Badzelda.com

News Stories

22.04.10

23 Shoes

In which I take 23 pairs of shoes, paint them and create stories around them. Work towards an exhibition in September. Feel free to send me your shoes and stories...
» See the set on Flickr

16.04.10

the real bad zelda

My norwegian friend made this great song for me:
» listen to the song

04.03.10

Penguin iPad Imagineering

I recently had the distinct pleasure of working with Penguin / Pearson / DK on potential ebook concepts for Apple's new iPad with Snorre Milde. As well as being smart and totally on the game, they had some really amazing ideas.
» Check them out here:

02.11.09

London Review of Books

The new site for the LRB features full access to 30 years' worth of writing, enhanced search and subscriber features and design optimised for readability. I was responsible for IA/User interaction design, and design implementation across the whole site, and I'm very proud it's finally gone live after a year working on the project. Respect to Phil Gyford for his amazing prototyping skills.
» http://www.lrb.co.uk/

29.09.09

www.fostering.net

The Fostering Network is the UK's leading charity for everyone with a personal or professional involvement in fostering. I created sitemaps, wireframes, design comps, illustrations and prototypes for this site, which has just re-launched.
» Check out the site

28.05.09

London Review Blog

The London Review of Books - the most politically radical of the high-end literary review magazines - now has a blog, edited by Thomas Jones. Contributors include: Andrew O'Hagan, Inigo Thomas and Jenny Diski. I was responsible for the design and WordPress implementation, and am overjoyed to see it go live.
» Read the Blog

14.11.08

The Brain Unravelled

The Brain Unravelled: an exhibition in 3 disciplines: art, anthropology and neuroscience. Happening in September 2009 with a piece of research on experimental anthropology thrown in.
» Check out the site

14.08.06

London Review Bookshop

At long last this has launched, and so far is working beautifully.
» Go! Buy Books!

02.06.06

Shrinking Childhoods

A new site for Kids Company, showcasing the art of the children they work with.
» www.shrinkingchildhoods.org.uk

06.12.05

New sites

So, I've been busy all summer and forgotten to link to some of the sites I have made recently...www.acuvision.org, www.thebigboost.org.uk and www.livingcolourgardens.co.uk to name just three. More projects in the pipeline include a gallery site for Kids Company's Shrinking Childhoods Exhibition and the London Review Bookshop....watch this space.
» Projects page

19.09.05

South West Coastal Walk

My cousin Justin is doing a walk all around the South West Coast to support Shelterbox and Raleigh International. He will cover 1014K in 40 days...visit his site to find out more.
» http://www.swcw.co.uk/

01.09.05

Photos of Ella

Have just got around to uploading a bunch to Flickr...
» www.flickr.com

28.07.05

Brockwell Babies

A site for all the people that use the Brockwell Park One O'Clock club
» » visit the site

04.01.05

Ella Joyce Taylor is here!

and she's beautiful! She arrived at 12.44 am on the 2nd January, weighing in at 6lb 6oz after a speedy labour...we're very happy to meet her at last...

stuart's pics
» beautiful girl

08.12.04

Hooray - new UnLtd site is live...

UnLtd is a charity which supports social entrepreneurs - people who have the ideas and the commitment to make a difference in their communities. I've just completed redesigning the site, with several new sections, and much expanded content management tools. If you've an idea for a socially beneficial project that needs funding why don't you check it out?
» http://www.unltd.org.uk

12.11.04

The Daily Show

Have you caught the Daily Show? (On Comedy Central) V funny - you should watch it if you get the chance - we've been downloading it to get an inside view on the US election. V funny! (the show that is, not the election results). Although I can't help thinking that there was so little to choose between the two candidates, that the general direction of american politics was a foregone conclusion anyway...A lot of North Americans are very sorry about this.
» Sorry Everybody

01.07.04

surprise news

So...the 12th week is past and we don't have to keep it a secret anymore....WE'RE PREGNANT!!!
» see the little monkey

08.04.04

Blue Plaque Project Launched

The blueplaqueproject is an online collaborative database of London plaques and the buildings and people that they commemorate. There's currently information about 900 plaques and 300 buildings on the site, as well as more than 500 photographs - allowing you to 'wander' around London finding out more about it's unique history. There's also a 'conversations' section where you can chat to other site users about anything plaque-related. Almost every page on the site is editable, so if you have photos, anecdotes, comments or additional information about any subject mentioned, please feel free to add them.
» blueplaqueproject.org

27.03.04

Outdoor Experiences

Written by my grandmother, as part of her exam coursework, this is a wonderful insight into her early life and beautifully written.
» Read the story

19.03.04

www.the-apologist.co.uk goes live

At last, a place to apologise for all the crimes you've been concealing. And read a few other people's apologies too. Edited by the very talented Jay Rayner, who's just written a novel called The Apologist.
» www.the-apologist.co.uk

21.02.04

V Cool anti-war video...

System of a Down video Boom! directed by Michael Moore - from the stopwar.org.uk website.
» stop the war resources page

16.02.04

Chat back up!

I've been surprised at how many people have emailed me demanding to know when the Secret Chat (removed temporarily) would be back up. In the face of such sustained public pressure I've pulled my finger out and fixed it....so chat away!
» Secret Chat

12.02.04

Secret Chat

A few people have mailed asking when chat will be back up...I've had to take it down for a little while to fix a hole in the code that was endangering the server. I'll be putting a new version up in the next week or so, and also providing a new download of the code for those that want to use it on their own sites. If you'd like me to let you know when it's back up, mail me at zelda at badzelda dot com.

31.01.04

Hutton report, Dyke resignation....

So - Hutton's long awaited report is finally published. I'd hate to imagine how much it cost to generate this pile of bullshit. With what artistry it skirts the main point: that the governments of both this country and the US were perfectly aware that Iraq didn't possess the facilities to launch weapons of mass destruction in 45 minutes (Hence Blix's extended sojourn in Iraq before hostilities commenced - he was probably under enormous pressure to find something.) And on the basis of these flimsy arguments, an honourable man was forced to resign. I'm speaking of course of Greg Dyke, who's probably sitting in his garden in Twickenham at this very moment looking at the full page Telegraph ad that his erstwhile staff funded.

Meanwhile Blair and Campbell prance about like particularly smug bullies, unaware that to any sane person their hypocrisy is painfully obvious. And seem oblivious of the fact that more and more people are beginning to ask the question of why they voted for them in the first place. Their ostensible focus is 'transparency' of government - never have so many reports been generated, at such cost to the public purse. Yet like the Hutton enquiry they point accusing fingers at the wrong people - at scapegoats, and indefinable social ills - a kind of smoke and mirrors trick that seeks to draw attention away from the real issues.

The government has problems. It has to fund an aging infrastructure, an aging population. Trains derail and patients in Wales wait over a year for treatment. Labour made promises - but to keep those promises it's going against all the tenets that Labour supporters hold dear; the principles that people thought they were voting for. And what have we got? No more free education for all... a health service that is gradually being privatised, railways that have been fragmented to the point where it seems that only the most radical of actions can save them. And now the latest victim, the BBC...which may have its faults, but is at least an organisation founded and run on high principles. With charter renewal coming up, surely the worst time to put it under that kind of pressure, and force the resignation of its two most senior executives.

So Blair and Cambell - don't stand there damning others with faint praise: follow their example! Do the decent thing for once in your lives and stop assuming that the British public is stupid enough to believe your lies!
» » 'Dismayed' BBC staff back Dyke

14.01.04

Harpers' new site

I'm quite a fan of Harpers Magazine - so I was happy to see that they've got a new site - which is excellent. Loads more content on there, as well as the very wonderful Harpers Weekly...
» » www.harpers.org

21.12.03

Happy Birthday Conor!

as you can tell he's a south park fan....

18.12.03

Merry Christmas

and Happy New Year. Off to Scotland to see Gordon, (Stuart's dad) for Christmas, and then coming back for a New Year's party at our house. All welcome....you know who you are!

12.12.03

Badzelda has changed!

After several years of growing 'organically' (read messily and randomly) I decided it was high old time to update the design of Badzelda.com and make content easier to edit. So here it is! If you've got any comments on the design, or gripes about bugs, then email me - zelda at badzelda dot com

12.12.03

Albright Centre gets a facelift

This health centre works with alternative and holistic therapies on a wide variety of conditions. I recently redesigned their site in line with their new branding, and also added content management tools.
» visit the Albright Health Centre

12.12.03

Kids Company gets a new look

I recently designed a new site for this children's charity, incorporating a CMS and an online donations facility.
» kidsco.org.uk

23.09.03

Google too fucking cool for words

Location based search. Enter a ZIP and some keywords, and Google will create a nifty little map, with dots for each of the matches within the area you've specified, and links to any relevant websites.
» view good locations...

23.09.03

TimeBank wins award...

TimeBank are winners of the 2003 E-Commerce Awards in the Voluntary & Community Category for the London Region - congratulations to them for all their hard work!
http://www.ecommerce-awards.co.uk/
» timebank.org.uk

23.09.03

More wedding photos

These polaroids were taken by Fran, Matthew, Tim and Polly. They also got everyone to write messages for us and mounted them in a book...a lovely memory of a wonderful day: thanks everyone!
» Notebook photos

23.09.03

Wedding photos finally up

Back in May 2003 Stuart and I got married at the Chelsea Town Hall, and went on to have a great party aboard the Mercia with the Bikini Beach Band.
» Check out the photos

31.07.03

The Big Chill

Off to the beautiful Malvern Hills tomorrow morning for a weekend of music and chilledness....hoping the weather holds fine!
» bigchill.net

30.06.03

Thailand - honeymoon photos

So finally back - after 6 wonderful weeks in Thailand, cruising around on mopeds, practicing thai and generally getting into as much culture as possible!
» thailand photos

30.05.03

a small corner of the gulf of Thailand

We're now on the island of Koh Phan Gan - a 'tropical island paradise' that makes its living principally from coconuts and tourism....at least I think that's the correct order. Except for bungalow developments along some of the beaches the island is almost completely covered with coconut groves - apart from the peaks where jungle reigns supreme. Waterfalls provide deep swimming holes that refresh after steep jungle hikes - or there are beachfront bars, with attendant hammocks for those with a more laid back approach.

Monsoon is on its way, attended by dark skies and fierce squalls of rain - but when they clear the island sparkles...the trunks of the coconuts, briefly dark with moisture, stand out all the more against the blue sky, the emerald sea and the white curves of beaches...
» http://www.kohphangan.com/

11.05.03

Off to thailand tomorrow

for a long overdue holiday and month long honeymoon.....don't forget to check the news as we'll be sending updates and piccies....
» visit thailand...

11.05.03

We are married!

lovely day had by all on the good ship Mercia - pictures to follow!

21.03.03

little poem

I love your
strong hands and
gentle eyes
sharp on the curve
straight as a rule
you level like oil
in the glass the
mark set
dead centre...

20.03.03

Update to Wedding Plans...

So we've pulled our finger out and got the wedding info up online - if you haven't replied to your invite yet, then what are you waiting for? We've made it easy for you...
» rsvp online

28.02.03

Pussens!

my poor cat: I gave her a bath: she usually looks like this! http://www.badzelda.com/mycat.html. As you can see she was not happy about the whole thing, but it had to be done as she'd been exploring up the chimney.
» one pissed off cat!

24.01.03

Continuing the Segway theme...

Tom Coates of plasticbag.org sent a link to the Megway..check it out
» human assisted walking

23.01.03

UnLtd goes live

UnLtd supports people who have the ideas and commitment to make a really positive difference in their communities. I was responsible for design, architecture and build on this site - so it's wicked to see it up and running ;o)
» www.unltd.org.uk

23.01.03

Segway

appreciating all over again how silly they are: segway banned in san francisco.
I can't help thinking there's something curiously monty python about it all.
» segway in action

15.01.03

Caposcripti FINALLY finished

Well - it's been a long time coming but my novel now has a beginning, middle and an end! If you'd like to read it (or indeed represent or publish it!)contact me. To find out more about it check out the link below.
» www.caposcripti.com

13.01.03

Amazonia photos

During research for my book I came across these beautifully evocative photos of Iquitos and the Loreto district.
» Amazon - online photo gallery

11.01.03

Concerned about proposed ID cards?

Stand.org.uk are too - and they've made it very easy for you to tell the home office what you think.
Step 1: Choose those aspects of the ID card proposals that most upset you
* Step 2: Type your name & address, and then your opinions (please use your own words if you can)
* Step 3: Click Submit. We'll then send your submission to the consultation
» http://www.stand.org.uk

01.01.03

Happy New Year from Brixton!

Hope you all had a good one - we had a few at the Effra, and went on to a mate's party. No piccies though - too pissed ;o).
» Bohemian Brixton

11.12.02

New Flat!!

So I've managed to find us a new flat - it's in Josephine avenue, so still in staggering distance of the Effra, Brixton's best pub! Josephine avenue is apparently built on the site of Elizabeth 1's favourite picnic spot. It even has it's own website. Very excited about moving as we'll finally have a garden...can't wait to put my hammock up ;o)
» Josephine Avenue Group

11.12.02

GoogleViewer

Google never fail to amaze...how people search in the movies
» try googleviewer

04.12.02

Book Cover

In an attempt to enthuse myself about the book (now up to chapter 30, for anyone who's read it before, and wants to know where it's got to mail me for a copy) I've designed a cover around a beautiful illustration by Matt Hutchinson. Any opinions of offers of publishing deals will be gratefully accepted ;o)
» see the cover

12.11.02

Writing time...

So, I've finally managed to clear some time to work on my novel - which is cool, as it's been a while and I *really* need to get it finished one of these days. I've been doing a creative writing course at St Martin's recently (http://www.csm.linst.ac.uk/ - found after much searching!) which is good for getting the brain thinking, and exploring different perspectives from which to write. Anyway - I've written a couple of little pieces: this is one....
» Excerpt from Caposcripti

22.10.02

www.dalcais.com

I designed this site a few months ago, for Mat Hanrahan of Dalcais research. Since then he's been updating it frequently, with cutting edge comment on the state of the mobile and IT industries. Well worth a click.
» www.dalcais.com

15.10.02

And so ends a 5 year fling with WoS

A little bit sad really, as I have really enjoyed working for them. The holding page for the new site can be found at www.wallofsound.net/. Those nostalgic for the old site can still see it at the link below.... Still - I'm off to see Röyksopp...mmmm yummy.
» Old Styleee WoS design

05.10.02

Porno

Just finished Irvine Welsh's Porno...great book, excellent characters, and extremely well plotted. Interesting to discover that Mr Welsh has gone to the extent of writing the actual movie script and creating a site for for the 'porno' itself, Seven Rides For Seven Brothers.
» Seven Rides

04.10.02

Friday!

And I forgot for ages how cool Yugop's site is - an inspiration (though I still love the original version). For those that want something a little bit sillier, try rathergood.com
» Mono Crafts

01.10.02

Secret Chat Update

New version of ZeldaChat with multiple chatrooms, so you can chat to each other in private. The sourcecode is available for anyone that wants it - just mail me at zelda at badzelda dot com.
» SecretChat v2

27.09.02

IG Sports....nearly there

I was responsible for Information Architecture and usability for this spread betting site. It's been an interesting experience to say the least...
» http://www.igsport.com/

26.09.02

London Review Of Books relaunches!

I worked on the design and architecture of this site last year - and it's just gone live. I think the LRB team have made a brilliant job of it!
» The London Review of Books Online

24.09.02

Pictures of Scotland

We just spent a long weekend in Scotland - peddling around Ayrshire, Glasgow and Edinburgh: what a beautiful place! Check out the pictures here:
» Scottish Photos

04.09.02

All New Dubliner Site!

18 Issues in the Dubliner site gets a much needed refresh - check out the searchable directory of Dublin's 100 best restaurants.
» http://www.thedubliner.ie

22.08.02

Beautiful Poem

Somebody's put a lovely poem on the /write/ section of badzelda.com - cheers for that!
» I Dream Of Turkey

19.08.02

What is Information Architecture?

People often ask me this question - either clients or otherwise. This interview is an excellent overview of the creative and logical processes behind IA, and why it's useful.
» Interview in Digital Web magazine

07.08.02

Woooooo Hoooooo!

Stuart's just asked me to marry him - and of course I said yes! Wouldn't you?
» What a lovely man...

30.07.02

Secret Chat Engine

A certain organisation thinks instant messaging is EVIL. If your ICQ or AIM has been blocked at work, try this chat engine.
» Go on - give it a whirl...

23.07.02

Those clever B3TA boys

This little swearing app is hours of fun. They're also running a challenge to find the cutest thing on the web - I wonder have they seen the remote control mini?
» http://b3ta.com/buffyswear/

20.06.02

Need To Know

Launch of an enhanced novel, Need to Know, which describes what happens when an antiglobalisation activist decides takes on the establishment, not on the streets but across digital networks. In partnership with Liverpool John Moores University, Narration and The Foreign Policy Centre.
» http://www.furyfever.com/

18.07.02

UNTOLD at the ICA

UNTOLD is an exhibition focussing on the work of female designers and curated by recollective. My film 'Wierd Scenes From The South Side' will be part of the exhibition, which will be running from the 18th to 31st July.
» view film

30.05.02

World Poetry Day

Unesco is celebrating World Poetry Day with this babele poetica site, featuring a collection of world poets. Check it out:
» http://www.unesco.it/