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February 10, 2023

Building A Canvas Slideshow with React Konva

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Recently, I was tasked with building an application that allowed users to interact with product configurations on an HTML canvas. When using the app, users would be able to: 

  • Drag and drop different products on the canvas
  • Move and reorder products
  • Easily change between the main product images using navigation buttons or by swiping left and right. 

After searching extensively for a code example that could provide a framework for the canvas, I came up with zero results. This meant, of course, that I would need to build the functionality from scratch. It felt like a daunting task. 

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December 21, 2022

An Insight into Daikin HERO Cloud

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In a world of smartphones connected to smart lights, garage doors, alarm systems, and doorbells, it feels as if we can bring smart connectivity to practically anything. Yet it isn’t as simple as having the idea for new technology. 

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November 25, 2022

The Key to Viral Growth

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Have you ever stopped to ponder how certain things—Rebecca Black’s “Friday,” the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, Fidget Spinners, or Planking—manage to take society by storm? Why these things, and not the trillions of other trends, seem to captivate us?  If so, you’re not alone. 

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October 28, 2022

Tips for Successful Online Workshops

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For the past few years, Grio has offered User Story Workshops – often as the first step of a new project. In the past, these meetings were held over the course of two days in our San Francisco offices. However, since the move to remote work, we’ve adapted these workshops to an online environment. As we’ve transitioned, we’ve had to figure out just what makes an online workshop successful. 

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October 21, 2022

Spoil Your Power Users: Add Command Palettes

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Unlike the theater, where the maxim “always leave them wanting more” is a common philosophy, when we create new apps, our goal is to give our users all the features they desire. In fact, nothing makes us happier than when our power users- those users that maximize our app’s potential- find new elements that they have been requesting. It’s time to give them the thing they didn’t even know they wanted: command palettes. 

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October 12, 2022

Time-Traveling with the James Webb Space Telescope

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On December 25, 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) launched from Kourou, French Guiana. Hailed as the most powerful telescope ever built, the JWST is expected to provide 5-10 years of infrared imagery that will allow us to learn more about space than ever before. 

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October 7, 2022

Breaking Past the Dreaded UX Paralysis

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Imagine this…

You’re the lead user experience (UX) designer on a new client project. The project is in the early stages, but things are going well. You’ve completed the user story workshop, you have a good grasp of the client’s vision, you’ve established a comfortable relationship with the client, and you are feeling great. 

You look up with a smile, and to your great surprise, everyone in the room is looking at you. What’s going on? Why are all eyes on you?

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September 30, 2022

Identity in the Digital Age

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Every time you set up an online account or download an application, you are putting some of your personal information on the web. All this information, combined, becomes your digital identity. However, while that information is static, who you are in the real world is constantly growing and changing. The discontinuity between your real identity and digital identity impacts you on both a real and digital level. The question then becomes, how do we begin to reconcile these two personalities so that we can be identified by both?

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September 12, 2022

Analyzing Two Frontend Technologies: Vue vs. React

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Two of the most popular front-end technologies today are React and Vue.js. Current usage statistics reveal that React has been the most-used front-end technology for quite some time, with none of the other options really challenging its position. However, Vue.js, a new, progressive JavaScript framework, is gaining popularity and boasting satisfaction ratings comparable to React’s. 

This post provides my opinions on the strengths, weaknesses, and overall usability of these two frameworks. Though I’ve only spent about one year working with each, I’ve had the opportunity to explore many of the features they have to offer and see firsthand how each has been designed to respond to developer needs. 

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