September 2008
22 posts
Design Research Conference 2008
The 2008 Design Research Conference was a great success. So much so that we are devoting an entire issue to the conference. For those of you who were unable to attend, here’s your chance to get a recap. Special thanks to Amber Lindholm and Matt Gardner for a fantastic conference.
Enjoy,
Amy & Kate
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Design Research Conference: Bird’s Eye, Rear-view...
Design Research Conference 2008 has officially closed. Besides the energy drain of the two days, not to mention that of the previous two weeks, DRC came off fabulously. The jury is still out on the evaluation cards, but everyone we talked to found value in at least some part of the event. In the weeks preceding the event, we had several comments on the superstar lineup of speakers. During the...
Design Lingo
compiled by Kate Pemberton
During the Design Research Conference we all heard words being thrown around describing the creative processes of design and research. Some of those words were popular among many of the speakers and now may have snuck their way into your vocabulary. If not, give it time, I’m sure you’ll be throwing around the lingo and buzz words soon enough!
Here’s a...
Interview with Steve Portigal
photo by Miguel Cervantes
Steve Portigal, founder of Portigal Consulting, led a workshop at DRC entitled “Did you notice that? Tapping into your super-noticing power”. For the workshop, participants were instructed to take photographs of things they noticed and thought were interesting and bring them in.
This is Steve’s first DRC appearance since frequenting the conference...
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Colleen Murray's Journey to and from ID
photo by Miguel Cervantes
Colleen Murray opened the second day of the Design Research Conference talking about scenario planning. A strategic planning method that helps a team make smarter decisions can be applied to everyday situations. During her talk she mentioned Peter Schwartz’s book, The Art of the Long View and how it made her realize the importance and relevance of scenario planning....
A brief chat with Rob Tannen
photo by Miguel Cervantes
Rob Tannen of Bresslergroup spoke at DRC about using high definition tools for design research. I had a chance to chat with him at the conference.
What technology do you find yourself relying upon most heavily in your course of work?
I feel that it is important not to rely on any technology too heavily; I feel that I rely on my coworkers most as they provide the most...
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The Invasion of Norman, D.
photo by Miguel Cervantes
Despite being swarmed by more people after his talk than Lindsay Lohan exiting rehab, the New Idiom was able to steal Don Norman for a quick interview after his keynote speech at the Design Research Conference. Who was that mystery man who kept asking all the tough questions at the conference? How does Norman experience Ikea? And what kind of seasoning does Norman...
What’s in the bag?
Imagine sticking your hand in a black bag and feeling something hard, possibly cool and smooth. One side is flat with hard edges while the other side is flat with rounded edges. You run your fingers over the flat side with hard edges and you feel a circular shape with a raised circle in the middle. What is in the bag? Do you like the feel of it or do you hate the feel of it? What is your visceral...
Interview with Mark Greiner
photo by Miguel Cervantes
After Mark Greiner’s 10 Insights talk at the Design Research Conference, I had the opportunity to chat with him for awhile. I had a chance to find out a bit more about Workspring, among other things. For those of you who missed the Mark’s talk, this was his first public unveiling of Workspring. Though careful not to reveal too much, Mark explained that...
Observed
As mentioned at DRC… Feel free to add your own that you observed in the comments. Data visualization Commuting Time Maps
Measuring Emotion: The Mind of Tcho Chocolate
Synesthisia: When Math =Color
The Mobility Vision Integration Process
Rob Tannen’s high def research tool @ Designing for Humans
Livescribe Pulse - a high def tool with pros and cons
Designing from the Inside Out...
Make the Year of the Potato your own!
The school year has just begun. Some of us are just beginning our design journey at ID, while others are almost finished. Since so much of what we design here has contextual implications, it is important for students to be aware of events around the world in order to create relevant designs.
We have highlighted some recent and upcoming events for the remainder of 2008 and some of 2009 for your...
Think Outside the Bubble
Going through the first week of class has made me nostalgic for a time when life was simple and understandable—i.e. a year ago before I started Foundation. Now that the U-Passes are active again and the whiteboards are already seeing the erasable ink of those smelly markers, I feel it is my duty to give advice (I know you probably don’t want it, but humor me) to this year’s...
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Summer internship experiences
Returning students Nikki Pfarr and Amanda McKown talk about what they did over the summer.
Photo by Kristine Angell.
Internship at T-Mobile
This summer I’m working as a product development/interaction design intern at the T-Mobile Creation Center in Seattle. The Creation Center is the company’s internal innovation group, and consists of about 30 full-time employees and six interns....
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Jumpstart to Design Research 2008: International...
This past July, the Institute of Design participated in the “Jumpstart to Design Research Student Workshop” hosted by Delft University of Technology. Professor Keiichi Sato, Ming Shan, and myself had the incredible opportunity to attend and spend a week in the quaint town of Delft. Delft is located in South Holland and lies between the cities of Rotterdam and The Hague. The weeklong workshop...
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Design Research Conference 2008: a must attend...
Although we are only a week into the new school year, activities and meetings are already filling up the days. In the midst of the excitement don’t forget to register and mark your calendar for September 19-20 for our annual Design Research Conference (DRC) being held at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Student-initiated and student-run, DRC brings together leaders in the field and rising stars...
The design of living things
Last summer, the geneticist Craig Venter, whose private company was the first to sequence the full human genome in 2001, made a startling announcement. His lab, the Venter Institute, had devised genome transplantation methods that allowed them literally to transform one species of bacteria into another, simply by transplanting the DNA in its nucleus. In Venter’s words,
Now we know we can...
A Clustering Quandary
I am facing a clustering quandary. To help you understand why I am “quandaring” here is a brief overview of clustering, according to ID.
Part of the process of systematic design thinking is developing a set of insights and then grouping them according to their likeness. According to popular opinion with only a few ideas, say 30 or less, it is easy to group them manually,...
Around Town: IIT Main Campus
Mies Van der Rohe Tour IIT Main Campus, August 2008 http://mies.iit.edu/
This past August new ID students visited the IIT main campus and the Institute’s past (Crown Hall) for a tour of the campus and its landmark buildings. The Mies van der Rohe campus gave us a healthy dose of the Bauhaus ideals—an inspiring starting point to our graduate education. New buildings by Rem...
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Exploring new options: an interview with Chris...
Chris Conley is currently on sabbatical from his position as Associate Professor and head of product design at the Institute of Design. In 2009, Chris will leave that position, to focus on writing a book on innovation among other projects. But we’re not saying goodbye anytime soon: he plans to continue teaching occasional courses at ID, and of course to be involved as an alum (he holds a...
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New IDer: Cynthia Breckenridge
Please quickly introduce yourself in a quick sentence. Where are you from? Major, age, etc.
I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, but have lived here for 6 years. I attended the University of Chicago and doubled majored in physics and music (specifically music theory). I just turned 24 in June, so I’m still accepting gifts in case any of you are a little behind in your shopping.
Married? Children?...
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Past IDer: Nheeda Enriquez
The New Idiom’s most recent graduating staffer now comes on the receiving end of things.
Please quickly introduce yourself in a sentence or two. Where are you from? Where are you now? When did you graduate from ID and which program?
I’m a newly minted Past IDer. I graduated in Spring 2008 from the MDM program. (I was once the person who pulled together these Past IDer writeups,...
Observed
Design Police- Bring justice to bad comm design
Design contest- Create the future by October 17th
Big Sheet of Paper -A big sheet of paper that you can write and draw on. think boy’s locker room.
Evernote- Remember Everything. The best part is that it can search text within images.
Midomi- Search for music by singing or humming the tune. Kind of hit or miss, but still pretty cool
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