So I've been on vacation, and vacation isn't the best time to work on a blog, but I thought I'd share some links that have kept me occupied through the holidays, and they're definitely worth checking out.

If you're stuck at home this week, staring at your mothers Windows XP default background, give her an early Christmas present.

Reflekt by Infinite705
Who doesn't love a little neon in their life?


In My World by optiv-flatworms
A great little photo-mashup.

Wipe those silly Halloween icons, docks, wallpapers and screen savers away, stuff them in the box that only gets opened 350 days from today. Put something fresh in their place, start with a new background.

FUah yeCK Panda by Bogul3
Rocky and roll panda, not much else to it.


Justice by ishbu
A very detailed and stunning rendition of the Justice logo.

This past week I did something twice that usually doesn't end up with similar results. I installed a fresh copy of Snow Leopard, and a fresh copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. I noticed a new feature in Snow Leopard upon re-installation(I'm not even sure it's documented anywhere), my desktop was completely empty. I had a menubar, a dock, and a pretty picture of outer space. This wasn't anything new for Windows, a fresh install of XP gave you an empty desktop with a pleasant garage bin in the top left, Windows 7 is no different. I'm only noticing this now because I had upgraded to Snow Leopard on my MacBook Pro, and I'm assuming it was smart enough to know that I liked having things on my Desktop, so they stayed there(truth is I do not). Both experiences made me take a step back and start to think about what both Apple and Microsoft think t he Desktop is to be used for nowadays. It's still on the Finder sidebar by def ault, and Windows 7 has a Taskbar extra for "Showing Desktop", but what's odd is that neither operating system actually takes advantage of the Desktop by default anymore. Remember when the desktop was the go to place for throwing all your clutter at? Downloads, "things to be organized", etc. Almost like a representation of a GTD inbox, quickly put everything on your desktop, organize it later. It was the default, Internet Explorer used to put everything there, Safari did too. But suddenly our OS's have gotten smarter, we have "Downloads" folders, we have handy things like Stacks in OS X, and a better Explorer in Windows. Our optical and external media are more easily accessed through a Finder window, gone are the days of double clicking objects on your desktop hidden behind your mass of windows.

So just what the hell do we with this desktop thing? Do we just put a bunch of widgets and read-outs on there, GeekTool, RainMeter, Samurize, etc? Do many people still use the desktop in the traditional sense, and if so I must ask, why haven't you started using things like your Go menu in Finder, or the Start Menu in Windows? A lot of interface nuts like myself have been fighting the Desktop for a long time now(Deskshade, FruitMenu, Quicksilver, all apps that helped fight the good fight) and it's finally been defeated, I feel victorious, but still can't help but ask what do we do with it now?

I started this blog with the intention of focusing on the GUI of all makes and models, and while it has been a big Mac OS X party insofar, I'd like to hold true to the about blurb at the top. About a year and a half ago I was fresh out of art school looking for jobs with nothing but my demo reel, so at the time I found myself looking for inspiration everywhere. Then I stumbled upon the show reel of Mark Coleran, a veteran UI designer for major motion pictures, who ironically now works for the software company GridIron. Check it out in it's entirety below:


It blew me away, and was definitely one of the sparks that helped light the fire that is dressyourdesk. Designing UI for use in movies is by all means the bleeding edge, and most of the time a look into the future of what could be in store for software and operating systems. The important thing to notice however, is that the same rules can apply whether you're designing a fake interface, or using a computer at home. Colors, orginization, simplicy meets compelxity, I could go on, but I wont, this post is just an ice breaker into future discussion on the matter.

A very interesting video is floating around today by R. Clayton Miller, called 10/GUI. I'm loving this for a few reasons(and please, read more about it here). Multi-touch has been all the rage, so much in fact that Wacom is starting to release what is essentially a glorified laptop trackpad for use on a normal desktop. Apple got it right with the iPhone, and their gestures in OS X, but 10/gui takes it about 6 steps further than Apple but incorporating all 10 fingers. I've included the video below and I can already see something like this working great for an Apple tablet. Or better yet, stretching out the trackpad on a laptop to from edge to edge. Some other things to consider: if we can incoroporate more gestures into an operating system, what's to stop us from getting rid some other antiquated items like the row of function keys at the top of a keyboard, and more imporantly the row of arrow keys and action keys(control, option, command) at the bottom?

Been a little busy lately, and haven't had reliable internet at home(thank you, Comcast, your service as always continues to be absolutely stellar). Here, grab these, they're awesome and will make up for the time we've lost together:

1967 by Biomachina
Dark, bright colors, hodge-podge of just a bunch of cool stuff.


Knitting by Sajja
I'd expect to find this on something like Pixel Girl Presents, cute, nice colors, minimal.


Retro Clouds by Davinness
This does not need a description.


Green lion simple by derinderinderin
Minimal, stripes, green.

Good mix between abstract and minimal this week, hopefully you'll see something you like.

Dashboard Adan-vivar
This is such a perfect desk for someone with a lot of gadgetry and icon organization. The color choices are soothing and it also goes great with a tool like SizeUp.


Elanor by viperv6
A nicely put together abstract piece, which are getting harder to find these days.


Morning Sunlight by teddybearcholla
A pretty interesting abstract photo manipulation, has some very soothing warm colors.


Mosaic by Jan-Bo
A great little pattern minimal desktop background.

There's a million ways to get around in OS X, but if you're the type of person who finds themselves in a Finder window quite often(and you also love large icons), then check out these Finder background shelves created by Louis Harboe. Louis has some other great UI bits over at his site, so check it out.

Some new, some old, but just darn great images to get you through the weekend.

Andromeda by kon
A pretty wicked abstract piece from earlier this year, not quite photo manipulation not quite computer generated.


Bench by mixmasterrangel
I don't normally dress my desk with pretty ladies, but I can make an exception for this one. At least when my lady isn't around.


Pin by Stranded Design
Simple, clean, slightly noisy and comes in a swath of colors. Check out some other goodies to be had at StrandedDesign.


Stratosphere Brother by 0ctans
Minimal and geometric. Simple. Done.