Props, Design Fictions and the Near Future

My Everest

I give up.

It's taken me a long time to admit it, but I've struggled on for far too long now.

About nine months ago, after a couple of months of commuting through to Edinburgh from Dundee, I decided it would be a good opportunity to get some reading done. I have about an hour in the morning and another hour in the evening every Monday to Friday, and so I thought I could use the time productively.

I'm usually more likely to watch a film or TV programme than read if I have some spare time. Although it is a completely different media, I can watch some films over and over. It’s a lean-back media where I can immerse myself in the story or reflect on the cinematography. When it comes to reading I tend to leave it for when I'm on holiday, as it can take me ages to read a book. However, I thought the concentrated time would compel me to focus more.

Spending my time reading on the train also tied in to another idea I had a while back, which was to read as many ‘modern classics’ as I could. I was happy to be selective enough, as I know I prefer certain styles and genres. I also included a few novels that possibly aren’t referred to as 'classics' by everyone, but I knew they were still well revered.

Over the last couple of years I have read:

• The Catcher in the Rye
• The Great Gatsby
• Lord of the Flies
• American Psycho
• Trainspotting
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
• The Road
• The Beach
• Nineteen Eighty-Four

Looking at that list, with the exception of 'The Catcher in the Rye', you can see the influence of films, so I thought I should try and begin leaning more towards books without film adaptations*. This brings me back to my opening statement, and my latest reading material, Catch-22.

I have come to hate this book. Hate is a strong word, but I have been toiling with this book for the last six months or so. At first I thought that I was possibly too tired, and I was only able to manage a chapter or two at a time. I’m sure there are many people who would shake their head at me, and give me a look of disbelief. I’m sure there are many people who love this book, and see me as some form of blasphemist for my aversion to their masterpiece.

In six months I have managed a grand total of 135 pages. It has felt like nothing but hard work. I’ve found it so confusing, with a new character appearing every couple of pages and the writing style tying my brain in knots. Perhaps I missed the point. Maybe it is all meant to reflect the madness and absurdity of the environment and the story, but it does nothing but frustrate me further. I’ve not enjoyed it, and with that is my confession; I give up.

One day I may pick it up again, but I doubt it.

My Everest

*Catch-22 does have a 1970 film adaptation, but I had never come across it until writing this post.

20:20 Vision

Last night I went along to view a discussion being held at Sensation in Dundee as part of the Dundee Science Festival taking place this week.

It included a series of talks from a number of researchers who had come from all over the UK, who each had 20 slides, and 20 seconds per slide, to present their thoughts on the role that technology will have on our digital future.

Some speakers chose to pick a single project whereas others gave a quick overview of their background and research focus using highlights from a number of projects. There were some really great ideas being brought forward, particularly in regards to how technology can create relationships and act as a bridge between people and communities.

Often in the media we see a vision that depicts digital technology creating a divide and alienating people from society, and so it was invigorating to see a group that were on the whole using technology to bring people together and solve these issues.

Lalya Gaye and Joëlle Bitton, both from the Culture Lab at Newcastle University, illustrated the work that they had partaken within the SiDE project. It was interesting to see how they were using craft and creativity to tackle social exclusion by teaching people about digital technology and the benefits that it can bring.

It was also fascinating to see the work from Chris Speed and Simone O'Callaghan, who were applying stories through QR codes to traditional artifacts, which in it's own way was also connecting people and places.

Lastly, I found the talk from Mike Chantler to be particularly engaging. Although he was talking about textures and their visual attributes, which had the potential to be a fairly mundane topic, the passion and enthusiasm he showed for the topic grabbed everyone's attention and made it just as appealing. Hopefully I can take this into all the presentations I do in the future.

Persuasion, Emotion and Trust

About a month ago I came across the video below from Susan Weinschenk on Persuasion, Emotion and Trust. It's an excellent video, and I recommend taking a look at the The ROI of User Experience as well. They're both great examples of how to explain a concept with both clarity and authority.

The main idea behind what Human Factors International (HFI) describes as PET design is to ensure that users come back to your service/website and do so repeatedly.

This has tied in with my realisation that it's not just about usability any more (although it is still a key principle and there are still a lot of companies not getting it right).

In order to get customers to use a service they need to be able to do more than just find what they're looking for. They need to have a reason to go a step further, and they need to have a positive experience in order to come back again.

Rocket Surgery Made Easy

A colleague recently recommended taking a look at Steve Krug's Rocket Surgery Made Easy, as although it is primarily aimed at individuals/companies who wish to conduct their own usability testing, some of the insights and ideas are useful from the perspective of a consultant.

Krug gives clear and succinct instructions for running tests, as well as guidelines for identifying and fixing issues.

There were some really good points to consider, particularly when it comes to considering how to making findings actionable. There were also a few good pointers in regards to a few of the basics which can sometimes get lost/forgotten.

Will need to have another look at Don't Make Me Think, as well as some of the suggested reading.

Walk round East London

I recently took on some of the suggestions from the book in the previous post and went out and explored my local area a bit more.

It's really interesting to see how much is going on in the area, and I ended up stumbling across a few random sights that I wasn't actually aware were so close-by.

Some of the photos can be found on my Flickr page.

Eyes Open

I recently bought the IDEO Eyes Open guidebook for London from Amazon as I was interested in it's concept, which is to explore and experience your surroundings in a different way. It is essentially a guidebook that highlights a number of places not on the traditional tourist trail, but I like the idea of really looking at what is going on around me as I feel that my observational skills may be a bit rusty after becoming desensitised by the bustle of the commute.

I'm keen to check out some of the suggestions that are nearby, especially as I've been here for almost a year and I still feel like I haven't seen all the things that I should have by now. It will also give me an excuse to take a few photos again (another thing which I seem to have neglected since moving here).