luck, I don’t know that either of us expected the whirlwind of business that the last two years brought us. I know that Jonah will bring his outstanding talents with him to the rapidly-expanding and extraordinary museum. We will definitely miss you at the office, Jonah, but we expect you at Felipés regularly to keep you up to date on the drama and fireworks of our life in the trenches ;-)

Bon Voyage, Jonah!!!!

Interesting article on Time.com titled The New Internet Start-Up Boom: Get Rich Slow that makes some good observations about new breed small businesses. I particularly like the concept of Noodleconomics. The term ramen profitable was coined by Paul Graham, a Silicon Valley start-up investor, essayist and muse to LILO (little in; lots out) entrepreneurs. It means that your start-up is self-sustaining and can eke out enough profit to keep you alive on instant noodles while your business gains traction.

Wow. Pattie Maes & Pranav Mistry: Unveiling the “Sixth Sense,” game-changing wearable tech at the 2009 TED Conference. Takes the Microsoft Surface concept from a couple years ago and frees it from any particular substrate for a truly portable system that the speakers claim could be at cost parity with an average cell phone once it hits mass production.

Our friend Erik ‘the k is black‘ Kiesewetter has launched an updated portfolio here, and it’s (as he’d say) ‘bangin’. He’s a great talent and we work with him often. Ask him about his Bike® Shorts.