Connections - August 5, 2009: At LUNAR, we've been applying the compelling storytelling techniques from comics in our interaction design work. In this episode, LUNAR interaction designers Gretchen Anderson and Ron Goldin talk about how comics can be a powerful and surprising tool in the design of complex products and experiences.
The myTouch 3G can't escape comparisons to the iPhone, but to be fair, it's not a bad evolution. For those who can't afford an iPhone, or those who are still seeking the "iPhone for Business" myTouch has some interesting characteristics.
Android is starting to become real. Applications are not restricted like they are with Apple apps; this means offerings such as Google Voice are available on the myTouch. Using Google Voice instead of paying $20 for text messaging a month could recoup the $200 cost of the phone in 10 months.
Customization is everywhere on the myTouch - designer cases, personal background images, home screen themes. This might be refreshing for users who feel limited by the iPhone's "two colors and a custom photo" approach to "make it mine."
myTouch restricts users to three iPhone-like application pages, however, it does go one step further by allowing users to pin open widgets to the desktop. Widgets like a search bar, music player, or calendar can be used directly from the desktop without having to first open the application. They can also run in the background.
Sherpa, an application commissioned by T-Mobile and designed by Geodelic, has a learning engine that understands what you like, making future suggestions as it learns about your preferences. If you like Indian food, when you travel to a new city Sherpa should be able to show you where the best chicken tikka masala is.
The myTouch uses the HTC Magic hardware, but there's quite a few out there hoping that Android gets ported to the HTC Hero. It seems that in a head-to-head comparison of Windows Mobile and Android, Android wins. Our take: Android was designed for touch, not stylus. And visually it's no contest.
There is still room in the cell phone industry for offerings like the myTouch, so the phone should do well. As more users become accustomed to touch screens and applications at their fingertips, it will be time to start aiming further. For now, we have to make do with seeing the future of phones like in this Will Ferrell skit.
In today's Fast Company "Powers of Design" blog post by LUNAR's John Edson:
"Our modern era of mass production requires enormous organizations to
replicate the relationship of a designer artisan with her customer. If a company can't replicate the traditional exchange between maker and consumer, the relationship is destined to fail."
Next week, June 15-19, LUNAR will play host to a group of designers from the Korean Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP). Since the very first day of business, LUNAR has sought to make a difference with creativity - to use creativity to design distinctive products that are meaningful for individuals, society, and the environment.
It is in this sprit that we have built the foundations for this immersive design workshop.
Ten LUNAR designers will lead the fifteen Korean designers through a series of exercises that are built on our process and centered on our framework for sustainable design. Throughout the week, the designers will take their learnings to the streets of San Francisco to do real world research and design exploration. After what is sure to be a full, challenging, and enlightening five days, the week will conclude with an exhibition for the group’s work. And perhaps a glass or wine or two…
Shopping for paint on the web is hardly the internet’s
killer app.
But the new Benjamin Moore website
is actually using the medium for what it’s good for. The website invites people
to compose little poems based on a keyword and a color. Cooler than it sounds.
And the ambient graphics serve as a fun way to inspire a tasteful palette of
colors based on an anchor hue.
We recently did the design for PASCO’s Spark SLS, a science education platform. Kids and teachers can collect data from the world around them, and then visualize and analyze it on-the-go or in the classroom. By letting people really visualize scientific phenomena, Spark brings science to life for kids and teachers both. During our research, I expected (and wanted) to learn what teaching science was like. But interestingly, it didn’t really come up.
So, what do science teachers care about? While they might be teaching Plank’s Constant, it turns out that if they can’t keep their classrooms in order it doesn’t matter. Classroom management was the number one issue we heard about over and over. So our challenge was clear: design a powerful tool that looks so simple teachers can still devote their attention to classroom control while teaching science.
This made for a funny moment during the design process: what should the products “facial features” be? Which are the right controls that balance the perception of simplicity with the need for a fair amount of functionality? Should we put a bunch of buttons on it? What about a stylus? As touch was just beginning to emerge as a dominant paradigm, it wasn’t the obvious choice. In fact, much of the functionality seemed like it would be left behind if we didn’t support a stylus or physical controls. And yet, as designers we just knew that a stylus was the wrong solution. Who trusts 13 year-olds not to lose a tiny accessory? What kind of damage could you do to a touchscreen with a pointy thing? And who wants an overgrown calculator?
So, we made a decision that had more to do with the aspirational brand of the product than anything to do with functionality. A touchscreen and two buttons sends the message that the product is simple, while the on-screen behaviors and visuals provide a rich set of tools for students and teachers to explore the world around them and conduct experiments.
This is a good reminder that not every design decision is made analytically. While you might want to select controls based on what the product does, you might also want to shape what a product does based on the “facial features” you want it to have. In this case, I wasn’t sure we’d gotten it right until we overheard some teachers at the tradeshow where Spark SLS was unveiled. “Have you seen that Spark thing?” someone said as they passed by the booth, “so simple, a monkey could use it.”
I don’t often enjoy “new media” art and exploration, as it quickly turns to navel gazing silliness. But Michael Kontopoulos’ sculpture is bringing a smile to my face today. Check out Inner Forests and Machines That Almost Fall Over -- both nice commentaries on the impermanence and delicateness of our existence.
In 2007, I was that guy that didn’t know how Tony Soprano died. I missed out on one of the biggest events in HBO history because I was in a “no time for television” phase, meaning I thought TV was an isolating medium and I had better things to do. That is, until I found myself in more social situations where, surrounded by Lost conspiracy theories, I’d have to cleverly change the topic or go get another drink.
So what is TV? An aging medium of solitude and popcorn? Or a potential igniter of social sparks?
Consider this: Back in the 50’s, when families could afford one television, it sat in the middle of the living room surrounded by people and was social glue. Shortly thereafter, prices dropped and family members started disappearing behind closed doors to watch their favorite shows on their personal TVs. Today, headphone-clad commuters watch streaming TV or YouTube clips on handhelds on their way to work, and social network chatter has elevated TV to a social medium once again.
Imagine, however, a night in with sofa full of your friends or family members. Old TV doesn’t care how many people are in front of the TV. When you’re with your girlfriend/boyfriend, your spouse, your friends or family, when TV watching becomes the main event, what’s different?
Last year, I started exploring what it means for a remote to know who you are. With industrial designer Alex Rochat, I explored what a “democratic TV” might feel like, giving equal share of play to everyone sitting around the coffee table. The concept is simple – a set of plush “remotes” each tied to an individual. They feel more like furniture than technology. There are no buttons – only a twist, squeeze and pull to access not only basic TV functions but a collection of social tools that let you grab and broadcast content, and provide live feedback to programming and web clips. We’re also toying with the notion of 3rd party TV apps (think iTunes Store for your television). Can’t decide what to watch next? Maybe it’s time to download the “Rock, Paper, Scissors” app?
There are a lot of exciting things happening in UI innovation. Kicker Studio recently published a YouTube video of a conceptual interface prototype that allows a TV watcher to gesture in the air to control basic TV functions. Dan Saffer does a good job keeping it TV-simple and feeling like entertainment, not work, with a UI that makes it easy to get at the core functions of TV. Gesture-based enhancements could raise the bar for the TV experience as a whole, and the industry just might be ready to give it a go.
Since my neighbor’s weight problem impacts what I pay for health care, should I get a say in what they weigh?
The Netherlands just deployed bus stops with screens broadcasting the weight of the person sitting at the stop. This actually might work, as some people won’t sit, thereby burning extra calories. (via kottke)
Connections - March 9, 2009: The world's great museums have attractions that capture the imagination of visitors. The very best museums also design their experiences to connect with visitors in ways that may not always be readily apparent.
In this episode, Lisa Dunmeyer, project manager with BBI Engineering, talks with Lunar's Gretchen Anderson and Lisa Leckie about how visitors are connecting with the newly redesigned California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
BBI Engineering of San Francisco served as primary integrator of the audiovisual design within the new Cal Academy.
