Category: designers

  • I don’t need a vacation, I just needed my vocation re-energised

    Yesterday* something great happened that reminded me why being a designer is my vocation, not my job. A colleague in Washington DC, Leslie Tergas, attended the Transform 2011 Conference at Mayo. She presented us her highlights. The gist of Mayo, innovation and the conference: Here’s a leading organisation – good at what they do –…

  • Collaboration – that’s the name of the game

    Oh, no wait – that’s multiplication. But in a funny way, it still works. Cue quote: “The range of our collective vision is far greater when individual insights become one” Andrew Carnegie. Amen Andy. As designers we espouse the value of collaboration. But what I’ve noticed in my years in the game is sometimes a…

  • Maps, shmaps, pathways, shmathways, etc, shmetc

    I write this post with a conflicted heart. The post is ostensibly about language. And making sense – which simultaneously is precisely what this blog is for me; a record of my thinking, and thoughts in progress. But, I’ve just read Nick Marsh’s post on service design is dead, and while I don’t agree necessarily…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • The Genius of Design (doco – ep #1)

    On the Living Channel they’re playing a documentary series ‘The Genius of Design’* (Wednesday, 10pm). I wanted to capture the thought provoking/prodding bits from the episodes. Ep #1 ‘Ghosts in the Machine’ – As with most design shows so far its angle is the designed product/stuff, but I watch with a pleased self-reflective glow that…

  • If you build it they won’t necessarily come, but if you describe it enough they may want to check it out

    I’ve just completed a very successful week (5 separate sessions – 7 in total) of training people (designers, leads, account manager-level staff) on customer experience mapping and service blueprinting – as both technique and output. In order to do that though it required some schooling in services, service design, business analysis, change management, framework development.…