Blog Entries

• The Wilson Project – 20th Anniversary

  April 16th marked the twentieth anniversary of this site. Originally a portfolio site, it became a WordPress blog in 2010 which continues today. The current version, Delta, is called “Charles”.

  History/Site Versions

  Alpha

  Project Name – Alpha
  4/2001 – 12/2003
  Flash (primary)/XHTML (secondary) sites

  Beta

  Project Name – H3 (Name based on John Harrison “H3” marine timekeeper)
  7/2003 – 12/2003
  CSS-only layout/XTHML (started but never used)

  Gamma

  Project Name – Athena
  12/2003 – 1/2010
  CSS-only layout/XHTML/ColdFusion backend

  Interim

  Project Name – Regent
  1/2010 – 8/2013
  WordPress Blog

  The reasoning behind calling it “Charles” and “Regent” –
  https://www.thewilsonproject.com/2010/07/31/call-me-regent-or-whats-in-a-name/

  “Regent” views –
  https://web.archive.org/web/20100213190157/https://www.thewilsonproject.com/

  Delta (current version)

  Project Name – Charles (Named after Charles Darwin)
  8/2013 –
  WordPress Blog (HTML5)

  Link to “Charles”/Delta TWP design screenshots –
  https://www.flickr.com/photos/thewilsonproject/albums/72157618117542936

  https://www.thewilsonproject.com/2010/07/07/mental-steeplechase-hurdle-i/

  https://www.thewilsonproject.com/2010/07/11/mental-steeplechase-hurdle-ia/

• Upcoming Events…In Virtual (Early 2021)

  Last year, I attended only two events – World IA Day DC (pre-lockdown) and IA Conference (virtual). Missed UX Camp DC due to injury.

  Now in 2021, with all conferences online (and most likely not to return to physical locations until next year), I’m attending three events the first half of this year. Missed out of UX Camp DC again (sad!)

  • World IA Day 2021 (Washington, DC)
    https://www.wiaddc.org/
    February 27, 2021
  • 2021 IA Conference
    https://www.theiaconference.com/
    April 28-30, 2021

    and for the first time since 2016, a developer-focused conference

  • Web Directions Hover
    https://www.webdirections.org/hover/
    April 23/30, 2021

• The Void

  These days, I have to use the term “app bulders” instead of “front-end developers” because most front-end developers aren’t working on the front-end anymore.

  One result is that I’m not part of any dev community. These days, I stay with the following communities:

  • UX
  • Information Architecture (IA) or
  • Accessibility

  because they have something of value that I can use across any tech stack.

  The thing I worry about is that developers like me are a) being pushed to non-coding/programming roles or b) pushed out of tech altogether.

  @iwilsonjr (8:09 AM · Mar 7, 2021) – https://twitter.com/iwilsonjr/status/1369817620741033984

• 2020

  My World

• The Long Game

  The past is the beginning of the beginning and all that is and has been is but the twilight of the dawn.
  – H. G. Wells

  I’m marking a special anniversary today.

  And all this started because I loved Vancouver.

  After my first visit in August 2008, I decided to plan another trip. Somehow, I found a conference that I hadn’t heard about called IxDA Interaction 09. Never knew anything about interaction design nor was it my first concern. All wanted was to get back to the city again. But instead, I learned from all the talks and people about interaction design.

  That was not only an introduction to interaction design. It was a gateway to me learning about user experience design and later information architecture.

  I decided to return the following year for Interaction 10 in Savannah, Georgia. At that conference, I attended the lecture Designing for the Web in the World by designer Timo Arnall.

  That and his film Wireless in the World a year earlier really influenced me. This is where re-evaluated my work as a front-end developer, viewing my work as dealing with information and not just coding.

  And after years of conferences, events, reading and self-study, I ended up working with an excellent UX team at CQ Roll Call and now the growing team at FiscalNote.

  And all this because I want another trip to Vancouver… 🙂

• Today Is Dieter Rams Day

  Rams (2018)
  Movie by Gary Huswit (design trilogy Helvetica, Objectified, Urbanized)
  about designer Dieter Rams

  Philadelphia Museun of Art exhibition –
  Dieter Rams: Principled Design
  November 18, 2018 – April 14, 2019

  As a reference – Rams’ Ten Principles of Good Design
  (From Philadelphia Museum of Art exhibition)

• The Last Five Years

  A response I gave to Heydon Pickering‏ (@heydonworks) on Twitter:

  I think about this as "Engineering is about solving problems. Design is about solving the right problems."

  @iwilsonjr (2:24 PM · Dec 12, 2018) – https://twitter.com/iwilsonjr/status/1072935333329887233