researching Workarounds are sources of new features Observing workarounds is a very efficient way of identifying new features
sensemaking The challenges of democracy are like the challenges of doing user-centered design Here follow some propositions making parallels between the two and why there is a case for governance and politics to draw from the toolkits of user/human centered design. And, to a smaller degree, vice versa.
designing Stupid Machines: a UX design technique Consider the following stupid machines: machine that runs into corners at high speed and yelps upon impact goes up against a person’s leg, looks up at them, and smirks same as above,
researching Wise metrics Propositions on sensibly making use of metrics when designing things: (for mathematically minded people) Axioms: Those metrics matter, which matter to the people the metrics are supposedly helping serve Those metrics matter, which
sensemaking Asking good questions: the difference between Trend-hunting & Foresight A friend forwarded me these 10 questions from an ad agency that runs a 'global scout network', soliciting opinions on '10 key elements of Culture' (to be answered, btw, in 10 minutes). Looking
Ancient bugs in PowerPoint As a researcher, I create a lot of PowerPoint documents - apart from its ubiquity in the professional knowledge worker world, it has decent visual editing tools and its one-page-at-a-time format helps structure
6 degrees of inclusivity Just realized if that the 6 degrees of separation hypothesis is true, someone like me is only 6 links away from my polar opposite person (e.g. a militaristic rural religious fundamentalist). This
designing A new flag for San Francisco I was binge-listening to that most fabulous of design podcasts, 99% invisible, and came across this analysis of San Francisco's flag and how terrible it is. I looked around, and found only one
How to Inhabit a City Having spent nearly a year in San Francisco as a resident, I started talking with my friend Purva, a long-term San Franciscan, about the difference between her understanding of the city and mine.
