15 Free Icon Sets for iPhone Mar 14 Jason Moore

This entry is by guest author, Anton Zykin (personal bio coming soon)

It’s common knowledge now that the iPhone is the best mobile device for combining excellent design and cutting-edge user-focused technologies. The army of iPhone fans is growing daily.

And, of course, people want customization! Tons of themes, wallpapers, and icons for the iPhone can be found. As icon design professionals, we are always looking for new icon sets. Today, we are going to share some of the best with you. Here are the TOP 15 FREE Icon Sets for the iPhone. Enjoy!

#1 Agua by David Lanham and Louie Mantia

Neat and quite simple; Very appealing

http://macthemes2.net/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16783459

#2 Buuf by Mattahan and Louie Mantia

Uncommon icons: Soft colors with an old-fashion touch

http://macthemes2.net/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16783456

#3 Chalkwork iPhone & iPod Touch Mini-Set

Unique texture using photographic background

http://www.mezzoblue.com/icons/chalkwork/iphone/

#4 Hand Draw iPhone Icons

Hand-drawn style; inspired in Apple’s own iPhone icons

http://fasticon.com/freeware/?p=79

#5 Web 2.0 iPhone Icons

Large icon set; Web 2.0 style with reflections

http://forums.ipodhacks.com/showthread.php?t=19619

#6 Comic iPhone Icons

Comic style; good use of depth

http://fasticon.com/comic_iphone.html

#7 CMT iPhone icons

Excellent iPhone replacement icons! Sleek, elegant, and richly colored. This is a must-have!

http://ruizdesign.deviantart.com/art/CMT-iPhone-icons-69567377

#8 iPhone theme: Blueprint

Blueprint styling; true to original set

http://sometoast.deviantart.com/art/iPhone-theme-Blueprint-65406791

#9 Revolver Summerboard theme

Black and purple theme; interesting use of actual photos

http://sometoast.deviantart.com/art/iPhone-theme-Blueprint-65406791

#10 iFoley Summerboard Springtime

Great green theme; Natural color scheme and softer shapes

http://rawmade.deviantart.com/art/iFoley-Summerboard-Springtime-79284200

#11 iPhone Space Theme v1.1

Unique and professional; This is also a must-have.

http://pimpmyiphone.deviantart.com/art/iPhone-Space-Theme-v1-1-65747334

#12 Sticker by David Lanham and Louie Mantia

Retro styling similar to stickers; Impressive

http://www.iphoneskinning.com/2008/01/sticker-by-david-lanham-and-louie-mantia-iphone-theme-of-the-day.html

#13 Renaissance By Louie Mantia

Beautiful art that could only be created for an Apple product; Say Hello to Leonardo Da Vinci. Louie Mantia rocks!

http://www.iphoneskinning.com/2007/12/iphone-theme-of-day-renaissance-by.html

#14 Shiizun's REALIZE

Gorgeous REALIZE icon set seems to be a new trend in icon design for iPhone.

http://www.everythingicafe.com/forum/iphone-modifications/theme-shiizun-s-realize-16705.html

#15 Prado Theme

Minimalist and early computer era

http://www.iphoneskinning.com/2007/12/prado-iphone-theme-of-day.html

Asset Phase I update p. 6 Jun 25 Jason Moore

Asset Phase I upgrades are fully working on the beta site at this point!!  We are on schedule to publish the update over this coming weekend, so the new features and functions will be available when you arrive at work on Monday morning, July 2!

Included Asset Upgrades:

• Saved asset sorts/filters
• Export multiple types of assets together (1 worksheet, multiple pages)
• Import and overwrite changes made in excel (this is a biggie!!)
• Printable versions of specific list of assets
• Export specific list of assets (another biggie!!)
• Add and verify assets during ticket creation
• Add multiple assets to one ticket
• Link related assets
• Easily manage tickets associated with assets
• Track life cycle of asset as well as value depreciation
• Add picture of asset for tracking damage
• Improved log entries to better track the history of checked out to, location, status, and value changes
• Overall improvements to Setup Categories/Type/Make/Model section
• Add links to outside manuals or links on the web based on Model of asset; for example, you can add a link to the Dell Inspiron Support page that will show up in each ticket that is associated to a Dell Inspiron desktop

Include Upgrades outside of Assets:

• Add files to ticket during ticket creation
• Spell check during ticket creation for subject line and initial post
• Add files to Scheduled Tickets

We look forward to getting everyone's feedback on this.  We will be sending out a schedule of webinars to walk through the new updates once they are released.

Enjoy!!

iPhone: The Reebok Pumps of 2007? Jun 08 Jason Moore

There is no doubt that the iPhone looks to be a very cool product.  So were the Reebok Pumps.  But as soon as the hype wore off from Dee Brown's fantastically brilliant evangelistic marketing move during the '91 dunk contest, sales at Reebok returned to normal and nothing really changed.

The iPhone is NOT the next iPod of mega-market domination.  There will be great sales initially, but I am going to have to be proven wrong on this one if the iPhone comes even close to living up to the lavish hype around it.

My guess is that if you can get your hands on one early at cost, there is a mint to be made on eBay reselling them for 2-3 times sticker price.  It's the sustainable market share that I don't believe in.

Any opinions on this?

Bonus question:  Who did Dee Brown defeat in the finals of the '91 dunk contest with his no-look dunk?

The first person to email the correct answer to jason.moore@bigwebapps.com will receive a $25 Borders online gift card.

UPDATE:  Jake Garris of Pittsburgh, PA wins the bonus question with the answer of Shawn Kemp!

To Sell Change or a Slightly Better Way May 12 Jason Moore

We have just recently (in the past 6 months or so) realized there was a major flaw in the way we present our support application to potential clients. Many of the times, the organizations/companies that we are talking with need a major overhaul of their support process.  The problem is that a major overhaul, well, feels like it is going to be a major overhaul.

Seth points out how selling change can be a big challenge.

The new twist that should have been obvious to us long ago is that our applications can help them do almost exactly the same thing they are doing now but with better organization, tracking, and reporting.  Once we help them implement our application to slightly improve their current process, we can continually improve (overhaul) their process over the course of months/years instead of making them feel like it has to happen overnight.  The overhaul will always be available, but a gradual change is more likely to be accepted.

We'll see how this goes.

Ferrari Making Hard Drives Apr 29 Micajah

Here is a good example of you can never have too much design. By the way, Pininfarina is the designer for Ferrari.

I feel very strongly the future economies will contain more and more abstract ideas of value, like a Ferrari designed Hard Drive.   It is important for American companies to place Design on the same level with Engineering.  Engineering has worked well over the past 100's of years, Desgin will be a large player in the future 100 years.  One could argue Design is everything, at least I agree, it means a lot.

If you are skeptical, think about Apple, Sony, BMW, Mercedes, Land Rover, JCrew, Starbucks. 

FROM GQ:

Drive Time

A supercar designer takes on computer accessories

April 26, 2007—What with all those MP3s, photos, and illicitly downloaded Welcome Back, Kotter episodes, it doesn't take much to fill up a computer's hard drive these days. Luckily, the unwieldy external drives of yore are being replaced by a new generation of models that offer both smart design and extra storage capacity. Chief among them is SimpleTech's new Pininfarina-designed SimpleDrive line, which sports a sleek, aerodynamic profile and comes in a variety of splashy colors (each capacity level gets a different hue). So how did an outfit known for sculpting curvaceous Ferraris find its way into the unsexy market for computer peripherals? "I think there was a lack of awareness concerning design in this sector," says CEO Paolo Pininfarina. "It is not because of a lack of clever and talented designers. It is because of a lack of vision concerning the power of design among final consumers." Well, whether or not you buy that reasoning, the hard drive–car connection doesn't end there. La Cie, the French brand behind Ora-Ito's "Brick" and Karim Rashid's "Skwarim"drives, offers a collection designed by Porsche. Now if only they could do something about your actual computer...

SimpleTech SimpleDrives, from around $100, www.simpletech.com; La Cie hard drives, www.lacie.com/us, also from around $100.

Discussion Board mock-up Apr 24 Jason Moore

Here is a mock-up of our new discussion board.  Please feel free to leave your feedback.

Configuration Overhaul, part 1 Mar 08 Jason Moore

Over the past 8 years, bigWebDesk has been developed by taking client feedback and working those ideas one by one into the application.  This has served the application (and the company) very well, but the application's configuration area has suffered in complexity and confusion.

We are going to be performing a complete overhaul of the configuration section making it easier to understand and complete.  This blog series will serve as a journal on what are thoughts are, gathering your opinion, where we are, and ultimately where we are going.

There is currently no timeline on this project due to its very early stages.  We are excited about receiving your comments and complaints pertaining to this section.  Your input will ensure that we are moving in the right direction.

Current thoughts:

• All routing rules configured from one screen
• All options selected from one screen (currently separated into Features and General Options)
• Easier controls (use of Ajax and other tools)
• Better explanations (general descriptions, how does one feature effect another, etc.)
• Default setups (are you an internal IT dept, internal Facility Maintenance dept, supporting external clients, etc.)
• More finite permissions controls

This a very broad stroke list and will be added to and certainly be defined better as we go.

If you are currently a bigWebDesk admin and have ideas on improvement, please feel empowered to share those here.  No holds barred.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder..blah..blah.blah Mar 07 Patrick Clements

Seth recently posted a blog regarding art  - Money, popularity, quality This topic led me to a thought that has bothered just about every single day I have lived in downtown Atlanta. We have one of our main downtown corners (Piedmont and Ralph McGill) covered on all four corners with 'folk art'.

I have grown to really love this city and its push to continue to be the premier city in the south.  City legislation has passed laws which requires any new buildings being built in the downtown\midtown area must contain a 'hat'.  I agree with this, these people are responsible for shaping our skyline.  This city also makes great strides in ensuring trees are properly protected and 'green life' is continuously being expanded.  So, with a city so conscious about its look, then why do we continue to have this 2nd grade art project stuck downtown?!?

Don't get me wrong I like some folk art that LOOKS nice.  I understand art is about how it makes you feel and that is all subjective to an individual’s opinion...but come on!  This art is ugly and it makes me irritated every time I drive by!  I do not think this is the intent of the 'artists' or the city when they implemented this gallery.  Shouldn't there be a civic responsibility to make this change?  Shouldn't we have pieces that we would be proud to have on display?  When do we finally just really say 'Ok, this isn't art'.  While I am at it...go ahead and bulldoze the urban display off of Highlands and Glen Iris!

Changes to End User Interface Feb 26 Jason Moore

(Click images for full screen view)

We are making drastic improvements to the overall look & feel of the application.  The changes will first take place only on the End User version of the application.  The functionality will remain the same.

The screenshot above is the proposed home screen for End Users.

Below is the proposed Create Ticket screen for End Users.

Please provide any feedback that you have about this.

The primary goal in the layout is to make the application more friendly to view.  You will also notice that there are no menu bars on the top or left.  These were of no use to the End User due to the simplicity of the short list of functions that they have.

You will still have full control over the customization of fields and features to utilize in your department's version of bigWebDesk.

All of your current settings will remain in tact as well.

Remember, these changes will only effect the End User side of bigWebDesk in the beginning.

We encourage you to provide us with any feedback that you have about this. 

You can leave a comment below or contact us by phone or email.

NetFlix User Inteface Design Feb 12 Micajah

Netflix is a cool example at how another company handles User Interface Design. 

Sean Kane, director of user interface engineering for Netflix, posted the slides from his presentation on "Developing a Great User Interface" from the UIE Web Application Summit in January.

The presentation is a rare inside look at some of the design decisions that are made by the Netflix website development team.