I think there might be more social networks than “social media experts”.

First there was Classmates, LiveJournal, Friendster, LinkedIn and MySpace. Then Facebook comes along with a site tailored for current university students. Then came demand for accommodating other groups like high school students, coworkers, and eventually everyone. Facebook succeeded (and created a mass exodus from MySpace) because it catered to a small market first, people that are keen on sharing information with everyone else like gossip, updates, etc. Those people were sick of the teenie-boppers with pink sparkly gif backgrounds on MySpace. So Facebook becomes ubiquitous. They build pretty good solutions for problems like sharing photos.

However, Facebook hasn’t done an amazing job connecting its service to a mobile environment, and that’s where Twitter thrived. Twitter essentially existed to fill the gap of posting what you’re up to on the go. Twitter solved the problem of friends and family calling you all the time asking, “What are you doing?” Since I started using Twitter a few years ago, I don’t have this problem anymore. I know what everyone’s up to and everyone knows what I’m up to.

Then Facebook copies the functionality. They created status updates and made it relatively easy to post on mobile devices. Now, everything is mobile. But the mobile social network landscape has exploded into a ton of apps that are essentially fads.

There are new social networks like Tumblr, Foursquare, Yelp, Instagram, Gowalla, Google+ and Path. Some are speciality based like Yelp is for rating places. Instagram is for photos. Foursquare and Gowalla are for sharing your location. Google+ and Path aim to be for everyone.

Google+ seemingly tried to be the next Facebook, but everyone on Facebook isn’t going to get up and leave like they did for MySpace. Why would they? Unlike MySpace, Facebook is always actively working on new features, controversial or not. They’re always advancing. You can’t just make a site on the web and expect everyone to go invest time in it. I started using Google+ as early as I could but I found no unique advantage to Facebook. In fact, I haven’t used Facebook for almost a year.

What does Facebook have to offer today that’s unique? For some people, it’s a connection with their loved ones: their extended family. It’s easier than email. It’s not easy however, to convince your family to use Twitter or another social network. Not everyone spends the amount of time connected to the Internet as some of us. Most of my extended family rarely checks their email or can’t remember their email password to begin with. It’s not easy to get someone started on “another thing.”

It seems like a few of these networks are innovating on the mobile platform. Facebook and Twitter try new UI ideas like pulling out a drawer or pull to refresh. Path has a radial menu. Instagram has a button in a tab bar. None of these are truly good design, they’re just gimmicks. Most geeks tend to be attracted to these shiny things.

I’m over Foursquare and Gowalla. I don’t use either much anymore. Find My Friends helps me answer the question, “Where is my friend now?” I don’t care who the mayor is of the local coffee shop. I try using Instagram here and there but I still think it relies so much on me posting it to Twitter so that the people I want to share with can see my photos. What’s the point of single-purpose social networks if you have to publish content from one onto another? For Instagram, they may have built an app-only social network, but not everyone (like my family) uses it enough for it to be useful on its own. Foursquare and Gowalla suffer the same problem. So often in my Twitter timeline I see people saying where they are with a link to either site.

Path realized that they couldn’t survive on their own and intended to be a companion to Facebook as opposed to the only thing you check. But you aren’t going to succeed by relying on a competitor. Path doesn’t offer anything unique compared to Facebook, where many people already invest lots of time. Right now, Path is a fad. Everyone’s excited about the shiny things. But I imagine it plays out similarly to Google+: everyone posts a lot early on, but ultimately no one uses it without also posting to Twitter.

“iPhone” was an obvious choice for the name of Apple’s phone. Everybody and their brother guessed it. Obvious and perfect.

When the second iPhone was introduced and included 3G technology, iPhone 3G was another obvious choice for a name.

The next phone would be the third, but they already used a 3 in “iPhone 3G,” thus putting themselves in a predicament for the name. Since this phone didn’t have a different physical design, tacking a letter on the end was all Apple could seemingly do. “Speed.”

Then, iPhone 4 was announced and sported a new design. Truly, this is the fourth iPhone. However, I know consumers confuse it with “4G” every day.

iPhone 4S is the same design as iPhone 4. Calling it iPhone 5 would be a disappointment to the public (because when something doesn’t physically change, people don’t think it’s worthy of a name change). Technically, though, this is the fifth iPhone.

What’s the next iPhone to be called? Can’t be iPhone 5, can it? But iPhone 6 would sound weird after iPhone 4S, even if it would be the sixth iPhone.

When Apple announced the second iPad, they called it “iPad 2.” But why? Did the numbering scheme of iPhone inspire iPad?

Thing is, Apple doesn’t use numbers in their marketing names for other hardware products (at least not anymore, PowerMac G3). You don’t see a MacBook Air 3 or an iPod touch 4. The reason for Apple to number iPhone and iPad could be because they radically change from version to version, and consumers wanted to compare them in conversation. “iPad 2 has a camera.” “iPhone 4 has a Retina Display.”

The only other reason I can think of is that Apple sells multiple iPhone models at any one time. Consumers need a name differentiator. But they don’t sell iPad 1 alongside iPad 2, so I’m not sure about this reasoning.

After all, Apple doesn’t put the extra label on the back of the products. They simply say “iPhone” or “iPad.” Honestly, I think they need to lose the numbering scheme. They’re starting to resemble names like “Dell XPS” and “BMW X3 SAV.”

In April 2010, I joined the iTunes team and was tasked with creating the next iTunes icon. I wasn’t the only one working on it, but after many icons were presented, Steve Jobs chose one of mine.

I sent emails up the chain with new designs, and got forwarded emails with feedback and ideas from the person I trusted and admired most. Though it was incredibly stressful, working with Steve on this icon was without a doubt the most enjoyable project in my professional career.

When I was sixteen years old, I dreamed of a day that I’d be able to work at Apple, and when the day came that I got an email forwarded down to me from Steve about how the blue in the icon wasn’t beautiful enough, I knew I was living that dream.

It’s come to my attention that the terms of use for my artwork aren’t as obvious as I thought they’d be. Simply: You can download and use my artwork on your own devices. Do not republish or upload my artwork anywhere. Do not change, tweak, remix, or build upon my artwork. Do not use my artwork commercially.

Now for the long version in an effort to be perfectly clear:

The downloads that I offer on my website are to be used for personal use on your own devices only. Wallpapers can be used as wallpapers. Icons can be used as icons. If you want to use either for an avatar on a social network, that’s fine, but don’t try to confuse anyone into thinking its yours or that you’re me, okay?

If you’re an app developer for iPhone, Android, whatever… do me a favor and just contact me before you decide to use something you found on my website. You might have this amazingly awesome idea that involves my artwork, but it could be that it’s copyrighted material that I can’t license to you anyway. Whatever the case may be, just check with me first. I’m not an unreasonable guy.

Now, here’s why I’ve decided not to include the terms of use with every download: people don’t really like ZIP files. Many of my downloads are ZIP files, but this means you can’t download those swank wallpapers you found on your iPad or iPhone. I get that. It sucks.

The thing is, I like to make versions and variants of a certain piece of artwork because there’s either a thematic element I wanted to show or simply: people have preferences. So far, I haven’t discovered a perfect solution to offer a quick download and show all the versions of a single design without cluttering up my gallery pages.

Watermarks. Yeah, it seems obvious. “Why not just put a watermark on your designs to prevent people from stealing them?” Bluntly, this sucks. No one wants watermarks. I don’t like watermarks or signatures on my own artwork, and I know that people dislike them when they want to use a wallpaper on their computer. With UI being translucent on desktops and home screens these days, it’s difficult to find a spot where watermarks wouldn’t be seen. Mac OS X and Windows 7 both have translucent bars. OS X has a translucent Dock on the bottom of the screen. iOS has translucent black bars on the lock screen. Besides that, at the point where the artwork gets sampled down, a watermark wouldn’t necessarily be noticeable.

Anyway, the bottom line is: don’t take something that isn’t yours. I’m sure you worked really hard gathering up resources on the internet to create your app/theme/whatever, but frankly, it just makes people confused when they see my artwork with your name on it. Even if you credit me, it’s not cool to take something and say “oh, but I mentioned that he made it!” Let’s be honest here, you know that’s not okay.

All I want is for people to be able to enjoy what I’ve made. Don’t confuse people or ruin it by republishing/reposting/reuploading my artwork somewhere else. If you want to do something cool with something I’ve made, just ask. I’ll try to work something out or tell you why it’s inappropriate to use it. Trust me, asking me will be better than someone finding out what you did, asking me about it, and me contacting you asking you to remove it.

During our vacation in Disneyland, we visited nearly every ride and attraction. Each one was so carefully crafted down to every last tiny detail. I never thought for a moment that anything felt out of place. But… I have Designer’s Curse. I inspect every detail, look around every corner, obsess over every sign.

First, The Details

For example, lets take two different Disneyland attractions: “Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye” and “Space Mountain.”

Indiana Jones has you entering a jungle in Adventureland, walking into ancient ruins with bamboo supports and stone walls. The cast members are wearing collared tan shirts and brown fedora hats. The loading gates look like worn down metal, and there are wooden directional signs.

In contrast, Space Mountain in Tomorrowland is white and glows purple in the evening. You walk into what looks like a futuristic space station, down corridors that glow blue with numbers and letters and screens that show star systems. The cast members are wearing space jumpsuits with bright colored lining. You walk into the loading area with a space shuttle hanging inside, and the gates are translucent and glow orange.

Enter the Exit Signs

In North America, emergency exit signs simply contain word “EXIT” above every exit door and at the intersection of corridors. But until now, I didn’t know how specific these signs are required to be. There’s a reason they all look the same.

Left: A standard Emergency Exit sign (from my apartment complex).

California law states that emergency exit signs must be illuminated no less than 50 lux. The word “EXIT” must be at least six inches tall and the strokes of the letters must be no less than three quarters of an inch. The letters of the sign should be a color or design that creates a great contrast with the background.

There are obviously companies that create standard emergency exit signs, but because Disney themes every bit of their attractions, they can’t afford for an exit sign to look out of place, even though the signs must stand out. Disney solves this problem by designing within the constraints. They make their own emergency exit signs that fit well in their respective areas and attractions.

Above: A variety of Emergency Exit sign designs from Fantasyland, Jungle Cruise, The Enchanted Tiki Room, and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.