Hi Matthew!

Yup, I see that. Both Mariesa (https://twitter.com/mariesakdale) and Patrick (https://twitter.com/patsiren) are folks who have read through + used the advice from our guide. They asked if they could help spread the word, and I mentioned I would be posting it here. Didn't know they created accounts just for this post though :(

As far as $28 for advice... welp, can't argue with you there. Isn't every ebook "advice"? If it's not worth $28 to you, then no sweat, you don't buy it.

<3

A few weeks back at one of our local meetup groups, we were talking about case studies... what they were and why you need them in your portfolio. Brittany compiled a few notes and finally posted them.

Makes for a nice checklist that you can reference when you're building your portfolio!

Jared Spool had a great presentation about design critique at DCUX's UXBarCamp back in 2012:

https://vimeo.com/37082633

Worth a watch.

I work on a bar-height (38"?) desk with bar stools to match. Most of the time I'm standing, or I have one foot on the bench. When I tire, I sit, but have a reminder to stand after 20 minutes.

I haven't found anything more comfortable + healthy :)

"Designing for the Web" by Mark Boulton. A little more technical than philosophical, but incredibly useful. http://designingfortheweb.co.uk/

Agreed - loved it. Got myself the harccover. Will treasure it for ages to come!

I have both. Get Retina.

The only reason to get the Air is if you literally have your laptop with you all the time, everywhere you go, and need to work on it constantly. The weight difference feels slight at first, but it stacks up overtime.

Don't worry about low-DPI stuff. It will catch up soon. It has to :)

For the most part, it doesn't matter. Until it does.

It's another data point, like anything else, that connects you with others. I didn't want to go to college, because I was already freelancing, making money, and having fun. But my parents insisted, so I graduated with a degree in CS.

Big deal, right?

Maybe. If I hadn't graduated from Virginia Tech, I wouldn't be a Hokie. I wouldn't have an instant connection to other Hokies. I wouldn't have gotten invited to a Rackspace party and connected with fellow Hokies that led me to meet with a cofounder of Mailtrust (who is also a Hokie) which lead to all sorts of awesome.

That's just one tiny connection in a sea of connections.

Should you be attending? Depends. I had the opportunity to drop out and go on tour with Madonna (long story.) Do I regret it? Nah. But if the opportunity was something like "Join Dropbox as a founding designer" then yes, I would certainly consider that worthwhile.

Short answer, no, the degree doesn't really matter. But the network doesn't hurt.

When I'm designing, I'm hoping to change a person's behavior. We all are.

I'm not sure how familiar everyone is with BJ Fogg, but this is by far the best explanation of his behavior model that I've seen online. It's worth watching.

Used to be Coda, then it became a bit too bloated for my liking.

Currently happy with Sublime 2.