Everyday Objects

Design of Everyday Things (Ch 1-2): I found Don Norman's writing and examples very interesting. I could relate to every example he provided - from blaming myself for not being able to properly use a poorly designed product, to forming faulty mental models and attributions. I can already sense that I am thinking differently about products and their effectiveness. I like neat, clean appearance. If I'm in a pinch, I'll stash way too many things in a closet just so my house appears clean and organized. I also like products that have a neat, simple appearance. This may not always be the best product however, as one of Norman's principles of good design is visibility. Making sure the operations and feedback are easily visible for a user is more important than a sleek appearance.

The Art of Innovation (Ch 1-3): I love reading about IDEO, their stories never fail to inspire. What I really enjoy the most, is the company's well-rounded approach to innovation. It seems obvious by now that the traditional view of management and what a workplace should be will never produce more than mediocre results. Exciting innovations come from individuals and firms that are willing to take a chance, willing to be a little different. But IDEO clearly has a process hidden under all the appearances of fun. I've actually read this book before, and what jumped out at me then, and is sinking in even more the second time around, is the power of studious observation.
Unfortunately, I have a tendency to go through life rushing from one thing to the next, rarely taking the time to observe and ponder. Since returning to graduate school, this has been the skill that I have noticed is severely lacking in my process. I need to slow down, look around, and then contemplate what I've just seen. I hope that reading this book for a second time will really help me develop that skill.

INNOVATIVE VS. NOT-SO-INNOVATIVE
I think of "everyday" objects as low-tech, oft-used, rarely thought-of objects that most of us take for granted. I realize that iPhones are definitely used every day, but - in my book - that kind of technology is not an everyday object. So I sat and pondered. What repetitive task is easy, requires very little thought, doesn't make me growl in aggravation, and works well every single time. I tried to become more observant of the small things I encounter multiple times a day. I would stop and think, "Do I get mad when I perform this task or use this product?"

I immediately thought a few weeks back to the time my husband and I spent teaching my grandmother - who had just purchased a new DVD player - how to switch from using her VCR, or her DVD player, back to her regular satellite programming or vice versa. What should have been the press of a button was a multi-step nightmare of at least two remote controls (sometimes 3), contextual menus and a variety of buttons scattered across the remotes. To help her remember once we were gone, I wrote step-by-step instructions and they took an entire sheet of paper that included button names and diagrams to explain where to find the buttons. I'm afraid to even call and ask if she's attempted the process yet!

That's not where my TV remote complaining ends though. I am not a big TV watcher. We have the most basic cable package, with no satellite, no TiVo, no nothing, basically. On the rare occasion that I sit down to watch television, I can promise you that the phone will ring. And it will ring from somewhere deep inside my purse. Which is buried under a pile of other stuff. Which is in a different room. I frantically search the TV remote for the mute button. Where is it. Where is it. Where is it....finally! Is anybody ever NOT in a hurry to find mute? Nestled among 26 buttons that I've never used in my entire life, is a small, quiet, lightly labeled mute. Which brings me to my NEXT complaint. I use 7 buttons on my 51-button remote control. Power, Mute, Channel up and down, Volume up and down, and Previous Channel. That's it. On the rare occasion, I may use the number pad to go to a specific channel. What do the other 34 buttons even do?? It seems as though remotes are designed to be able to handle the entire spectrum of television and movie watching. One could theoretically connect satellite, VCR, DVD, DVR, etc, etc and operate all through one remote. The problem is, I don't know anybody who has actually done that. Everyone I know that uses multiple devices also uses multiple remote controls. Is this because the setup is too difficult? I'm not sure, but maybe there's something to be said for simplicity.

So as I wondered about what everyday product I found innovative, a quick bathroom break brought inspiration. (My dad always claimed that he did his best thinking in the bathroom. Guess that's one more thing I can add to the list of "Things My Dad was Right About.") A humble, lowly roll of toilet paper on a cheap and simple wall-mounted holder works perfectly...every single time. I never think about the device. I never complain about it malfunctioning. It never lets me down. But it seemed a bit ridiculous to write about toilet paper and it's holder on a design blog, so I tried to find reasons to disqualify it, but a strange thing happened. I began to develop an even greater appreciation for this apparatus! I couldn't really think of a better way to "contain" toilet paper. Individual sheets of toilet paper would require additional packaging, and a surface to lay them on (although they could potentially also live on the wall). A roll with no hanger is just a nuisance. It gets in the way, and has a habit of falling off of whatever surface it is sitting on and takes off, leaving a trail of paper behind it that NOBODY can manage to wind back up neatly, so the roll hanger is a necessity. There are really only four parts: the paper, the cardboard tube, the wall brackets, and the spring-loaded bar that connects them. With the exception of the slight movement because of the spring, there are no moving parts here. No explanations needed regardless of which brand, style, or finish you purchase. I can see the potential for eliminating the cardboard roll, but otherwise, can anybody really top this setup?? If not, then I'd say it's pretty innovative, despite where it lives and what it's used for.



In Need of Innovation:
TV Remote Control.

Surprisingly Innovative:
Roll of toilet paper and roll holder.

Portfolio Website Designs

In preparing to finally design a website for myself (yay!), I've been prowling the web for bits and pieces of other portfolio sites that I find enjoyable, while also making mental notes of what bugs me.

BUG
There are a few things I'm not crazy about in Zachary Bettendorf's site - namely some of the writing and the actual shots of his portfolio. I do enjoy his casual home page that cycles small, random tidbits about himself that make you want to check out the rest of the site. I also like the simple presentation and minimal color palette. I imagine that most potential clients are hoping to get a good look at a designer's work when visiting a portfolio site though, and I'm not sure this site provides that.

I also really enjoyed the simplicity of Andrew Ramos' portfolio site. Simple typography, subtle bits of texture, and minimal, but lively color made the site easy to look at and let the work take center stage. That being said, I didn't feel like Andrew presented enough work to give viewers a good sense of his talent or specialties. Conversely, I looked at many sites that bombarded the viewer with image after image of work. I've made a mental note to myself to try and find a good balance between too little and too much!

INSPIRE
One of the best presented portfolios I came across was for Baker. Granted they seem to be a larger company than most of the individual portfolios I looked at, but I thought Baker found a very nice balance of the right information and the right number of images and descriptions. The site is professional looking and easy to navigate. The list of projects (and which company they are associated with) can be viewed in its entirety, or can be sorted based on the type of work. A single, vibrant image with a brief, yet informative description appears with each image. Although I probably don't have a body of work quite this large, and I don't care for their black and purple, this is a site I can definitely see influencing my own. I also really enjoy the professional nature of their blog.

Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm also considering designing my portfolio responsively. With the continual increase in the pace of our lives and the near constant evolution of technology, it does not seem unreasonable to me that a busy client may need to view designer portfolios on the go instead of from the comfort of a desk and widescreen computer. Besides, it is a skill I would like to have, so who better to experiment on than myself.

One of the nicer responsive portfolio sites I discovered was for Oliver Russell. The neutral with brights color palette and simple typography were inviting yet professional. Rather than jumping from page to page within the site, jumplinks were used to simply hop up and down the page. The opportunity to contact the designer directly from the page is a nice addition when considering the busy users of mobile devices. In the presentation of the actual work, I think it is nice to see the "Situation" and "Solution" descriptions with each piece. These are kept brief enough to be readable, but provide a nice context for the work, and even a bit of a measuring stick to judge the design's appropriateness.

Mapping West Virginia's Poverty Data

Using IBM Research's "Many Eyes" data visualization tools, I have generated a map of all West Virginia counties using U.S. Census data about poverty. Counties are colored based on the percentage of that particular population living below the poverty level. Three different maps were generated based on educational attainment: those with no high school diploma, with a high school diploma, and with a Bachelor's (or higher) degree.  View the visualization by clicking below:

Percentage of West Virginia Population Living Below Poverty Level, 2010

It is evident from the three maps that encouraging West Virginia students to complete high school and then pursue a college education is an important step in improving the future of our state and its residents.

Websites of Interest

Week of March 12
The sites I've compiled this week have one main thing in common: responsive design.
This first site, Content Choreography, is not only a responsive design, but it's about responsive design. Although this is my first foray into reading about this topic, the site seemed to make some good points, so I thought this might be helpful for others thinking about going the responsive route.

I found it really interesting that Andersson-Wise Architects had already embraced responsive design. Currently, I think if really utilitarian sites as the ones that would be pushing for a site that functions well on any device. I can't quite imagine needing to visit this particular site from my phone, but on the other hand, it seems that being early adopters is part of Andersson-Wise's business strategy. I'm slightly bothered by the fact that the grid doesn't line up as the page scales and that the photo croppings become awkward at certain points in the scaling process. I am, however, in love with some of their houses!

For some reason, the word "Sasquatch" has come up in more conversations I've had this past week than in my entire life I think. So when I ran across this responsive site for Sasquatch Festival!, it seemed like destiny that it be included here. One thing I enjoyed about this site, is that the computer screen width features some small animation effects in the header and footer that simply become static at the tablet and phone widths.

Websites of Interest

Week of February 19, 2012
I've included the website for Analog because they have used CSS3 to achieve an embossed look to the text. It's pretty subtle, but when show side-by-side with the plain version, that little extra is nice. To achieve the look, they used a 1px text-shadow styling.

I'm including the website for Ben the Bodyguard more because I like the idea and content. "A Frenchman protecting your secrets. Yes, seriously." It's nice to see this service which is usually portrayed as technical/geeky in a fun James Bond-ish fashion. The designers and developers have really carried the theme thoroughly into every part of the app and website. As a side note, the site is using CSS3 too.

Finally, Matthew & Sara Are Getting Married is a bit more refreshing take on they typical wedding website. The simplicity of the design (and the concise text) is much more contemporary than most other "We're Getting Married" websites that I've seen that tend to suffer from kitschy overload. Like the previous two examples, this site is also using CSS3.

Websites of Interest

Week of February 12, 2012
The layout of Foxie Graphic's site first struck me as odd because of the right alignment. However, the "bookshelf" navigation was what prompted me to include this site on the blog. The down side is that this site takes longer to load that what I am normally willing to wait.

With a slightly different perspective than one might expect, Envira Media turns a design on its side (literally) to create unique areas for navigation and disparate pieces of information while keeping with a single theme.

Finally, Hem Jeans uses some small animation and layering to great effect. The belt loops and rivets do make the user work a bit harder to find the navigation, but I imagine the target audience for this brand would be willing to do the work in exchange for the unique approach. One thing I disliked about the site was that many of the pages (e.g. Lines, Fits) don't allow a user to navigate backwards. Returning to the home page is the only way to navigate elsewhere in the site.

Websites of Interest

Week of February 5, 2012

First up this week is Eclipse Creative Design Agency based in the UK. The theme of their website is based on the company's rural location and carries throughout the entire site and the blog. Small touches like the acorn images used for social media keep the site playful and light. The first page of the site features some upward vertical scrolling to climb the tree and learn more.

The Squad was another cool site. The design seemed fairly straightforward and simple, but unique.

Finally, there's the portfolio site for design Edgar Leijs. All of the mouse-over activity provide some interest and movement to what is otherwise a very minimalist site.