The litany of popular lists being disseminated around at the end of each year makes for fun and, usually, light reading. To find yourself on a “best of” list is still a personal triumph and one should feel a certain amount of pride.

The end of the year is also when we should take a step back and uncover what we’ve learned over the immediate past and work to learn from and subsequently factor into future work.

Our year-end thoughts bring us back to projects that helped hone our skills and prepare us for the constant growth in our field. The individual accomplishments that were woven into team success stories is what creates the common bond that will live past any temporary hiccup along the way.

Personally, I would like to thank Jennifer, Byron, Steve, Heather, Carl, and Francsico for their support throughout the year. It’s been a wonderful relationship so far and I’m excited to be surrounded by smart, engaging people.

And, last but certainly not least, we’d like to send out an absolutely huge debt of thanks for our clients (in no particular order):

• Harvard Finance Department (FAD)
• Harvard Alumni Affairs and Development
• American Well
• Seltzer Design
• Oliverworks
• Auspice Corporation (Arris Group, Inc.)
• IDG (CSOonline) and Vermonster, LLC
• SalesEngineering.com
• CCA
• AbilityTrip.com
• APEX
• Tri-Color
• Abacus Software
• Vantel Pearls
• JJ Best
• WW Rothman (currently in design)

Thank you! We look forward to a great 2009 and extend warm wishes to you and your family or employees.

I had the opportunity today to get a hands-on feel for the new BlackBerry Storm.

To establish a baseline, I own a 3G iPhone (AT&T) and my primary device is a BlackBerry 8830 World Edition (Verizon).

My thoughts are such:

• The speed at which the device moves from application to home screen and back again is absolutely painfully slow. Boil water slow. Not good.
• Icons are almost “too” understated and you actually have to get used to which icon goes to which application. While this was a purposeful design element, it falls short of a true picture icon set.
• The device has just about as unusable a keyboard as I’ve ever seen / used. I was willing to get the phone today, thanks to a free device upgrade on our account, but I couldn’t get past the keyboard. I tried seventeen times to “press” the letter s. It wouldn’t do it. I had to position my finger in JUST the right place, and I was finally able to use one of our most popular letters.
• That “click” screen is actually more problematic than useful. Basically, under the hood is a single button depression mechanism that allows you to get “response” as you “click” or “type” as if you’re using a real keyboard. Nope. Not buying it. It’s actually a total and complete pain in the rear end to use it. It’s actually the opposite of easy.
• Web browsing has never been the BlackBerry’s strong point. However, this is actually a livable experience on the new OS (for Bold, Curve and Storm). It’s akin to the Opera Light version on any other device, or IE on a WinMo phone.
• Scrolling and sideways gyro functions are in competition with the iPhone, but it’s so clunky when you do it that you wonder if you did it right. Not only that, the real estate you’re given to scroll is so tight that you end up scraping your finger against another function or up in the text entry area. Not helpful if you’re in a rush or need to look something up while you’re writing a document or responding to e-mail.

Overall, the Storm is about 60% there. The screen is gorgeous, the colors are great and the feel of the device is no worse in form that an iPhone (in terms of weight, etc…).

I would, absolutely not, unfortunately recommend this thing for at least another generation.

Have a comment? Used a Storm? Work for Verizon and want to save your sales or represent? Leave a comment below.

I am pleased and honored to once again have an article published on A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites.

This time around, I talk about traditional Information Architecture and deliverables. Have a peek and join the conversation!

This month, the UX Professionals site brings you Part 2 of 2 in Mark McCay’s tips and tricks on developing sound, accessible UX.

Also, this month, we welcome a new contributor, Tonia Bartz, who gives us a look at why Usability is so important for 2.0 Content Management.

Please join the site and start your discussion with these two dedicated UX Professionals!

In conjunction with our very talented partners at Seltzer Design of Boston, we’re very pleased to announce the launch of Oliverworks.com, the new interactive information experience for seasoned consultant Faith Oliver.

Seltzer worked with Faith to create the strategy, content and UI, then handed the heavy lifting to us, including building Flash-based tangram puzzles that give the user a different way of thinking about how pieces of every puzzle incorporate the strengths and talents of an energized workforce.

Have a look at Oliverworks.com and let us know how we can help you energize your online initiative!