Archive for the ‘History’ Category

Marking the 1,000-course milestone and revisiting the first 24 courses

Published by | Tuesday, April 5th, 2011
No Pixels Harmed!

No Pixels Harmed! is among the first 24 courses in the lynda.com Online Training Library®. Of the first 24 courses, seven were with co-founder Bruce Heavin, and four were with co-founder Lynda Weinman. They taught one of them together; Learning Photoshop 6 and ImageReady 3 for the Web.

Late last week, we quietly marked a milestone in the Online Training Library®. For the first time ever, our library surpassed the 1,000-course mark.

Time Management Fundamentals is the course that took us into four figures, and perhaps fittingly so. It represents the second of a very new kind of course for lynda.com. While we’ve been known for our software training since 2002, soft skills represent a new direction that we’re exploring to support personal and professional development in and out of the workplace. Both Time Management Fundamentals and Pitching Projects and Products to Executives have been met with high acclaim from our members, and more soft-skills courses are on the way.

By the way, we’d already passed the 1,000 mark for courses published, but have retired a few courses from the library over the years. This is the first time 1,000 courses have been available to members at the same time. Amazingly, our first 24 courses are still in the Online Training Library®. Even though most of the software versions in our first 24 courses have long been superseded by newer versions (or the software shown doesn’t exist any more), it’s astonishing how basic web and graphic design principles never die, no matter what the software or medium. Animation Principles is still a hearty primer for those interested in getting started in animation, and No Pixels Harmed! still has valid lessons on maintaining image integrity. Typographic Principles is just as effective today as a basic introduction to the art of type and letterforms.

Curious about the first courses in our library in 2002? Do you remember watching them way back then? Here’s the list:

Learning Amorphium Pro
Learning After Effects 5
Animation Principles
Learning Mac OS X
Advanced Photoshop 6
Learning Illustrator 9
Learning Photoshop 6
Typographic Principles
Learning Illustrator 10
No Pixels Harmed!
Learning UltraDev 4
Learning Photoshop Elements
Learning QuickTime 5 Pro
Learning Flash 5
Learning Dreamweaver 4
Intermediate Dreamweaver 4
Intermediate Flash 5
Optimizing Flash 5 Content
Learning Fireworks 4
Advanced Flash 5
Learning Photoshop 6 and ImageReady 3 for the Web
Learning Fireworks 3
Learning Dreamweaver 3
Learning Director 8.5
Animation Principles

Animation Principles still maintains basic principles for those interested in animation or motion graphics.

The lynda.com story: Bruce’s 10 things

Published by | Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Bruce distills his core beliefs into ten inspiring thoughts that he shares with a riveted Santa Barbara AIGA audience. A sample: #7 – Do what you love, and do it really, really, really well. These philosophies are at the center of why lynda.com is a special place to learn, work, and grow.

We invite you to view the entire lynda.com story on lynda.com.

Inspiration at any age

Published by | Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Lynda's photo by Chris Orwig. Used with permission. www.chrisorwig.com

I recently ran across an article that listed 11 famous people who were in what they defined as their “wrong” job at the age of 30. The household names listed had simply not found their calling yet, or, had tried to make it, but gave up to do something else before stumbling back into their eventual fields. The celebrities listed (people like Andrea Bocelli, Sylvester Stallone, Martha Stewart, Julia Childs) all ended up in the careers that made them famous after the age of 30.

One of the reasons I love working at lynda.com is Lynda Weinman, who is always encouraging others to try new things, make mistakes, and learn from experiences. Like the 11 celebs I read about, Lynda didn’t find her true calling until she was in her 30s. You can hear more about her personal and business history in The lynda.com Story.

I couldn’t think of a better time to share the commencement speech that Lynda wrote and presented at the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, CA last March. It seems fitting to post this on Ada Lovelace Day, a day that honors women in technology by blogging about them. I hope it inspires and encourages you to try new things, and keep striving to find your calling.

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The lynda.com story: Making the lynda.com logo

Published by | Thursday, March 18th, 2010

When he first created it, Lynda initially thought Bruce’s illustration for the lynda.com logo made her look like Mary See, the elderly lady who graces every box from the well-known West coast confectioner, See’s Candy. Bruce sought to embody the company’s essence in his hand-drawn logo design: Education, instruction, and learning. Has Lynda come to love it?

The lynda.com story: Things we cherish

Published by | Thursday, March 11th, 2010

In this segment of the lynda.com story, Lynda shares some of the tenets she and Bruce use to guide the company: Love what you do, put customers first, quality above all, create indisputable value, treat everyone with dignity, always strive to be better, and many others. She and Bruce also disclose some of the stumbling blocks they’ve faced that have taught them valuable business lessons, from being unfocused, waiting to bring in professional management, and lack of budgets and limits.

We invite you to view the entire lynda.com story on lynda.com.

The lynda.com story: Starting the business

Published by | Thursday, March 4th, 2010

After two years of extensive traveling to promote her books and teach classes, Bruce suggested to Lynda that they consider starting a school. Together they founded the Ojai Digital Arts Center, and promoted its services on lynda.com. An astonishing response to the class caused rapid growth in the school, which in turn inspired conferences and more web design and graphics books. The 2001 dotcom crash precipitated yet another revolutionary teaching methodology: Training on video. First on VHS, then on CD, then on the web.

We invite you to view the entire lynda.com story on lynda.com.

The lynda.com story: Lynda’s educational pedagogy

Published by | Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Lynda talks about how her personal learning experiences formed the foundation of her unique teaching style. She became both a sought-after instructor to corporate clients such as Apple and Microsoft, and a contributor to major publications. While a faculty member at Art Center in Pasadena, CA, Lynda not only met her future husband and business partner Bruce, she also registered the domain name lynda.com and used it as her sandbox for learning and teaching web design and for showcasing her students’ work.

We invite you to view the entire lynda.com story on lynda.com.

The lynda.com story: Lynda shares how it started

Published by | Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Take a seat in the Brooks Institute auditorium with the Santa Barbara chapter of AIGA and enjoy watching Bruce Heavin and Lynda Weinman as they present the history of lynda.com to an audience for the first time. The lynda.com co-founders share stories of how their careers, relationship, and company started and evolved, and how their vision and high standards have brought together a team insistent on excellence. This is an engaging, fascinating inside look into the heart and soul of a recognized leader in software training.

We’ll be posting a few segments of that night’s recordings here on the blog, starting with Lynda sharing some early memories and educational experiences. We invite you to view the entire lynda.com story on lynda.com.

In this video, Lynda opens her heart and shares her earliest recollections: Her childhood, how she discovered an alternative path to education and put herself through school, and how she developed a work ethic that shaped her personal direction and ultimately, the direction of lynda.com.