Tag Archive for ‘Reason’ at Didnt You Hear…

Tag Archive for 'Reason'

…Google has got a new favicon?

The Blogosphere got in a tizzy recently after Google decided to change its favicon (the little icon in your address bar that’s unique to each site).

To address those that demanded answers from the big G, Google has written a post about the new favicon, and explained that “the reason is that we wanted to develop a set of icons that would scale better to some new platforms like the iPhone and other mobile devices”.

Personally, I’m not a fan of the little G, and would have preferred that they stick with the big G, but apparently they’ve got some goals in mind, since they “tried in total more than 300 permutations”.

Apparently they wanted something distinctive and noticeable, as well as something that embraced the colorfulness of the logo, yet wouldn’t date itself, and considering the amount of feedback they received from people who noticed the change, I think they succeeded.

Rest assured though, if you can’t stand the new favicon, let them know, because they “really value feedback form users and want to hear your ideas”.

[Official Google Blog]

Published

Cory O'Brien

on June 9, 2008

in News

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…White people like stuff?

Stuff White People Like is impressively accurate and incredibly funny.

Half social commentary and half social mocking, it’s a daily dose of the things that make white people white.

From coffee and wine to Barack Obama and anything Apple, the full range of interests is covered. Plus, there are reasons behind each like, and an explanation of the best way to fit in with whitey, so you can easily acclimate to being or interacting with white people.

Now where’d I put that copy of Juno…?

[Stuff White People Like]

Published

Cory O'Brien

on March 7, 2008

in Websites

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…Games are mysterious?

Super Mario Warp Whistle

For some video games, semi-secret items are a way of rewarding players that are advanced enough to find them. For others, their secret items are so hidden that only by chance can you stumble upon them, and even then, you’re often left with an item that has little value beyond ‘Hey, look what I found!”

Why then do designers spend the time to code in these secret mysteries?

According to Gamasutra, it’s a way of lending the game a certain quality, called “verisimilitude, where it “seems like there is a world outside the borders of the screen, happening regardless of what the player does. It implies the existence of a fully-fleshed world” and “it allows a game to better enable the player to forget that it is, really, just a game”.

To prove their point, they have put together a fantastic list of 20 Mysterious Games, including the reason for the secret inclusion, the design of the game itself, and the design lesson that the game can teach future designers.

It’s definitely a trip down memory lane for anyone that has been gaming for some time, and it does give you a new appreciation for the dark arts of video game design, so definitely check it out.

[Gamasutra - Game Design Essentials: 20 Mysterious Games]

[Via: Kotaku]

Published

Cory O'Brien

on January 21, 2008

in Information

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…Logo changes can be a bad idea?

Changing a logo can be a big decision. Companies rely on their logo for brand recognition, so when they decide to change things around a bit, it better be for a good reason.

Unfortunately, not every company grasps the importance of this decision. Instead, they often take a perfectly good logo, and ruin it in the name of change.

Take a look at Under Consideration, and their collection of the best and worst logo remakes. You’ve got to wonder who gave the go ahead for some of these.

[Under Consideration - Brand New]

Published

Cory O'Brien

on September 27, 2007

in Advertising

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