inspiration Archives - Page 12 of 12

Easy As Mom’s Brisket

When we set out to make Haiku Deck we had a few product goals. “Make it easy” topped the list, along with “deliver flawless beauty.” With these in hand, we sat down to establish benchmarks for measuring our success. During that meeting I joked that I would know we had achieved our goal of making Haiku Deck easy if my mom could create a deck without needing to call me for technical support. Don’t get me wrong- my mom is an intelligent, creative, and incredibly talented woman. She raised not one, but two “computer genius” sons (neither of us can write a line of code), she runs a medical office entirely by computer (1980’s era, no less), and she had the foresight to buy her sons an Apple II+ when all they wanted was an Atari. All this, and mom makes a brisket famous the world over.

Like lots of moms and dads out there, she didn’t grow up around computers and can’t always make sense of them. So we kept mom in mind when we were designing Haiku Deck.

When I told mom about our meeting and how we tried to build a product that she could enjoy using without a technical support call, she responded with the most delicous deck we’ve seen yet. When I asked her if we could share it on the blog she said, “Sure, just as long as you don’t call me for technical support when you’re making the brisket.”

Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that’s simple, beautiful and fun.

Why Haiku Deck?

August 1, 2012 / Adam Tratt / 0 Comments

We believe everyone has great ideas and fascinating stories itching to get out. We also believe that crafting ideas and releasing them into the wild should be a joyful exercise of creativity. In the age of smartphones, tablets, and web connectivity, sharing thoughts is easier than ever, but getting people to listen? That’s another challenge completely. We also believe that listeners deserve to be captivated and inspired, not filled with despair at the sight of another dull presentation.

This is why we set out to create Haiku Deck, a simple way to instantly unleash your ideas through beautiful decks that are as visually stunning as they are easy to create. Haiku Deck’s image search engine spurs your creativity by providing a beautiful photographic backdrop to accompany your written words. We suggest related terms to help you find the perfect image and we even let you use your own photos if that’s what you want. Haiku Deck also includes easy-to-use design filters, helping you pick the perfect look for your deck, without requiring any design skills. Our goal is to make you look your best, every time you share.

Lastly, we know that inspiration can strike any time. Wherever you feel like crafting a Haiku Deck, just pull out your iPad. And whenever you have an audience–whether it’s on the bus, at a cafe, in a conference room, in an elevator, or on a stage, your Haiku Deck is there for you.

Most presentation tools aim to pack in as many features as possible with complicated menus, toolbars, and a range of capabilities to address every possible use case. Haiku Deck is intentionally simplified. We’ve focused on making it fast and easy to create the kind of decks you share every day. Here are a few ways you can use it to set your story free. We can’t wait for you to try Haiku Deck and send us your feedback at founders@haikudeck.com.

Create a Visual Resume

August 1, 2012 / Adam Tratt / 0 Comments

Six seconds. That is, on average, how long you need to work on your abs. It is also how long recruiters spend scanning your resume before they decide to keep or toss it. (Read the cold, hard truth here.) It doesn’t seem fair when you’ve probably spent six hours or even six days or weeks crafting your masterpiece, but that’s the reality.

photo by seamus_walsh

We’ve spotted some helpful articles explaining how to optimize your resume for speed-of-light scanning, such as 10 Ways to Craft Your Resume for Ultra-Short Attention Spans, from Fast Company, and How to Make Your Resume Last Longer than 6 Seconds, from Time. And while we get the importance of maximizing white space and stripping out distracting details, we also believe there’s a time and a place for personality, creativity, and fun.

Our challenge: Try using Haiku Deck to create a visual resume. Sure, you’ll probably need a “real” one, too, but there might be times when a creative twist will help you stand out from the crowd. Here’s mine. And we’d love to see yours–you can post your links in the comments.

(By the way, we’re hiring! Send us your resume at jobs@haikudeck.com)

5 Awesome Apps that Inspire Us

July 25, 2012 / Adam Tratt / 0 Comments

When we set out to create Haiku Deck, we set the bar high. Even with hundreds of thousands of apps crowding the App store, we want to be a stand-out product that inspires creativity and changes a category. We started by studying other apps that wow us and zeroing in on the qualities that make them so awesome. Here’s our list.

1. Magically Interactive
Tablets can immerse us in work and play through touch, and we appreciate apps that make inspired use of the swipe, the pinch, and the tap. Flipboard not only makes it easy to enjoy our favorite content, but brings it to life with intuitive navigation that transcends all other readers.

2. Creatively Inspiring
The impulse to create and share is universal, even though most of us don’t think of ourselves as creative geniuses. We have a soft spot for apps that make it easy to create cool things we’re proud to show off, whether it’s art, music, or photos. Instagram, which makes this crummy photographer with a lowly iPhone camera feel like a virtual Annie Liebowitz, is one of our favorites.

3. Beautifully Designed
In the ocean of apps, few stand out as truly beautiful. We admire apps that feel like the flawlessly designed lobby of a boutique hotel. We love it when menus and controls are there when you need them, but vanish when you don’t. 2012 Apple Design Award Winner Paper by FiftyThree nails this.

4. Effortlessly Flexible
We admire apps that do one thing really well, but are flexible enough to use in different ways. Evernote, for example, nails note-taking, but their powerful platform has been embraced by screenwriters, cooks, interior decorators, vacation planners, and so on.

5. Surprisingly Fun
We also love apps that transform something humdrum into something humdelightful. Swackett puts a smile on our faces with its innovative and awesomely human presentation of weather information. Check it out!

What apps inspire you? Let us know in the comments.

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