design mind 8

Two articles in design mind, the online and print magazine of frog design, are worth pointing out on this blog:

555 Million Subscribers & Counting
As the competition grows in China’s mobile market, it is cultural dynamics that will determine who comes out on top.

“Success requires a keen understanding of the country’s changing cultural dynamics, where increased affluence, a breakdown of traditional family relationships, and an aging population have created a unique set of user needs.”

Calculated Design
In defense of quantitative analysis: a new call for integrated design research

“Ethnography breaks down at the moment we ask not just for depth of knowledge, but breadth. Anyone who’s struggled to conduct a massive ethnographic study across multiple time zones can tell you this firsthand. While ethnography facilitates the generation of ideas in relation to specific users and use scenarios, it leaves us clueless as to which among these will satisfy a wider audience. Ultimately, we need complementary methods that scale more effectively and validate our work in a way clients can understand. What we need is quantitative research.”