Design Translator

Edit: An irate Design Sojourn reader has highlighted to me that this is Green Washing at its best. Mahogany trees takes 10 years to mature before it can be cut down. I have responded directly to her, but I also would like to hear your feedback on this?

Joe Duffy’s “Demystifying Design: An Argument for Simplicity” is a great little piece that calls out Design like it should be. Here is my favorite bit:

What is design? It begins with ideas–ideas based in purpose. It requires a plan or a process. It yields innovation, invention or creation. It is successful if it elicits response–attention, desire, interaction or purchase.

The problem with a touch screen interface is that your finger tends to block the GUI (graphic user interface) object you are engaging. On small screens with just a single finger (or digit) it is not that big of a deal. However on a multi-touch interface where you use more than one finger, viewing problems start to arise. This problem gets compounded when a multi-touch interface moves to a larger screen, where you would use all five fingers for a full gestural input.

Many of us have been taught in design school to be very user focused when seeking design solutions. However if you have been in the industry as long as I have, there is this insidious sickness that tends to influence this fundamental approach we have with design.

I usually write posts like this over at TDOET.com (The Design of Everyday Things), but this one I though to share it here instead as it requires a more in depth discussion.

My colleague brought this to my attention at the local hotel loo. This fairly handsome vertical hand dryer by ToTo was filled with discarded paper towers. A vertical hand dryer uses high speed air, directed downwards, to blow excess water off your hand after washing it.

The last time we spoke about Design and the stock market in my post titled: Looks like Innovation moves Markets, not Design, I had a great response from Design Sojourn’s awesome readers.

So I think this little nugget, from the Design MBA Blog, might get an even bigger response as this chart (image above) makes our last stock chart look like a kid’s drawing! Heh-heh.

A while ago I worked with a colleague that was a huge fan of Six Sigma. Six Sigma is a set of statistical and analytical tools use to measure and track the efficiency of a business or operations. My colleague was fanatical in improving the quality control of the organization and introduced all kinds of Six Sigma control points, or “gates” into the development process. He succeeded in creating a firmer structure in the process, but unfortunately, this new system created a lot of drag in the small organization.

Is someone looking to bring some credibility into this underground business? Strange effort but well designed nevertheless.

David Sherwin on his very cool ChangeOrder blog writes that:

Good design is the enemy of great design.

This article was originally written for Yanko Design (YD). As I know that there are some Design Sojourn readers don’t really frequent YD, I thought it would make sense to republished a record of the article here. I do hope you enjoy reading it, and I’m looking forward to all your comments.