Matthew Buchanan

Job transition

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 10:10:00 +1200

Mike Hudack:

The self-awareness that leads someone to say that “technical management needs have evolved to require types of experience that I don’t have” is massive, and it should be admired. This is the essence of what it is to be a professional.

Yes, there’s that too. Marco’s just a special guy. Tremendous talent combined with the refusal to be anything but honest, opinionated, and straight-forward with himself and others. Whether we’re talking about tech, coffee, politics, or proper ordering techniques at our local Chicken Deli.

And he’s also just a great guy who I’ve been lucky to work closely with these past few years. Can’t wait to see what the bright future holds for our pal Marco.

"It has been an invaluable experience to develop a product from just two users to one of the top 50..."

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 10:02:00 +1200

“It has been an invaluable experience to develop a product from just two users to one of the top 50 sites in the U.S., and I’m looking forward to staying close to this incredible team.”

- Woah, Tumblr’s lead developer Marco Arment is leaving a full-time role at the company to pursue his independent career (he’s also the creator of the Instapaper empire). He’ll continue to fulfill an “active consulting” role as the engineering team grows. I’m more than excited for what he’ll create next, but can’t help feeling a bit fearful for this platform given what he’s been instrumental in building at Tumblr. Best wishes!

"Plus, every day for lunch we ride ponies to a secret place in Midtown that serves the best desserts..."

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:45:34 +1200

“Plus, every day for lunch we ride ponies to a secret place in Midtown that serves the best desserts ever concocted and that somehow contain negative calories.”

- Tumblr is hiring, and their lunchtimes are delicious and magical.

"I had a recent debate over whether a border should be 3, 4 or 5 pixels wide, and was asked to prove..."

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:46:49 +1300

“I had a recent debate over whether a border should be 3, 4 or 5 pixels wide, and was asked to prove my case. I can’t operate in an environment like that.”

- Google’s visual design lead, Doug Bowman, is leaving the company after three years in the role. It’s difficult to comprehend that Google existed for its first seven years without a classically-trained designer on its payroll. I like Buzz Andersen’s take, that without a design-led focus, Google products will generally “fall short of achieving the emotional connection that people feel to an iPhone”. I use and enjoy many Google products, but I’ve never loved their aesthetic, no matter what the numbers say.

Jason Santa Maria’s latest post on career paths and our...

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:37:00 +1300

Jason Santa Maria’s latest post on career paths and our continued quest to be “good at art”.

Job Interview, directed by and starring Ben Schwartz. I’m...

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:39:07 +1300

Job Interview, directed by and starring Ben Schwartz. I’m a sucker for Robocop and The Terminator references. A couple of his other shorts feature the acting talents of Sarah Burns, of Flight of the Conchords fame. (via Blake Whitman)

Meet Jacob Bijani

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 20:24:12 +1300

Meet Jacob Bijani:

Tumblr’s new creative director. I missed this at the time, but big congratulations to Jacob on his new full-time role. Can’t wait to see what he brings to the table. (via David Karp)

"This is like Apple laying off Jonathan Ive."

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 22:25:00 +1300

“This is like Apple laying off Jonathan Ive.”

- Patrick Wang commenting on Yahoo’s decision to lay off key Flickr user experience designer George Oates.

"I think the ultimate test for your current job is: would you do it for free?"

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:55:00 +1200

“I think the ultimate test for your current job is: would you do it for free?”

- Fake Empire: If your answer is no, you should consider what you are doing.

"If monospaced type is absolutely required — itself in dispute — you can do way better than Courier...."

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 17:52:00 +1300

“If monospaced type is absolutely required — itself in dispute — you can do way better than Courier. May I suggest Fedra Sans or Thesis Mono?”

- Joe Clark in discussion on the WGA strike.