How I used Segment to make our company data-driven and create a better product experience for our customers. Pendo’s new survey of nearly 200 product managers and executives shows that those with a more robust product analytics strategy are more profitable, grow faster and have lower churn than their competitors. — pendo.io

Up until May 2015, I had always worked in some form of the client-service model, offering design-related services to anyone from sports teams to the largest corporations in the world. I had spent the first 12 years working, for the most part, in a freelance/contract capacity in the Advertising and Digital Marketing (Creative) industry. But in 2013, I decided to take a full-time offering as I wanted to be more immersed in projects, take ownership and form a closer bond with a team.

I hate the word should. Designers should do whatever the fuck they want. Learn code, don't learn code, do what you want. However, saying, "Designers should learn to code," a topic that is often seen as difficult, is a great way to scare Designers away from ever touching code, and that would be a real shame. A Designer can't just jump in and start "designing in the browser," nor should they be expected to. The idea that a Designer can go from a sketch to HTML & CSS in the browser to create their intended design is utterly flawed and totally out of context.

Last weekend I went to the first Sass Conf in NYC and it was amazing! I met a bunch of great people and was engrossed in a shit-ton of great resources and initiated a couple of potential side projects. The part I loved most about this conference was the fact that everyone was talking to everyone, it felt really personal (I think due to the size and that it was the first of it's kind).

A few months ago I worked on a project for the Air Canada Foundation that allowed users to donate their Aeroplan miles to the Air Canada Foundation by way of a Facebook page. For every mile that was donated by a user, Air Canada would match. For users that did not have an Aeroplan account they could "like" the page and Air Canada would donate 10 miles on the user's behalf.

I've had to setup a couple of servers from scratch recently and figured I'd document how I did it so that the next time I can get it done quicker. Feel free to use it yourself but I take no responsibility for the accuracy of this.

I recently came across OCAD's Master of Design in Strategic Foresight and Innovation program and just about fell off my seat when I read the description…

A couple of weeks ago I took part in my first RHoK event/hackathon here in Toronto. The process consisted of an initial pitch night where different people or organisations told a group of developers, designers and other problem solvers what they were doing and the problems they were challenged with. Everyone split up into groups and worked to define the problems in more detail and come up with potential solutions. The next step was to get together for food and drinks and try to match people with the right skill sets to develop the different solutions.

…and all the goodness that it brings. Imagine being notified of events from such as your friend's birthday, a band you love, an event that's similar to others you've attended without having to enter them into a calendar. This will show you how.