For all the crap I've put up with only flying United over the past few years, every once in a while they make me happy that I chose to stay with them. I have racked up a pretty decent amount of miles so far, and for it I have "premier status". Essentially that means my fellow travelers and I can go through premier security which is super quick; and I can make requests that would normally be scoffed at. Today is a great example. I booked a flight a while back for Jen and I to go to Colorado next weekend. I got my itinerary today and we were seated in economy. I checked and there were no two seats available in economy plus. If it was a longer flight, I would have used miles to upgrade to first class, but since it's only about 2 hours I just want a little more leg room.

United really goes out of their way for people with premier status apparently, because I called them asking if they could "shift some people around in economy plus so my wife and I could sit together up there...", and they did it! It doesn't make up for canceling our flight to San Francisco on the morning we were supposed to leave for our wedding... but it ain't bad!

Jake asked me to add a little "about my design" area to the Threadless product pages, but I decided to take the opportunity to give them a little refresh. Here's the new one and here's the old one. Below is a run-down of what I changed.

Mini-zoom & product photo
I changed the double-color thick border to be a 2px light blue border with a 2px white space between the mini-zoom and the product photo. I also added a 2px white gutter between the mini-zoom and the product photo to support the grid that I'm using in the column further down. I do think the tiny images and camera icon need a refreshing, but that would exist in the same space, so I left it alone for now.

All the buying stuff has also stayed the same, so we'll move past that.

My original submission & About my design
The first thing I did here was get rid of the thick light-blue line that was breaking up the page, freeing up the right column. I brought the submission link over to this column because I thought it complimented the explanation of the design. I also changed the wording of "The original submission" to "My original submission". I felt this created a sense of designer ownership over the page.

Here's what I envisioned for the "About my design" area. This is actually a blog that has partial content displayed here. This way when you click "read more", you're taken to the full blog about the design and you can also follow whatever conversation happens from that. Sweet, huh? I also used the arrow coming down from the text to break up the column which gives the submission link it's own area. Everything below this is how it is on the original page.

When I'm working on designing pages that are on a strict grid or designs that require a lot of meticulous tinkering like pixel graphics, I find it easier to concentrate if I'm listening to electronic music. I think it has something to do with the machine-perfect quantization of the beats that gets me in the zone to stay perfectly on pixel. I wonder if anyone has ever studied this...

It was announced by Steve Jobs the other day that Apple would be releasing a Wi-Fi version of iTunes Music Store for use on the iPhones and the new iPod Touch. He also announced a new partnership with Starbucks, which would basically be a means to have your phone tell you what music is playing at Starbucks when you're near or in a store, and then buy it from the Wi-Fi iTunes Music Store. Personally, I think this partnership is pretty lame, but it did give me ideas on how this could be useful in other areas. So, Apple, here's some ideas - no charge.

B2B Apple Music Information Transmitter
Imagine if you went to see a band at your local music venue. Not a tiny, hole-in-the-wall local place where a band who will probably vanish into obscurity plays... I mean a decent sized place. Imagine the venue was able to push information of who's playing at that time out to the audience, and maybe even out onto the street via some sort of Apple Wi-Fi transmitter. Your iPhone or iPod would pick up this signal, tell you who is playing - and tell you if that band has anything for sale on iTunes. Don't limit this awesomeness to just Starbucks! It obviously works for them, so make this something other businesses can tap into!

Let iPhones and iPods chat with the radio.
Yes, the radio. If my car stereo can tell me what song is playing on the radio, then why can't my iPhone or iPod know too? Again, if these devices were aware, then they could sync with the Wi-Fi iTunes Music Store. Granted, this would involve either an FM transmitter in your iPhone or iPod, or some sort of Bluetooth transmitter in your car stereo. I can't tell you how many times I'm listening to an 80s station, hear a song I love, make a mental note to buy that song when I get home, then completely forget. That's a lost sale for iTunes. I'd be it happens a lot.

That's all I'm giving away for free. I'm willing to brainstorm more of these at my usual day rate. Don't be a stranger, Steve!