An ever more reason why the internet is a drug

Recently reading this amazing article in Slate magazine, about how the internet, and its various means of "search" are merely the devils tools. Google, Twitter, Facebook, etc. are nothing more than just feeders to boost our dopamine levels. The "crack" of the digital world. Endless streams of information to seek, and explore, and satisfy, and seek some more. All those blogs, wikipedia articles, web pages, with hyperlinked words which "jump" you to more information, simply feed that need to "search" This stimulates our hypothalamus, boosting dopamine levels, creating a euphoric feeling... until we need more. They summarize:

For humans, this desire to search is not just about fulfilling our physical needs. Panksepp says that humans can get just as excited about abstract rewards as tangible ones. He says that when we get thrilled about the world of ideas, about making intellectual connections, about divining meaning, it is the seeking circuits that are firing.

The juice that fuels the seeking system is the neurotransmitter dopamine. The dopamine circuits "promote states of eagerness and directed purpose," Panksepp writes. It's a state humans love to be in. So good does it feel that we seek out activities, or substances, that keep this system aroused—cocaine and amphetamines, drugs of stimulation, are particularly effective at stirring it.

The question then arises.. is this for the better? Are we evolving the way we think for the better? Or is this "crack" doing what real crack really does.. making us more and more and more and more STUPID. The point of this post and question I am asking is, are we more advanced and adept at surviving in an increasingly digital world because of the way these technologies make us think. I think not. I personally think that this resembles the rats in the Slate article too closely. This information is useless without an actual overarching plan which ties this quest for knowledge with a larger purpose. The senseless bursts of searching and quick finds may help in short-term needs, but for a longer term, evolutionary need, we have to focus this desire to search to a plan. In this vein of increasing desire to find, we find the the law of diminishing marginal returns applies. The "satisfactory" part of our brain is not tied directly to the seeking part, creating a disconnect between the two and then an inability to STOP. "So we find ourselves letting one Google search lead to another, while often feeling the information is not vital and knowing we should stop. 'As long as you sit there, the consumption renews the appetite,' he explains." Think "crackberry"

Our abilities to intelligently form a strategic plan of "searching" and executing it over a longer term for an increased return is destroyed by our want for senseless short-term spurts of searching and consummation. And repeat.

The Courtship of Physical & Virtual

Today, I went to an event by the founders of PSFK, called likemind. It was a "coffee meetup" to be held today, June 19, 2009, in over 40+ countries. I only knew about it, because of my virtual self. My virtual self was introduced to another virtual person a while ago. As those relationships grew, I was invited to this event. A realization. In effect, I was realizing all those online conversations and relationships into a morning coffee meeting.

Interestingly enough, as the coffee was poured, the conversation turned from.. so its nice to see you in reality.. to why we were there. We were like minded. The idea that we actually met through our virtual selves dissolved as the meeting went on, and re-evolved post meeting. Meaning, just as quickly as we realized our virtual relationships in the likemind coffee meetup, they returned to the virtual form. Linked-in invitations and emails were sent and received in the hours post meetup. The new people I met in reality, were now my virtual friends too. I think that this is a macro-level product of the blurring between the virtual and real worlds. This is a great social example of what is happening on a grand scale. Meetup by Scott Heiferman (ever-energetic) is a great example of this. Here, people find topics of interest and schedule a time and place to gather. They begin and continue their conversations through the online site, while injecting real meetup experiences as content generators. On a micro level there are technologies which are also blurring this line:

Via PSFK:
"Engineers at Duke University are developing a new way to enter information into mobile devices. Rather than typing on a keyboard, they have created a way to “air-write” short notes. Using a phone’s built-in accelerometer, their application registers a user’s mid-air writing and translates the gestures into text on screen. There are still details to be worked out so the application functions smoothly, but it’s at the very least an interesting concept."

Interesting concept. The interaction between the physical and the virtual is ever more blurred, and technologies like this are exemplifying this on a micro level. As we further bring ourselves to a co-mingling of the two worlds, we are presented with new ways of representation. We begin entering a world where ourselves in reality are constructed by ourselves in virtual-ity. Where do we begin to define the rules for engagement? With the construction of virtual selves (constructed through real interfaces, or virtual interfaces), we explore the notion of virtual relationships and what happens when they become "real" relationships. When they realize.

Another awesome mingling of virtual and real experiences, by MIT geeks.

Healthcare in the Design World

The consensus seems to be that we must move towards a simplification of our health care processes. Today, at PSFK, I noticed that there were two companies discussing the future of healthcare in the "well designed" world. One company, Help Remedies is taking the mystery and "upsell" or flare out of medicine packaging. This seems like a great idea, simplifying the medicine, bring it to pure, austere levels. The pitch was to look at Tylenol rapid release, and the packaging. How much "upsell" there is the package itself, like the Nascar sponsorship (making it feel like they are all about the SPEED, rapid release).

Another idea pitched was that for hellohealth.com. Hello health seeks to mediate the doctor process, and SIMPLIFY it through the web. By providing online consultation sessions health care becomes more accessible. They are creating an online forum for rating and reviewing doctors, and providing an advanced interface. But, is this really this case? At $200/hr they have a business model in place (sourcing doctors all over the world, vetting them eventually through community ratings, and capturing the profit), but it doesn't help the less fortunate. Those who have the access to computers and the internet (in its ubiquity) but are miles away from being able to spend so much on a short term consultation does not improve the process.

Also, for those who are lucky enough to have health care, I assume are not willing to absorb this cost. They want to pass the cost on to their insurance agency (as would I). This is a fixable issue, once the case is persuaded to the agencies.

The bigger issue with hellohealth is, are we seriously ready to let go of the need of the touch of the doctor. The real interaction, in person, provides me with a better feeling of security that my ailments have been properly evaluated, instead me trying to type it in and send it to a doc via email or video chat.

State of Greenwashing on this Earthday

Greenwashing, or the practice of marketing false claims of corporate responsibility is a response to growing consumer trends of conscious buying, specifically tailored to exploit this burgeoning conscious. Grown out of the "whitewashing" term for covering misdeeds, consistency and financial sourcing both can indicate the degree of truthfulness in a "green" campaign.

"The Record" of Stockton, CA did an informal "review" of consumer products found in a neighborhood store and come up with these types of statistics:

• 1,018 consumer products analyzed
• Only one did not make false or misleading claims (TerraChoice)
• Most used hidden tradeoffs
  • One environmental advance at the cost of others
  • End result is a greener image on the shoulders of the minor advanc
• A review of garden products found that 10% of all claims were meaningless

As a result of this blatant disregard for brand transparancy and authenticity towards sustainability communications, the FTC has decided to impose new regulations in a crackdown on greenwashing (Washington Post 3/4/08). In new proposed regulations, the responsbility for the authenticity of the communciation will fall on the brand manager. With the last review and modifcation to guidelines in 1998, time is up for a change.

Brands play a dangerous game when they practice false advertising, consumers can end up hating or vilifying the brand and it can alienate the consumer from what is supposed to be a transparant process.

Brands need to practice brand-balancing and understand regultory, distribution, competitive, investor, and general public pressures that face the company. If they find that they are aligining hot topics with little substance, trying to have superhero image, walking a fine line between truth and lies, and generally ignorning consumer dialog, the brand will find that they will not perform up to expectations through their "green" marketing. We found that the brand story needs to be consistent and measured against consumer benefits, and teach consumers. Also enabling brands that allow consumers choices and options and invite them to be a part of the ongoing dialogue about their needs and wants in terms of sustainability and transparancy, will be more effetive green communications.

FreshDirect in NYC

FreshDirect faces a few strategic issues and problems in the expansion and development of their made to order grocery delivery system. While the company focused its efforts on cost reduction through its centralized warehouse and producing efficiency as a core competency in the fresh grocery delivery market, key competition, excessive waste, and negative public relations exposure all deal FreshDirect a problematic hand.

One of the largest strategic obstacles for FreshDirect is the negative publicity it currently endures. Although the company is taking steps to align itself in a positive light, fallout from negligent practices have ultimately hurt the company's ability to thrive in a community based environment. Customer perception starts to become a key factor in competitive staying power as the market matures, and with over 10 years of market maturity, this started to become a factor. Negative perception and publicity of FreshDirect largely stemmed from public awareness of its negative environmental impact.

Firstly, the conveyer packing system forced FreshDirect to use an excess quantity of cardboard boxes. Without a strategic and well thought out packaging return system, FreshDirect was seen as a squanderer of precious paper products.

Second, the oversized and often times under stocked delivery trucks that congested New York streets were of concern not only for local residents but worldwide citizens as well. The trucks could be easily replaced with energy efficient, smaller, hybrid powered trucks but were nevertheless larger, more dirty, and smog producting trucks that negatively affected the chemical makeup of the local air and globally impacted global warming reduction efforts.

Finally, negative publicity and protest against FreshDirect came from their impact on local businesses (i.e. grocers in neighborhoods) and how they could undersell and eventually breakdown these community landmarks. These local industries provide safety, foot traffic, and physical interaction in neighborhoods.

FreshDirect has only taken only to rectify the latter of the above causes for the overall strategic planning issue of negative publicity. Even in this case they have not totally cured the problem at hand, but instead are starting to contribute to local economies by sourcing their stock from local and organic farmers. On the other causal factors, FreshDirect has neglected to address them. The packaging and delivery trucks remain to be detrimental requirements of FreshDirect’s continued operation and thus prove to pose a serious risk in an industry that is centered upon responsible and clean reputations.

iPhone: Planning vs. Implementation (REVISIT)

One year ago, in January of 2007 I posted an item about the introduction of the iPhone. Referencing the unorthodox nature of its advanced announcement and marketing efforts, and its intuitive interface, the analysis was one of those who would pay and those who would abstain. Quote from the original article:

What the iPhone does for us creative types is help provide an alternative to the highly formal blackberry or treo. We are no longer mislabeled by the phone we carry, and we can succumb to our ever-vocal choice in electronics

I would like to update this commentary, based on recent developments of the iPhone market.

The value embedded in owning the iPhone is incredible. Just like my previous analysis:

Apple knows it has cornered a certain type of market and is seeking to expand that market everyday (see the latest TV ads obviously geared towards older PC-using men).

There is incredible value in the conspicuous ownership of the iPhone, as is a functional benefit. Nonetheless, I still know of, and see, here in New York, many many people required to utilize two phones because of the ever-difficult business functionality of the iPhone. Blackberry and iPhone ownership represent the dual nature of the business telecommuter. One for play and one for work. The weak email application is partially to blame for this observation.

Additionally, the iPhone has lost control of its inventory. With over 1.7 MILLION phones missing, of the some 3.1 million produced, the "unlocked" iPhone black market is HUGE. A large percentage of these missing and unaccounted for phones are surfacing in markets where the iPhone does not even have a carrier arrangement: Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Eastern bloc european countries.

Here, the iPhone is unlocked and then distributed as a hacked phone, with the ability to insert a SIM card and use on local wireless carriers. This, I feel, is represented by the iPhone's strict standards because of their carrier contracts, like here in the US with AT&T.

The iPhone carries with it that inherent playful and intuitive value, that Apple so cleverly has accomplished in its brand recognition, yet the facts are cold and true:

• Millions of phones are already hacked and have circumvented Apple's ability to profit off of its carrier contracts.
• Apple does not utilize business productivity as one of the driving factors of selling its device, thus requiring many business people to keep two phones (one blackberry) if they want an iPhone
• The iPhone's post launch price drop and recent introduction of new and superior models have soured some Apple fans.

PREVIOUS POST, iPhone PLANNING VS IMPLEMENTATION

The Power of Viral Marketing

Recent efforts that I have started to further a notable cause was struck with hard negative pressure, in terms of my ability to secure and transmit the reason for being and purpose for joining in the cause for which I was working (Sustainability). This was until I secured the efforts of my efforts in viral marketing.

By utilizing my existing social networks and established and related facebook group, I was able to quickly (in 1/1000th the time) secure the syndicate of information for which I was seeking and able to see my registrations of interested people exponentially grow over two days.

Incredibly, messages sent through my facebook group for sustainability were returned within minutes, not hours or days, and with more enthusiasm than my face to face efforts at Parsons.

Moreover, membership in my group grew, hits to the official website generated with inertia.

Suggestive Authors on Our Current Ecological Crisis

We are in the starts of the crisis of our era, our degradation of our social and environmental framework. A large part of my personal education rotates around the sustainability movement. In one of my courses, I dissected different notable authors and their sociological explanations of why we are at this pith of human survival. The following short paragraphs are taken out of one of my final exams at Parsons.

Lynn White's thesis about Judeo-Christian anthropocentrism is a causal factor of our current ecological crisis. He states that because of prevailing Judeo-Christian values. From the start of religious experiences, we have seen values imposed upon followers which refer to anthropocentrism as a pivotal norm. The preachings and writings have led to a people-centered mindset, in terms of ecological harmonization. The values passed through religious medium instruct people that "man" has mastery over nature, and that we are to exploit its resources (to some degree). This implicates generations of environmental misconduct, leading to crisis.

Lewis Moncrief critiques Lynn White's thesis, and while he does not refute it, he writes an alternative explanation, which indirectly includes White's thesis. Moncrief writes that because of democratization and capitalism we have increased population, wealth, urbanization, and industrialization (India, China..). These resulting factors are, and have been, the cause of our environmental crises. Moncrief writes on White that, Judeo-Christian values did play a contributing factor to democratization and capitalism, and this could be indirectly involved. Moncrief also writes that environmental degradation has been occuring since before Judeo-Christian values prevailed.

-- Flash -- Age of Conversation Monkey Hits My Table

He wants a hug before he sends off to Ohio!

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What Am I Talking About?

I talk a lot of gibberish, but this is the age of conversation, and apparently somebody is listening while I am blabbing.

From the desk of B. Glazo:
Drew writes about the changes - including a move to Amazon - here. You still have time this week to grab a couple copies at the initial price level. It would be nice for the book to get a good bump before holiday time descends upon us. I mean, when was the last time you were able to be part of the Internet crashing to a standstill? Everybody seems to be talking about the news - Chris even suggests trying to explode the web on December 14 :)

Remember it comes down to helping Variety - its mission is children.

The quality, breadth and diversity of these contributors continues to astound me.

Gavin Heaton, Drew McLellan, CK, Valeria Maltoni, Emily Reed, Katie Chatfield, Greg Verdino, Mack Collier, Lewis Green, Ann Handley, Mike Sansone, Paul McEnany, Roger von Oech, Anna Farmery, David Armano, Bob Glaza, Mark Goren, Matt Dickman, Scott Monty, Richard Huntington, Cam Beck, David Reich, Luc Debaisieux, Sean Howard, Tim Jackson, Patrick Schaber, Roberta Rosenberg, Uwe Hook, Tony D. Clark, Todd Andrlik, Toby Bloomberg, Steve Woodruff, Steve Bannister, Steve Roesler, Stanley Johnson, Spike Jones, Nathan Snell, Simon Payn, Ryan Rasmussen, Ron Shevlin, Roger Anderson, Robert Hruzek, Rishi Desai, Phil Gerbyshak, Peter Corbett, Pete Deutschman, Nick Rice, Nick Wright, Michael Morton, Mark Earls, Mark Blair, Mario Vellandi, Lori Magno, Kristin Gorski, Kris Hoet, G. Kofi Annan, Kimberly Dawn Wells, Karl Long, Julie Fleischer, Jordan Behan, John La Grou, Joe Raasch, Jim Kukral, Jessica Hagy, Janet Green, Jamey Shiels, Dr. Graham Hill, Gia Facchini, Geert Desager, Gaurav Mishra, Gary Schoeniger, Gareth Kay, Faris Yakob, Emily Clasper, Ed Cotton, Dustin Jacobsen, Tom Clifford, David Polinchock, David Koopmans, David Brazeal, David Berkowitz, Carolyn Manning, Craig Wilson, Cord Silverstein, Connie Reece, Colin McKay, Chris Newlan, Chris Corrigan, Cedric Giorgi, Brian Reich, Becky Carroll, Arun Rajagopal, Andy Nulman, Amy Jussel, Kim Klaver, Sandy Renshaw, Susan Bird, Ryan Barrett, Troy Worman, CB Whittemore, S. Neil Vineberg

Emergence of Poetics

The emergence of poetics in design is an underlying motif of complete design: that which encompasses the emotional and physical need to inhabit, utilize, or observe. The emergence of the poetic in design is regulated by, not by the designer, but by the design’s user. The world of users – at – large, constitute the ability to begin, exist, and finish the body poetic.

Aristotle speaks of mimesis in man’s natural activity, and the pleasure derived thereof. Moreover, by leveraging the mimetic nature to engage the audience in purposeful unexpected use, we have built what Aristotle defines as “superior” theme. The correlation that we can derive from this, in light of Zambonini;s writings, can be see in the process of Design. The process of designing with the audience, in order to better impact this audience, is the basis of the poetic in design, in my view. This process will inculcate the ability to encompass the underlying emotional needs and physical (practical) needs of the audience. The poetic here is defined as the “completeness” of a designed artifact or space.

The beginning (start), middle (existence), and end (conclusion) are defined as the body-poetic in the designed artifact or space. Aristotle appropriately touches upon this aspect in Chapter 7, where this information has helped lend my sense of order in this the amalgam and amorphous world of poetics. The structure so defined, is helping to define my personal interpretation of this course – and the writings (which at times are very confusing and often increasing my frustration with the course). His use of “beginning” is appropriately stated as that which does not necessarily have a connection to the previous, but brings rise to some other fact or ideal. I have implemented this aspect of thinking in understanding the processes which formulate design, in order to understand the poetic in design. The “whole” is constituted and “unleashed” by a complete development of design in conjunction with the audience’s way of receiving and understanding.

It is through this involvement and process that we can see the poetic existing as an artifact or space of appropriate scale, impact, and efficient usage (my interpretation of poetics in design). The scope of architects today are far reaching, as they define what and where we exist and live. In this avenue of reasoning, we can find raison d’etre of understanding the poetic. In order to achieve optimal efficiency (in usage, impact, and scale), the designer is bound to developing a set of plans that inculcate the desired audience in the process. Through this, the necessity to bring rise to ideals of the designer’s intention are presented as unobstructed, given that the start, middle, and end are independently created through the audience’s feedback. This gives space to give rise to the said fact or ideal, and allows for the message to be communicated freely.

In my understanding, the poetic is nurtured through the desired usage, inhabitance, or observance of the designed artifact or space. By the designer seeing the intended audience executing these tasks, in vivo, he sees the poetic of his work (the unfettered ideal) nurtured and subsequently living. The start, middle, and end are used in this context as understanding that the design’s poetic itself has a requirement of knowing how to begin and exist, and end, thus completing the requirement of being a emotional encompassing design.

Trials and Tribulations of Management

I was recently invited to become the project manager for a new company, and its associated business plan and launch program. I was hired, because I had worked with the sponsoring company before as a consultant and they saw that I was results oriented.

It was difficult though, I was responsible for managing a team to bring a product to launch, while simultaneously being out of the inner circle of creative of the sponsoring company. Not only this, but the owner of the sponsoring company was a designer. Hence him hiring me to manage the people, time, money, and other resources to bring product to launch.

Berkin talks about making things happen, and that is exactly what I was required to do here. Nonetheless, there were some experiences that were didactic and humiliating.

An ordered list was the priority of my start of project planning with the company. Moreover, inculcating the creative views of the team was paramount to my success here, and that includes working with them on the priorities list. This is something that I did not do originally, causing unspoken animosity. The team thought that I had assumed (and egotistically) the list was without regard to their thoughts. That I was there to order them.

Recommendations in this avenue, going forward, would be to have that initial pre-meeting meeting. One where voices are heard, accepted, discussed, and established. Moreover, I find it beneficial (especially with creative, in the interest of making deadlines) to set aside a meeting time for this. A few hours, but the catch here is that this is the limitation of input. In order to move forward, we can’t sit and discuss a creative possibility over a certain limit. This limit forces constraints upon the discussion, and therefore ensures that results will be generated.

Directly following this step, is the outline of tasks, milestones, and resources projections. The important step here, is a consideration towards the systemic nature of a creative project. This systemic factor is why there is a project manager. If something were to change in the finance aspect of things, or a delivery date, then this will have a rippling effect throughout the project plan. Berkin was right when he said “make sure that they always map to each other” in reference to the deliverables, resources, and overall plan.

Some of my work...

LOCAL BLOGGER A PART OF FIRST-EVER
WORLDWIDE BLOG COLLABORATION

Rishi Desai a student of Parsons The New School for Design in New York City is one of 104 marketing bloggers from 10 nations authoring The Age of Conversation, an e-book to benefit children’s charity

New York City -- A local blogger is part of what may be a first-of-its-kind collaboration via the internet, involving more than 100 marketing professionals who blog from 24 states and 10 nations. Rishi Desai of New York City joined online with other bloggers to write The Age of Conversation, a book that will be published July 16. In addition to the downloadable e-version, the book will be available in hardcover and softcover. All proceeds from sales of the book will be donated to Variety, the Children’s Charity.

The book has an unusual story behind it, involving online connections between people around the world who have never met each other.

Drew McLellan, who heads McLellan Marketing Group, an advertising agency here, has been writing a blog online for since September 2006. His blog is among the 25 most-read marketing blogs in the world. McLellan’s partner in this adventure is another marketing blogger in the top 25, Gavin Heaton. Heaton is the Interactive Director of one of the world’s leading marketing and promotions agencies, Creata, where he is Director of Interactive.

In March, McLellan wrote about Wharton’s effort to create a collaborative book and Heaton commented, “And it sounds like it could be fun ... but you know what, Drew? I reckon between a few of us we could knock out a short book and publish it. All we need is a theme and a charity ... “

“Three e-mails later, we had named the book and the charity. It just fell into place, McLellan said. “The Age of Conversation was the prefect topic. The marketing industry is abuzz about how the citizen marketers are changing the landscape. This book captures that new phenomenon,” he added.

McLellan and Heaton, through their blogs, invited other marketing professionals and other bloggers to commit to writing an essay about conversation. They set what they thought would be an impossible goal – 100 bloggers. They received commitments from 104 authors in less than 7 days.

“What began as a comment online has grown into a major collaborative effort by marketing professionals from 24 states and nations, beyond the U.S.,” said McLellan. “Gavin and I were overwhelmed with the response.”

“We heard from people, telling us what they planned to write about,” Heaton added. “We’ve been amazed at the variety of approaches that have been taken, and with hardly any duplication or overlap. This book really explores the art of conversation and how that is changing the face of marketing from virtually every angle possible.”

My contribution is already printed for you below..

A fellow marketing blogger in New York, Christina Kerley, had just lost her mother and many in the marketing blogging community were looking for a way to comfort her from afar. McLellan and Heaton decided that they would dedicate the book to Sandra Kerley, their colleague’s mother.

The Age of Conversation will be available in all three formats on July 16. Prices will be:
e-book: $9.99 ($7.99 going to charity)
paperback book: $16.95 ($8.10 to charity)
hardback book: $29.99 ($8.55 to charity)

Orders will be taken online at: http://stores.lulu.com/ageofconversation

Authenticity in Design: What¿?¿

The notion of authenticity is a motif that seems to be surfacing in this time. Transparancy, authenticity, and trust... things that I can refer my relationships to. This doesn´t seem to surprise me that it is becoming apparant to ¨people¨ that a secure and authentic connection to their designed environments is ever important.

Moreover, recognizing that the design of the table at which you sit needs to be authentic is a difficult idea to understand. By this, I mean that you must see the designer´s true intentions manifested in the design that you use, and those intentions were not distorted for other purposes.

But what are a designer´s intentions? I think a designer´s intentions should be that which one designs for facil use.

Facilitate Better Learning by Breaking The Cycle

Conversations are taking place all around us, and in this Conversation Age, we are looking to learn a thing or two from them. My idea for this chapter came while reading an article in Harvard Business Review by Chris Argyris.

What is the quality of insight gained for the curator of the conversation? Moreover, ask yourself the question, are we addressing the more fundamental impulsions behind the responses from the newly formed community of conversationalists?

As the curator of the conversation, you are seeking to learn from the players involved. But also, you are seeking to further facilitate and massage the conversation forward with hopes to gain maximum insight. The problem arises with curatorial benevolence.

The curator strays from questioning the assumptions and fundamental biases in responses from the players of the conversation. These assumptions and fundamental biases are laid in the early formation of the group involved. A sense of communal identification is borne from active listening, conscious participation, and purposeful speaking. 

This initial process of respectful engagement will inherently lay a foundation that must be shaken for optimal insight. Most importantly, as this identity develops, the curator usually takes a passive role. Passivity is the result of the curator’s fear that he or she will discourage the players from participation.

This passivity is a disservice to net learning. As a sense of community develops, fundamental assumptions are not addressed behind player responses. A cyclical process of learning develops as a result. The sense of communal assumptions (identification) with other conversationalists contributes to closing the circle, further continuing the cyclical process. This continues until the curator steps in to question the communal assumptions, thus breaking the circle, and allowing for deeper insight.

The curator must act as a catalyst at his or her recognition of this cyclical learning. The curator must seek to disturb the harmony when they detect cyclical or homogeneous responses, by questioning fundamental impulsions behind the responses. They are not destroying communal identification, but allowing for a more sustainable and beneficial learning process. Argryis calls this the double loop and single loop phenomenon, I am adapting it here, calling it “a need for cyclical breakout.”

Are Designers the Enemy Of Design?

Nussbaum recently gave a talk at my school, that caused quite the stir. He details how the dynamic and evolution of the design process has brought us to this new form of design, where everyone is a designer and that design by ego is destroying the potential and requisite of today's designs. (Pic: Philip Stark Juicer)

Nussbaum said that "designers suck" and are in need of a paradigm shift for sustainability. I have to agree, but disagree. As a student of Design Management, we are not IN NEED of a paradigm shift, at least I don't see that, but rather, we are undergoing a paradigm shift. To me, when I graduate in a year, I will work in a market where sustainability is presumed to take importance. Maybe bottom line business men will tell me otherwise, but more and more I am reading of how they, too, now realize the impetus in sustainability to grow that bottom line over time.

As we breed this new form of designer, we are making history, in fact, defining the management of the process. Design management is the facilitation of the design process in the interests of all of those at stake. This inculcates sustainability amongst other things, but it is not apparent (reference to apple's counter-sustainable products).

My thoughts? In response, NextD did a whole write up drawing from the brightest minds in design of today and yesterday. There is strong potential in society for sustainability and participatory design. This process and its importance in the administration of business is exemplified by the emergence of Design&Management departments at Parsons, Pratt, Stanford, and Harvard.

This nascent industry embodies the profit-potential held in participatory design while strongly entertaining sustainability as a priority before achieving anything with popular culture. I would know, I am a student who is on the receiving end of courses and lectures of design management training.

I am frankly excited by the emergence of this MANAGEMENT-DESIGN pedagogy, as it transfers power to those who know and appreciate from those who are ignorant... so designers don't suck, business sucks. Good thing though, because as I see it, business models for the day after tomorrow are being learned today, in dschools.

One Shape For All and For All One Shape

Alan McCollum, who turns 63 this year, has a long-standing interest in formal replication, and his work frequently addresses questions of materiality and value. (His installations lead one to rapidly conclude that the lofty promises of modernism aren't likely to be fulfilled anytime soon: here in McCollum's orbit, more = less.) He also possesses the entrepreneurial spirit that has come to characterize a number of contemporary artists who think pluralistically about making work. His shapes, for example, can be used for many different purposes, “not only for fine art and design projects,” notes his gallery’s press release, “but also for various social practices: as gifts, awards, identity markers, emblems, insignias, logos, toys, souvenirs, educational tools and so forth.”

The relationship between shapes and social practices is, at its core, an essential design conceit — from typographic identity to architectural megastructure, giving form to ideas is what designers do. But McCollum’s project goes beyond mere morphology, embracing a kind of über-solution in its very claim. Endlessly permutable, teeming with indefinite potential, McCollum’s strategic genius lies in his appeal to a culture hungry for the quick fix. The Shapes Project promises maximum gain with minimum effort: better living through geometry.

It's not so much the shapes themselves as the idea of the shapes, the very notion of a system of forms that's so captivating. And so unnerving. If I were to identify the one prevailing topical interest that has most surfaced in the last year — among students, in juries, at conferences and exhibitions — it would have to be this obsession with series and systems. How to identify them; how and where to introduce them; the question of whether, once a series is identified, your work is done. It's the illusion of certainty that's so mesmerizing — the idea that not everything is in flux, unfixed and mashed-up and dislocated. Systems by their very nature introduce an armature as well as a roadmap for their own completion. You look at one iteration, then two — then ten — and you get it. Once demystified, you can concentrate on other things — form, perhaps, or beauty. A glorious insect. A Trollope poem. Your lunch.

Or not. Which begs the question: does a system invite psychological repose precisely because it is so clear and comprehensible — or does it lead us to search for precisely its opposite — a kind of exotic deviation from the norm, an abstraction or glimmer of novelty? McCollum stresses that he laboriously created each of these shapes, and resists the notion that this body of work emerged from a kind of robotic (read "vector generated") process. Is artistry compromised if software is involved? Is design?

A Note on Design Pedagogy

Reading a recent article on the theory behind Gropius' Bauhaus and the Applied Art Schools in Breslau and Dusseldorf, led me to finally construct a valid argument to defend both this very blog and the very basis of my current daily works. The theory is best illustrated by the 1907 creation of the Deutscher Werkbund. This association of architects, designers, and industrialists helps illustrate state-sponsored evidence of the need to commercialize artistic talent.

The pedagogical nature of the Bauhaus and congruently Parsons are exhibited in the curricula of both institutions, while formed around the same time, developed independently of each other on two different continents. The need to industrialize raw artistic talent; to bridge the then widening gap between industry and art was expressed in the Deustcher Werkbund, the Bauhaus, and Parsons itself. Academia failed to adequately prepare students for real life expression of their artistic talent, the manifestation of their ideas were doomed to failure without being prepared for real media to express themselves with. Creativity was lost in the swirls of vocal academics who, given their university training, were able to effectively express and accomplish.

This quote helps express what I am trying to say: "True creative work can be done only by the man whose knowledge and mastery of the physical laws of statics, dynamics, optics, acoustics equip him to give life and shape to his inner vision." Therefore we can see the pedagogical importance of the Bauhaus, and currently my education at Parsons. I am being given the vehicle and required training to effectively link my creative talents with industrial processes. I am being given the tools I need to graduate and work and earn a living, rather than squander any creativity in futile attempts of recognition. Practical and theoretical, simultaneously releasing the creative powers contained in the students at this and other design schools. Maybe we can say teaching us how to talk the talk and walk the walk.

Listening to Bob Dylan.

iPhone: Planning vs. Implementation

The new Apple iPhone, the craze of all design industry. After much awaited time, Jobs has taken advantage of delayed market entry to observe and capitalize on past PDA-Phone-Entertainment devices. Nonetheless, let's look at the practicality behind the $500+ device in terms of its implementation.

Most importantly, the iPhone will be available exclusively on the Cingular network. The number of people that will switch to Cingular to take advantage of the newest Apple creation (we can define these people as the die-hard Apple fans, which are none too few) are those that we can say that are the first-adopters of the device. In fact, we can say that there will be a great number of people who will buy the device at any given cost, only because they are so focused on buying the next hottest Apple device. For the rest of us, as much as we like this device, and at its incredible cost, we must now seek to weigh the cost of breaking our contracts and leaving our beloved carriers simply to buy into a trend. Practically, I have Verizon, my friends have Verizon, as much as the iPhone looks appealing, I dont think I will be breaking my contract anytime soon.

On the design front of the device, it has appealing features, but holistically it is the spokesman of the "creative" type. What the iPhone does for us creative types is help provide an alternative to the highly formal blackberry or treo. We are no longer mislabeled by the phone we carry, and we can succumb to our ever-vocal choice in electronics (MacBook, iPod, and iPhone to match). The software on the iPhone nonetheless (yes I have had a unique chance to test drive) is what sells it for me. Intuitive interfaces that are familiar to us from our work and play interactions, the iPhone plays upon the ease, adaptability, and error-free operation that us users of OSX have grown to love and those users of Windows XP have not realized exist in digital interactions.

All in all, I give kudos to Apple and its next-obvious step in innovative production, but their terms are too selfish. Apple knows it has cornered a certain type of market and is seeking to expand that market everyday (see the latest TV ads obviously geared towards older PC-using men). Knowing this, reviewing past failed deals, Apple had demanded way too much in past talks with Verizon and maybe T-Mobile and thus failed in being able to introduce on several carriers (like Treo, Blackberry, etc).

FUTURE RELATED POST: iPhone REVIST

Listening to Paolo Nutini.