Fitness by design
Can data heal? Yes, argues Dan Hon, whose type 2 diabetes spurred him to embrace “personal informatics” devices such as the Nike FuelBand and the Fitbit. Yet as such devices become a part of everyday life, a new challenge emerges:…
Insights curated by Experientia, the UX research and design consultancy
Insights curated by Experientia, the UX research and design consultancy
Category Design
Hertz president on the future of mobility
A day after the announcement that the Avis Budget Group has agreed to acquire Zipcar, the world’s leading car sharing network, for approximately $500 million, Michel Taride, president of Hertz International and executive vice president of Hertz Corporation, presents his…
Should there be a standard user interface for cars?
Writer Jason Torchinsky makes a case for a standard user interface for cars: “I know there’s already a number of official and unofficial standards in place — pedal location, use of a wheel for steering, turn indicator stalk location —…
Dan Saffer on how we *should* interact with the automobiles of the (near) future
Smart Design’s Dan Saffer discusses on Fast Company on how we should interact with the automobiles of the (near) future: “What will this feel like, riding in our new robot cars? If the experience of being a “driver†in our…
Design in the service of austerity
The UK government’s deficit reduction plan may fall short of its targets, prompting speculation that austerity measures will have to continue into the next parliament. Local government officers who have already seen substantial cuts are now looking at a further…
Are the older generation getting tech-savvy?
BBC News has published a 5 minute video feature on Cambridge University’s Design Centre where they test how elderly people use technology. Must-have modern gadgets are designed by young people with young people in mind – that is the view…
Understanding electric utility customers
A few weeks back, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) issued “Understanding Electric Utility Customers—Summary Report: What We Know and What We Need to Know.” One simple statement and the rest of this column is digression: there’s a lot we…
The man looking to turn Samsung into a Silicon Valley trendsetter
Samsung is doubling down on technology investments in Apple’s backyard, including two new R&D buildings in Silicon Valley that will house 2,000 staff and a recently announced startup accelerator. Leading this effort is Young Sohn, who started at Samsung in…
Mark Rettig’s vent on the Connecting movie
Yesterday I plugged Connecting, a short film that explores trends in UI, Interaction & Experience Design. When Mark Rettig watched the video, he said he would “hesitate to refer friends and family to watch it as an explanation of some…
Helsinki Design Lab: an interview with Brian Boyer
Bryan Boyer is the Strategic Design Lead at SITRA, the Finnish Innovation Fund. SITRA is a prominent example of a public institution that has embraced a design approach to exploring social innovation challenges. Helsinki Design Lab, a platform for advancing…
They know what you’re shopping for
Companies today are increasingly tying people’s real-life identities to their online browsing habits. Research conducted by the Wall Street Journal on the practices of more than a thousand websites shows that the border between our public and private lives is…
Can reputation come down to a number?
The idea of a unified reputation currency is starting to take hold online, writes Josh Klein in the blog of the Harvard Business Review. “With broad agreement that reputation is a form of value, and various mechanisms already existing to…
Designing a carsharing service that can play a truly relevant role in people’s lives
Brand experience agency edenspiekermann_ and Volkswagen’s Service Innovation Team explored what it takes to define a service that would play a relevant role in people’s lives. “We started with: Who are the people that use carsharing? How can we expand…
The “strange” profession of the cyborg anthropologist
CNN features a long article about the unusual new profession of the cyborg anthropologist – featuring a robot hand photo for good measure. But reading the article we find out that “cyborg anthropology is the study of the interaction between…
A short film that explores trends in UI, Interaction & Experience Design
The 18 minute “Connecting” documentary, created by Bassett & Partners for Windows Phone Design Studio, is an exploration of the future of Interaction Design and User Experience from some of the industry’s thought leaders. As the role of software is…
A new Behavioural Design Lab in the UK
The Warwick Business School and the UK Design Council have launched the world’s first Behavioural Design Lab. The lab aims to bring together the power of design with cutting edge scientific research that Warwick Business School’s burgeoning Behavioural Science group…
Visualising data: seeing is believing
Richard Ingram has posted the transcript of his talk on data visualisation at CS Forum 2012 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Service design for innovative banking
Chris Brooker recently ran the Service Design for Innovative Banking workshop at the World Usability Day conference in Silesia, Poland, during which he explored how service design techniques can produce unique service ideas for the rapidly evolving banking sector. Brooker…
Design patterns for mobile user interfaces targeted at older adults
The use of smartphones is becoming widespread among all sectors of the population. However, developers and designers do not have access to guidance in designing for specific audiences such as older adults. This study by Roxanne Leitão of Fraunhofer Portugal…
In safe hands
Clare Brass is the team leader of Sustain at the Royal College of Art in London, where she presides over a radical initiative to make sustainability a core issue for all students, whether they are studying architecture, textiles, visual communications…