35 #Books Every Designer Should Read + 27 #Apps Designers Can’t Live Without| Co.Design #design @FastCoDesign

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Some great design app suggestions that I had not heard of before (like Axure, IFTTT and Processing) and a wide range of design books recommended. Something for everyone.

35 Books Every Designer Should Read | Co.Design | business + design We asked some of the world’s top design schools to share their favorite books. Here’s what they recommend for your summer reading list.

27 Apps Designers Can’t Live Without | Co.Design | business + design
Maybe it’s just Gmail, or maybe it’s something more esoteric like Processing, but there are certain apps we rely on so much that if they suddenly went missing, we’d have a hard time getting by. That’s especially true for designers. Their livelihoods depend upon great software. What’s more, as people who dissect design details all day, they have unique insights into what makes an app great. They can see UI/UX friction points the way Superman can see microscopic structural flaws in steel. So we combed out rolodexes and reached out to more than two dozen designers to ask about the apps they couldn’t live without.

Battling Bias on the Shop Floor: How #Bookstores Can Support #Diversity | The Guardian #booksellers #genderequality

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A bookseller explains how Kamila Shamsie’s call for gender equality in the industry, and the fiery debate it provoked, could lead to greater diversity all around. READ MORE: Battling bias on the shop floor: how bookstores can support diversity | Books | The Guardian

Related: For One Year, This Publisher Will Only Release #Books By #Women | HuffPost #publishing #genderequality

Teaching Kids to Code, Using Minecraft’s Building Blocks | CNET #Minecraft #coding #STEM #kids @YouthDigital

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Parents might be happy to know their kids can get a head start in the competitive slipstream of computer programming by doing something they already enjoy — playing video games.

That’s the goal of Server Design 1, a new online course rolled out Tuesday by Youth Digital, a tech education company that teaches kids to code, develop apps, and design 3D modeling. The company’s new program allows kids to create their own worlds, with their own rules, all while playing the popular video game Minecraft with their friends.

READ MORE: Teaching kids to code, using Minecraft’s building blocks | CNET

Note that Youth Digital offers many other online coding and design courses for children – not free though!

 

Top Complaints from #Employees About Their #Leaders | HBR #leadership #emotionalintelligence #communication @HarvardBiz

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If you’re the kind of boss who fails to make genuine connections with your direct reports, take heed: 91% of employees say communication issues can drag executives down, according to results from our new Interact/Harris Poll, which was conducted online with roughly 1,000 U.S. workers.

In the survey, employees called out the kind of management offenses that point to a striking lack of emotional intelligence among business leaders, including micromanaging, bullying, narcissism, indecisiveness, and more. In rank order, the following were the top communication issues people said were preventing business leaders from being effective… READ MORE: The Top Complaints from Employees About Their Leaders | HBR

This New #Software Turns Any Object Into a Rubik’s Cube Puzzle | Gizmodo #puzzles #3D

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This New Software Turns Any Object Into a Rubik's Cube Puzzle

Turning a cube into a rotating multi-colored puzzle isn’t terribly difficult. Ernő Rubik did it back in 1974 without the need for a computer. For other shapes, though, like a complicated 3D bunny, you need to figure out the perfect way to slice it up so that every sub-section can rotate freely. But thankfully there’s now software that can automatically do that for you.

Developed by Timothy Sun and Changxi Zheng at Columbia University, the software first requires you to have a 3D CG model of whatever object or shape you want to convert to a Rubik’s-like puzzle. READ MORE: This New Software Turns Any Object Into a Rubik’s Cube Puzzle | Gizmodo

African American Family Records from Era of Slavery to Be Available Free Online | The Guardian #genealogy #archives

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Millions of African Americans will soon be able to trace their families through the era of slavery, some to the countries from which their ancestors were snatched, thanks to a new and free online service that is digitizing a huge cache of federal records for the first time.

Handwritten records collecting information on newly freed slaves that were compiled just after the civil war will be available for easy searches through a new website, it was announced on Friday.

The records belong to the Freedmen’s Bureau, an administrative body created by Congress in 1865 to assist slaves in 15 states and the District of Columbia transition into free citizenship. READ MORE: African American family records from era of slavery to be available free online | Life and style | The Guardian.

Roxane Gay: Confessions of a Bad Feminist [Video] | TED.com #feminism #women

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https://embed-ssl.ted.com/talks/roxane_gay_confessions_of_a_bad_feminist.html
Roxane Gay: Confessions of a bad feminist | TED Talk | TED.com

Related: HuffPo: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on Young #Women and Likability + Roxane Gay: ‘We Demand Perfection Of #Feminists. We Do Not Need To Do That.’ #feminism

The 5 Best #Fonts To Use On Your Resume | HuffPost #resumes

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While resume font choice may seem trivial, experts say it’s actually pretty important. A bad font can take the focus off the accomplishments you’ve listed. READ MORE: The 5 Best Fonts To Use On Your Resume | HuffPost

The Problem With The Color Blue | Co.Design #business #branding

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Blue may seem like a safe bet for a brand’s identity. The data suggests otherwise…There is plenty of psychological research on reactions to blue and other colors, but to evaluate the strategy of choosing blue for a brand, we wanted to measure how blue actually performs, to examine how it measures up against other colors in competitive environments. After all, brands have to compete—they have to work against the idea of sameness and command a premium. So we looked at the comparative performance of blue and other colors in several real-life contexts

READ MORE: The Problem With The Color Blue | Co.Design | business + design

BBC Experiment Lets You Control iPlayer With Your Mind | Engadget #gadgets #disabilities #tech

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02tx270/player
Instead of grabbing the remote or poking at your smartphone, the BBC thinks the future of TV navigation could lie in mind control. For its latest experiment, the broadcaster is testing a brainwave reading headset developed by This Place that lets you launch iPlayer and choose programmes with your thoughts. READ MORE: BBC experiment lets you control iPlayer with your mind | Engadget