Adam Schwabe

"Nobody told me that I couldn’t do something; nobody told me that I couldn’t succeed; I had convinced..."

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 17:11:16 -0500

“Nobody told me that I couldn’t do something; nobody told me that I couldn’t succeed; I had convinced myself and lived in that self-imposed reality. I think a lot of people do this. They self-sabotage and create all sorts of reasons for not doing things under the misguided assumption that, at some point, they might feel better about themselves and that will finally allow them to take that risk. I don’t think that ever happens. You have to push through it and do it as if you have no other choice—because you don’t. You just don’t.”

- Debbie Millman (http://thegreatdiscontent.com/)

Growing the Family

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:57:35 -0500

When I started working on the idea for Rocket Radar over a year ago, its goal was simple: to let you know when the next transit vehicle would be arriving where you’re standing. It’s not a problem isolated to Toronto, however, but any big city where getting from point A to B can seem daunting.

Today I’m happy to announce four new apps for transit riders in cities in the United States — Charlie Radar (Boston), Metro Radar (Los Angeles), Muni Radar (San Francisco Bay Area), and Unitrans Radar (Davis).

These apps follow the great success we’ve seen with Rocket Radar here in Toronto, and their launch is very timely as we approach our one year anniversary since launching v1.0 in the App Store.

Since then, the team and I have learned a great deal about what it takes to make, and more importantly sustain, a successful app. I’m stopped constantly by people who know me as the “Rocket Radar guy” and it’s been a tremendously rewarding experience seeing people use the app and hear them talk about it with others excitedly.

We recently redesigned and launched Rocket Radar 2.0 with a fresh design, and as with Rocket Radar, we’ll continue to tweak and improve these apps over time to better serve the local transit riders. Muni Radar in particular will likely see the integration of other transit systems over the next little while.

As always, these apps wouldn’t be possible without my incredibly talented team — developed by Jeremy Koch and Mohammad Kurabi. I’d also like to give a huge thanks to designer and friend Greg Cira who I worked closely with on the new visual design and to Jason Sao Bento, whose initial visual design of the app paved the way for what you see today. Lastly, I’d like to extend my gratitude to both Canada Type and Jan Fromm, for allowing us to use their beautiful Gibson and Rooney fonts you see in the apps.

Photo

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:32:14 -0400

Photo

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 11:14:11 -0400

Google Chrome’s new Bookmarks page automatically pulls...

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:17:16 -0400

Google Chrome’s new Bookmarks page automatically pulls colours from your favicons. Very cool.

My first, heavy Rdio playlist.

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 22:54:16 -0400

My first, heavy Rdio playlist.

Glorious cover for Bjork’s new album, Biophilia.

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:38:15 -0400

Glorious cover for Bjork’s new album, Biophilia.

"[Amy Winehouse’s] addictions were not only part of her life, they were part of her work,..."

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 09:48:25 -0400

“[Amy Winehouse’s] addictions were not only part of her life, they were part of her work, possibly even part of her talent.”

- Bert Archer in an excellent piece at Toronto Standard flying in the face of all other heartless and ignorant “inevitable” arguments about Winehouse.

Excellent infoviz from David at Information is Beautiful on the...

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:20:00 -0400

Excellent infoviz from David at Information is Beautiful on the how and why of applying sunscreen.

Chasing the sunset in Virgin America VX27 to SFO. #wheelsup

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:59:13 -0400

Chasing the sunset in Virgin America VX27 to SFO. #wheelsup

The new Google Maps UI looks and feels fantastic. Not sure...

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:20:00 -0400

The new Google Maps UI looks and feels fantastic. Not sure who’s responsible for the change of tide in design at Google but they deserve much praise.

Spectacular closing act to her “Les Folies” tour by...

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:45:00 -0400

Spectacular closing act to her “Les Folies” tour by Kylie Minogue in London. Right in time for Pride!

Great track by Cazwell found on Amanda Lepore’s June...

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:31:35 -0400

Great track by Cazwell found on Amanda Lepore’s June playlist.

Rainbow ROM

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 20:06:02 -0400

Rainbow ROM

Kristina’s photos of Iceland are absolutely stunning. Need...

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:01:30 -0400

Kristina’s photos of Iceland are absolutely stunning. Need to visit someday.

A fantastic Kickstarter project to build a pool in New York...

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 10:40:01 -0400

A fantastic Kickstarter project to build a pool in New York City’s East River is nearing its $25,000 goal for technical testing of an in-river filtration system

In Part 3 of his excellent “Everything is a Remix”...

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 08:27:21 -0400

In Part 3 of his excellent “Everything is a Remix” series, Kirby Ferguson debunks the myths of creativity and shows how some of the most famous artists copied, transformed, and combined existing work.

Professor Renata Salecl explores the paralysing anxiety and...

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 22:59:00 -0400

Professor Renata Salecl explores the paralysing anxiety and dissatisfaction surrounding limitless choice. Does the freedom to be the architects of our own lives actually hinder rather than help us? Does our preoccupation with choosing and consuming actually obstruct social change?

Not one of my favourite RSA animations (a bit too over the top), but an excellent talk by Professor Salecl on capitalism, choice & the anxiety that surrounds it. (via Devour)

"Inspiration is about feeling the personal vibe of people who live a way you don’t, do things that..."

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:25:29 -0400

““Inspiration is about feeling the personal vibe of people who live a way you don’t, do things that you can’t and share what you don’t know. For any creative person, it is our job to be inspired.””

- John Jay, Wieden+Kennedy

alanvanroemburg: Apple iCloud icon golden ratio Magical,...

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:49:00 -0400

alanvanroemburg:

Apple iCloud icon golden ratio

Magical, indeed.