Good design is invisible and dateless. It does not have to prove anything to anyone. Perhaps it is worth rising above the Western chaos to look at the seven principles of Zen aesthetics and search for universal, timeless values that can be transferred to software engineering.
Say hello to MARY – an open-source, multilingual Text-to-Speech Synthesis platform written in Java! Our paths crossed by the courtesy of a friend from one of the Vanderbilt University research teams.
It’s an adventure story about a user interface, its improvements and a path to make everyone’s experience better. Filled with lovely pictures of Mary growing up to become a full-fledged research tool.
You probably keep your personal message centre by your side most of the time. Being the first to know about new offers, best deals and order status is at your fingertips. News floods you via SMS, emails and notifications – you don’t need to hunt them anymore. However, you have a specific stock of attention at your disposal, and sadly – limited power over this resource.
The responsibility for taking a comprehensive, sustainable approach towards technology and placing the good of humanity in the centre of interest lies upon each of us.
Taking care of a plant is a bit like looking after a project and can give you a sense of a peaceful, satisfying ritual. Let’s see how doing so can bring another perspective to the designer’s work.
