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SOPA and PIPA from the Eyes of Design
2012-02-02 17:13:00
As the wave of SOPA and PIPA protests die down, it?s time to take stock of the implications such legislatures can have on the design community. Please do take my thoughts with a pinch of salt as I do not live in the US, and very likely not have the same cultural background or government system. But I do think that such a Bill could find traction in many other countries should it be passed. So indirectly, I could be affected.
More About: Design , Eyes

If this is an Automatic Door, Why do I need to Press to Open?
2012-01-26 11:50:00
Why indeed?
More About: Press , Open , Automatic

Design Thinking in Manufacturing, A Workshop Series
2012-01-25 18:11:00
I'm really excited to finally be able to announce an exciting project that we have been passionately working on since August last year (2011)! Design Sojourn was commissioned by Design Singapore, the national agency leading the initiative to establish Singapore as a global city for design in Asia, to develop a curriculum for an intensive 9-day design thinking workshop (starting from 6 February 2012) for their Design Thinking and Innovation Academy.
More About: Series , Workshop

8 New Year Resolutions All Designers Should Have
2012-01-15 17:08:00
We are two weeks deep into the New Year and I am sure all of you have already hit the ground running. If you are anything like me, then you probably either forgotten to make a New Year?s resolution or could not think of one. Therefore I?ve decided to save everyone the trouble and compiled a quick list of 8 New Year resolutions I think designers should have. Just pick one after the jump and enjoy!
More About: Design , Designers

Frog Design?s Tech Trends of 2012
2012-01-11 09:32:00
January is often abuzz with 3 things: New Year resolutions, trends and forecasts for the year, and CES. I'll leave CES to the CES PR engines, because as designers, if you just focus on CES you will be a year too late. So if you want to consider something more interesting and forward looking, check out this compilation of technology trends for 2012 from the global team at Frog Design . It looks like a number of interesting predictions from some familiar names. Check it out after the jump.
More About: Trends , Tech

We Will Have to Deal with Defining Design, yet Again!
2011-12-07 10:31:00
Click for a larger image. IA Collaborative, has tried to do the impossible, and that is to define the meaning of Design . Or rather, they have taken the effort to gather the different definitions of design from our favorite industry luminaries and arranged them in a rather symbolic (and cool) infographic.
More About: Deal

Look to the Past for Metaphors to Design for Simplicity
2011-11-17 16:22:00
Cliff Kuang, in his Fast Co Design article on The 6 Pillars of Steve Jobs' Design Philosophy, talks about Jobs "finding simplicity for the future in metaphors from the past".
More About: Simplicity , Past

Implementing Design Thinking 2: Have the Guts to Say it Sucks
2011-11-16 17:35:00
I've found that one of the big reasons why Design Thinking fails in organizations, is that no one has the guts to stand up and say that an idea/concept/proposition sucks. This point is an extension of our last article where we encouraged you to focus on the outcome rather than the process. In this article we encourage you to make sure that there is a good filtering system in place and a team of highly engaged people.

They say 3 of the 4Ps of Marketing are Dead
2011-11-14 04:17:00
Jens Martin Skibsted and Rasmus Bech Hansen claims, at Fast Co. Design, that 3 of the 4Ps of Marketing (Pricing, Promotion and Place or Distribution) are dead. It's now a 1P Marketing world where everything should revolve around the Product.
More About: Dead

20 Ways to Protect and Nurture Design
2011-11-08 19:11:00
Lorna Ross, a design manager at Mayo Clinic?s Center for Innovation (That's a place I would love to visit!), shares with Helen Walters insights on running a small design team within a very large organization. Lots of great tips and insights filled with wisdom that can also be applied in a consulting context as well. I've shamelessly reproduced it here for your reading pleasure. Enjoy the list after the jump!
More About: Design , Management

The Time it Takes for Innovation at Heinz Worries Me
2011-11-03 15:52:00
Image by Martin F. Ramin for The Wall Street Journal It was reported by the Wall Street Journal that the executives at Heinz spent 3 years developing a new larger ketchup packet that contains 3 times more ketchup than the original.
More About: Time , Innovation , Industrial Design

Apple?s Inconsistent Aesthetic
2011-10-31 19:09:00
James Higgs writes an interesting article about the inconsistencies of Apple 's aesthetic. In one corner you have Apple's sublime and minimal industrial design where every corner or radii has been considered. These devices have become increasingly simple and pared down, even as the power contained in them has increased. There is very little, if anything, extraneous on the Magic Trackpad or the MacBook Air. And of course the iPhones 4 and 4S are radically simple, yet well-constructed masterpieces of industrial design. Then in the other corner you have a number of craptastic over-styled iOS apps and Mac graphical interfaces such as faux leather on the Calendar App, or Game Center's green Casino table (with the token flags) etc.

Implementing Design Thinking 1: Focus on the Outcome not the Process
2011-10-24 19:14:00
One of the challenges of implementing Design Thinking is that Design Thinking can come across as a rather intellectual and academic exercise. Strange terminologies, divergent activities, new processes etc; who can blame them for thinking so?
More About: Focus

Implementing Design Thinking: A Blog Series
2011-10-23 18:53:00
I was actually quite surprised to find myself deep undercover in Design Thinking activities in the last 12 months. The great thing was that these activities were varied, spanning from running Design Thinking workshops, developing a Design Thinking curriculum, lectures on leveraging on the power of design, and best of all implementing Design Thinking within organizations that are non-traditional buyers of design. What a ride! What is even more interesting, was finding out that Design Thinking has not died (or become a failed experiment as some say), but more accurately, it has evolved into a vibrant ecosystem of activities that focuses on businesses, brands and organizations leveraging on design as a strategic competitive advantage.
More About: Series , Blog

Our Introduction to Design Thinking Workshop is Back!
2011-10-20 18:31:00
Encourage by great feedback and awesome participants, we will be running our 2nd Introduction to Design Thinking Workshop on the 1st and 2nd of December 2011! The workshop will be run in a cozy and comfortable studio type environment allowing close contact with the facilitators. This is to ensure that you leave with a strong appreciation of Design Thinking as a problem solving tool and what it can do for your organization or business success. Most traditional Design Thinking workshops are often run within organizations. We wanted our Design Thinking workshop to be open to the masses and to people from all types of industries. We have therefore designed this workshop for people with no experience on the topic, but want to learn more about this new business buzzword.
More About: Back

Design Sojourn Consulting: 1 Year On
2011-10-18 18:48:00
Image: October 2011, by Tess Sammarco How time flies? It has already been just over a year since I left my cushy (well not that cushy) corporate job at Philips Design to turn Design Sojourn into a full time strategic design consulting business. But before I go on, I better warn you that much of what you are about to read will be an introspective with an occasional dose of reflection. If this might be too much for you, do check out that cool featured article up top? Heh-heh, you have been warned!
More About: Consulting

Why the iPhone 4S Happened Instead of the iPhone 5
2011-10-13 18:13:00
John Gruber, from Daring Fireball, tells it like it is. For example, his thought on people wishing for larger 4-inch iPhone screens: Apple decided on the optimal size for an iPhone display back in 2006. If they thought 4-inches was better, overall, as the one true size for the iPhone display, then the original iPhone would have had a 4-inch display. I agree. Jony Ive probably had a bunch of iPhone foam models with different sizes and the model with the 3.5-inch screen probably felt the best in Steve Job's hand.
More About: Iphone , Industrial Design

8 things I thank Steve Jobs for
2011-10-06 13:27:00
This morning I work up to the sad news of the passing of Steve Jobs . Though I expected it, I had hoped it would never come. As the world mourns the passing of a legend, I'm at a lost for words to describe the breath and depth or the everlasting impact of his achievements. I therefore though it would be better instead to celebrate his life with a small tribute by sharing 8 things I would like to thank Steve Jobs for.
More About: Things

Should Designers Work for Free?
2011-01-13 04:56:00
Jessica Hische has created a nice little flow chart to help designers decide if we should work for free. Jessica has helpfully incorporated into her flow chart many of common scenarios that are used to bait unsuspecting designers. While this sort of thing is often common sense, this flow chart serves as a nice reminder to all of us.
More About: Work , Free , Designers

Cool Augmented Reality Game using Legos
2011-01-13 03:24:00
This is probably one of the best uses of Augmented Reality I've seen in a long time. It is a nice mix of real and virtual elements combined in a meaningful way that enhances a child's imaginative play.
More About: Cool , Game , Industrial Design

The Future of Digital Cameras, Showcased at CES 2011!
2011-01-11 04:34:00
Check out this awesome digital camera showcased at CES 2011. It has a huge viewfinder display (5" AMOLED, 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixels) on its slim camera body that seconds as a mobile phone, however (IMHO) the winning idea is the wireless transmitting lens that allows you to take pictures from all kinds of different (or awkward) angles. It is logically called WVIL or Wireless Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens, and I just can't wait to try this! (More pictures after the jump!)
More About: Future , Digital Cameras , The Future , Cameras , Digital

The Impressive Fling Game Controller
2011-01-06 17:07:00
I'm actually rather impressed with the industrial design of the Fling game controller by Ten 1 Design. It is one of those products born from a beautiful fusion of design and engineering. The simple spiral holds the dial in place but also allows it to flex with 360 degrees of freedom. I wonder how many prototypes they made to get the material flex and spiral design right. Important as the spiral design has the challenging job of preventing your finger from sliding all over the place during those intense gaming situations.
More About: Game

Francis Ford Coppola on Risk
2011-01-05 17:04:00
If you don?t take a risk then how are you going to make something really beautiful, that hasn?t been seen before? ~ Francis Ford Coppola
More About: Risk

When Designing: Focus on Methods, Not Process
2010-10-28 18:10:00
Bryan over at the ZURBlog wrote that designers should focus on methods, not process. At a glance, method and process may seem like the same thing, but a closer look reveals their distinct differences. A method is a how you do something, while process is putting methods through an established routine. Don't get stuck thinking a process will solve your problems because without effective methods, you're likely to end up with an uninspired result. Some food for thought?
More About: Designing , Focus , Methods

An Exhibition Made for SAM (Singapore Art Museum)
2010-10-27 19:22:00
I had the pleasure of being invited, on Tuesday, to the opening ceremony of the Made for SAM exhibition. This exhibition, probably the first of its kind in Singapore , featured the work of 40 multidisciplinary artist, designers and architects. This work was commission by the Singapore Art Museum in collaboration with Farm.sg (a Singaporean art and design collective.) Slideshow after the jump.
More About: Exhibition

20 Awesome Educational Videos on Design
2010-10-25 04:44:00
I?ve always believed that videos were one of the best things to happen to learning on the Internet. Now people from all around the world can see beyond just the word and fully appreciate a presenter?s facial nuances and tone of voice. Listed below are some of my favorites in the world of design. There are tons more, but I specifically limited it to educational content or notable speakers with credible bodies of work. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did watching and compiling them. By the way, they are not listed in any order of priority.
More About: Videos , Design , Educational , Awesome , Concept

We Need to Constantly Challenge our Design Processes
2010-10-21 18:07:00
As designers, we all have processes, systems and tools that we use day in and day out. Each one employed to solve a specific problem in a specific way. As we attempt to automate our design process and optimize our methods we invariably realize that our answers are becoming more and more generic?formulaic, if you ...
More About: Design , Challenge

Why Want More When You can Have the Mediocrity Experience?
2010-10-21 04:25:00
I even tried to customize my own with near zero options! I just had to take a break from my busy proposals schedule to share this with you. This has to be the most meaningful viral marketing campaign I have ever seen because it hits so close to home to anyone who is in or interested in the creative field. I watched it twice just to absorb the content and laughed every time! Enjoy! Video after the jump.
More About: Business , Experience , Concept

Design Thinking is Killing Creativity, A Presentation Redux
2010-10-18 19:40:00
I'm always open to new experiences! Last Saturday was the first time I presented a blog article to an actual physical audience! I was invited by the Design and Technology Educators Society (DTES) to present my controversial post: "Design Thinking is Killing Creativity ". Check out the presentation after the jump!

Get 30% off SketchBook Pro for your Mac or PC!
2010-10-11 16:41:00
The kind folks of Autodesk heard that I loved SketchBook Pro so much that they extended their Comic-Con only 30% discount to all Design Sojourn readers! I'm sure many of you know what SketchBook Pro is all about, especially if you have used their Apps on the iPhone or iPad. I have been thinking of getting SketchBook Pro for a while now and this 30% discount tipped the scales for me. So if you are like me, someone that ironically owns SketchBook Pro on all other platforms except on your own PC or Mac, it's time to get it now.