Did someone say, FREE?!
The Wall Street Journal Online is offering free access to its premium content today (Friday, September 18, 2009).
Our friends at Cadillac are sponsoring this free-access day, so don't miss out.
Usually subscriptions to the online premium content run $1.99 per week. Now you can get the same access to breaking news and updates, online market data center and news alerts, for FREE. Dig up those archived articles you have been waiting years for ....
September 18, 2009
September 16, 2009
ReadWriteWeb's Top 5 Web Trends in 2009
RWW elaborates on their vision of 2009 trends and into what formats the web is evolving. The evolution of the web will not slow down for the foreseeable future. It really is an amazing platform upon which we can innovate in previously unimaginable ways.
ReadWriteWeb's Top 5 Web Trends in 2009
View more presentations from Richard MacManus.
September 15, 2009
Patience
"We should learn to be patient with ourselves. Recognizing our strengths and our weaknesses, we should strive to use good judgment in all of our choices and decisions, make good use of every opportunity, and do our best in every task we undertake. We should not be unduly discouraged nor in despair at any time when we are doing the best we can. Rather, we should be satisfied with our progress even though it may come slowly at times." Joseph B. Wirthlin
September 8, 2009
Quick Excel 2007 tip for group and outline feature
For those of you who have made the move over to MS Excel 2007 and have found familiar features or tricks difficult at times to find or execute, this quick tip might be helpful.
When I use the group and outline feature, I like to (almost always) set the group brackets to have a top-down orientation versus the bottom-up default. In other words, I like to set the group and outline feature so that when I click to expand, the rows release downwards.
To do that, take the following steps:
- Click on the Data ribbon so that you see Get External Data, Connections, etc.
- Mouse over to the Outline section of the Data ribbon
- At the bottom right corner of the Outline section, you will see a mini arrow
- Click on that
- The dialogue box should pop up
- Now, uncheck the top checkbox which says, "Summary rows below detail"
- Click OK
- Enjoy easy and intuitive grouping and outlining!
When I use the group and outline feature, I like to (almost always) set the group brackets to have a top-down orientation versus the bottom-up default. In other words, I like to set the group and outline feature so that when I click to expand, the rows release downwards.
To do that, take the following steps:
- Click on the Data ribbon so that you see Get External Data, Connections, etc.
- Mouse over to the Outline section of the Data ribbon
- At the bottom right corner of the Outline section, you will see a mini arrow
- Click on that
- The dialogue box should pop up
- Now, uncheck the top checkbox which says, "Summary rows below detail"
- Click OK
- Enjoy easy and intuitive grouping and outlining!
September 6, 2009
August 30, 2009
How can we make this look good? Books on design: the written word, presentations, data and more
Over the years, I have come upon several books that do a great job of teaching the elegance of good visual display or just good design. There are multiple purposes to design - for example, you could be trying to design a compelling website, express quantitative data in easy to understand graphs or to design a logo or PowerPoint presentation or design a blog post. While I in no way have figured it out myself, I have come across some great resources.
Web Copy That Sells
We all write online and publish in some way whether for work or for pleasure and this book talks about the right way to design web content. A must have for online publishing.
Presentation Zen
Simple ideas on presentation design and delivery. Presentation is about the transfer of emotion and this book walks the reader through preparation, design and delivery. Backed by Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin, Presentation Zen is a good guide to PowerPoint / Keynote.
Slide:ology
Another great book on presentations only this one is by the Duarte team - a prestigious design agency in Silicon Valley - and reviews comprehensively visual story development. From animation, to picture taking to text on slides.
The Minto Pyramid Principle
For THE guide to logic in writing, thinking and problem solving, I highly recommend this classic. Coming from a management consulting background, this was our bible. Every presentation, every problem was structured in the Minto way.
Say it with Charts
An easy-to-read guide to creating simple, compelling charts. Also includes worksheets and exercises to practice.
Don't Make Me Think
One of our favorite books at Fresh Consulting. This is the guide to common sense web usability. A must read for all web designers.
Universal Principles of Design
One of the best books out there on design. It's tagline says it all: "100 ways to enhance usability, influence perception, increase appeal, make better design decisions, and teach through design. This is the first one-stop reference and resource for designers of all disciplines - from graphic design to architecture to user-interface design. This is one of my favorites.
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
The seminal book on displaying complex quantitative information by Edward Tufte. He has written several other books, but this one in my opinion really is the most powerful and applicable for my profession (business consulting). The Strunk and White of visual design.
Information Dashboard Design
All about information technology or business intelligence, this book is a must read for anyone who has ever worked on or developed a dashboard. This book gets to the core of building a quality dashboard that communicates complex information clearly and easily. This is an art and Stephen Few is one of the best.
So that is quite the large range of design-oriented books - from web copy, to website, to graphs to architecture. I would love to learn of any design books that you love.
Web Copy That Sells
We all write online and publish in some way whether for work or for pleasure and this book talks about the right way to design web content. A must have for online publishing.
Presentation Zen
Simple ideas on presentation design and delivery. Presentation is about the transfer of emotion and this book walks the reader through preparation, design and delivery. Backed by Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin, Presentation Zen is a good guide to PowerPoint / Keynote.
Slide:ology
Another great book on presentations only this one is by the Duarte team - a prestigious design agency in Silicon Valley - and reviews comprehensively visual story development. From animation, to picture taking to text on slides.
The Minto Pyramid Principle
For THE guide to logic in writing, thinking and problem solving, I highly recommend this classic. Coming from a management consulting background, this was our bible. Every presentation, every problem was structured in the Minto way.
Say it with Charts
An easy-to-read guide to creating simple, compelling charts. Also includes worksheets and exercises to practice.
Don't Make Me Think
One of our favorite books at Fresh Consulting. This is the guide to common sense web usability. A must read for all web designers.
Universal Principles of Design
One of the best books out there on design. It's tagline says it all: "100 ways to enhance usability, influence perception, increase appeal, make better design decisions, and teach through design. This is the first one-stop reference and resource for designers of all disciplines - from graphic design to architecture to user-interface design. This is one of my favorites.
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
The seminal book on displaying complex quantitative information by Edward Tufte. He has written several other books, but this one in my opinion really is the most powerful and applicable for my profession (business consulting). The Strunk and White of visual design.
Information Dashboard Design
All about information technology or business intelligence, this book is a must read for anyone who has ever worked on or developed a dashboard. This book gets to the core of building a quality dashboard that communicates complex information clearly and easily. This is an art and Stephen Few is one of the best.
So that is quite the large range of design-oriented books - from web copy, to website, to graphs to architecture. I would love to learn of any design books that you love.
August 27, 2009
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