Notes from the Future Desk: January - week1
By:
Jerrod Long
on 1/20/2016
We are starting a new series entitled “Notes from the Future Desk” in which we keep you, the reader, appraised with timely information of the recent happenings in our sphere of existence. It could be new information in technology, a neat solution to a challenge we faced, or new knowledge we gained.
Design
A tricky post card did not want to print correctly for Morgan. Luckily, Pat had a readymade solution:
“Morgan had a highly detailed photoshop illustration using half-tone patterns for fills. They worked well in Photoshop but wouldn’t trace in Illustrator. A bit stumped, he asked what he should do. I told him to make the imported file bigger, much bigger, and it will pick up the detail. When he traced it he was surprised that this simple solution worked so well. Just as I was years ago when the great “Make it Bigger” knowledge was passed on to me. It did take a while to trace but printed very well.” –Pat
Development
Recently, the development team watched a webinar on Decoupled WordPress Architecture by Pantheon Co-Founder & Head of Product Josh Koenig. We are pretty excited about the move WordPress is taking toward becoming a full-fledged application development platform, with the reservation that it’s not quite ready for production code.
“I am excited about how WP 4.4’s REST API will let us use client content in different ways, particularly for leveraging WP as a CMS within a larger application.” –Joe
“The REST api for WordPress 4.4 is a good start towards decoupling WP’s front and back ends but fully decoupling is still a ways off.” –Mark
“Decoupling WordPress will allow for much more flexibility in Front-End development. I’m excited to be able to create a site with all the benefits of a JavaScript framework like Angular or React, while also having a complete backend for client content.” –Natalie
Strategy
An A/B test on a podcast episode about A/B testing only makes sense, right?
“The venerable NPR Money podcast just did an an episode on A/B testing entitled “A or B” in which they dove into how A/B testing is impacting all of us. But then⦠they went one step further and actually A/B tested the intro to the podcast itself! By using some analytics data from the NPR One App, they looked at the average point at which users pressed “skip to next story”, which helped them to determine which intro was most engaging.” –Ben
Accounts
Never underestimate the importance of nonverbal communication. Much context can be lost over written communication. Combine that with the high level of importance the communication between us and our client partners and you have a recipe for problems.
“Ensure relevant client stakeholders are physically present when a design concept is revealed. While verbal feedback is greatly appreciated, being able to read the nonverbal feedback is essential as well. It allows us to hit the mark better, therefore having happier clients and stronger partnerships.” –Leslie
QOTW
Your place for all the happenings in the mind of Jerrod Long that made it to print.
“I played Dirty Santa once. That’s how I came to own a sword.” –Jerrod
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