A glimpse of the business of design with ways to screw up a client presentation and client feedback for God, then a scientific ABC, algorithms in action, and a beautiful poem about dying.
Reading: Mike Monteiro teaches you how to screw up your client presentation
The title is deliberate snarky linkbait, but don't let that put you off. Mike Monteiro knows how to sell design, why you're doing it wrong, and how to fix it. This post makes a great laundry list of things not to do when presenting. And don't underestimate its importance: "The hardest part of design is presenting work."
[Update:] Mike Monteiro and Jessie Char's discussion of his post on this week's episode of Let's Make Mistakes makes for a good follow-up.
Illustration: Khyati Trehan's illustrated alphabet of scientific breakthroughs
This illustrated series marries historic scientific discoveries with the alphabet, adapting diagrams of the concepts into the scientists' initials (A for Archimedes, E for Edison, T for Tesla, and so on). The finished illustrations are impressive, and the work Khyati Trehan put into researching the scientists and their breakthroughs is admirable, as is her restraint in not illustrating P, Q or X, for which she was unable to find appropriate diagrams, rather than distorting them to the point of nonsense.
Reading: Client Feedback On the Creation of the Earth
Hi God, Thanks so much for the latest round of work. Really coming together. Few points of feedback:
Anyone who's worked in (or with) creative services will relate to this McSweeney's piece offering helpful feedback to God on His latest draft of the Earth, full of smile- and cringe-worthy comments. Also, if you've never seen it, read Mike Lacher's great 2010 monologue, I'm Comic Sans, Asshole.
Data visualisation: Algomation shows you how algorithms work
A geeky pick here, Algomation animates various programming algorithms, showing exactly how they sort, map, compress and manipulate data, complete with source code for developers to pick apart and play with.
Reading: Japanese Maple, Clive James' poem on dying
Writer Clive James has published a beautiful poem, Japanese Maple, reflecting on his own approaching death. Read the poem, read it again, let it sink in, and then read Katy Waldman's piece on Slate.