tecznotes

I'm at Adaptive Path's UX Week in Washington DC right now. I'm noticing that Apple's Keynote software is leading to some excellent presentation visuals - it encourages big, simple slides with dark backgrounds. A lot of people are also using "one big image" slides, with full-bleed photographs or graphics. I like this. It's a great visual style for conference spaces, and really cuts down on the infoglut of your typical Powerpoint deck. So far, every session I've attended today uses this method.

On a tangent, DC's Metro subway is bizarro-world BART. The informational signs use Helvetica in exactly the same way, the ticket machines work almost identically, and the trains are similar as well. The two systems seem to be of the same vintage. Metro is predominantly "yellow-orange", BART is primarily "blue-silver". Both are great examples of Brady Bunch Futurism, a look that seemed outrageously advanced c. 1975, and now has a comfy, carpeted, conversation-pit vibe. I like this too.