In the world of innovation, the execution is as important as the exercise. If you can’t “sell” the idea with meaningful visualization and functionality, you lose. As part of the AOL Prototyping Team, I learned just how important the “pitch” or execution strategy was to help get support for an idea. One of the last projects I worked on was a blueprint for the future of online news. This included a comprehensive competitive survey, a robust ideation workout and initial visualization exercises. While I didn’t get to see if any of our work will come to fruition (having moved into a new role elsewhere), we stepped into some areas that still haven’t been thoroughly explored.

During the survey phase, we occasionally stumbled across efforts that warranted merit, but not many that were truly pushing the online news experience into the future. AOL itself made some inroads with its dynamic, blog-like approach. USA Today went two-point-oh with a strong emphasis on community (a la Digg), MSNBC has taken some progressive steps and UK’s Times has enriched their visual and user experiences for the better. All said, the jury is still out. Perhaps it hasn’t even been selected yet. Though not necessarily revolutionizing the news experience, but iteratively improving the user experience, the NY Times still reigns champ overall with its powerhouse user base and award-winning infographics.

So the question is where will this sector be in 4 or 5 years? Will we use news in the same way? Will it be highly portable and device-scalable? Will local coverage foster micro-communities? Will we have more immediate and personal relationships with the way we share news? Most likely.

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Transparency and the alpha channel are good friends. Transparency and the web development process, on the other hand, are just getting to know each other.

There was a time when the alternate designs never saw the light of day, so it’s interesting to get a peek behind the scenes at MSNBC, and see how they ended up with the final result.

Maxim Zhestkov is a 22 year-old motion designer based in Russia, Ulyanovsk. His work has a detached, cosmic quality to it. The use of black and white gives it an ethereal art appeal that might not be present in a color version. Apparently, he also does toy design and packaging work as well.

Brand strategy and design group MultiAdaptor does great work. It’s that simple. They keep it clean, light and current without resorting to gimmicks. Their print portfolio has a retro sensibility while using modern forms. Their client base appears to be strictly British, but diverse enough to keep it interesting, ranging from BBC to Ether Music. Their interactive work also shines brightly, with a focus on capturing the personality of their clients.

Be sure to check out their brilliant executions on websites from Michael Bodiam (the logo!) and Ether Music. Inspiration abound!

No, having a cool name isn’t enough, Leesa Leva is one fab illustrator. A self-described “illustrator, insomniac, and puppy cuddler,” she can also apparently design a mean web page as well, as evidenced by her “I Love Birdy” page on Virb, which has drawn a lot of attention. Head on over and browse her portfolio now or skip on over to her blog instead.

Top form motion design work making the net design site rounds from National Television.

Khoi Vihn, the respected leader of the NY Times’ interactive efforts, is engaged in a Q and A on the Times Media and Advertising section, so get over there and inquire. You have until the 25th to do so.

And in case you’ve missed it, check out his excellent blog, Subtraction, as well. 

If you’re feeling particularly generous today, swing over to Zeitgeist Modern Furniture and snag me one of these lovely Verner Panton-designed Cone Table repros from 1950.

One of the top designers working today, Peter Reid always delivers great visuals to peruse, whether it be his graphic design or photography. I’ve been following him since I worked along side on a project for AOL a few years back and have been keen on checking in from time to time to get some inspiration.

He’s been offline for quite awhile, but has returned with some fresh new eye candy to absorb. Head on over to his portfolio, Our Common, and be transfixed.

FontShop just released Fontstruct, an online font building tool.

According to the site, ‘FontStruct is a free font-building tool brought to you by the world’s leading retailer of digital type, FontShop.FontStruct lets you quickly and easily create fonts constructed out of geometrical shapes, which are arranged in a grid pattern, like tiles or bricks.You create ‘FontStructions’ using the ‘FontStructor’ font editor.’