Does the earthquake came at the “worst time” as Japan struggles to reduce its massive debt?

Japan might well benefit from any shakeup that encourages entrepreneurship from the ground up, increases competitiveness and imposes change on the decidedly change-resistant bureaucrats who really run the nation. For years, pundits said only a major crisis will bring about change in Japan. March 11 provided the shock; leaders just need to act accordingly.

Yet in this time of devastation and uncertainty, Japan has shown it runs well on many levels in spite of its government. This is a moment for sorrow and reflection, yes. It’s also a time to look ahead to brighter days. They could indeed be on the way.

My thoughts and prayers for the Japanese people.

“Multitasking impairs your ability to think. Thinking [is] concentrating.. to develop an idea of your own.” – From the Utne Reader.

Sometimes popular web design styles can deter us since we love to create something original. As designers we like to see variety, but of course, our internal and external clients like to mimic and see consistency. Some of the more popular web design styles are:

• Illustrations
• Printed paper
• Realism
• Imageless & typography-focused
• Minimalism
• Vintage look
• Large images & photo backgrounds
• Rich & slick user interfaces

While many designers seem to be very against trends and already popular styles, one must understand that these certain styles are popular for a reason. That reason is that there is already something about them that works, whether it be efficiency, viewer-connection, or interesting visual appeal. The goal is to always view popular styles from an intuitive standpoint, and take from them what works best. This is the only way to learn and gain experience as a web designer, even when developing one’s own particular style.

These few tips on designing the sign up experience on your website are also the basic outline for Joshua Porter’s book designing for the social web. He has a lot of other very important info but I think these few really help the process of specifically thinking about the sign up experience:

• Describe WHAT it is
• Show HOW it works
• Show the end result
• Explain WHY
• Give examples of WHO is using it
• Use Testimonials or Case Studies
• Get Specific
• Give numbers