The future of public transportation in Massachusetts
As debates around the state transportation bill heated up this month, we teamed up with the Transportation for Massachusetts Coalition (T4MA) to create a series of infographics that capture the complexity of the Bay State’s transportation network. Since most of the Fathom team commutes via public transportation (the rest bike to work), we felt strongly about contributing clear and readable graphics that could be used in the course of the T4MA advocacy campaign. We have a vested interest in seeing that network remain in good working order, accessible, and affordable.
Watch how people move on public transit — brought to you by open data.
(via secretrepublic)
npr:
Unlike many celebrity chefs, who treat cooking like some mystical and convoluted ritual, Ina Garten (The Barefoot Countessa) approaches each dish with the nonchalance of someone who could be doing something else. That’s because she could be. Between 1974 and 1978, Garten worked in the Office of Management and Budget at the White House; starting in 1976, she was responsible for the budget of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and for part of the Department of Energy’s. How Garten went from analyzing nuclear policy to overseeing her own cooking empire is one of the unlikelier stories of American reinvention.
Photo: Therealbs2002/Wikipedia
<3 her
by Paste in Place
Place Palette is a set of 16 cards that describe different types of development throughout the Portland region. A series of information graphics describe the key characteristics of each development type including land use, distribution of building heights, housing units per acre, jobs per acre and frequency of transit service. The cards are designed to allow individuals to make meaningful comparisons between different types of development.
The cards are used by Metro and local planners throughout the Portland region in workshop settings in conjunction with Envision Tomorrow, a GIS-based software package that communities use for scenario planning. The development types described by the cards sync with those in the software and enable workshop sessions that benefit from the strengths of both digital and print media.
Date 2012
Client Metro (Portland Regional Government)
Specs 10.75 x 5.25 inches, 4-color digital printing
Why Design Matters: If Snow Fall Were Published in a Standard Template
I am in beautiful Bergen, Norway, this week for the Nordic Media Festival. I gave a talk this morning on digital storytelling and, of course, everyone wanted to talk about Snow Fall.
As part of the presentation — and to drive home my point about design — I mocked up what Snow Fall might have been had our brilliant design, graphics and video teams not taken this project on.
Since a couple people asked for it, I decided to post the images here.
Doesn’t really grab you like the actual piece, does it?
In my ongoing quest for the perfect framework for understanding haters, I created The Disapproval Matrix**. (With a deep bow to its inspiration.) This is one way to separate haterade from productive feedback. Here’s how the quadrants break down:
Critics: These are smart people who know something about your field. They are taking a hard look at your work and are not loving it. You’ll probably want to listen to what they have to say, and make some adjustments to your work based on their thoughtful comments.
Lovers: These people are invested in you and are also giving you negative but rational feedback because they want you to improve. Listen to them, too.
Frenemies: Ooooh, this quadrant is tricky. These people really know how to hurt you, because they know you personally or know your work pretty well. But at the end of the day, their criticism is not actually about your work—it’s about you personally. And they aren’t actually interested in a productive conversation that will result in you becoming better at what you do. They just wanna undermine you. Dishonorable mention goes to The Hater Within, aka the irrational voice inside you that says you suck, which usually falls into this quadrant. Tell all of these fools to sit down and shut up.
Haters: This is your garden-variety, often anonymous troll who wants to tear down everything about you for no rational reason. Folks in this quadrant are easy to write off because they’re counterproductive and you don’t even know them. Ignore! Engaging won’t make you any better at what you do. And then rest easy, because having haters is proof your work is finding a wide audience and is sparking conversation. Own it.
The general rule of thumb? When you receive negative feedback that falls into one of the top two quadrants—from experts or people who care about you who are engaging with and rationally critiquing your work—you should probably take their comments to heart. When you receive negative feedback that falls into the bottom two quadrants, you should just let it roll off your back and just keep doin’ you. If you need to amp yourself up about it, may I suggest this #BYEHATER playlist on Spotify? You’re welcome.
** I presented The Disapproval Matrix to the fine folks at MoxieCon in Chicago yesterday, and they seemed to find it useful, so I figured I’d share with the class. It was originally inspired by a question my friend Channing Kennedy submitted to my #Realtalk column at the Columbia Journalism Review.
Getting ready for the Correspondents’ Dinner.
Watch it live tonight at 10 p.m. ET on http://wh.gov/live
(via peone)
TUMBLRLLY
This is my Tumblr - it has lots of interiors, stylish women and puppies.
PROFESSIONALLY
The things I like besides what's seen here can be found on my website. Portfolio and blog on web dev and cities are at www.jlord.us (which doesn’t link back to this).
