Category: designers

  • To Inspire, Be Inspired – chicken or egg

    Last Friday I presented to our 30+ designers and business analysts during two half-day workshops to bring them up to speed with our new integrated world (also restructured world (thank you recession)). Preparing for the session made me think about a few things I knew I wanted to cover, or at least be ready for…

  • Webstock 2010 – a review

    My cherry has been broken. I am a webby or a stocker or a websto or a whatever a fan of Webstock is called. As conference it was quite superb, not just the venue and the booths and the food (the food! – I went back twice for the brownie on the last afternoon tea…

  • How Designers Think – reflections part (b)

    This is the second part of my reflections on what I read, discovered and disagreed with in ‘How Designers Think: The design process demystified’ (4th ed.) by Bryan Lawson. Problem and solution are inseparable On pg 39 Lawson quotes Robert Venturi : “We have a rule that says sometimes the detail wags the dog. You…

  • How Designers Think – reflections part (a)

    I recently finished reading ‘How Designers Think: The design process demystified’ (4th ed.) by Bryan Lawson. It’s been part inspiring, part revealing, part frustrating, part disagreeable, and all thought provoking. Timely too, as I often reflect on my own design thinking process – for myself, and for my job. This post is the first part…

  • Alexander McQueen R.I.P

    From Givenchy and all that gold with the cupids on the pillars – I remember there was a story in the news about it – in New Zealand for goodness sake. From chunky to slim, from skulls to aliens, from amputees to live graffiti, shows as amazing as the clothes – I used to actually…

  • What is a service – pt 1 & 2

    First off, I subscribe to the definition of ‘service’ as the range of touchpoints a human interacts with, over time, in order to achieve their goal/fulfill their need. For ‘service design’ I broadly define it as the conscious process of crafting and planning the overall experience of the service (i.e. interactions and touchpoints), as well…

  • Design for Life – reality TV for designers

    I’ve always wondered about a reality-style show for designers. I pictured challenges of coming up with frameworks! and prototypes! and service concepts! in extreme periods of time! delivering new service experiences in airports! supermarkets! online! A combination of The Apprentice and Survivor. And now I’ve been watching exactly that with Design for Life with Phillipe…

  • Indeed, ‘Design thinking isn’t enough’

    I read this article in HBR: Why Design Thinking Won’t Save You by Peter Merholz and it stuck with me for two reasons: I kinda agree and respectfully disagree with elements. I completely agree that design thinking on it’s own is not enough. For the past year I have been working with a colleague with…

  • Eight ways to kill an idea

    Original work by Scott Campbell via: Fast Company