The Objective Blog

Keep up with what we're thinking, reading, and doing.

Agency Fusion Turns Ten

January 31st, 2013 - by Brett Derricott - Salt Lake City, Utah

It’s been a hectic, busy day today but I’m headed home with a sugar-filled satisfaction. Today Agency Fusion is officially 10 years old, and although we had a load of client work that still needed to be done today, we took time for some serious celebration.

We started our day with a pastry-enhanced, 10-year retrospective. I hit the decade’s highlights and talked about the highs and lows of getting where we are today. For some of our newer team members, it was a good chance to learn more about Agency Fusion’s roots. For those of us who’ve been here a lot longer, it was a chance to reminisce a bit.

A company lunch at Happy Sumo left us all in a sushi coma but gave us a chance to unwind and hang out. After lunch and a bit more client work, we wrapped up our day with a few more hours of celebration. Pam made an amazing chocolate birthday cake, which made me feel like every minute of the 10 years was worth it. David designed a great anniversary shirt for us so that we can enter our next decade sporting fresh threads.

Perhaps the biggest celebration of the day was the internal launch of a new product we’ve been working on. It’s still in the works and not yet publicly available, but we’re extremely excited about it. We all love solving complex problems for our clients, but it’s also very satisfying to be working on our own idea. This post isn’t about the product, but you can learn a bit more about Built for Teams if you’re curious. Oh, and we absolutely destroyed a piñata full of only the best candy to celebrate the launch.

As my sugar high wears off and I realize I need real food, I’ll wrap up this semi-personal post by saying how much I appreciate working alongside people who love what they do. I’m thrilled with what we’ve accomplished and even more excited about what we’re going to do in the next decade.

Fusion Radar: January 30, 2013

January 31st, 2013 - by marissa - Salt Lake City, Utah

Keeping up with technology is a lot of work. Luckily, we enjoy wading through the noise just to find the gems of awesomeness sprinkled throughout. Fusion Radar is our gift to you, Current or Potential Client, so that you can enjoy all of the awesome without any of the drudgery. Unwrap it each week, and know that you’re loved by the geeks and pixel-pushers at Agency Fusion.

Sometimes by Sudara

Sometimes you don’t need code that executes every time. Sometimes, you just want things to happen 50% of the time, or you want something that will happen 4 to 8 times. That’s why Sudara created Sometimes, the simple code that adds some personality and unpredictability to code.

https://github.com/sudara/sometimes

Dropbox

Dropbox is now available to Linux users.

https://www.dropbox.com/install?os=lnx

Vizualize.me

Getting a job can be tough – and making your resume stand out to employers is a big part of that. Vizualize.me is an online tool that lets you make infographics, add color, and design your resume in a unique way.

http://vizualize.me/

Easings.net

Easings.net is a useful collection of 30 different easings and their JavaScript, SCSS, and CSS code.

http://easings.net/

Learning JavaScript Design Patterns

Addy Osmani’s book, Learning JavaScript Design Patterns, is available on his website at no cost (although a hard copy is also available purchase).

Learning JavaScript Design Patterns

Vine

Vine is Twitter’s newest creation. It’s a mobile service that lets you capture and share looping videos on your Twitter feed – the catch is, they can only be 6 seconds long.

Vine

Warby Parker’s Annual Report

Warby Parker’s year in review is a cool, clean, side-scrolling site with a slightly-curved calendar top that you can grab and interact with.

Warby Parker 2012

Kerntype

If you don’t know what kerning is, don’t worry. A lot of people don’t; and even the ones that do aren’t necessarily any good at it. Kerntype is a quick game that teaches (and judges) kerning.

http://type.method.ac/#

Lifx

If we had our way, everything from shoelaces to umbrellas would be controlled electronically, wirelessly, seamlessly. Lifx has taken one step towards automating and remotely controlling everything with their Wi-Fi enabled, colorful LED light bulbs. You can control them directly via your phone, or set timers, alerts, and colors for different times and days.

http://lifx.co/

Wi-Fi-Blocking Wallpaper

This is exactly as awesome as it sounds. European scientists have developed a wallpaper which, thanks to a silver-crystal coating, blocks Wi-Fi signals (among other wireless frequencies).

Wi-Fi-Blocking Wallpaper

Fusion Radar: January 23, 2013

January 25th, 2013 - by marissa - Salt Lake City, Utah

Keeping up with technology is a lot of work. Luckily, we enjoy wading through the noise just to find the gems of awesomeness sprinkled throughout. Fusion Radar is our gift to you, Current or Potential Client, so that you can enjoy all of the awesome without any of the drudgery. Unwrap it each week, and know that you’re loved by the geeks and pixel-pushers at Agency Fusion.

Garlic.js

One of the most frustrating things on the internet is when you accidentally click out of a form you’ve been filling out and, consequently, lose all the data you’ve already put in. Garlic.js solves this by allowing independent forms to automatically persist their text field values locally, up until the form is submitted. This means that even if you accidentally close your tab or hit the back button, you won’t lose your work.

http://garlicjs.org/

Bugsnag

Bugsnag is similar to other bug-catching services in that it captures errors from your web and mobile applications. Bugsnag delivers exception reports into channels like email, Campfire, GitHub, JIRA, etc.; it also uses user-centric, real-time tracking and will work with Rails, Django, PHP, and others.

https://bugsnag.com/

RubyJS

“If I had to code JavaScript I would use RubyJS,” said the creator of Ruby, Yukihiro Matsumoto, in one of the best back-handed compliments we’ve heard in a long time. RubyJS is a JavaScript library based on the Ruby core-lib. It easily ports from Ruby to JavaScript, it’s quick and lightweight, and worth a shot for anyone trying to avoid coding in simple JS.

http://rubyjs.org/

Rails Retweeter Bot

The basic idea behind Rails Retweeter Bot is that the best Tweets are the ones that get retweeted a lot – so in order to avoid reading dozens of uninteresting or redundant tweets, Jakob Suder developed this tool. The bot, which is simple to install and use, filters out uninteresting tweets, based on how many retweets the original message has.

Rails Retweeter Bot

HackDesign

HackDesign is an online resource for hackers who want to learn more about design. With carefully crafted lessons, interactive content, and tangible takeaways, hackers can learn at their own pace and expand their already impressive bank of knowledge.

http://hackdesign.org/

WeeNudge

This is a resource we were delighted to stumble upon. WeeNudge is a website designed to help web designers communicate effectively with their clients. It addresses issues ranging from spec work, wireframes, and whitespace all the way over to file delivery, content, and how to give feedback.

http://weenudge.com/

The Patient Record

There’s been talk in the past about open-sourcing medical records, and the Health Design Challenge is another good step in that direction. A group of organizations (ranging from the US Department of Veteran Associations to Designer Fund) challenged designers across the country to reinvent the way we view and interact with patient records. Hundreds responded, and the results are pretty interesting – and should be open-source soon.

Ihttp://healthdesignchallenge.com/

Best of Kickstarter

We post a lot about Kickstarter projects on here. (If you don’t believe us, check out this, and this, and that . . . we could go on and on). So if any of that’s caught your eye, you might want to look into Kickstarter’s “Best of 2012”.

http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012

Google Handwrite

Touch screens have been trying for years to perfect handwriting recognition so you don’t have to take an extra 5 seconds to use Swype to ask Google for taco stands near you. Google has just taken it one step closer with Google Handwrite, which seems to understand even sloppy, overlapping letters and, as always, suggests to you what you might be searching for before you’ve even typed the ‘c’ in ‘taco’.

Google Handwrite

FireHero 3

To create FireHero, Chris Marion had to combine only the best parts of Raspberry Pi, pyromania, and rock. The result, of course, is explosions and fireblasts every time you strike a power chord. It’s worth checking out.

FireHero 3

Periodic Table of Typefaces

Lastly, for all the designers out there, someone has put together what they call the “Periodic Table of Typefaces”, which includes popular, influential, and notorious typefaces of all time. And while we agree with inclusions like Helvetica, Trajan, and even Zapfino, we have to question the lack of Papyrus and Comic Sans, at least in the “Notorious” category. Either way, it’s an entertaining graphic, and could even give you some typeface ideas.

Periodic Table of Typefaces

Fusion Radar: January 16, 2013

January 16th, 2013 - by marissa - Salt Lake City, Utah

Keeping up with technology is a lot of work. Luckily, we enjoy wading through the noise just to find the gems of awesomeness sprinkled throughout. Fusion Radar is our gift to you, Current or Potential Client, so that you can enjoy all of the awesome without any of the drudgery. Unwrap it each week, and know that you’re loved by the geeks and pixel-pushers at Agency Fusion.

Web Developer Checklist

Web Dev Checklist is a handy tool, particularly for a freelancing developer who has to code and check his own work. Not only does this simply-designed checklist include everything from analytics to usability to security, it also offers resources that can help a developer complete or check many of the items on their list.

http://webdevchecklist.com/

HTML5 Awesomeness

We’ve posted plenty about HTML5 before, and this week we have two new HTML5 sites to share with you. The first, The Expressive Web, is a site that interactively showcases the new features and functionalities of HTML5 and CSS3. HTML Five Wow lets users view and interact with the “HTML5 Showcase for Developers: The Wow and the How” talk given at Google I/O in 2011.

The Expressive Web
HTML Five Wow

JAM

This is an entertaining HTML5 Chrome experiment that allows friends in different locations to play music together in real time through their Chrome browser. There are about 20 different instruments you and 3 other friends can use to create virtual music together.

http://www.jamwithchrome.com/

PlaceIt

PlaceIt (built by responsive site builder Breezi) lets users generate realistic product screenshots with a one-step drag-and-drop tool. Just upload a screenshot, and PlaceIt takes it from there, adding skews and glares to create attractive renderings automatically.

http://placeit.breezi.com/

Web Security Issues

This was a week full of coding troubles, for both Ruby on Rails and Java. For Rails, someone finally alerted administrators to a flaw that exists in basically every version of the framework. In Java’s case, they had a really rough week when the US Department of Homeland Security called on computers users to disable Java due to cyberattack security concerns.

Ruby On Rails Vulnerability
Java Susceptability

Etsy Fail

There are all kinds of quotes out there about learning from your mistakes, but it’s so much more efficient (and so much more painless) to learn from other people’s. In this case, learn from Etsy’s infinite scroll mistake: just because something works for one popular website (like Google or Pinterest), doesn’t mean it it’ll work for another (like Etsy). Check out the case study for more life lessons.

Infinite Scroll Fail at Etsy

DipJar

Those pesky service-level employees are getting smarter. No one really carries cash around anymore, so putting out a tip jar is often an exercise in futility. DipJar is a simple electronic alternative (designed to look just like a tip jar) that lets users swipe their card instead of digging around for cash to leave a tip.

http://dipjar.com/

ClamCase

Put simply, the ClamCase Pro make your iPad look like a MacBook. This sleek keyboard/iPad case supports your iPad and can function as a (laptop) keyboard via a Bluetooth connection, a touchscreen stand, or a tablet case.

ClamCase Pro

Fusion Radar: January 9, 2013

January 10th, 2013 - by marissa - Salt Lake City, Utah

Keeping up with technology is a lot of work. Luckily, we enjoy wading through the noise just to find the gems of awesomeness sprinkled throughout. Fusion Radar is our gift to you, Current or Potential Client, so that you can enjoy all of the awesome without any of the drudgery. Unwrap it each week, and know that you’re loved by the geeks and pixel-pushers at Agency Fusion.

Flatstrap

Flatstrap is a version of Twitter Bootstrap with no rounded corners, no gradients, and no drop shadows – because sometimes a project just doesn’t need those. It’s perfect for developers who want to use Bootstrap for Metro-like designs.

Flatstrap

Anki

Anki is a free, open source program that proclaims it can help you remember and learn new subjects. It improves on traditional study methods by synchronizing all your devices so you can study anywhere and creating flash cards that remind you in increasing time intervals (a day, a week, a month, etc.) what you’ve already learned.

http://ankisrs.net/

Throwww

This minimalistic website fills a bit of a gap in the blogging world. Have something to say that’s longer than 140 characters, but not long enough to be a proper blog post? Just start writing on Throwww’s site, it generates a unique url, and you can share the link to your post on any forum you choose.

http://throwww.com/

Are You a Human

If you’re like us – actually, if you’re a human being who has used the internet sometime in the last decade, it’s likely that Captcha is a bane of your existence. Luckily, the developers from Are You a Human have an interactive (and entertaining) solution.

http://areyouahuman.com/

Evrythng

Simply put, Evrythng makes anything a “smart” object. With smart tags or embedded chips and smartphones, they create an Active Digital Identity on the web for anything you can think of – pens, guitars, bikes, watches, shoes, whatever. Everything becomes shareable, everything has a web presence, and everything is trackable.

http://www.evrythng.com/

Outgrow.me

Kickstarter and Indiegogo are useful tools for anyone trying to fund ideas or inventions; but for the rest of us, who simply want to profit from these ideas, there’s Outgrow.me. It’s the first (and only) marketplace that hosts successful projects and ideas from fundraiser sites.

http://outgrow.me/

Ubuntu for Phones

If anyone reading this uses Ubuntu (and we assume some of you do, since you’re reading this), they’ve now come out with their “superphone.” It’s a sleek-looking machine that has some unique ideas about the homepage, apps, and search functions.

http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone

BeetBox

And now for something completely different; BeetBox is an instrument, powered by Raspberry Pi, that uses a capacitive touch sensor and an audio amplifier to play the drums. On actual beets. It’s hard to capture how truly bizarre and truly awesome this concept is; you’ll have to check it out.

http://scott.j38.net/interactive/beetbox/

Gamestick

Gamestick is an extremely portable gaming device. The controller is fairly standard, but the console is a flash drive that fits inside the controller and plugs into any laptop and many TVs. At $79, it’s an affordable, adorable, forward-thinking gaming device that’s worth looking at.

http://gamestick.tv/

Pebble

We write about a lot of cool gadgets on here, and Pebble is no exception. It is, however, a cool gadget that basically anyone can use. It’s a watch with an e-paper display and various downloadable watchfaces. It’s also Bluetooth-capable, so it can do things like control your music, sync with your computer, and show messages, notifications, or emails.

http://getpebble.com/

Inventables

This is a hardware store for designers, and as such, it comes with standard materials like acrylic sheets, coatings, and magnets. However, it also has things like soft gel magnets, suction cup tape, heat-shielding gel, and light diffusers, for any unconventional projects you happen to be working on.

https://www.inventables.com/

TrakDot

This one is for anyone who’s ever been frustrated with an airline for losing their luggage. And unless you’ve only been on a plane once or twice in your life, you’re in this category with the rest of us. TrakDot is a palm-sized device you slip into your luggage that uses a GSM chip and triangulation to update you on its location via an app, text messages, or email.

TrakDot