Reduce, reuse, and recycle’ urge environmentalists; in other words, do more with less in order to minimize damage. But as architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart point out in this provocative, visionary book, this approach only perpetuates the one-way, ‘cradle to grave’ manufacturing model, dating to the Industrial Revolution, that creates such fantastic amounts of waste and pollution in the first place.
Why not challenge the belief that human industry must damage the natural world? In fact, why not take nature itself as our model for making things? A tree produces thousands of blossoms in order to create another tree, yet we consider its abundance not wasteful but safe, beautiful and highly effective. Waste equals food.
Guided by this principle, McDonough and Braungart explain how products can be designed from the outset so that, after their useful lives, they will provide nourishment for something new – continually circulating as pure and viable materials within a ‘cradle to cradle’ model. Drawing on their experience in redesigning everything from carpeting to corporate campuses, McDonough and Braungart make an exciting and viable case for putting eco-effectiveness into practice, and show how anyone involved in making anything can begin to do so as well.”
I admit, I have a great fear of public speaking. Like most of us, it’s right up there with death and snakes. I think it’s mainly a matter of anticipation – because once I realize I haven’t actually died from the shock of having to step in front of all those people and say my piece, it doesn’t seem to be an issue – even borders on enjoyable (ok maybe that’s slightly overstated but it gets better, is the point).
Interviews, client presentations, even teaching – those I love.. seriously. I look forward to them like the nerd and keener that I am. I love the topic and I’ve always done my homework. But invite me to speak publicly and you’ll see me looking for the nearest exit, with visions in my head of knees knocking and my heart pounding so loudly in my ears that I’m almost certain the audience can hear it. Just the thought of it gives me a stomach full of butterflies.
Which is why I liked A List Apart’s interview with Scott Berkun about his new book – “Confessions of a Public Speaker”.
“With its constant commotion, unnecessary meetings, and infuriating wastes of time, the modern workplace optimizes interruptions and makes us all work longer, less focused hours. Jason Fried (Co-founder of 37signals) explains how we can change all of this.”
Jason hits the nail on the head with his description of the office environment we all know and can’t always be our most productive in. Having worked places where there’s been a proactive approach to this issue – red flag/green flag at all work stations, chat program shut down, consciously keeping interruptions to a minimum/ emergency only unscheduled contact – they all work for a while (a week, maybe 2?) before it’s back to status quo (though not for lack of trying). Incorporating non-interruption into company culture seems like a sensible idea – but I wonder how well/how long this truly holds..
Yes, this skeptic works from home. There is of course the disadvantage of missing colleagues and instant access to a well-gelled team (which is absolutely brilliant to be a part of). Then again – it’s hard to beat the productivity coupled with uninterrupted time to be creative and to give projects the focus they need. Ideal would be the work place that could combine both. 37signals is clearly giving it go.
Imagine my delight upon receiving news of Lotta Jansdotter’s upcoming new “Lotta Mailers” to be released 01 March, 2010. I adore her Scandinavian style screen prints, ceramics and stationary – each incorporating simple patterns and natural themes. I admire the way she makes simple look effortless (designers, you know what I mean here) and the bold way she applies her design to everyday things.
Visit her studio in Brooklyn, New York or check out her website here: http://jansdotter.com
…I can’t get enough of Kim Høltermand’s über crisp architectural photography. Largely based out of CPH and the Øresund region by the looks of it, Høltermand’s imagery pays perfect tribute to the ultra modern architecture finding place amongst the characteristically time worn (and well loved) here in Copenhagen.
Creative Grab Bag is a collection of work from artists, illustrators and designers from around the world. Author Ethan Bodnar created over 30 unique tasks and gave each contributor a task that was different from their typical work. The book contains images of each artist’s creative task, typical work, and a biography with a short reflection on their creative process. Together, they capture the spirit of exploration and innovation and challenge readers to break out of their usual work.
The book includes both well-known and up-and-coming creatives. And yes – it’s been added to my Amazon wish list. Bought it and love it!
The condensed version of the opening ceremonies in Vancouver broadcast here in Denmark did not include Shane Koyczan’s poem about what it is to be Canadian. I was made aware of it afterwards (thankfully), and was delightfully amazed at how much it spoke straight to the heart of Canadianness.
We’ve grown up a nation often at a loss to define our collected identity – falling back on words like ‘friendly’, ‘welcoming’, ‘multi-cultural’, ‘hockey nation’, and more often than not: ‘not American.’ Thank you Shane Koyczan for collecting those words, adding the shared givens we forget to mention and weaving them into a poem that shares what we meant, but hadn’t yet found a way to say.
Creative user experience over at “I Make My Case” -’ the richest online case customizer on the planet’. Design your own iPhone case by remixing the designs of internationally renowned graphic artists or design one from scratch. Paint, colorize, mirror or kaleidoscope for a case that’s truly one of a kind. Brilliant.
Usability is like cooking: everybody needs the results, anybody can do it reasonably well with a bit of training, and yet it takes a master to produce a gourmet outcome.
How can I say that anybody can do usability? Have I just written myself out of a job? No.
Here’s why: Read More »
Interesting post from Gene Smith about user experience trends in 2010. Being predictions – it’ll be interesting to see where they go over the coming year. I agree that there’ll be a push toward quicker, cheaper testing methods – which can be seen as a positive if it gets more companies willing to allocate budget to user testing more regularly, or at all for that matter.
Services as software
The market for some kinds of UX services is changing. For certain kinds of projects tools like usabillla will offer “good enough, fast and cheap” usability results.
User exerpience anayltics
The next few years will be about measurement and analytics, and a more analytical approach to the UX discipline will emerge. Don’t get me wrong–design isn’t going away. Like peanut butter and chocolate, design and measurement are better when they work together.
Content strategy
Despite all the money companies have spent on content management software many organizations still haven’t mastered content. 2010 will be the year companies start to put aside their toys to start to make a serious investments in content strategy.
Return of the mobile web
Companies that are developing mobile business apps need to avoid locking their users into a mobile platform like the iPhone or Android and start building apps in platform-neutral way using the mobile web. HTML5 will make much richer in-browser experiences possible.
A real experience economy
Smith highlights an emerging trend: people are trading in conspicuous consumption for life-enriching experiences. This opens up for the emergence of a culture that truly values experience–on the phone, at a kiosk, on the web, in person, at work and at home. That’s a culture where user experience designers will flourish.
