This is the weekend edition of TheMarioBlog and will be updated as needed. The next blog post is Monday, February 12.

My job was to look for good use of color on mobile apps. That’s the topic of our Multiplatform Design & Storytelling class Monday at Columbia University. I want to introduce the students to apps that are not part of their daily routine, while emphasizing how good use of color makes all the difference in the way we react and navigate through an app (or a printed page, too).

These are pleasant surprises. Some are actually out and others are concept for a discussion of color here.

The lesson in all of them: how much a designer can accomplish with very little use of color, yet with a focus on a specific color temperature and/or palette.

Take a look.

Earth Tones

Great use of earth tones, with black as the background. Stunning combination.

From Cafe App

From Unvit

It’s all about red

From Fashion Adviser

Those hot temperatures red and yellow

From Swing, a music app

Society of News Design New York: Celebrating 40 years

The Society for News Design’s 40th Anniversary Workshop, Creative Conference and Awards Gala will be in New York City, March 22–24.

Workshop chair Tyson Evans, of The New York Times, and an army of volunteers are organizing three packed days of talks, training, networking and inspiration about the future (and past) of storytelling, visual journalism and news products across print and digital.

Speakers announced so far include Scott Stowell, proprietor of Open and winner of the National Design Award for Communication Design; Jennifer Daniel, of Google; John Maeda, of Automattic and visual journalists from The New York Times, Washington Post, Axios, Vice, ProPublica and more.

I am honored to be one of the speakers.

If you would like to attend what promises to be one of the best SND gatherings ever, please go here for more information:

https://nyc.snd.org