design that resonates

  • How you doin’

    It’s been around a while but one Newspaper Magazines I read when I arrived in Canberra had an article called ‘The Rise and Rise of the Infographic” (The Weekend Australian Magazine April 9-10 2011). I chose to see it as a good sign of my decision to move. In the article – which was a…

  • I heart frameworks

    My most popular post is about customer experience maps – it gets about 50 hits a day (I’m blogging plankton in the scheme of things so 50 is a lot for me). I’m chuffed about that because maps and frameworks are just about my most favourite thing in design. They’re even a form of info…

  • Where I’ve been

    Not here. As you can see by the months old last post. Since January I’ve changed jobs and countries. All the activity and change  started in January – hence the tardy timing. Here’s a wee map of my experience. I’m still working with the public sector just in Australia now and as a consultant, not…

  • What is a service? – an exercise

    When talking about a service surprisingly few people can easily rattle off a definition. In my experience, people generally have some concept in mind but don’t think about it very consciously. No surprise because it is intangible, open yet time-bound, and a mix of things, feelings and goals. The definition I like (an amalgamation of…

  • Genius of Design (doco – ep #5)

    Genius of Design : Episode 5: ‘Objects of Desire’ Final episode of the series finally watched. The gist of the episode was basically a juxtaposition of ‘previously’ and ‘the last 30 years and to the beyond’ a la: Design Previously Design in the Last 30 years Rational, long-lasting, functional, for the collective betterment Fashion-driven, free…

  • The stamp: able to stick to one thing till it gets there

    Love these stamps commemorating Expo 2010 – Shanghai. Designed by Chris Bleakley, John Plimmer from The Assignment Group and Geoff Francis (not sure if he’s from TAG). I’m mesmerised going back and forth with the visual matches – so stylish, subtle and well – no other word and used in the article, elegant. I particularly…

  • Ideas and insights and concepts, oh my

    I recently re-discovered this basic diagram I did a few years back entitled, ‘Solving the problem by moving from ideas through concepts to solution’. The audience was new/entry-level design staff and the context was a world where terms such as ‘iteration’ and ‘concept’ made people physically squirm, a world where people said “why can’t we…

  • Genius of Design (doco – ep #4)

    Genius of Design : Episode 4: ‘Better Living through Chemistry’ NB: This is out of order – I haven’t watched Ep 3 yet which seems to be about the WWII design. Getting into the more boring, but enlightening mid-20th century design. I’m not going to rehash the episode (watching TV conscientiously shows me how tiresome…

  • Genius of Design (doco – ep #2)

    Genius of Design : Episode 2: ‘Designs for Living’ This episode was about how we started living from the early to mid-20th Century through designed products and experiences thanks to basically, European Design vs American design. Highlights and resonators were: European American Characteristic ethic In reaction to art nouveau and the over-ornamentation of everything,  the…