click > enlarge In the spirit of beating to death a duality design vision in 2012 here is another wonderful example happening this weekend in NYC: Cool Japan – Future Tradition venue: capsule studio | 873 broadway #204 date: 10 > 12 february | 9a > 7p / 6p on 12 february Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts
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Most Topular Stories
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Cool japan – “future tradition wao” exhibition.
DesignApplause8 Feb 2012 | 4:43 am -
The Darkest Lord – 25 Spine-Chilling Darth Vader Fan Art
Design daily news8 Feb 2012 | 5:05 pmAs Star Wars has gone on to become a popular culture phenomenon, much of the credit goes to its characters. Darth Vader, for one, has helped the films achieve massive success. His rise as a Jedi Knight to his fall to the dark side as documented in the six “episodes” of the franchise is not only regarded as one of the most iconic villains in the history of film, but also one of the best characters in cinema. Despite being billed as the main antagonist in the latter trilogy of the series, one of the reasons for the popularity of Darth Vader among people is his depth and complexity. The Dark… -
10 Tips for Designing Effective Surveys – A 2/28 Next Step Virtual Seminar
UIE Brain Sparks8 Feb 2012 | 7:17 amSure, you already know that data-driven decision-making can be a great thing. And a survey can be a great way of getting hold of a lot of data. But if you’ve ever had to complete a frustrating survey asking seemingly mindless questions, and we all have, then the idea of having to design one yourself might make you shudder. In her seminar on February 28, 10 Tips for Designing Effective Surveys, Caroline Jarrett will talk about how to rescue already-in-progress surveys and strengthen their performance, as well as how to approach new surveys from scratch. The next time you need your… -
I Want to Go to Go to There: The Hezen Cave Hotel in Turkey
Hatch: The Design Public® Blog7 Feb 2012 | 1:11 pmThere are so many great places to stay when traveling, whether they be easy on the wallet, easy on the eyes or easy on our backs as we enjoy a relaxing massage. I’m going to make more of an effort to share lodging that’s full of great design with you as it crosses my path. In honor of Liz Lemon, we’re going to christen this column “I Want to Go to There.” Sadly, this amazing hotel did not cross my literal path, but rather entered my life via an email from Jetsetter.com, which is always full of tempting trips I wish I could take. Forget the bat cave, this hotel… -
6 Creative Ways to Use Delicious Bookmarks
Just Creative Design6 Feb 2012 | 10:57 amThis is a guest article contributed by Rebecca*. – Delicious is a popular social bookmarking site which you can use for saving your favorite website links. The process is termed as bookmarking. This will enable you to share your bookmarks among others as well as allow you to browse bookmarks of other users’. Tagging and search tools help you in browsing as well as organizing topics of interest. It enables you to both create multiple tags and tag sites with manifold keywords. Every tag produces a page with all website links associated to it. You can share each of these pages with…
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DesignApplause
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Cool japan – “future tradition wao” exhibition.
8 Feb 2012 | 4:43 amclick > enlarge In the spirit of beating to death a duality design vision in 2012 here is another wonderful example happening this weekend in NYC: Cool Japan – Future Tradition venue: capsule studio | 873 broadway #204 date: 10 > 12 february | 9a > 7p / 6p on 12 february Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts -
New alessi cocktail set calls back 1950s bar style.
8 Feb 2012 | 4:02 amclick > enlarge It’s only the beginning of February and already Alessi is killing it with their (Spring/Summer) 2012 collection. Last week I was impressed by Marcel Wanders’ “Dressed” collection and this week I’m digging Giulio Iacchetti’s “Ape” aperitivo set. Alessi specialized in cocktail products in the 50s and Iacchetti’s design is a clear callback to those days. Designed to be used either in the home or restaurant/bar, the set includes a bowl and spoon for mixed nuts, a container for olives, a toothpick holder, a bowl for chips, a… -
Owen Gatley’s 50s-era infographics
7 Feb 2012 | 4:31 amThis week I came across Owen Gatley‘s bright and cheerful information graphics and was immediately reminded of 50s Fortune, when the magazine was in its heyday in terms of infographics, thanks to their Bauhaus-trained art director, Walter Allner. For those of you who were reading magazines back then, you’ll remember that this was a time when adverts for liquor and men’s ties hogged the margins, destroying any sense of graphic clarity, but Allner did away with all that, making room for double-page, full-color spreads to illustrate information that was difficult to understand. -
Breaking down the new london design museum.
6 Feb 2012 | 4:05 amclick > enlarge Earlier this week it was announced that the Design Museum, currently located in east London, would relocate in 2014 to a site at the Commonwealth Institute. Chances are you’ve caught a whiff of the buzz already. Here’s how the renovation adds up: Number of years the site stood vacant: 12 Interior design: John Pawson Why you should know him: Recently he’s done stage design for major ballets and operas as well as a temporary exhibition in the Geometric Staircase of St. Paul’s Cathedral. See all his work. Number of floors: 5 Square-meters: 10,000 (about 33… -
Alessi. The spring/summer 2012 duality preview 1.
5 Feb 2012 | 9:32 pmmoka alessi | alfonso mendini | click > enlarge Only a glimpse of the Spring/Summer 2012 line and our focus ( not Alessi’s ) will be the theme of duality. Let’s start with “old and new” via the “Moka Alessi” by architect Alessandro Mendini’s homage to Alberto Alessi’s maternal grandfather, Alfonso Bialetti, creator of the indispensable Bialetti Moka Express that is a mainstay in many Italian kitchens. [ bialetti moka express ] all-time | guido venturini ‘All-time’ represents both “formal and casual” with minimal flowing smooth…
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Design daily news
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The Darkest Lord – 25 Spine-Chilling Darth Vader Fan Art
8 Feb 2012 | 5:05 pmAs Star Wars has gone on to become a popular culture phenomenon, much of the credit goes to its characters. Darth Vader, for one, has helped the films achieve massive success. His rise as a Jedi Knight to his fall to the dark side as documented in the six “episodes” of the franchise is not only regarded as one of the most iconic villains in the history of film, but also one of the best characters in cinema. Despite being billed as the main antagonist in the latter trilogy of the series, one of the reasons for the popularity of Darth Vader among people is his depth and complexity. The Dark… -
The best movie posters of 2011
7 Feb 2012 | 6:16 pmI haven’t watched much movies in 2011, so this compilation of best movie posters of 2011 by Mubi.com is very welcome. Personal favorites in the list? Probably Tyrannosaur or Burning Man. -
How to convince your clients of the importance of white space
6 Feb 2012 | 3:31 pmThis is a recurring issue for designers around the globe. No matter if you are a graphic or web designer, you will sooner or later run into a client that finds the layout of your design too “empty”. This is a quite natural reaction for a non-designer. I remember in graphic design school, most students would add more elements in their layouts than needed, or they would make these elements bigger because they were afraid of too much white space. As a designer, you should probably already know that white space helps a lot to create more elegant designs, separate elements better from… -
Featured illustrator: Malika Favre
5 Feb 2012 | 5:37 pmMalika Favre creates wonderful vector-style illustrations. She uses color and white space perfectly. -
Vårdapoteket identity
3 Feb 2012 | 5:08 pmI wish we could see more visual identities like this one. For Vårdapoteket, a swedish pharmacy chain, Stockholm Design Lab created a colorful infography of the human body that serves as the base for the whole branding. The result is a colorful and coherent looking style for the shops and promotion material.
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UIE Brain Sparks
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10 Tips for Designing Effective Surveys – A 2/28 Next Step Virtual Seminar
8 Feb 2012 | 7:17 amSure, you already know that data-driven decision-making can be a great thing. And a survey can be a great way of getting hold of a lot of data. But if you’ve ever had to complete a frustrating survey asking seemingly mindless questions, and we all have, then the idea of having to design one yourself might make you shudder. In her seminar on February 28, 10 Tips for Designing Effective Surveys, Caroline Jarrett will talk about how to rescue already-in-progress surveys and strengthen their performance, as well as how to approach new surveys from scratch. The next time you need your… -
UIEtips: Discovering Web App Structure – A Discussion with Hagan Rivers
7 Feb 2012 | 1:28 pmIt’s easy for web applications to get overly complicated. Ideally, complex applications help their users solve complex problems, making their lives simpler. Unfortunately this isn’t always the case. Vague commands, useless dashboards, and confusing navigation create headaches for users by otherwise well-meaning applications. Often this can be a product of the structure of the application itself. Hagan Rivers is a walking encyclopedia of web app design knowledge. A frequent speaker at our events, she has an amazing knack for making the highly complex digestible and easy to… -
Designing Dashboards: The Do’s, Don’ts, and D’ohs! – Our 2/23 Virtual Seminar
7 Feb 2012 | 9:19 amDashboards are a great idea. The problem is, many are useless. In this seminar, Hagan Rivers will show you which elements to include, how to structure them, and what to slash out of your existing dashboard that needs some UX TLC. She’ll show you a bunch of dashboards. And she’ll give you tips for helping stakeholders understand the implementation benefits and drawbacks of seemingly simple components, from graphs to customizable panels. Join us on February 23 for Designing Dashboards: The Do’s, Don’ts, and D’ohs! Designing a new UI? Evolving an existing one? You’ll walk away from… -
Lou Rosenfeld – 8 Better Practices for Great Information Architecture A Virtual Seminar Follow-up
3 Feb 2012 | 1:10 pm[ Transcript Available ] The goal of any site is for the right audience to find the right information. But beyond your actual content there are many things that can cause findability issues. These tend to be unanswered questions about your primary audience and whether or not you’re satisfying the need of that audience. Good information architecture can help guide your design decisions so that your users can effectively engage with your content. Lou Rosenfeld offers up suggestions in his virtual seminar, 8 Better Practices for Great Information Architecture: Closing the Findability Gap. Lou… -
UX Immersion: We started with 100, but now it’s 80
3 Feb 2012 | 9:10 amSeats for the premiere Agile development and mobile design conference are going fast We started out with 100 spots, but already we’re down to 80 for the UX Immersion 2012 Conference in Portland, OR April 23-25. You can register at the lowest rate of $1,349 to secure one of the remaining 80 spots. After these spots are gone, the price increases by $300. We’re not surprised at how fast these spots are going. Once you see the full-day workshop topics and amazing speakers, you’ll want to grab your own spot. Spend 3 intensive days devouring the latest UX techniques in 2 important…
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Hatch: The Design Public® Blog
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I Want to Go to Go to There: The Hezen Cave Hotel in Turkey
7 Feb 2012 | 1:11 pmThere are so many great places to stay when traveling, whether they be easy on the wallet, easy on the eyes or easy on our backs as we enjoy a relaxing massage. I’m going to make more of an effort to share lodging that’s full of great design with you as it crosses my path. In honor of Liz Lemon, we’re going to christen this column “I Want to Go to There.” Sadly, this amazing hotel did not cross my literal path, but rather entered my life via an email from Jetsetter.com, which is always full of tempting trips I wish I could take. Forget the bat cave, this hotel… -
ModKat in Action
6 Feb 2012 | 11:05 amWhile not all that concerned with style, Hollywood cat Madison the cat is very happy with the new ModKat box his ‘rents Melissa and Jay bought for him. Because of its rooftop entry design, there are no longer any stray pieces of litter to step in, thank goodness, because let’s face it, that is gross. Madison’s happy papa Jay reports “I am a very stylish person, as is my wife and my house. Our cat is not, but she does need a quality litter box that plays its part in our excellent life. If you live a modern life, regardless of whether you have a modern cat, you need… -
Around the Web This Week: 5 Links That Lifted Us
3 Feb 2012 | 9:19 am1. A Makeover That Gives Me Hope: I just love how this office on Apartment Therapy went from frumpy to super chic. With just a few moves it was completely transformed from ’80s ucko to something that looks kinda like a kate spade photoshoot set styled by Mrs. Lilien. Plus, we sell that super-chic Ghost Chair. image via Apartment Therapy 2. Interviews with Architects: Love this! Thank you so much to the awesome ArchDaily for the tipoff about this, it’s really fun the way it’s been put together. My favorite cliche question? “Less or More?” I was shocked that the… -
Design in Action: Submit Your Photos!
2 Feb 2012 | 2:25 pmHave you noticed our Design in Action action yet? In a nutshell, we want to see what you order from us around your home. Email us a shot and you’ll get $10 off your next order. Email us a picture with you or a friend in the shot and you’ll be entered to win a $200 drawing that month! Not a bad deal considering how easy camera phones are to use these days. Don’t fret over making things perfect, calling a makeup artist, or even making your bed (who knows, it could come out very Todd Selby unmade!) You can involve your family, your pets or random strangers who happen to be… -
How Do You Keep Up With Your Favorite Blogs?
1 Feb 2012 | 10:59 amimage via decor8‘s (partial) blogroll Hey All! I’m still trying to get organized, all over the place. In this case, on the web. I’ve been HORRIBLE about keeping up with my favorite blogs lately. How do you do it without becoming overwhelmed? I used some sort of reader for awhile but then I had so many hundreds of posts I had yet to read that I abandoned it; I can’t even remember which on it was! Often I’ll just head to a favorite blog and catch up on a month’s worth of posts when I have some free time. This is not a great system though, because then…
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Just Creative Design
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6 Creative Ways to Use Delicious Bookmarks
6 Feb 2012 | 10:57 amThis is a guest article contributed by Rebecca*. – Delicious is a popular social bookmarking site which you can use for saving your favorite website links. The process is termed as bookmarking. This will enable you to share your bookmarks among others as well as allow you to browse bookmarks of other users’. Tagging and search tools help you in browsing as well as organizing topics of interest. It enables you to both create multiple tags and tag sites with manifold keywords. Every tag produces a page with all website links associated to it. You can share each of these pages with… -
The 2011 Logo Of The Year
1 Feb 2012 | 8:40 pmAfter a month of voting on the Top Logo Designs of 2011 the voting has now closed and I am pleased to announce the 2011 Logo Of The Year. The 2011 Logo Of The Year Fork & Knife Restaurant by Nick Sickelton. The Runner Up Bread & Breakfast is a coffee shop / bakery that serves breakfast all day and sells bread and baked goods. The aim was to create a logo that will combine the two elements of business (bakery and coffee shop) without creating an overload of visuals. The positive/negative design of the coffee cup and the bread image that is created by the coffee itself, along with the… -
Flywheel Takes Off
31 Jan 2012 | 2:39 pmFlywheel started with a simple idea… make indoor cycling epic. To make that happen Flywheel partnered with Ammirati (the agency where I currently work) who re-imagined the Flywheel brand experience. A bold, new look enforced by striking photography & solid copywriting was implemented across all facets of the Flywheel brand, including the Flywheel website which I had the pleasure to work on. Ammirati and I had to restructure, rewrite and redesign all pages of the Flywheel website, for both the front and logged in sections of the site. We’re happy to announce the site successfully… -
Accessibility & Integrity
25 Jan 2012 | 7:34 amI was recently humbled and amazed at an email I received through my brand identity questionnaire and I just had to share the story, not only because it opened my eyes to something amazing, but something I would never have thought of and I’m sure not many others would have either. To cut to the chase, the lady who was inquiring about my brand identity / design services was blind. Although accessibility should be built into in all websites, I still find this fact extremely fascinating. I simply can’t fathom the process of trying to find the right designer without being able to see… -
How to Keep Start-up Costs Low
20 Jan 2012 | 11:17 amThis is a guest article contributed by Daniela Baker*. – The success or failure of a business depends on how wisely you allocate start-up funding. As a solo-preneur you can monitor every expense and decide where your money will best be spent to get your business off to a good start. Here are four suggestions for controlling start-up costs. Be Flexible & Smart With How You Get Funds The cost of borrowing, along with the terms attached to most loans, can make them quite prohibitive to the small business owners. However, there are several other options new business owners may consider…
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metacool
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Unabashed Gearhead Gnarlyness
25 Jan 2012 | 9:29 amThe Fujifilm X-Pro1 -
metacool Thought of the Day
12 Jan 2012 | 11:28 am"Most people don’t form a self and then lead a life. They are called by a problem, and the self is constructed gradually by their calling. ...when you read a biography of someone you admire, it’s rarely the things that made them happy that compel your admiration. It’s the things they did to court unhappiness — the things they did that were arduous and miserable, which sometimes cost them friends and aroused hatred. It’s excellence, not happiness, that we admire most. ...Fulfillment is a byproduct of how people engage their tasks, and can’t be pursued directly. Most of us are… -
What's a sleestak?
5 Jan 2012 | 9:17 pmWhere do great songs come from? A great question, to which I must ask: what's a sleestak? Every once in a while, I become obsessive about a special tune. Case in point, I've probably listened to Tower of Power's Knock Yourself Out several thousand times. When I encounter a piece I like, I need to listen to it over and over and over to unlock its secrets. It drives my wife nuts. Here's my latest obsession, a tune called Cloisonné: Readers of metacool will know that I deeply admire They Might Be Giants. Not only is their cover of Tubthumping the official anthem of… -
Innovation principles by Markkula
24 Dec 2011 | 2:41 pmThe genesis of these thoughts on marketing from Mike Markkula are detailed on page 78 of Walter Isaacson's intriguing biography of Steve Jobs. In their clarity, simplicity, and actionability, they are stunning. As a marketer, I take three lessons from them. First, they are about people. Markets are made up of individuals. When striving to bring something new and cool to life, we're much better off imagining the life of a single customer than we are trying to disaggregate and disambiguate mountains of anonymized market data. A holistic understanding of the customer… -
metacool Thought of the Day
22 Dec 2011 | 12:45 pm"Between the unknowns of birth and death it is our love and courage, the banishment of fear, that decides if we really lived." - Steve Matchett
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Unclutterer
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Unitasker Wednesday: Puppy Tweets
8 Feb 2012 | 7:13 amAll Unitasker Wednesday posts are jokes — we don’t want you to buy these items, we want you to laugh at their ridiculousness. Enjoy! I don’t usually consider novelty items for unitasker selections. However, when novelties fail at being novel, I can’t pass up on such easy targets. This week, I present to you Puppy Tweets: What is a Puppy Tweets? It’s a device your dog wears around its neck that transmits messages to your computer so your dog can tweet. Because, um, tweeting is something you really want your dog to do? From the product description on Amazon: When your dog… -
Knowing your strengths and weaknesses can improve your uncluttering and organizing projects
6 Feb 2012 | 8:19 amWe write a great deal on this site about how knowing what you really need can help you unclutter and organize. Do you like to have paper and pens next to you while you work on the computer? Do you access your hole punch five times a day? Do you like to have music on while you fold the laundry? If so, you should have these tools in places you can easily reach while you work on these tasks. Get rid of the things you don’t need, and have available the things you do. In addition to knowing what tools you need, though, it’s also a good idea to know your personal strengths and… -
A year ago on Unclutterer
6 Feb 2012 | 7:30 am2011 January resolution wrap up, and introduction of February resolution In 2011, I’m trying out small, monthly resolutions instead of large, annual New Year’s resolutions. My public resolution for January was to be more organized in the kitchen, and create and use more nutritious meal plans for my family. In February, I will go through everything — absolutely everything — in my office. Unitasker Wednesday: Watermelon knife This year, I vow to impress watermelons! I shall feel no shame about using a multi-functional knife. Instead, I will win the watermelons’… -
Workspace of the Week: Stylishly simple
3 Feb 2012 | 7:27 amThis week’s Workspace of the Week is Sean’s mid-century modern table desk: I really enjoy looking at this week’s workspace selection because it’s utilitarian, but not absent of style. The surfaces are uncluttered and free of distracting items to pull one away from actual work. The cables are nice and orderly, the large calendar is a striking point of focus, and the desk provides ample workspace to spread out materials if necessary. My guess is that less-often-accessed office supplies are contained in the drawers to the right of the desk. Thank you, Sean, for sharing your… -
Popular road in Britain reworked to be clutter free
2 Feb 2012 | 7:57 amToday’s edition of Britain’s Daily Mail includes an article, photo gallery, and impressive infographic describing London’s newest clutter-free street, which officially opened earlier today. The piece “No kerbs, pavements or nanny-state signs: Britain’s longest clutter-free street is unveiled to make things SAFER” explains the initiative to improve safety on this stretch of road by removing visual distractions: Britain’s longest ‘clutter-free’ street was opened today with the aim of making cars and people co-exist harmoniously — without the need…
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The Accidental Product Manager
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What Can FishVille Teach Product Managers About Using Analytics?
6 Feb 2012 | 1:00 amImage Credit You can have any fish that you want in Fishville, if you are willing to pay for it… Here’s a classic product management question for you: how well do you know your customers? I mean, do you know then REALLY well? We all like to say that we know what our customers are looking for, but do we? The product managers over at the online gaming company Zynga (you know, the one that went from nothing to $600M in revenue overnight) can say that they do know their customers very well. They’ve got the analytics to prove it. Fishville: A Case Study In Product Management… -
What “What’s In Your Wallet?” Means To Product Managers
30 Jan 2012 | 1:00 amWho would have guessed that Vikings could sell credit cards? I’m sure that any product manager living in the U.S. has encountered one of the Capital One ads for their credit cards at some point in time over the last year or so. What might get lost in the blizzard of Capital One ads and promotions that seem to always be around us, is that the product managers at Capital One are very good at what they do. Perhaps we can learn something from them… It’s All About Analytics There are a lot of companies out there that are selling credit cards to consumers. Why has Capital One… -
What A Video Rental Store Can Teach Product Managers
23 Jan 2012 | 1:00 amImage Credit Can you even remember racing to the video store to avoid late charges? Not to date myself or anything, but can anyone else remember going to the video store on a Friday or Saturday night? I’d wander the aisles and take a look at every movie on the “just released” rack in order to decide which one or two videos I was going to rent. Netflix and the Internet have pretty much killed the video store these days and so what’s a video store product manager to do? (Streaming) Video Killed The Video Store To be a video store product manager in the 1990s was the… -
Is Being Yellow The Worst Product Management Job In The World – Or Not?
16 Jan 2012 | 1:00 amImage Credit Should A Product Manager Let Their Customer's Fingers Do The Walking? When I was first out living on my own, the arrival of the latest copy of the yellow (and white) pages was a big deal. Since my parents had always received these huge volumes, when I got mine I felt that somehow I was now a “grown up”. Fast forward to the 21st Century and man have things changed. There still are Yellow Pages®, but is it possible that owning this product is the worst product management job ever? What Happened To The Yellow Pages Once upon a time the Yellow Pages ruled the world… -
What A High-End Boutique Can Teach A Product Manager About Marketing
9 Jan 2012 | 5:00 amImage Credit Just because you are a boutique doesn't mean the big boys can push your products around… So there you are, a happy product manager creating and delivering products that meet your customer’s needs. All of a sudden (but you should have seen it coming) a big box competitor with tons of selection and low, low prices shows up in your backyard. Oh, oh – what’s a product manager to do now? It turns out that we can learn some lessons from the world of women’s fashion. Boutiques have been dealing with this very situation for awhile and they have a thing or two…
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The Cranky Product Manager
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Why Sales Bitches About Product Management & What to Do About It
26 Jan 2012 | 1:34 pmYou've heard that old chestnut. You've seen it in a million articles. The big advice Sales Droids offer to Product Managers is "Don't just talk about features. Tie the features to problems." And whenever the Cranky Product Manager sees Yet Another Article offering this advice, she thinks, "Doesn't every product manager already know this stuff? Duh? How is the Cranky Product Manager going to create a blog post from this nugget of obvious non-wisdom?" But then the Cranky Product Manager thought about it. Then she had a nice glass of Chardonnay. Then more thinking. And then… -
The Brain of a Sales Droid – A Visual Guide
12 Dec 2011 | 8:31 amBehold, a visual guide to the inside of a SalesDroid's brain, or more specifically, an Enterprise Software SalesDroid's brain, as viewed from Product Management. Yes, the lack of artistic merit in this drawing is profoundly pitiful. Thank goodness the Cranky Product Manager has a day job. If you receive posts via email, you probably didn't see the image below. So visit the blog http://wp.me/po3Ly-wr -
What Do Five-Year Olds and Product Managers Have In Common?
28 Nov 2011 | 1:38 pmSeems like everyone in the Product Management blog-o-universe just loves to chat about where Product Management should report in the organization. (Sorry, I don't have time to provide the links right now,... maybe someone can provide some in the comments?) Unsurprisingly, among us Product Management weenies of the world, the overwhelming consensus that Product Management should report directly to the CEO. Thing is, asking this question of product managers is a little like asking a five-year old if candy should be served with every meal instead of vegetables. OF COURSE… -
How Did They Survive While the Cranky PM Was on Maternity Leave?
22 Nov 2011 | 11:43 amThe Cranky Product Manager has returned from the land of sweatpants and spit-up (aka maternity leaave), and is now back at Dysfunctosoft three days a week. She's still sleep deprived and cranky, but is enjoying the conversations with adults and the astonishing luxury of going to the bathroom BY HERSELF IN PEACE without someone having a mammoth conniption fit. 50s mom We'll see how it goes, being a part-time product manager. The Cranky Product Manager is skeptical about the plausibility of such an undertaking. Can product management be done part time? The Cranky Product Manager would love to… -
Not Dead, Just Wearing Sweatpants and Spit-up. Every. Single. Day.
29 Jul 2011 | 4:17 pmPlease be informed that the Cranky Product Manager is not dead, not stuck under something heavy, and has not (yet) given up the fine art of blogging. Her recent absence can be explained: Kids. Or rather, a new kid. Kid #2, to be exact. And apparently the Cranky Product Manager pissed off the universe by referring to kid #1 as the "CrankyKid," cuz OMFG kid #2 has genuine Cranky Superpowers. Let's repeat that: OMFG. The Cranky PM made a vow. No work-related anything during this maternity leave. Not even cranky blogging. Not even READING blogs. Or reading _anything_, really. Because…
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Mind Hacks
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goCognitive 2.0
4 Feb 2012 | 5:30 amWe’ve reported before on the Univeristy of Idaho’s goCognitive project. It’s a enticing collection of videos and demonstrations, including many guest spots by the glitterati of cognitive neuroscience. The site has more free video content in cognitive neuroscience than before – and it is more easily accessible as well. Check it out -
Dressing psychologists as wizards in court
4 Feb 2012 | 1:53 amFrom overlawyered.com we hear that in 1995, New Mexico state senator Duncan Scott introduced a legislative ammendment providing that When a psychologist or psychiatrist testifies during a defendant’s competency hearing, the psychologist or psychiatrist shall wear a cone-shaped hat that is not less than two feet tall. The surface of the hat shall be imprinted with stars and lightning bolts. Additionally, a psychologist or psychiatrist shall be required to don a white beard that is not less than 18 inches in length, and shall punctuate crucial elements of his testimony by stabbing the air… -
A treasure hunt for the mysteries of mind and brain
21 Jan 2012 | 6:22 amI’ve published a couple of free ebooks recently: Explore your blind spot shows you how to reveal the gap we all have in our visual experience of the world, and discusses what it means about consciousness that this gap is kept hidden from us most of the time. Control Your Dreams, co-written with Cathryn Bardsley and illustrated beautifully by Harriet Cameron, tells you how to have lucid dreams, those dreams where you realise you are dreaming and can take control over reality. Both books are written as treasure hunts – travel guides, but for exploring inner space. When you start… -
The peak experiences of Abraham Maslow
19 Jan 2012 | 4:48 pmThe New Atlantis has an in-depth biographical article on psychologist Abraham Maslow – one of the founders of humanistic psychology and famous for his ‘hierarchy of needs’. Maslow is stereotypically associated with a kind of fluffy ‘love yourself’ psychology although the man himself was quite a skeptic of the mumbo jumbo that got associated with his work. The association is not so much because of Maslow’s focus on self-actualization, a goal where we use our psychological potential to its fullest, but because of his association with the ‘human… -
Gimme Shelter
16 Jan 2012 | 5:44 pmThe Rolling Stones launched their career in a social therapeutic club, designed to help troubled youth with communication skills. The club became legendary in rock ‘n roll history but its therapeutic roots have almost been forgotten. Eel Pie Island is a small patch on the River Thames famous for the underground club that earned a place in 60′s history for hosting the cream of jazz bands and rock n’ roll outfits. Less well known, is the story of how the club was created as a therapeutic environment to help troubled youth. Its place in music history has been recounted many…
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Good Experience
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How Bit Literacy helped build the Minnesota Twins stadium
2 Feb 2012 | 5:39 amFrom a reader review of my book Bit Literacy: I was at a conference where the construction and development team responsible for putting together and constructing the new Minnesota Twins baseball stadium gave a detailed presentation on the project. One of the first things they mentioned is that they required their entire management team to read "Bit Literacy" prior to starting the project so they could come up with a communication system via email and task list tracking system that was fast, efficient, and effective. There was no room for time wasting procedures and methods. The new… -
New Gel Video: Alicia Hansen
25 Jan 2012 | 7:26 amAlicia's nonprofit, NYC Salt, provides teenagers in New York with professional-grade skills in photography and other visual communication - thereby helping them succeed academically and professionally. Here Alicia introduces the Gel 2011 audience to two of her students, both of whom entered college later in the year, on scholarships they achieved in large part due to their time with NYC Salt. -
New Gel Video: Marc Abrahams
25 Jan 2012 | 7:13 amThe founder of the Ig Nobel Prize describes some past favorites - including some connections to other Gel 2011 presentations. See also Marc's Annals of Improbable Research. -
New Gel Video: Michelle Barwell
25 Jan 2012 | 7:08 amAs a psychiatrist for Operation Safety Net in Pittsburgh, Dr. Michelle Barwell delivers mental health care to the homeless - where they live. Here she describes how she goes about this highly unusual and courageous work. -
New Gel Video: James Chan
25 Jan 2012 | 7:05 amNative Singaporean, venture capitalist, and photographer James Chan has seen a tremendous transformation of that city-state as it grew into its present-day success. Here he describes some of the policies that set Singapore apart - and could help other cities succeed.
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information aesthetics
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Deluge: How 300.000 Norwegians Move House in a Year
7 Feb 2012 | 1:33 pmThe short animation titled "Deluge" [bengler.no] by Even Westvang reveals how public data can be analyzed to reveal potentially interesting patterns. In particular, this movie demonstrates the patterns of 300.000 Norwegians moving house, by cross-referencing the tax records of about 4 million individual Norwegians from 2006 and 2007. In the movie, the data is filtered by paramaters like yearly income or age, and a distinction is made between 'incoming' (red) and 'outgoing' (blue) citizens. As a result, one can perceive that elderly people generally move over relatively short distances, while… -
Super Chatter: Analyzing Conversations about the Super Bowl on Twitter
6 Feb 2012 | 11:47 amThe online dashboard Super Chatter [collemcvoy.com] designed by advertising agency Colle+McVoy acts as a visual overview of the true impact of the Super Bowl event in contemporary social media, and Twitter in particular. An interactive timeline not only highlights some of the most important sports scoring events, but aligns them next to all the advertisements that were shown on television. A line graph then maps the rate of tweets-per-minute of those 641,094 tweets that mentioned one of more than 250 specific terms resembling "Super Bowl" (the official hash tag was only used in 4% of all… -
Revealing the Impact of Super Bowl Advertising on Social Media
3 Feb 2012 | 10:28 amThe interactive dashboard at Brandwatch Super Bowl [brandwatch.com] shows the true impact of the highly expensive advertising that is shown during the Super Bowl, in particular on social online media. Each so-called 'worm' represents a unique sponsor (including brands like Pepsi, Mars, Walt Disney or H&M). The accompanying number stands for the number of tweets that were made about that brand or their products over the last 28 days (and, yes, the 'worm' who has possession of the ball is winning). The additional display on the right reveals the complete ranking of all tracked brands, complete… -
Revealing the Energy Consumption of Each Building in New York
2 Feb 2012 | 11:16 amThe remarkably detailed map [columbia.edu] developed by the Modi Research Group of the Earth Institute at Columbia University reveals the total annual building energy consumption of New York, at both the block and 'taxlot' level (which is nearly at building level). The map was built using MapBox. The total energy consumption is expressed in kilowatt hours (kWh) per square meter of land area. The data actually was not retrieved from utility companies, but calculated via an elaborate statistical model that is based on current large-scale estimates (e.g. the average energy use by ZIP code) in… -
Comparing the Fundraising Performance of the US Presidential Candidates
2 Feb 2012 | 7:17 amThe NYTimes released a competitive dashboard of sorts, titled "The 2012 Money Race: Compare the Candidates" [nytimes.com]. Basically, the interactive graphic allows readers to contrast the various performance parameters in terms of fundraising from 2 presidential candidates next to each other. Another recent graphic [nytimes.com] lists the hundreds of organizations and people that fund the so-called Super PACs that are officially not controlled by those very candidates. As also explained in the accompanying press article, both infographics reveal how President Obama continues to outraise all…
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LukeW | Digital Product Design and Strategy
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An Event Apart: Bridging the App Gap
7 Feb 2012 | 4:00 pmIn his Bridging the App Gap talk at An Event Apart in Atlanta, GA 2012 Marco Arment shared the differences between mobile Web sites and native mobile and some tips for working on native app designs. Here are my notes from his talk: The iPhone changed a lot about the world we live, work and play in. It was the first mobile device that came with a capable browser. It also made people start using their mobile phones as computers. As a result, people now turn to their phones for lots of important things.When the iPhone first came out, all you could do as a developer was build Web apps. But this… -
An Event Apart: CSS Best Practices
6 Feb 2012 | 4:00 pmIn her Our Best Practices Are Killing Us presentation at An Event Apart in Atlanta GA, Nicole Sullivan walked through common CSS best practices that have outlived their usefulness and what we can do instead to improve CSS performance and maintenance long term. Here's my notes from her talk: Problems with CSS Performance is an important part of the Web experience, with poor performance people engage less, use the site less, etc. CSS on many sites is responsible for poor performance. Facebook had 706 CSS files, they declared the Facebook blue color 261 times, used 548 unique hex values for… -
An Event Apart: The Future of CSS
6 Feb 2012 | 4:00 pmIn his The Future of CSS talk at An Event Apart in Atlanta, GA 2012 Eric Meyer shared the what new CSS specifications are under development, partially available, and can be used today. Here are my notes from his talk: Browser makers implement lots of CSS specs out but when you try to use them, you often can’t. Between 2000 and 2010 not a lot happened with the CSS spec. Today there are lots of new modules in active development. Under Development Animations are not ready for use just yet. Only Webkit supported animations until recently. The syntax in use now may be invalidated in the next few… -
An Event Apart: Buttons are a Hack
6 Feb 2012 | 4:00 pmIn his Buttons are a Hack presentation at An Event Apart in Atlanta GA, Josh Clark made the case for moving beyond GUI controls on touch devices. We can do better! Here are my notes from his talk: Touch interactions will help us sweep away buttons and a lot of existing interface debris by moving us closer to the content and away from GUI abstractions. Touch devices have created all kinds of expectations that the Web does not implement well. Currently the Web is not an equal citizen for interaction design on touch devices. Since the Web only supports simple touch interactions, native OS… -
An Event Apart: Properties of Intuitive Web Pages
6 Feb 2012 | 4:00 pmAt An Event Apart in Atlanta GA 2012, Jared Spool walked through what makes a design intuitive, why some users need different treatment, and the role of design. Here are my notes from his The Curious Properties of Intuitive Web Pages presentation: On the Avis car rental form, asterisks mean optional. This caused many people to believe that they had to fill in information that was not required. At some point, asterisks came to mean “required” on Web forms. How did that happen? When we use the asterisk incorrectly, something becomes unintuitive. But since this convention was created by…
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InfoDesign: Understanding by Design
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UX and the Kano model
7 Feb 2012 | 11:17 amCross-pollination with another practice. "The model (...) helps you analyze the customer experience of your product (or service), which ultimately allows you to invest more wisely in customer experience improvements." (Christian Holst ~ Baymard Institute) -
What we talk about when we talk about sketching
7 Feb 2012 | 3:45 amAlways draw when explaining something. "The sketching is highly generative, best done in a focused session under the influence of caffeine and noise-canceling headphones. My brain has a tendency to free associate and sometimes these sessions spiral out of control, but they are useful activities to conduct at the beginning of a project, as I begin identifying (and blowing past) the tacit boundaries of a space." (Dane Petersen a.k.a. @thegreatsunra ~ Adaptive Path) -
Structure First. Content Always.
7 Feb 2012 | 1:31 amFirst, second, third... sequential thinking. Think parallel, synergy, dialectic. "There is an emerging fallacy in our industry recently. The idea that you cannot create good design without knowing your content. (...) You can create good experiences without knowing the content. What you can't do is create good experiences without knowing your content structure. What is your content made from, not what your content is. An important distinction." (Mark Boulton a.k.a. @markboulton) -
How Taxonomy and Metadata Leads to Findability
7 Feb 2012 | 1:02 amTaxos and metadata have been around for centuries. Locked in the paper technologies. "Taxonomy and metadata are becoming much more popular these days. Companies need to keep track of their information, but can't use traditional classification systems, such as Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress Subject Headings. In the last 10 years, faceted taxonomies have taken on new importance on the web; XML has upgraded the visibility of metadata. Having the skills to create taxonomies and metadata will serve you well. Most people don't have the instinctual skills to create information… -
Dealing with Difficult People, Teams, and Organizations: A UX Research Maturity Model
6 Feb 2012 | 7:08 amThe baby, toddler, teenager, and adolescent phases of UX research. "An increasing number of organizations and individuals who develop software products, Web applications, Web sites, or other digital products are gaining a better understanding and appreciation for user experience and UX design and research. Subsequent to the introduction of some magnificent products and services that many executives now own or use-such as smartphones, tablets, Web applications, social media, and video games-they have gained a better understanding of what UX design and research can do to boost the success…
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UsabilityBlog
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Need A New Site To Feel All Superior To? Check This.
8 Feb 2012 | 5:40 amSlow-loading, zoomy Flash animation? Check. Music that kicks on when page loads? Check. Throbbing animated .gifs? Check. Eyestrain-inducing oversaturated color palette? Check. Borderline offensive use of models in suggestive food-eating poses? Check check and check. Bonus points: The site designer link leads to an Apache setup page. Oops. The site’s got one thing going for it. But I’m guessing they didn’t actually research the advantages of radial menus for speed of onscreen target acquisition….it’s more about the pizza visual metaphor. The pizza pie menu is… -
Ubuntu One: Where Do I Look? What Do I Do?
2 Feb 2012 | 7:10 amUbuntu One: Where Do I Look? What Do I Do?, a photo by pjsherman on Flickr. This is an object lesson in how not to lay out a screen. Background: While configuring a Linux PC, I found myself setting up Ubuntu One, Canonical’s cloud sync service. After I entered the confirmation code I received via email, I was taken to this screen. My first reaction: Blargh! Where do I look first? What do I do? Let’s break it down: None of the calls-to-action appear to be primary. Nothing screams “Start here! Click me first!” The most visually prominent calls just sort of step on each… -
Google+ Add To Circles Interaction: Some Good & Not-So-Good UX
10 Jan 2012 | 6:12 amGoogle+ Circle Interaction: Some Good & Not-So-Good UX a video by pjsherman on Flickr. This is an impromptu video of me interacting with the Google+ “add people to circles” feature. Like most things we interact with in the world, there’s some good and some not-so-good to the experience. First, the good: 1. The people “cards” are just the right size. The picture is just right also – big enough so I can recognize the person, small enough to fit their name. 2. It was also a smart idea to just show the target’s name (or email if the name is… -
I’ve Found It: The Worst Thermostat Ever
4 Jan 2012 | 12:39 pmI’ve Found It: The Worth Thermostat Ever, a photo by pjsherman on Flickr. After many years of working in user experience, I’ve found the semi-mythical holy grail of poor design: in my grandmother’s condo I encountered the dreaded “which way is which?” thermostat. Just looking at this picture, you might think that pressing the left-facing button would lower the temperature, and pressing the right-facing button would increase it. And you’d be wrong. At least, I think you’d be wrong. If only they were reversed, I could at least deal with that….but… -
When Requirements And Design Lose The Sale
30 Dec 2011 | 8:00 amHere’s a great example of how feature requirements and design have combined to cause a lost sale. Some background: This is the donation page for the Presidential candidate I support. I’m not getting into who it is; those who know me personally can probably guess, and those readers who don’t can visit candidates’ donation pages until they find this example. I’m your typical semi-involved voter: I care a bit about local policitics, I try to vote in every election, but don’t always make the smaller or off-year ones. But I do care about state and national…
