What better way to start off a new blog, for my new consulting effort, than to talk about the things that inspire me? In this case, companies that embody the attitude, model, and style I’d love to emulate – either via Social Mallard or some other effort down the road.
What do I view as inspiration? As the title says – small companies making beautiful things. Code, icons, videos, sites, books, whatever. They are companies who believe that staying small and keeping things simple have their own virtue, and delight in creating things that have style, beauty, and personality all their own.
Companies like Panic, Common Craft, Balsamiq, and Iconfactory. Panic (“Shocking Good Mac Software”) has my heart thanks to Coda and Transmit, two OSX applications that are not only superbly useful but, especially with Coda, a marvel of simplicity overlaying powerful utility. Common Craft has a unique backstory and awesome niche, producing videos that are the very definition of fun, light, beautiful, yet powerful. Giacomo ‘Peldi’ Guilizzoni, founder of Balsamiq, is trying to prove he can make it as a “micro-ISV” and has built an addictingly useful mockup tool that makes it hard to believe you’re doing work while you’re using it. Iconfactory, a small ISV in North Carolina, creates wonderful icons, dabbles in swag, and creates some great OSX applications including the most visually appealing (IMO) desktop OSX Twitter client in Twitteriffic.
Can Social Mallard go down that path? Well, this is a consulting business which by definition sells services and time rather than tangible products like those on my list, so by strict definition, no. But they are the kinds of companies I draw inspiration from, and like them I hope to inject a bit of beauty, a focus on simplicity, and a goodly chunk of personality into every project I deliver for my clients.
Speaking of, some client work awaits…
Photo by ePi.Longo on Flickr, via CC license
Remember to subscribe to the RSS feed or follow me on Twitter.
