Some things I read this week Dec 12— Dec 18

Design, Typography, Quantum Computing, Virtual Reality, Organization Theory, Cryptography, and Security, all in this weeks things I’ve read.

In case you missed last week:

Some things I read this week Dec 5 — Dec 11

Design, User Interface, & User Experience

I’m a huge fan of designs that are able to incorporate more than two typefaces, and Bethany’s execution is second to none.

The Value of Multi-Typeface Design

This is a great compilation of design related writings from this year, and several of the following articles were pulled from this one.

Medium’s Best Design Writing of 2016

Designing More Efficient Forms: Structure, Inputs, Labels and Actions

Designing a New Look for Instagram, Inspired by the Community

Designing Perfect Text Field: Clarity, Accessibility and User Effort

I have a go to list of sites to go to for color inspiration, so I was surprised that I hadn’t come across this one before. It’s a great resource, particularly for earth tones.

IN COLOR BALANCE | Подбор цвета

More color inspiration.

Designing in color

Why Snapchat’s Design is Deliberately Confusing

I’ve started paying more attention to UI/UX for television in hopes that some of the insights will translate to VR.

Designing for Television

8 Point Grid Systems

As I’m designing more for mobile, I’ve started looking at different grid systems so far the 8pt system has met all of my needs.

Intro to the 8-Point Grid System

Spec

Sketch Workflow — 8 point Soft Grids

Interesting

This cartoon makes quantum computing understable and accessible through the metaphor of “the talk”. And no, quantum computing doesn’t mean a computer will be able to asses all outcomes at the same time.

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - The Talk

World Energy Hits a Turning Point: Solar That's Cheaper Than Wind

Virtual Reality

4 Things I learned Designing User Interfaces for VR at Disney.

As social VR starts to take off, how will we build virtual environments that can handle massive numbers of users in a space? SpatialOS think it has the answer.

SpatialOS - Improbable

I think Brendan moving into a more product and engineering role will be a net benefit for Oculus as he gets to focus on his passions and a more broad business person can take over as CEO.

Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe steps down, will lead PC VR group

Introducing VR and 360° Content for All WordPress.com Sites

Technology

Kickstarter’s take on tech in the next year.

Our Tech Predictions for 2017

This is a great story of the move to client side rendering and why it’ll continue to be prevalent in the years to come.

Here’s Why Client-side Rendering Won

Google’s self driving car company is now Waymo

Waymo

I was surprised and delighted by Kickstarter’s focus on functional programming.

Open sourcing our Android and iOS apps!

Security

The gag order is removed and Google can finally share the National Security Letters it has received.

Sharing National Security Letters with the public

150 filmmakers and this guy!

150 Filmmakers Want Nikon and Canon to Sell Encrypted Cameras. Here's Why

Yahoo discloses hack of 1 Billion accounts

Important Security Information for Yahoo Users

Yahoo installed a backdoor for the NSA behind the back of the security team

surveillance, whistleblowing, and security engineering

Bruce Schneier is one of the world’s leading experts in security. Here‘s how the outcome of the election has shifted his focus for the next four years.

My Priorities for the Next Four Years

A brilliant mind whose ideas continue to inspire the world of security.

Thomas Schelling has died. His ideas shaped the Cold War and the world.

Organization Theory

How a company organizes itself greatly affects the types and quality of product it can produce. These articles explore how these structures have affected companies with a particular focus on Apple, Amazon, and Google.

Apple's Organizational Crossroads

Apple may have finally gotten too big for its unusual corporate structure

Functional versus Unit Organizations

Stevey's Google Platforms Rant I was at Amazon for about six and a half years,...

Cryptography & Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin showed us a way to build a truly decentralized and democratic currency, but it’s “Proof of Work” concept requires massive amounts of energy and computational power in order to work. “Proof of Stake” may offer a way out.

Proof of Stake: How I Learned to Love Weak Subjectivity - Ethereum Blog

Will Bitcoin’s security survive the quantum computing revolution

Bitcoin Is Not Quantum-Safe, And How We Can Fix It When Needed

Lamport signatures are an easy to understand, but quantum computing secure digital signature that allows us to build future proof technologies today.

Lamport signature - Wikipedia