SEAN DUHAME

A video pulled from a fastcodesign interview with Deiter Rams,...

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 00:37:20 -0400

A video pulled from a fastcodesign interview with Deiter Rams, “The Greatest Designer Alive.”

“Here, Rams bemoans that more companies don’t privilege design and he argues that for design to have a truly great impact, designers can’t be insulated at a company but report to high-level management.”

I've read this five times now. I get inspired each time. I long to find a Cambridge company with the same principles. Call me!

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:40:49 -0500

I've read this five times now. I get inspired each time. I long to find a Cambridge company with the same principles. Call me!

NY Times article: The New Humanism

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:42:29 -0400

NY Times article: The New Humanism:

I wish I could be this articulate when I talk about why human emotion is so important when it comes to designing consumer product. Key points for me are;

“…the unconscious parts of the mind are most of the mind, where many of the most impressive feats of thinking take place.”

-and-

“…emotion is not opposed to reason; our emotions assign value to things and are the basis of reason.”

The quicker everyone comes to understand this the more they’ll rely on choices that use emotion to support wonderful customer experience to be successful.

Jason Putorti: Engineering vs. Design

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:13:21 -0400

Jason Putorti: Engineering vs. Design:

putorti:

The extranormal guy talking about features still thinks that the consumer actually cares about them, and that’s often the mindset of an engineer. Engineers are very interested in making the impossible, possible— and a device and feature are expressions of that possibility. Designers focus,…

Well said. Companies where superb customer experience is a business advantage require an approach were design and design thinking is central to the organizations culture.

The right questions + research = great start to a solid design process.

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 10:42:58 -0400

The right questions + research = great start to a solid design process.:

This is a good read for those who long to make new and interesting things. For me - the article describes what is simply a great start to a solid Design (with a big “D”) process. This approach offers meaningful contraints to solving problems or adding something delightful to the world.

I love the path of heuristic discovery that leads you to uncover an interesting fact no one person would have realized unless they followed their intuition and backed it up by validating that intuition through observation and play. This approach takes practice and the willingness to be wrong and spend time on things you will very likely throw away. The point is to learn and react so we can offer the world something more than a tchotchke.

Designing an Organization That Designs Better Products

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 11:23:00 -0500

Designing an Organization That Designs Better Products:

Rebekah Cox, employee number one at Quora, writes about what it means to be a designer at Quora. She offers solid reasoning for why designers need to have authority and a seat at the table - that without it they’re pretty ineffective. Also, commentary on design itself being about choices that get made early on is spot… well - on. Those in the Web biz looking for a designer should read this as she also sets some criteria for hiring a designer that I most definitely agree with.

Awesome!

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:59:30 -0500

Awesome!

Sketch, Sketch, Sketch

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 17:05:28 -0500

Sketch, Sketch, Sketch:

This is really nice perspective on the purpose of UI sketching. Sketches aren’t a qualification for artistry but a tool to explore a lot of ideas quickly - allowing the continuum of the design process to move forward. I would note - save all sketches. Review them and make your own notes about what you think works, doesn’t and what could use some discussion. Preserve your ideas so that you can share them with others you feel should be a part of the design process. What you thought was a trash-worthy idea might turn out to be a treasure to someone else - sparking a conversation that ends up somewhere completely unexpected and wonderful.

The Seven Deadly Sins That Choke Out Innovation

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 11:28:13 -0500

The Seven Deadly Sins That Choke Out Innovation :

Great effing list! This is the second article by Helen Walters on FastCoDesign that I think is right on the money. Read her other article “The Seven Biggest Challenges in Merging Design & Business”. Apparently she like the number “7”.

An incredibly enlightening video I’ve watched many times...

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:27:12 -0500

An incredibly enlightening video I’ve watched many times already.

My art college experience allowed me to come to some realizations about what having gone through the public school system offered me as a young person. Sir Ken Robinson, the speaker in this video, validates some of those realizations with clear, objective reasoning supported by our history as a developing world.

Example: Vision As the Driving Force

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 13:33:00 -0500

I recently came across Bank Simple (banksimple.com). Their site, besides beautifully designed, does a fantastic job at selling the vision of their new-age banking company so well that I gave them my contact info within 5 minutes of being there. Not only that - it left an extremely positive impression on me. I’m sincerely excited to receive the invite once their product & service launches.

The experience of finding, reviewing and signing up at Bank Simple made me think about the “early and often” mentality of code release that I’ve had a hard time with on more than one occasion (particularly the *early* part). I’m most uncomfortable with this when launching new products or new major features.

The point to “early and often” is to reduce business risk (your potential for making $$$) by learning from what gets built in quick (cheap) cycles that happen fast enough for you to learn wether your ideas are viable or not. In the end, the hope is that you get clear validation that either; 1. Your product or feature is a perfect solution for whatever ails your customers and you can make $ off of it or, 2. The problem you’re trying to solve or the need-state you’re trying to fill doesn’t exist and there’s no $ to be made - in which case you “kill your baby” and that’s ok because you did it on the “cheap”.

Boo! My problem with this process is that, in my experience with *early*, it means releasing unrealized, uninspired, vision-less, emotion-less solutions to customers that equate to extremely poor or lack-luster experiences. And let’s be clear - from a customers perspective, when releasing something we’re saying, “Here you go! We think this is good enough for you.” If it’s not “good enough”, it feels like disrespect, particularly if your customers pay for your product or service. And so much brand damage happens along the way! Building a brand is hard work - but fixing a brand? F*!ck-sake… that’s near impossible work.

So, what’s the solution? Well, I feel if you’ve already established a company you’ve done enough work to test a hypothesis on a need state you think you’ve uncovered in your market - so go make good on it! If you haven’t - back the eff up! Don’t put your time, money and other peoples money into something you’re uncertain of. Be clever in testing your hypothesis. Talk to as many people in your target as possible. Build something if you need to. I guarantee you’ll uncover plenty of unexpected pieces of valuable information along the way. If your hypotheses still holds water then craft a vision for your company that will guide its future success. Rely on that vision to develop the products and services you’ll build, test and deliver to your customers.

I can see all that in Bank Simple. There’s a clear, bold and beguiling vision there that’s defined their product & service. It separates them from the pack. I get a very strong sense that this vision has guided their design process in a profound way. In end what I expect from them are products and services that tell a clear story to their customers about who they are, what they offer and what that means to me. Over-abundance in our world makes this more important than ever!

So, for now, Bank Simple is in “dark-mode”. Cool with me! Turn the lights on when you, professionals of your industry, think it’s the right time for me to be delighted by your product. Cause when that happens you better believe I’ll be filling those social channels, online & off-line, with some serious praise.

Best of luck to the folks at Bank Simple! Great stuff so far. I await your launch with much excitement :)

The Organic Drivetrain

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:13:00 -0500

The Organic Drivetrain:

No, “Organic Drivetrain” is not a set-up to a “that’s what she said” joke. It’s Marty Neumeiers formula for companies that must balance long-term goals and short term demands (most do). I couldn’t agree more with him on this one too! Because of my experience in being a strong advocate for internal brand development I’m going to guess that some readers will find his article a bit abstract. If you do - then I suggest you read a few of his books to get up to speed :)

12 of the Year's Best Ideas in Interface Design

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 13:32:00 -0500

12 of the Year's Best Ideas in Interface Design:

Boy - I would love to get my hands on that multi-touch DJ light-table! Also, I dig FLUD - it’s very slick - but i don’t find the interface that mind-blowingly new or fresh. There, I said it.

The Future Of Media Design

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:16:32 -0500

The Future Of Media Design:

A very interesting collection of thoughts from a handful of insightful and intelligent folks. Long article but each perspective from an individual is shared through video. Definitely take a look.

I’m mixed about the new comedy central mark but I get a...

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:57:16 -0500

I’m mixed about the new comedy central mark but I get a serious kick out of these silhouette’s that don the mark and logotype. Brand association at it’s best!

David vs Goliath: Why Small Businesses Exceed Expectations

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:49:48 -0500

David vs Goliath: Why Small Businesses Exceed Expectations:

A very objective article on the pros & cons concerning small biz vs. large biz. It gives those giants insight into what they need to be aware of / what they’re in jeopardy of losing when they get “Goliath-ized”.

Knowing - MAKING - Doing

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 10:25:00 -0500

Knowing - *MAKING* - Doing:

Why do so many product companies, especially web/tech, skip the “making” process? I think it’s because they see it as expensive. “Doing” before exploring and realizing what could be is far more expensive than delivering uninspired, dull solutions that don’t solve problems to their fullest potential and detract from any brand equity you’ve built. Think before you speak - “make” before you “do”.

"Play is the answer to how anything new comes about."

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 10:40:40 -0500

““Play is the answer to how anything new comes about.””

- Jean Piaget

Laura Seargeant of Frog Design, Austin adds…
”A playful mind thrives on ambiguity, complexity, and improvisation—the very things needed to innovate and come up with creative solutions…”

Pulled from designmind.frogdesign.com

The 7 Biggest Challenges In Merging Design and Business

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:38:43 -0500

The 7 Biggest Challenges In Merging Design and Business:

I really enjoyed this piece on the current state of design in business, the “golden age” of design and designers, the democratization of design tools and responsibility and the continued lack of understanding of the discipline by so many people who do their best at practicing it. I can confirm much of this - having come from working environments where so much of this is true.

This was a repost on fastcodesign.com from helenwalters.wordpress.com

Product Design: Nano Wristwatch. Read about this at...

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 10:42:05 -0500

Product Design: Nano Wristwatch.

Read about this at fastcodesign.com.