Link bucket: Design stuff for a change

Lonely links that wish I'd gotten to them sooner:

• Dan Cederholm designs beautiful icons, and earlier in September he updated his Chameleon Web set with different color effects and other improvements. Icon design is a field that requires extraordinary attention to detail and the ability to translate the most recognizable visual elements of everyday life into fast communicators of an idea. Dan's work exemplifies these traits, and it's easier to buy his icon sets than to try to design a batch yourself. Trust me on this.
• I took relief from reading 12 Lessons for Those Afraid of CSS and Standards, written by Ben Henick for A List Apart. Key quote: "In many cases, the person responsible for a site's graphic design is not responsible for any other aspects of site implementation. When paired with a failure to create strict site- and section-wide wireframes, this lack of accountability results in unique comps for too many pages, and thus a lot more work for the stylist and producers."
• Bob Stepno, who teaches journalism at some modest local college, asked me the other day if I was aware of lawsuits or other actions periodicals had taken when designers "lifted" graphic elements for use elsewhere -- especially elements associated with branding, such as the logo typography or red box of a Time magazine cover. I told him the Society for News Design, at least, has made design plagiarism a major issue in its new ethics policy discussions. And I found a conversation thread at Visual Editors about a specific case of too-close-for-comfort designs that appears to be contagious.
• Jared Spool believes we're seeing a new design specialty emerge: social networking design. I agree, not so much to create new branded social networks, but to integrate social tools and methods with many other types and components of sites.
• Jakob Nielsen provided two very helpful Alertbox articles this month: 6 Ways to Fix a Confused Information Architecture and User Testing Is Not Entertainment. I have witnessed user testing where the test instruments were crafted by designers or product leads specifically to prove points to bosses who didn't trust them. The outcome is ugly and unproductive. Nielsen's advice is worth your time.
• Has anyone tried the Resolution-Dependent Layout Method put forth by The Man In Blue? If so, please let me know if/how it worked/didn't.
• I've been following the Wisdump of Top Web 2.0 Winners, Losers and Upstarts. But after thinking about the Spool post I mentioned above, I think we're getting to a point where 2.0-style functionality starts folding in with more traditional Internet forms. (Isn't it amazing to see the word traditional used with Internet? There's not so much new in new media these days, kids.)
• Digital Web finally straightens us out on use of the HTML button -- not to be confused with the Easy Button.