Episode 166: Floating Words and the Mechanics of Delight – with designer Michael Simmons

Summary: <p>Michael Simmons, designer and CEO of Flexibits (makers of Fantastical and Cardhop) is Jeffrey Zeldman’s guest. Designing “professional but not professional boring” experiences. Usefulness versus “garnish.” How animation can convey brand values. Creating experiences instead of feature sets. Instagram vs Snapchat. “The car that sells itself” and marketing by letting the product speak for itself.</p> <p></p><p>Links for this episode:</p><ul> <li> <a href="https://flexibits.com/fantastical" class="link" target="_blank">Flexibits | Fantastical 2 for Mac | Meet your Mac's new calendar.</a><br> </li> <li> <a href="https://flexibits.com/cardhop" class="link" target="_blank">Flexibits | Cardhop for Mac | The contacts app you'll actually want to use.</a><br> </li> <li> <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cardhop/id1290358394?mt=12&amp;uo=4&amp;at=11laDR" class="link" target="_blank">Cardhop on the Mac App Store</a><br> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fts72_FJcX8" class="link" target="_blank">Old Honda Commercial from the late 80's - YouTube</a><br> </li> </ul><h4>Brought to you by:</h4> <ul> <li><p><a href="http://ziprecruiter.com/bigwebshow">ZipRecrutier</a> (Visit the link to post jobs on ZipRecruiter for FREE).</p></li> <li><p><a href="http://hellofresh.com">HelloFresh</a> (For $30 off your first week of HelloFresh, visit <a href="http://hellofresh.com">HelloFresh.com</a> and enter BWS30).</p></li> <li><p><a href="http://videoblocks.com/bigwebshow">Videoblocks</a> (Go to <a href="http://videoblocks.com/bigwebshow">Videoblocks.com/bigwebshow</a> to get all the stock footage, audio, and images you can imagine for just $149).</p></li> <li><p><a href="http://squarespace.com">Squarespace</a> (Visit <a href="http://squarespace.com">Squarespace.com</a> to get a free trial and use the offer code BIGWEBSHOW for 10% off your first purchase).</p></li> </ul>