Anyone have an idea? Code snippet below (Yeah, I know it’s not fully semantic and the snippet blows my layout. I’m working on it, the layout that is.):

.button,
input[type="button"] {
	color: #474747;
	border: 1px solid #bfbdb7;
	border-color: #c9c9c9 #b3b3b3 #9a9a9a;
	border-color: rgba(150,150,150,0.4) rgba(128,128,128,0.4) rgba(77,77,77,0.4);
	font-family: "Helvetia Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
	-moz-border-radius: 3px;
	-webkit-border-radius: 3px;
	border-radius: 3px;
	-moz-box-shadow: 0 -1px 0 #8c8a7e;
	-webkit-box-shadow: 0 -1px 0 #8c8a7e;
	box-shadow: 0 -1px 0 #8c8a7e;
	box-shadow: 0 -1px 0 rgba(64,63,57,0.6);
	background: #e8e5de;
	background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #eae8dd 45%, #c9c7bb 55%);
	background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(45%, #eae8dd), color-stop(55%, #c9c7bb));
	filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Gradient(gradientType=0, startColorstr=#eae8dd, endColorstr=#c9c7bb)
			progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Shadow(color=#8c8a7e,direction=0,strength=0);
}
.print-button {
	background: #e8e5de url(../images/icon-16-print.png) no-repeat 6px 3px;
	background: url(../images/icon-16-print.png) no-repeat 6px 3px, -moz-linear-gradient(top, #eae8dd 45%, #c9c7bb 55%);
	background: url(../images/icon-16-print.png) no-repeat 6px 3px, -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(45%, #eae8dd), color-stop(55%, #c9c7bb));
	padding-left: 28px;
}
.button:hover,
input[type="button"]:hover {
	color: #4c7204;
	border-bottom-color: rgba(77,77,77,0.5);
	border-top-color: rgba(150,150,150,0.5);
}

So I tested out the browsers on my wimpy TreoPro. Surprisingly, my default (the excellent Iris Browser, aka the new Blackberry browser) had a perfect score! Then came Skyfire (52/100) and IE (I couldn’t tell if the test even started.) I have also downloaded Opera 10 Mobile beta and it scored a respectable 97/100.

Unfortunately my resources are limited, so I don’t have results for other devices and their browsers, except for a friend who ran Mobile Chrome on his Droid on Verzion (93/100). If you could test your mobile browser with the Acid 3 test and drop them in the comments, I’ll put together something that we can all use for reference. I’m not just looking for smartphone browsers like Mobile Safari. I want feature phone browser results too.

I don’t know a single designer friend who’d say the Comcast logo is good. Let’s leave out any comment about their services shall we? Wholesale changing company’s name is often the sign of more serious business problem, but that’s not the point of this post. My purely superficial question today is did they improve their identity/logo?

Business reasons aside, I’d say that the new logo is an improvement, slightly. The ugly half moon is gone and there’s a bit of tie-in to the old type in the new logo, but  I am not convinced that they have improved much. From their use of the color red (Red, really? We’re not worried about the financials are we?) to the formal, modern face (Futura, Avant Garde, or ?) customized to allow the nice touches with the x and f and t and y. The “i”s are dotless, which works with the fi ligature, but not really with the t. And the n just looks lonely to me.

Verdict: It’s a soulless logo, perfunctorily well-executed. (But that’s just me spending 10 minutes or so comparing their old and new logos.)

Toward the end of the 19th century William Morris—considered by many to be the father of the Arts and Crafts movement and the first Designer, I think, of the modern age—published what many consider to be a masterpiece of printing: The Complete Works of Geoffery Chaucer. Chock full of stunning woodcut illustrations by artist Edward Burne-Jones, this gorgeous book was published by Morris’s Kelmscott Press in 1896 just months prior to his death. This stunning book continues to inspire designers and artists today, the only problem, it’s hard to find images from it online.

Going back in time about two years ago, I discovered that my then current employer had a copy of it in their library—employee access only. Oh the thrill of excitement I felt when I learned this! Well, it took me a few months to find the time to go visit said library and request the opportunity to view it. The librarian gave me and my fellow co-worker an odd look. We after all worked for at a world-renown medical center, why would we want to see this? It had nothing to do with medicine. (Little did they know…)

After putting on the required cotton gloves, I opened the massive book and we drank it in, page after beautiful page. (It is a big book if you’ve ever had the chance to view it in person, the dimensions are approximately 11-inches x 16-inches and it’s got nearly 600 pages.) An hour later, we went back to our offices inspired, but I had forgotten my camera. Doh!

Fast forward a few weeks later, I’m preparing to leave for a new job and remembered that I wanted to go take some pictures of the Chaucer. So on my second-to-last-day, armed with my trusty point-and-shoot camera and an appointment, I headed back up to the library.

The librarian was different this time. She was also more protective. At first, she offered to let me photograph a “reproduction”. A black and white, half-sized version of the book. Sadly, I started thumbing through it. I looked at the running headers on each page and asked where the red was. Surprised, I was answered that there was no red ink. Countering that, yes there was, would you please check? I was again granted permission to view Mr. Morris’s masterpiece.

Moving as a faster pace that I wanted—librarian hovering nervously, worried I’d hurt the binding—I turned the pages and snapped as many pictures as I could and left. I would have loved to have spent a few hours soaking in the beauty of this book. Returning to my desk, I downloaded and shared with everyone in the office, then set about moving from Minnesota to Utah and a new life.

These pictures have now languished in my photo library for nearly two years. I took them fully intending to share them, but at the same time a little nervous with the quality of some of the pictures. I did rush through when I took them. Well, I’ve overcome that fear. I’d rather share these as a source of inspiration for the larger design community now. Someday I hope I’ll have another chance to personally turn the pages of an edition of The Kelmscott Chaucer. Maybe by then I’ll have a better camera and more time. Until then, enjoy!

Well, what are you waiting for? Go view the photos!

A couple of weeks ago, I attended Adaptive Path‘s most excellent UX Week in San Francisco. In an effort to make sure I got the most out of the conference, I went analog with my notes. Truth be said, I’m horrible taking notes on a computer and as I’ve been needing to do more sketching, this proved an opportune time to do that. I’ve put together a Flickr set of my notes, but if you’d like to get the all together I’ve made a couple of PDFs (hi-res and lo-res) to download. Feel free to download them, read and learn from them.

I’m also leaving behind another talented and fun group of designers at Mayo Clinic who I will miss. It’s been great working with the creative team lead by Dan Brevick. He’s been one of the best Creative Directors I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. He’s looking for my replacement right now. It’s a great place to work and has some incredible benefits that are hard to find in today’s job market and you’d join a stellar team that is a lot of fun to be a part of. Not only that, you get to work on a wide range of projects that help people live better, healthier lives.