Living with Modernism
Filed under Design
I am looking to buy this rocker. Sells on eBay for $249. Is it possible to locate one in India? Anything molded, and what people call, old, is what I am looking for. I hope to get them cheap as well.
Saving the world
At work, no one bets on world peace. Let me explain. You may want to do the right thing, though at times it is not possible. So as Kafka said, we all want to start with what is right, not what’s possible. The PM or Director will then say, “Let’s not aim for world peace…”, or “In a perfect world, yes. But…” So who else is trying to save the world? Apartment Therapy. Their tagline says it all — saving the world, one room at a time.
Good design is good business
Filed under Design
Apple has proved it numerous times, but there are still peoplewho believe that if “it” works, and it sells, then it is sufficient.
Enterprise software products primarily were ahead of time, as in they solved one BIG technology problem that such customers were facing. It is like the local trains in Mumbai — they run on time all the time, and solves users biggest commute problem; so they dont care if everything else connected to the journey is raw, bad, or messy.
When two products come into the market with the same features solving the same BIG problem, that’s where the troubles begin. Because you are an early mover you get the advantage. But new customers might want to try something that is more productive and usable. Enterprise customers behave differently than consumers, but that “might” is a strong unseen element. When it hits real, many mighty #1 players have fallen.
I have worked in a company that had a 70% global market share and got too cushioned to move into adjacent markets only to fall down to a 5% market in 3 years, and shut shop later.
What do these succesful companies do? You look for new markets (adjacent or otherwise) with the same stuff, or make your stuff better so that you automatically becomes first choice in adjacent markets. The question that product management face all the time is how to make this better — add the missing or new features, or clean up the mess in the old ones, or both.
For the seemingly impossible scenario above, one needs to have the vision and patience to do it. And good design is a key element there. Coming back to the iPod: the technology — hdd, software, controls existed, so did others who played music, but it is the easy and most probable controls and making a legal music store - the overall user experience - that made it a hit.
Yes, technology innovation is very important and cool, but product innovations arent any different. In the end, the glory is the same, especially when the coffers are brimming with gold!
Good design is good business. Amen.
Is design someone’s forte?
Filed under Design
These questions were taken from an HCI discussion group: Who can make a good designer? What is the process of making a designer? They were raised in connection with IITG’s Bachelor of Design program.
All of the members agree that artists and designers require a different aptitude than for technology. But then how can anyone clearing Joint Entrance Exam for IIT - a tough physics, chemistry, mathematics test - join a design program? Is BDes yet another degree? Some designers scoffed at this selection process. Some defended it sighting a name or two. I hope they dont take the flame bait 
While there can always be exceptions (systems will always have some mavericks who fall through unhurt), this brought a good thought into play: The process determines the average value and the perception. This average can dip if the process is not in place, or is not right. We need to push for the right process, and not take exception for a rule.
This is true not just for design, but for anything else in life. I am not sure if you see it, but I do — for me after all, design in life.
Blind Motor Works?
Seen the latest Honda CR-V? I wish I never did. It looks horrifying. If you see one, you will also pray that you never had. (Hence the absence of links or images here).
Call me old fashioned. But if this is where the future-proof cars are headed, I should rather grab the current - dated, they say - Adventure before FIAT puts eyebrows and bangles on it. Come on, is there anyone who prefers the looks of a 2005 Bangled Beamer (banged is much like it) to a 1998 or a 2002? Probably it was a bright summer day and the bean counter folks were wearing dark shades when they looked at it. Blind Motor Works?
Equality
But seriously, ATMs are bringing about a revolution in society. Consider this – at ICICI’s air conditioned fancy office with English speaking help desk officers, the lower class people do not get equal treatment if at all they walk in. At an ATM, it doesn’t matter whether you are a rag picker or one who doesn’t understand English, you get the exact same treatment that is given to the saab who lands in a Merc. You are a customer and you get the same respect regardless of what you wear or talk.
As I said, there is a big revolution happening out here in how people define ATMs. For some it is a vault where they can deposit their daily wages at the end of the day. No more ‘alcoholic-husband-takes-all-the-savings’ scenario. And people are taking note — there is a move (and research) in Karnataka to pack ATMs with soiled notes, so that villagers are more comfortable and identify with it. There are studies going on about how to reduce the procedure for depositing money, so that people have to write the least number of words.
People take technology for granted, but for some it is giving a new life altogether.
Cup-holders, anyone?
Do you know what women look for as the top (buying) feature in a vehicle? According to a survey done by GM in the US, it is the number of cup-holders. The more the cup-holders, the more they want to buy the car. And the reason stated was safety, when traveling with kids. Airbags and crumble zones didnt even appear in the top 10 features!?
A friend wants to sell his almost new mobile phone that he bought for his wife because she wants to buy a clam-shell model. First of all, I can’t understand how he can buy something for her without asking her what she wants. Anyways, that got me thinking of why women prefer clam-shell models.
IMO, the clam-shell mobile, provides (a feel of) more privacy. It’s like, “Why expose my screen to anyone?” It could also be that women see the entire activity of opening it, answering it, and closing it, is a form of ‘real’ closure to a conversation.
But it may not be entirely related to the x-factor. For anything that they do, human beings look for the “feel” of safety, if not safety. One big reason why Ford Explorer with 80 accidental deaths per million vehicles outsells Camry which has only 40 deaths/million. You will see more men in an Explorer, so we cant deduce a theory here.
But the cup-holder thing is true. It is a fact that more Camrys are bought by women than men, and it has 8 cup-holders! Touche.
How advertising spoiled me
All of us like great ads. That’s why we buy things, right? At least 90% of the first time buyers in America buy food based on its packaging. Of course, taste determines if one would buy again. But that’s for another post.
Anyways, if you are crazy about creative stuff, be advised: Go to this site when you have lots of time on your hands.
