via Pixel Fantasy
via WebTrendMap
More to come! 
These are some really MAD videos made by my insane classmate and friend Mikko Pitkänen. He’s rad!
Just wanted to keep them nested in my blog for nesterity.
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Iron Man, I have you now. The illustrations look mindblowing, and I cannot wait to dig deeper.
I’ve also be exploring the Sleep Cycle app on the iPhone and must say I’m hugely impressed at it’s simplicity and effectiveness.
… and this awesome article which dissects a very relevant discussion articulately. I especially like the section where he shows examples of the physicality of books, which the iPad cannot replace. Good stuff to keep in mind when attempting to plunge into this pool. This is Alan Chochinov’s presentation at IxD10 (Savannah). Allan Chochinov-Girls and Women: Objects Lessons in the Primacy of Interaction from Interaction Design Association on Vimeo. I posted the video to the blog for 2 reasons a) It is hugely inspiring. To quote 4 key learnings by Chochinov (during his course at the SVA, New York) in the closing parts of his presentation -
b) The work shown in the presentation is yet another indicator toward ‘Design Fiction’ explorations which we currently need more of perhaps at Umea. (sorry, US keyboard!) — Less problem solving by design alone, and more of design-intentions explicit through fiction. For want of a better word – storytelling. (…puke!) via Trendwatching I love that they use an ethnographic approach to identify trends. Reminds me of the movie ‘The Gods Must Be Crazy’ and the way the Coca Cola bottle was perceived by a bunch of tribesfolk in remote Africa. Our urbanfolk arent so different!
via article titled ‘Authenticity’ from the blog of Lebbeus Woods. This image reminded me of an article I read sometime ago called ‘The End of the Classical’ by Peter Eisenman I loved this poster because it illustrates how notions of ‘experiencing the classical’ have deconstructed themselves. We’re living in an era where rehashing is the classical. McDonald’s, remixes, rehashes, relinks, rethinks – The word ‘Re’ is the new ‘New’. Or is it?
via Photosynth. Or this…
Today our notions of ‘classical’ (or the ‘original-itself’) are constantly being reinvented and hence removed incrementally from the Original itself. In the near future, would our tagged, augmented, rehashed, recollective memory of a place, thing or experience itself become a new notion of classical? The infographic movie “The State of the Internet” by creative agency Jess3 conveys exactly what is meant by its title, with a special focus on highlighting a lot of numbers and statistics, ranging from the general demographics of Internet usage to launch dates of popular online social network sites. You can watch the movie below. This will be the first time I watch my mentor and friend Mike Kruzeniski of Microsoft EXG Group present. Usually my chats with him were on gchat and he would tell me to be less poetic! This is so cool to watch and learn from. Building a new product is hard. In the transition from design to engineering, the subjective qualities of a product often lose out to practical challenges. This session is about an approach and framework that allowed us to sustain the aesthetic principles of an experience, by making emotional quality matter to our engineering team. MIKE KRUZENISKI-MICROSOFT Mike Kruzeniski is a UX Creative Director for the Entertainment Experience Group at Microsoft, in Seattle. Before joining Microsoft, Mike was a Designer on Nokia Design’s Insight & Innovation team in Los Angeles, where he worked on projects such as the Nokia 2010 View of the Future, and the concept design for the Nokia 8800 Arte. He has a Master’s of Interaction Design from the Umea Institute of Design in Sweden, and a Bachelor of Industrial Design form the Emily Carr Institute of Design in Vancouver, BC> ————— Through a hands-on sketching process, Cottam explores ways of combining traditional design principles, craft techniques, natural materials, and physical computing tools to give modern products greater longevity and meaning. MATT COTTAM-TELLART Matt Cottam has been responsible for setting strategic direction for Tellart since co-founding the company in 1999. He provides both inspiration and direction through active involvement in client projects, academic research and teaching., as well as international design and technology conferences worldwide. With Tellart Matt has directed design and strategy projects for clients including Nokis Design, Humanna Inc. and Otis Elevator (United Technologies REsearch Center). Matt is a member of the part-time faculty at the Rhode Island school f Design and an Adjunct Professor at Umes Institute of Design (UID Sweden)> Digital interactions are moving beyond keypad and screens and into sensing, networked products that inhabit our everyday lives. This session will explore how designers can create engaging experiences between physical products and digital services. TIMO ARNALL Timo Arnall is a designer working with interactive products and media. Timo leads an international research project on mobile technology. Timo’s work spans design, media and technology; interested in the ways in which products are used in everyday life, the emergent uses of new technologies and the design of products are used in everyday life, the emergent uses of new technologies and the design of products and services in local contexts and situations. (Proud to know you guys! You inspire me!)
We went to MWC Barcelona 2010 for the first and second days. During our stay there, my colleague JC Fantechi and I covered almost everything we wanted to see. The following paragraphs are some reflections and experiences gathered during my time there. I’m very grateful to my colleagues at Ergonomidesign for having sent me there to represent them despite my relative inexperience. Even though as an interaction designer, I felt woefully out of place at times, I managed to stay afloat through the experiences and emerge with (hopefully) some new opportunities and insight for my team and also some important personal lessons. On Windows Mobile 7 We did not make it for the actual launch (too costly like everything else!), but were there in Barcelona for the launch of Windows Mobile 7 Series! Woohoo! The ‘buzz’ (apologies, Google!) that was felt around it was definitely positive. I am pretty sure the MWC2010 event will earmark itself in history as the first time Windows actually gave Apple a real vicious bite. Game on, Cupertino! There are clearly more knowledgeable reviews in Wired and Engadget, so let it suffice to say that from what I saw of the launch online and at their massive stall – my friends at Redmond/Pioneer Square have done an amazing job in bringing together Windows Live, Xbox and Zune experiences to one mobile platform. The UI looks and feels great and I like the panoramic ‘hubs’ that are used to create a very fresh metaphor in user experience design. WM7’s activity-centric UI is in direct contrast to the application-centric world of Apple, which is brilliant. Hopefully it proves to designers like myself that there are several great metaphors that are waiting to be tapped, if the right conditions are set in place. I’m still curious to know how their store and app-world would pan out, but the die is cast. With Google clearly looking to go aggressively mobile with its Android platform (seen all over the MWC) and now Microsoft entering the game as serious contenders – I think we’ll see exciting times ahead in this space. Ramble: I believe that with the launch of the iPad (last month), and now with Android and WM7 creating some stiff competition for Apple – we’re witnessing the cornerstone of a whole new galaxy of entrepreneurship and creativity. The giants have put their infrastructure in place for entrepreneurs, developers, (hopefully) designers and ultimately - people to create a world where content of all kind are fluid currency in the form of actionable knowledge. It’s takes no rocket science to guess that once the iPad and other clones enter the market we’re stepping a little closer to making the world witnessed in the living room of Minority Report. Round 1 : Getting my bearings
The MWC was a massive melting pot – an ocean of opportunities and new discoveries. I heard languages from nearly every part of the World discussing business in every nook and corner of the venue. I’d never seen so many people in business suits and ties in one place! Everyone had something to sell – from the smallest headsets, handsets and apps to the largest antennae. There was some exciting new technology on display, some even bordering on the ridiculous. The halls were like giant aquariums and there were fish, sharks, whales and bait of all sizes. The App-World stall was particularly colorful, though I failed to see any app or idea that really blew my mind. My favorite stalls had to be the Samsung and Sony Ericsson stalls. It was a very different language of profit, business interests and salesmanship that I was exposed to. This was clearly the place where business houses came to sell themselves to those with the right kind of interests. Time and talk were precious; badges were continuously checked to see if credentials matched the interests of those concerned. It took the first few hours to refine our ‘approach’ for the stalls we wanted to see and talk to. We had to learn to fish out the right people to talk to about design, without wasting anyone’s time or energy. We were quite dazed on the first day, perhaps because I went with different (in retrospect, almost naïve) expectations that people would really be open to ‘user experience design’ and roll out a red carpet. What I learnt was immensely humbling, and a bit confusing at the same time. It was humbling to learn how small we were in this large ocean of competitors. Yet, when we spoke and presented to people – their awe and appreciation would always leave us feeling warm and fuzzy. Without naming specific cases, we had a pretty 60-40% first day. Several contacts were made and will be followed up on. I felt it was a great christening to the big bad World of ‘sell, sell, sell’ and was glad to have the experience of my colleague JC to lean on. Round 2 : Picking up momentum Day two at the MWC was a relative feeling of déjà-vu. However we were emboldened by our experience from the previous day. We approached stalls with greater clarity and conviction and mostly followed up on discussions and loose-ends from the previous day. There were social events and gatherings planned for the evenings, but unfortunately I’d be back in Stockholm by then. Experiences:
There are several other reflections I had, which I shall reserve for my colleagues at work. They concern our own approach and strategy to this intersection ahead. It’s a space we’re not entirely entrenched in yet – and it requires a fresh approach, thought and action. Until next year! (More pictures to come.) |
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Copyright © 2010 Rahul Sen: Future-Sense - All Rights Reserved |
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