A notebook about design projects and provocations written by Raphael Grignani in California since 2005.
Posts Tagged ‘behaviour’
Listening
Photo © Jan Chipchase, Salt Lake City, 2007.
I have to admit that in the past few months I haven’t been listening. I am not sure why, I just haven’t. Apparently the sum of my precedent experiences allowed me to “get by” in my life. It suddenly changed last week in a dusty basement of a shooting range in Salt Lake City. I listened. Not only I listened, I also scrutinized every movement the man on the other side of the counter was doing. I was listening. I was learning. All this from someone I have nothing in common and most likely disagree with on every possible topic.
I am now trying to deconstruct and understand what happened. This experience was unprecedented and it had irreversible immediate consequences. These two parameters superseded all other contextual ones, and curbed my arrogance. What concerns me is that my life confronts me daily with experiences, which also have irremediable consequences. Consequences, I foolishly overlook and dismiss solely for their lack of immediacy. These make the bulk of my life and have a greater and longer lasting impact than my gun range adventure. As Jan Chipchase concluded in his TED talk, if we wish to remain relevant as individuals, professionals and communities, we need to learn to listen. I need to learn to listen.
The waiting is the hardest part
The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part
(Tom Petty, The Waiting)
… Days later (12/15/2006)
The wait has been long enough!
I have always been fascinated by the “power” of the few milliseconds it takes between the key press and onscreen reaction. They are usually inconsequential, but every so often they are the most frustrating thing in the world like when you are expecting something really important ( e.g. email, sms, phone call) or have to make a time-critical decision (e.g. selling stocks, calling for an emergency, navigating). This unnecessary stress is mostly due bad design, and falls into two categories. The first one is poor architecture and system design which make the device slow and unresponsive. The second is clueless UI design e.g. you get an uninformative clue “1 new message” which forces you to stop your activity and react to know the sender and topic. I will get back to clueless design in another post.
What truly puzzle me is that these few milliseconds are a legacy “feature” since electronic devices have been invented. No one has managed to get it right, and it’s actually getting worse and worse.
What scares me is that my waiting tolerance is now of a “few” milliseconds… How’s yours?
Tags: behaviour, losangeles, mobilephones, time, ui
Un-Bolding obsession
I feel like I make things un-bold for a living now. Lane Becker.
I am obsessed with it – SMS, emails, RSS, and the list goes on and on. Anything bold, I need to un-bold it. Bold, un-bold, bold, un-bold, old, un-bold, etc. It’s driving me crazy. What makes me even more crazy is “pull” communication/media. Check. Is there anything bold ? Yes. Un-bold. Check. Nothing. 5 minutes later. Check again. Nothing. Well, you know what I mean because it’s YOUR life also.
Now let’s take a moment to think about the designer that first decided on this styling.
Unread = bold | Read = normal weight
It has probably been decided in 2 minutes at the last minute without really thinking about it. How many design decisions happen this way ? Millions. Yet, I can’t help thinking that this person opened the Pandora’s box and turned us all into digital slaves un-bolding things all day long. On the otherhand, I/we *just* created your digital leash. ;-)
I forgot my mobile phone
I rarely forget my mobile phone somewhere however for the second time in a row, I have forgotten it at the office.
Why ?
Because it was not in the center of gravity of my desk nor in sight when I left.
Why ?
Because I have to charge it every single day (the battery life is appaling) at a colleague’s desk.
Why ?
Because the N-80 has a new charging connector which means it is incompatibe with Nokia Standard charger. The only compatible charger I have is at home, the only adaptor I have is in my car, and I have decided to rely on “others” at the office. BIG MISTAKE.
Why has the connector been modified ?
I don’t know. What I know is that Nokia Standard chargers are ubiquitous in most parts of the world; and it’s (was) a great peace of mind in case your battery runs out.
I have realised I have left it in the office while I was in Topenga Canyon (15 minutes away from the said-office). Within seconds, I decided to continue my commute home although my mobile phone is:
1) the only communication instrument with my family in France and friends in L.A.
2) the device I have that can wake me up in the morning – I have a 9 o’cock appointment tomorrow morning in Santa Monica
3) my prefered note taking/documentation tool.
Let’s see how wise it was not to return to the office. To be continued…
The Aftermath
I went shopping for a surfboard yesterday, and I could not take any photo of the “candidates”. I had to scribble their brand name with my car keys on a Moosejaw magazine, and then spend 20 minutes googling. A couple were custom made so forget about it.
I woke up on time thanks to Cali sunshine and made it to my appointment.
Then I drove like a maniac on the 405/101 to make it to the office for a project planning meeting (which I was bound to be late) to find out when I got there, it has been canceled. If I had my phone, I would have known since I would have checked my emails right out-fo-bed and see the meeting update.
I have missed 3 SMS:
#1 an impromptu dinner/drinks invitation in Venice yesterday night.
#2 out-of-town colleague needed a ride to the office from Santa Monica this morning. Sorry Axel!
#3 “How are things, any news?” from Mike on vacations.
Also I have pat a few times my pockets, I have tried to reach for it a few times, I have glanced at my home center of gravity a few times, I have formulated the plan to call/SMS people a few times.
Conclusion ? In a world with fluid, fuzzy and impromptu schedules, (I feel) I am highly dependent on my phone. Am I really ? Honestly, yes. Although I did not miss anything really important, I was missing all these signals and information that allow me to make informed decisions and feel I am in control.
Tags: behaviour, charging, mobilephones, Nokia
In Loving Memory Of…
It is the second time in two days that I come across epitaphs (stickers) on the back window of SUVs – this one reads “In Loving Memory of Jennifer Dikes 79-05″. On my side of the world, roadside memorials are fairly common but this execution is new to me.
Grief and remembrance are essential for many people/cultures; and legions of artifacts already exist to accommodate these needs, yet the world seems to be eager and able to accommodate new ones.
Jan Chipchase has already touched on how people use their phone as personal [ludic] shrines, thus it is not too much of a leap if such personal commemorations will soon appear on mobile phones. While driving being this truck I was wondering if it would digital (e.g. an icon pushed/pull by Bluetooth/Wifi, Digidress, etc.) or physical (e.g. full cover, sticker, etc.). Although it might be creepy, I am leaning towards physical commemoration like this (VERY OFFENSIVE) 9/11 cover I bought in Thailand in December 2001 – it’s just more effective.
Tags: behaviour, communication, losangeles, mobilephones, shrine
Public, Personal, Work space
Here is another example of someone temporally carving out boundaries in a very very busy London landmark. His motivation is quite obvious, but what are the motivations to comply/allow for tourists ? commuters ? nearby shops owners ?
Personally I was annoyed (no surprise here) by the amount of space requisitioned because it forced me to change my trajectory.
Maybe Adam has the answer, I need to read his book.
Tags: behaviour, location, london, privacy, public space
Power Sockets
This is:
a) a minimum service expected by travellers/glomads.
b) a new unexpected and significant cost for infrastructure operators.
c) stealing.
d) a design opportunities
e) all of the above.
HomoAeroportus
Every time I travel, I encounter the homo-aeroportus: crumpled suit, cheap shoes, carry-on trolley, Targus laptop bag, and a somewhat questionable hygiene after an 11-hour flight.
Been there, done what?
Looking at this map, I realised a few things:
a) I have only discovered one place in 2005, although I have traveled to fifteen different cities in nine different countries. Appalling.
b) This map is not visualising accurately my travels. In reality, I am traveling from nod to nod (cities to cities or even districts to districts), and not country-to-country. It is a fine difference but I have always had a hard time to telling I have been to Russia when I’ve only been to St Petersburg and Novgorod. What do you actually learn, experience, and understand when you have such a limited exposure to a city, country, and culture? e.g. tour bus trip and tour bus ethnography.
c) I visit over and over the same cities, and I’m drawn back to the places I have lived no matter what I do.
Conclusion, these three behaviours are a pattern that appears consistently in the things I currently do and/or use.