The problem with cashless payments
Certain types of means of payment now seem indispensable for full participation in socioeconomic activity, yet they’re not necessarily available to everyone.
Insights curated by Experientia, the international UX consultancy
Insights curated by Experientia, the international UX consultancy
Category Innovation
Taking on design thinking and business consulting
Two articles in the last few days took on the world of consulting. Rebecca Ackermann in the MIT Technology Review wrote on how the shine of design thinking has worn off, while Henry Mance interviewed Mariana Mazzucato in the Financial Times on her new book The Big Con, where she lambasts business consultancies for having no expertise in the areas that they’re advising in.
Europe’s digital divide is far from gone (and what Italians are doing about it)
Dutch and European research highlights the struggles of Europeans (incl. the Dutch) in accessing financial services in an increasingly digital society. A new Italian initiative, the Polis Project, seeks to do something about it.
But, besides the fairly low 54 percent EU average, a new study by the Dutch National Bank (reported on yesterday by De Volkskrant, a Dutch daily newspaper) highlights how the Dutch 80% number camouflages the real difficulties many Dutch have with financial services in an increasingly digital society.
The psychology of ownership
"What’s mine is mine: unpicking the psychological reasons people like to own things" is the title of a highly recommended article by Claire Murphy of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
[Book] Cloudmoney
In Cloudmoney, Brett Scott tells an urgent and revelatory story about how the fusion of Big Finance and Big Tech requires “cloudmoney”—digital money underpinned by the banking sector—to replace physical cash.
Book is also available in German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese & Korean
[Book] The Human Side of Innovation
PepsiCo’s award-winning chief design officer reveals the secret to creating life-changing innovations: putting human needs at the center of any design process.
Perspectives on the value of ethnography in a future-focused world
In an uncertain world, the safe bet to futures is to explore, identify and invest in what will most likely not change.
How touchless user interfaces can amplify the user experience
A touchless UI has an edge over devices that require touch interactions because decreasing physical contact is helpful in diverse contexts—from food-processing plants to an airport’s self-service registration kiosks.
Harvard Business Review discovers design fiction
By force of habit, most executives tune down their imagination when strategizing. This is counterproductive, the authors argue. Instead, they offer an alternative: Design fiction. A design technique that immerses executives and employees deeply in various possible futures, it uses artifacts such as short movies, fictitious newspaper articles and imaginary commercials to generate transformation roadmaps.
Haptics devices cannot replicate physical contact
Haptics devices probably won’t ever live up to their promise to replicate physical contact, writes David Parisi (associate professor, College of Charleston) in the online Real Life magazine.
Designing for new forms of governance
ToNite project presented at Milan conference on design-led approaches to renewing public management and governance
The human factor — why data is not enough to understand the world
In a world shaped by one AI, artificial intelligence, we need a second AI, too — anthropology intelligence, writes Gillian Tett in the Financial Times.
[Book] Creating a Culture of Innovation
Innovation can only occur in the right environment. While organizations can attempt to hire for innovation, there is little that can blossom in a restrictive and discouraging physical setting - even if the space holds the most creative and vibrant thinkers.
New course by Experientia Academy
7 day online interactive course with vertical, thematic focus on tools and methods of behavioral design for cultural change to tackle societal challenges
[Essay] Helsinki Design Lab ten years later
A survey of Helsinki Design Lab's activities 2008-2013, with reflections on the three "bets" that the Lab made and their relevance today.
[Book] The Innovation Delusion
The authors offer a compelling plan for how we can shift our focus away from the pursuit of growth at all costs, and back toward neglected activities like maintenance, care, and upkeep.
[Book] Metrics at Work: Journalism and the Contested Meaning of Algorithms
The starkly different ways that American and French online news companies respond to audience analytics and what this means for the future of news.
Nordic lessons for people-first smart cities
While it is argued that smart city development is at an impasse, we argue that it is at a crossroads. It is possible to simultaneously develop and adopt new technologies and strengthen people's rights. This has been proven in the Nordic cities and Barcelona. The People-first vision presented in this report shows how it is possible for all cities.
MVP vs. “Minimal Desirable Product”
The MVP is a double-edged sword in that it focuses your engineering and product management priorities, but might steamroll user priorities. An MVP that misses 'desirable' will risk the unintended consequence of poor user adoption.
Human-centered innovation in a Covid-19 world
The Covid-19 pandemic is rapidly transforming our present and our future. What are researchers and designers learning that can help companies evolve their products and services to make them more robust within this fast changing context and market?