Listening to: BBC Radio 1

As I have mentioned a couple of times Cradle
to Cradle is
a fantastic book… McDonough provides
some electrifying insights into how the materials side of industrial design needs
to change (and how businesses need to change how they think). The Washington Post
has a great
article about MBDC and McDonough:

In a speech to the Industrial Designers Society of America, which is meeting at
the Marriott Wardman Park through Saturday, McDonough noted that in California, the
$2.99 bath toy comes with a warning. Toxic chemicals in that sweet, squishy body have
been known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.>

“What kind of society would make something like this to put in the mouths of children?”
McDonough demanded. “Design is the first signal of human intention. What is your intention?”

>

No designer rose to defend the duck.

Listening to: DARE - Gorillaz

It’s really exciting to see that reality can can be as
strange as, or stranger than, science fiction:

Cassini discoveries at Enceladus include:

• presence of a strange atmosphere concentrated at the south pole

• atmosphere mostly (91%) water vapour, but with some nitrogen, carbon dioxide and other
  simple carbon-based molecules (organics)

• large crevasse features at south pole dubbed tiger stripes

• intriguing hotspot at south pole - anomalous warmth in the area of the tiger stripes

• presence of “orderly” water-ice at south pole, especially within tiger stripe features,
  indicates region must have been very hot, be very young, or both presence of simple
  organics along the fractures

• indication that water vapour and fine material are being ejected from tiger stripes

• fine ice material is probably the significant and sustaining source of ice particles
  that make up Saturn’s outermost ring - its E ring

Listening to: Hey Mama - Kanye West

Apparently.
Who am I to comment? (but at least there is some upside) 

Listening to: Gone - Kanye West

I think it is simply human nature that dictates that familiarity leads to ambivalence at best and contempt at worst. This is especially true when you have worked at something (like a company) for a long time. It is easy to forget why you really put it on the line and build a company. A couple of instances over the past 48 hours reminded me why.

When we started Provoke we were adamant that we would employ designers (ideally lots of them). We were sick of the software we were developing (generally because it looked like some one had thrown up ASCII soup all over the screen). We instinctively knew that having lots of designers would ensure that wouldn’t be such a problem. The problem is that EVERYONE thinks they are a designer, even me.

Recently I needed to get some design work done and for the first time in a long time I had final say. I had an image of what I wanted in my mind, but the design options I was presented with were nothing like what I had in mind (we’re talking poles apart). I fought back the desire to voice my ideas and chose from the designs that I had in front of me. On Monday I got the results and put everything together. That process of putting the end result together was exhilarating. It was because it all worked… one every single level and in ways that I couldn’t possibly imagine. But the reason it worked was because it was DESIGNED by a designer. It was in that hour that I realized why we employ so many designers – because they are very good at what they do, and my only job is to specify, ensure they are able to do what they do and then shut the f**k up. My next job is to some how educate clients about what they miss out on when they let their “inner designer” loose at the controls.

The second moment of clarity occurred last night. Every Tuesday the developers get together and talk tech. Last night a particularly interesting presentation evolved into a bunch of us just shooting the shit. Sitting there, listening to the troops, I realized that we have managed to attract some seriously smart people together… When you get hit by an observation like that, it’s kind of humbling.

Listening to: Crying - Strawpeople

I have a copy of Nintendogs arriving soon. I was actually stressed about it… am
I going to be a bad dad? I work long hours… I’m not going to be able to give the
puppy the love it needs… After reading this I
am tempted never to take the cart out of the package. My only hope now is that when
I close the lid on my DS puppy goes into suspended animation.

Listening to: not too sure… this was computer generated.

Oddness

Originally uploaded by flash5.>

One of the strangest lingerie ads I’ve seen in a while. Context:

Listening to: Aerodynamic - Daft Punk

Creating Passionate Users has a great
article on how marketing is changing and how we’ve all got a role to play:

I was about to protest, “Dammit Jim, I’m a programmer, not a marketer!”

But that would be a lie. In this new open-source/cluetrain world,
I am a marketer. And so are you. If you’re interested in creating passionate users,
or keeping your job, or breathing life into a startup, or getting others to contribute
to your open source project, or getting your significant other to agree to the vacation
you want to go on… congratulations. You’re in marketing. Now go kill yourself.

The word “marketing” (and by extension, “marketers”) has a bad rep for sure, as
does “advertising” and “PR”. But they all share a common goal–connecting buyers and
sellers. Isn’t that what we’re doing?

Listening to: Novacain for the Soul - Eels

Jason Kottke has penned some interesting thoughts about what
the WebOS might look like… a broswer with some really smart/slick caching (and
my favourite…XSLT ;-)).

The thing that didn’t read true for me was this concept of “…and using it off line”.
I don’t use ANYTHING off line these days… while it still has relevance it just feels
a little like an anachronism to me and I do wonder what sort of design driver it really
represents. Still some very stimulating thoughts.

src: Read/Write Web

Listening to: BBC Radio 1

While putting together a Web 2.0 presentation for a client I came across the interview
with Tim O’Reilly done by Richard. Well worth a read.

Richard: Talking a bit more about how Web 2.0 is about services
rather than software… you argue that once a Web 2.0 company reaches a certain level
of users and “the network effect” kicks in - it becomes hard for new entrants to break
into that market. Is there a danger that service levels at the dominant companies
(like EBay and Amazon) will eventually slip and they get away with it, in much the
same way that Microsoft has let the quality of Internet Explorer slip? That is, the
users will persist with the service because it is “good enough”?

Tim: Yes I think there’s absolutely truth in that observation.
I think that companies always become complacent, over time. Or most companies, that
is. There are great companies that continue to hold the dominant position for hundreds
of years - think Proctor & Gamble for example - by continuing to innovate. And
I would say that some of these companies will survive and continue to be innovative
companies. Others will struggle. 

Listening
to: Two More Years - Bloc Party

From an article about
Extras and Ricky Gervais:

Extras
has been a popular and critical hit in Britain, but Gervais said he never thought
about falling short of expectations after the massive success of The Office.

“The
only way to avoid the second-album syndrome is to not make the first album very good,”
he said.