July 2008
1 post
4 tags
Design Support →
Having identified Service Design as an important new issue for the support of design in companies, SEEdesign developed a range of extra activities including workshops and training sessions on this topic. The material developed during the 3 years of the project has now been compiled into a downloadable publication, which can be used by businesses (in both service and manufacturing sectors) and by...
June 2008
1 post
12 tags
Hustle & Flow →
Ed White, Alaska’s VP of corporate real estate, assembled a team of employees from across the company to design a better system. It visited theme parks, hospitals, and retailers to see what it could learn. It found less confusion and shorter waits at places where employees were available to direct customers. “Disneyland is great at this,” says Jeff Anderson, a member of White’s skunk works....
3 tags
“A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely...”
– Douglas Adams
May 2008
9 posts
3 tags
The Product Ecology →
The Product Ecology is a theoretical framework that 1) describes social product use — how products evoke social behavior; 2) provides a roadmap for choosing appropriate qualitative research methods to discover social product use; and 3) extends design culture in interaction design and HCI by allowing for flexible, design-centered research planning and opportunity seeking. … Unlike human...
10 tags
Spaces: compress and expand
1. In an environment, we can use the architect’s trick of compression and expansion to create drama and heighten anticipation. 2. The procession through compression and expansion makes me think of how we “breathe with a space.” We develop or adopt its rhythm, its tempo. 3. We might want to be aware of how we systematically open and close the space. Do we design it to be regular...
6 tags
Inline help in the real world →
Footprints stenciled onto escalator treads.
6 tags
Table and table-less exhibits
Table displays can create a barrier to interaction—especially for children who might not be able to engage because of their height. Removing the barrier can create something more inviting. Table exhibit Table-less exhibit
13 tags
Spaces: environmental typography and i/a
Comparing visibility of type from a distance. What things should be considered when designing an information architecture that adapts to the user’s distance, height, and eyesight? How does it respond to lighting and theatrics? To crowds? Museum exhibit type (about 15 feet away) Museum exhibit type (about 6 feet away) Museum exhibit type (about 2 feet away)
7 tags
Spaces: affordances and encouragement
What do locked up chairs signal? How does this change the desirability of a courtyard? Compare a Raleigh Courtyard to Bryant Park in NYC Raleigh Courtyard / Alleyway Here, chairs are locked up on weekends. What if, instead of buying expensive chairs that need to be locked, they bought cheap ones and left them unlocked? How might this change the use of the area? * Bryant Park in NYC...
4 tags
I keep thinking of XD as the “thread” that runs through all customer touch points. But really, it seems more than that. Perhaps a better comparison would be weaving. Maybe XD should be thought of as a tapestry.
What if smoking-prevention orgs offered free “packs” that held only 4 cigarettes at a time? Would a smaller supply anchor you into quitting?