The book, and its successors like Machine Code for Beginners and Practical Things to Do With a Microcomputer were major hits–but they were largely forgotten until recently when Usborne published them online as free PDFs, as Cory Doctorow first pointed out this week.

To help further this exploration, Reas and his colleague Ben Fry (a principal of Fathom, a design and software consultancy in Boston) in 2001 developed their own software, called Processing, that bridges the divide between programming and art, making both processes more intuitive.

How’s it going, compadres? This month’s roundup hand-picked from all across the web includes icons, design assets, illustrations, vector artwork, UI kits, some really cool code snippets, fonts, templates, some awesome tools, and much much more.

By developing your taste and ability to identify strengths and weaknesses in designs, you end up setting a high bar for your work.

1. "If" -- improves performance when describing a hypothetical positive.
   "What would you say if you did know?"

2. "Could" -- boosts creativity when used instead of "should."

3. "Together" -- makes teams work harder and smarter

4. "Choose to" -- reframing from "have to" makes a big difference.

5. "And" -- the best way to state a contrary opinion.
   "Here's what I'm thinking."
   "My perspective is based on the following assumptions... "
   "I came to this conclusion because... "
   "I'd love to hear your reaction to what I just said."
   "Do you see any flaws in my reasoning?"
   "Do you see the situation differently?"

6. "Because" -- makes whatever you ask sound objective and rational.

7. "(Your name)" -- we prefer things connected to ourselves.

8. "Willing" -- can turn a "no" into a "yes."

7 Words to Avoid:
Need Must Can't Easy Just Only Fast

SEO has got­ten a bad rap; but much of it deserved­ly so. Here’s a guide to how mod­ern SEO should be done

Creativity: A Systems Approach

First, an individual must master her craft in a given domain (art, science, mathematics). Then, this person must offer the creative work to a field of influencers in that domain who are trusted experts. Finally, the gatekeepers decide if the work is worth being accepted as authoritative into the domain.

When it comes to relational databases, I can’t help thinking that something is missing. They’re used everywhere. There are many different databases: from the small and useful SQLite to the powerful Teradata. But, there are only a few articles that explain how a database works.

1. "It's not fair."
2. "This is the way it's always been done."
3. "No problem."
4. "I think ... /This may be a silly idea ... /I'm going to ask a stupid question."
5. "This will only take a minute."
6. "I'll try."
7. "He's lazy/incompetent/a jerk."
   (There is no upside to making a disparaging remark about a colleague.)
8. "That's not in my job description."
9. "It's not my fault."
10. "I can't."
    (If you really can't do something because you truly lack the necessary skills, you need to offer an alternative solution.)
11. "I hate this job."

Everybody knows about web forms, right? Make a

In user experience design we’re familiar with user research techniques like workshops and interviews. We synthesise our research into user stories and process flows. We communicate our thinking and solutions to our teams with artefacts like personas and wireframes. But somewhere in all of this lies the real people for whom we’re designing. In order to make our product better, we must understand what’s going on in their worlds and how our product can make their lives better. And that’s where storyboards come in.

Color and shape are powerful communicators in design and illustration — and this class will hone your skills.

Join famed illustrator Olimpia Zagnoli for an insightful class exploring her thoughtful, unexpected use of color. Inspired by her Italian upbringing and artists she admires, her illustrations are the perfect vehicle for exploring the interplay of inspiration and techniques — and ways you can combine them in your own graphic illustration work.

Create beautiful apps with modular and customizable UI components.

Invisible space in the story of ‘The Purloined Letter’. Focused on the relationship between events, characters and the signifier

A boilerplate for creating superb style guides

The homepage of a style guide should provide high-level information around what the design system is, what benefits it provides, who it’s for, and how to get started with it. Like any good index page, it should provide clear navigation to key parts of the website.

Flexbox cheatsheet

1. Garamond
2. Gill Sans
3. Lato
4. Didot
5. Avenir

There are two basic questions you need to ask yourself at the start of any UX project. Let’s break it down.

WHAT DOES THE USER WANT?

WHAT DOES THE CLIENT WANT?

DESIGN FOR THE USER
Have you come across designers who seem to design for other designers, but not for the end user? I know I have. I’ve also come across designers who design for the client instead of the end user. And, if we’re going to be completely honest here, I’ve also come across designers who design for their own ego exclusively. It fills me with cringe.

4-Second Rule
If you want users to stay on your app, don’t use spinners for processes that take longer than 4 seconds to load. A research study has found that most users’ tolerable wait time is 4 seconds. This means that their behavioral intentions begin to change after 4 seconds.