I recently came across a great quote by Steve Portigal that says "Thinking that you are your user denies you the opportunity to learn something new." Too right.
Are we unintentionally designing silos into our organisations?
I was struck when reading this, that perhaps we are unintentionally designing silos into our organisations and experiences because the of method (boxes and arrows / flowcharts) that we are using to map the structures and systems themselves.
Do we need to rethink the use of flowcharts (an engineering-based method) in mapping organisational structures, service ecologies, business models, and particularly customer experiences?
Intention without action...
This comment by Matt Watkinson rings particularly true for me. So many organisations that profess they want to 'be like Apple' but aren't prepared to make the changes required to help move them closer to that ideal...
If there is no CXO to call the shots...
I don't mean to burst your bubble...
The photograph above is taken from Alberto Cairo's brilliant book on infographics, 'The Functional Art' - page 121.
What I absolutely love about this book is that Alberto takes a science-based approach, and explores in real detail how different visual representations of data can either either make it easy or difficult for users to understand and interpret data - depending on the form chosen.
In this case, he looks at how, despite their recent upsurge in popularity, the use of bubble charts do not help us make meaningful judgements from the data if the aim is comparison.
When we look at circles, we are not in fact very good at comparing areas - we rather tend to compare their relative heights. This means that we struggle to accurately estimate the relative difference in values when they are represented by areas. So if our aim is to compare amounts, then as boring as they may be for graphic designers whose overriding concerns are visual, in this instance, bar charts are in fact, far superior. They help us do what the graph was ostensibly developed for in the first place - to help users interpret and understand the data better.
Make design matter
Hmm. Not so sure about this one. Recommended by someone on the Design Thinkers course in Amsterdam, Make Design Matter doesn't do much for me. Whilst the overall thesis is noble, and there may be one or two points that make you think for more than a millisecond, for the most part the book comprises 'pithy aphorisms' in large text juxtaposed against 'inspirational' images.
If concepts like 'Create Synergies', 'Cross-fertilise', and 'Make It Different' set your mind ablaze with new ideas, then its worth a read. Otherwise I'd stay well clear. All a wee bit trite for my liking.
This gets a ranking of zero post-it notes I'm afraid.
Quote of the day
It's worth taking a look at David's fantastic talk on TED here.
Brand? A deeper and more meaningful relationship? An understanding of the 'The Why?'
Brilliant infographics by Hugh Dubberly
These guys do a fantastic job of analysing and then visually communicating complex cause and effect models. Worth a look at http://www.dubberly.com/concept-maps
The ones I have read...
Here are a few of the books I have been working through recently. Unfortunately the pile that I haven't read is still larger than the pile I have...
The next step is to write brief summaries of each of these - when time allows! In the interim though, I'd highly recommend reading the short list below. All books are scored by the number of post-its I use to mark the pages. The higher the count, the more interesting & insightful the book.
Ten Types of Innovation, by Larry Keeley. This is a brilliantly insightful analysis of how to drive successful innovation in a disciplined, methodical manner. Incredibly well written. (13 post-its - I am surprised this number is not higher...)
Communicating The New, by Kim Erwin. Reading this made me realise why many of the approaches we're using in our workshops are working so well. A brilliant read, full of great examples and advice on how to communicate more effectively, and in particular how to design experiences to help communicate information and insights. (25 post-its)
The Functional Art, by Alberto Cairo. In an age when we are saturated with information, and surrounded by information graphics designed by people whose aesthetic concerns often over-ride their grasp of science, this book provides a wonderfully clear guide on how to produce effective, powerful meaningful information graphics. (27 post-its)
Made In The Future
Some interesting thoughts and examples in this short video series by Ideo. You can see the full video series at http://madeinthefuture.co/
Looking out the hotel window into another day of minus 18 degrees C!
Design Thinking - Chicago
At the end of January 204 I attended a one week course at the Institute of Design in Chicago.
The course covered problem framing, different methods for analysing and synthesizing data, various design thinking tools, methods and frameworks, and included a fantastic lecture by Kim Erwin, whose book 'Communicating the New' I highly recommend for those involved in innovation and new product development initiatives in mid to large corporates.
Markus providing advice on the finer points of presenting new ideas.
Design Thinkers Academy - Amsterdam
I recently attended a fantastic service design & design thinking training course with the Design Thinkers Academy in Amsterdam.
The course was absolutely brilliant: very carefully thought out and planned, carefully selected content, and incredibly well facilitated by Adam St Lawrence, Marc Stickdorn (author of 'This is Service Design Thinking'), and Markus Hormeb.
The course was attended by relatively diverse group from across Europe and the US, and almost all the particiapnts had significant hands-on work experience in design thinking and service design. This meant the quality of the discussion around different tools and methodologies was just fantastic - a real source of value.
Robert Rasmussen running through the do's and don'ts of mapping a landscape of agents using Lego Serious Play
Lego Serious Play in Boston
In October 2013 I had the great pleasure of attending a Lego Serious Play Facilitation course in Boston, run by Robert Rasmussen. Robert is one of the founders of the Lego Serious Play play approach and a fantastic facilitator. I always find it interesting when you are able to learn not only from the content, but also just from observing.
We had a very strong group, with experienced practitioners from both the creative industries, business and academia which made for some robust discussions around facilitation styles and methodology.
The great advantage of using a physical thinking tool such as lego to explore and model ideas and concepts is that when you're building models using your hands - or 'thinking through your hands - you are using both sides of your brain (left brain for right hand, and right brain for left hand).
This whole brain thinking has a strong and direct impact on the type of ideas that you generate when working with Lego, and I think everyone in our group found that this materially changed the nature of the ideas and solutions we generated in a very positive way.
Is one of the six interrogatives more important?
Whilst this is a wee bit old, it is worth watching. Is this why kids always ask why?