jony ive introducing ios 7.

Here is the Apple promo video introducing iOS 7 to the world. It is narrated by Jony Ive, its creator.

review: harry's (the men's shaving service)

Want a great shave, a stylish razor and inexpensive blades that are shipped to your doorstep all while helping others? Well then I have the answer for you.

Harry’s is a new venture from the folks that brought you Warby and Parker. You know, the stylish glasses that cost around $100 a pair? Well, they saw an opportunity and moved into men’s grooming. With the popularity of Dollar Shave Club, this comes as no surprise. The market lacked a more upscale sibling to the bargain basement approach of that club. Harry’s brings style, elegance and a sense of humor to act of shaving your grizzly mug.

Let’s start with their website. Simple and elegant, just like their razors. And what a logo. Kudos to the design team. The site is easy to navigate, very informative and sells the product well without feeling "salesy". I wonder what their conversion rate is because I know I had no intention of buying razors on the internets and when I ended up on their page I was sold. Great images, solid copy and a sweet price point. I opted for the full meal deal, the Harry’s shave set with the orange Truman razor.

I eagerly awaited the package. I tracked it and made sure I had some good stubble going when it arrived so that I could immediately put the German engineered razor blade to the test.

Then it arrived. Cue angelic choir.

As you can see from the photo, the packaging is fantastic. The kit comes with shave cream, two spare razors, the razor handle with a razor attached and some great shave tips in the form of a shave guide. Oh, and the shave cream has a lottery number on the back. Not sure what that is all about yet...

I chose the Truman with the orange handle which feels very solid in your hand.

I read the shave guide, lathered up and put it to the test. Probably the best shave ever. No joke. Shaving can go so wrong but when it goes right it is a real pleasure. And these razors are fantastic. Must be that German engineering. Thanks Harry's, I now look forward to shaving.

google glass. the future is here.

pebble arrives. sort of.

So today we were greeted with news that the Pebble watch is finally here. And by finally here we mean shipping on January 23rd. And by shipping January 23rd we mean arriving 6-8 weeks later. It has been a long wait so waiting a little longer won't hurt. It is understandable that such an undertaking can incur countless delays but today's announcement seemed sort of comical. Regardless, I for one can't wait to get my hands on it and use it for running and cycling. Will you get one?

UPDATE: Here is a great hands-on review from CES by The Verge

genius idea: instant direct mail

infographic: what your brand colors say about your business

the psychology of colour (with a "u").

pinterest + instagram = pinstagram

Pinstagram is new mashup that combines two of the hottest web properties at the moment and it does so in a very elegant way. It allows you to view, share and comment on Instagram photos just like images on Pinterest. All you have to do is sign-in with your Instagram account information and voila, your photos appear in the familiar Pinterest layout. Whether a novelty or something that is here to stay, Pinstagram has certainly nailed the current cultural zeitgeist.

prezi launches powerpoint import tool.

This just in from VentureBeat, Prezi, the hipper version of PowerPoint, has launched a tool that allows you to import those stale presentations and freshen them up. Check out the video below and the announcement here.

brydge + ipad = macbook pro

Well, almost. This is by far the best integrated keyboard for the iPad I have come across. Check out their Kickstarter page here. Will you back them?

wee nudge. a resource for web designers (and their clients).

Trying to convince a client not to squeeze everything above the fold? Is your whitespace filling up fast? The folks at Wee Nudge collected a variety of articles on some sticky web subjects that might just help you make your point. Send your client to one of our topic pages for a quick intro, some links and a wee nudge in the right direction.

(Via swissmiss).

april fool's day by the numbers.

tedmed talk. redesigning medical data.

Here is a great talk given by Thomas Goetz at TEDMED about the need for redesigning the way we see medical data.

Your medical chart: it's hard to access, impossible to read -- and full of information that could make you healthier if you just knew how to use it. At TEDMED, Thomas Goetz looks at medical data, making a bold call to redesign it and get more insight from it.

Thomas Goetz is the executive editor of Wired and author of "The Decision Tree: Taking Control of Your Health in the New Era of Personalized Medicine.

save a tree. save it as a wwf.

Here we go. A bold new document format. WWF. The catch? You can't print it.

The WWF format is a PDF that cannot be printed. It’s a simple way to avoid unnecessary printing. So here’s your chance to save trees and help the environment. Decide for yourself which documents don’t need printing out – then simply save them as WWF.

infographic. a year in social commerce.

Here is a nice little infographic provided by Digital Buzz showing how 2010 was the year social commerce became mainstream. The infographic pulls out a few great momentum gathering moments; with P&G’s “Pampers” Facebook Store generating over 1000 transactions an hour from March in 2010, along with another social commerce strategy called “Tryvertising” allowing customers a free trial by “Tweeting” that product, Disney opened their Facebook ticketing store, as did Delta Airlines, and one of the craziest things I’ve seen, China’s group-buying site called “Taobao” selling 1 new Mercedes per minute in September 2010.

modern art explained by craig damrauer.

 

No comment necessary. Print by Craig Damrauer.

50 best inventions of 2010.

 
It is that time of year again. List time. Best of, worst of, top 10, 20, etc. Here is a look at the 50 best inventions of 2010 according to Time. Nice to see they included Square as I just signed up and got my card-reader in the mail last week. The microsite also has links to the lists from previous years so you can see how good the editors were at predicting groundbreaking inventions. Or not.

ted talk. melinda gates on non-profits and coca-cola.

Melinda Gates talks about what non-profits can learn from Coca-Cola. This was a TedxChange talk Melinda gave in September.

At TEDxChange, Melinda Gates makes a provocative case for nonprofits taking a cue from corporations such as Coca-Cola, whose plugged-in, global network of marketers and distributors ensures that every remote village wants -- and can get -- a Coke. Why shouldn't this work for condoms, sanitation, vaccinations too?

glif. a new iphone tripod mount and stand.

I love Kickstarter. It's a site where people can post their ideas for products, projects, etc. and others can fund them via donations as small as $1. I just "backed" a company called Glif with a donation of $20. In return, I will be getting one of their iPhone tripod mount and stand when it has been produced. Their goal was to raise $10K. They are already close to $55K as of this evening. Well done boys. Looking forward to my stand!

.

ted talk. social networks. the real ones.

Here is a fantastic TED Talk by Nicholas Christakis about how real social networks can aid in predicting epidemics.

After mapping humans' intricate social networks, Nicholas Christakis and colleague James Fowler began investigating how this information could better our lives. Now, he reveals his hot-off-the-press findings: These networks can be used to detect epidemics earlier than ever, from the spread of innovative ideas to risky behaviors to viruses (like H1N1).