I just finished reading Frank Chimero’s The Shape of Design. My closing remark on Readmill:

Highly recommended to anyone who wants to step back and get a sense of the state of design beyond the tools that we use. It makes us think about the reasons why we design, and how to give our work purpose and meaning. I found part 1 to be the strongest, but it’s a quick, easy read throughout.

You can follow the link to see the highlights I made – there are some really great quotes in there, such as this one:

Design doesn’t need to be delightful for it to work, but that’s like saying food doesn’t need to be tasty to keep us alive. The pedigree of great design isn’t solely based on aesthetics or utility, but also the sensation it creates when it is seen or used. It’s a bit like food: plating a dish adds beauty to the experience, but the testament to the quality of the cooking is in its taste. It’s the same for design, in that the source of a delightful experience comes from the design’s use.

In related news, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this on the Readmill app for iPad. I will try to read books with this app whenever possible from now on, with the Kindle as a backup if I can’t find the book as DRM-free ePub. The reader itself needs a bit of work to get to the standard that iBooks set, but the social features are really great. I love seeing who else is reading the book I’m reading, what they’ve highlighted, etc. Readmill embraces the digital reading experience in the best way that I’ve seen so far.