

On Building Flipboard for iPhone - olivercameron
http://craigmod.com/journal/digital_physical

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iamcalledrob
Incredible.

As a fellow creative, the amount of care and consideration that's displayed
here is not at all surprising. The product really speaks for its self.

This type of journey that a product takes is so often lost forever.

I wish more people documented their creative journeys. At the time, small
anecdotes may not be that interesting, but the sum can offer incredible
insight into how something came into fruition.

It's valuable both as a display of how much unseen work goes into great
products, and as a way to help others learn from your mistakes.

I'm as guilty of this as anyone else.

<http://www.folklore.org> is a great example of how enthralling these stories
can be.

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jasonkolb
I love this idea. I've been involved in so many projects and I know very well
the ephermal feeling he describes. I wish I had a book like this for every
lengthy project I've been a part of--it would just feel so much more
gratifying than something that turns into a blurb on a resume and then
eventually falls off.

Every project manager should make one of these for their teams, and
themselves. For every project.

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jianshen
Some of my best bosses have done this in different ways and it's super
inspiring. I know it's a ridiculous amount of work in and of itself but it's
something that becomes absolutely priceless to those who were involved.

For those who are managing software teams, check out
<http://code.google.com/p/gource/> It does a stunning job visualizing your
codebase being built based on git changelogs. Record it with fraps, add some
background music and you have a music video you can watch of each major
release. :)

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Cookingboy
When a lot of effort and energy has been put into polishing a product it
clearly shows. The last 10% of the polish makes up 90% of the differences
between a great product and an average one. Great to see a great team of
engineers/designers focusing not on "what" the product does but on "how" it
does them. Kudos to the Flipboard team.

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redler
Imagine you're looking to hire a top tier developer, or perhaps a "product
person." After a strong interview, he or she is walking through the door,
pauses, turns back, and says, "oh, one more thing." And hands you something
like this.

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melissamiranda
Ha. Craig would probably do this, and then say "Hold on" while he plunks down
his book on Tokyo Art Galleries: <http://craigmod.com/journal/kickstartup/>

What can I say? The man is prolific.

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justjimmy
I am blown away. Completely. It's almost as if I'm reading an epic journey…

The amount of iterates over the layout, typography, transitions, all told over
those pages.

Wonder how I can get a copy… :P

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cwilson
This article really inspired me, as well as got me thinking about past
projects I wish I would have documented in a similar way.

Imagine surprising your team with copies of something similar after they have
killed themselves building an amazing product. I can't imagine a better reward
(other than users who love using your product).

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randomor
I know it's not made for anyone outside of the company, but why not? Trade
secrets? It would be an interesting read to other people too, and they might
also have the experiences of reading "The Umbrella" on software
craftsmanship...

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buymorechuck
While we would love to, there are many ideas and designs that may appear in a
future release, so they stay in the design vault for now.

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Mjux
reaching to the finished product is the most difficult outcome in this. A play
like is definitely appreciated in time. Well done, Craig.

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sircambridge
go craig!!!!!!!

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EwanG
SO... Android version coming soon (please)?

