IDEO's Tim Brown: Asking the right question

Highlight from interview with IDEO President & CEO Tim Brown where he emphasizes the importance of asking the right question when doing research. I like this reminder that it's of the utmost importance to bring an active, listening mind when doing product research. How many interviews wasted due to aimlessly following test/interview scripts, or not giving the team a chance to re-question assumed facts, or having weak or no follow-up questions, or simply thinking a ton of or quantitative questions will get us good data?

Linked Entities That Move Through Space

Originally uploaded by precious stuff

I want to board the flight that takes me to you instead of away from you.

Joshua Prince-Ramus TED Talk

Fascinating architectural approach utilizing highly data-driven and human-centered design that appears to be highly contextually sensitive and empathetic.

Extensions of system, extensions of mind

From Ben L.

"How many times have you parked and had to open the door and look down to make sure you are fitting into the space?"

Love this set of photos. Think about all the gadgets or hacks that have been devised to assist with the specific task of parking accurately or in a confined space.

• Floor mats or bumpy cues on the floor
• Antennae sticking up from the front corners of the bumpers
• Dangling tennis ball from a string in the garage
• Using visual reference in the garage of looking to the side
• Learning how the headlight beams change shape at different distances when projected against a surface directly ahead
• Beeping radar distance sensors
• Backup cameras
• Lexus' self-parking cars
• Having a friend get out and help direct
• Lexus' passenger side mirror automatically flip down to show the floor when put into Reverse to show distance to curb
• Auto-folding mirrors to squeeze into narrow spots (comes standard in a lot of countries)
• Pads or bumpers to go on the bumpers to avoid dings and dents from "love tapping" while parking
• "360 view" Nissan and Honda have
• Any others? I should find links/photos for these examples.

Yesterday, a friend of mine remarked as I was parking, "You San Franciscans love parallel parking and are so good at it." I definitely don't do it as well as I used to now that I don't live there anymore.

How come parking is still so tough when we feel so comfortable driving like it's an extension of ourselves. How well do these hacks or tools for parking help us bridge the gap?

While we're on the topic of parking, how about the problem of finding those elusive open spots in a huge parking area?

I always try to think of a better way to help people find a parking spot when I'm looking for parking at a huge lot like at college, the zoo, the airport, etc. I've seen a few attempted solutions. The best was probably a Westfield mall in west LA that had lights above each spot that would indicate whether there was a car in it.

Gestalt at fault?

Which way is which? Downtown Dallas. The drivers are presented with this view for about 2 seconds after braking and exiting the freeway in a very tight tunneled off ramp.

Watch your head on this bench

Spotted this fix at a friend's place to prevent scraping or poking at the sharp edges of the corners of the air conditioning unit positioned above a bench.

Wrench as handle

Seems more ergonomic than most handles actually, depending on how one grasps or touches door handles. [Thanks to Ben for the photo]

Car armrest innovation? Scirocco R

I wonder how the armrest thing on the left is meant to be used? I want to go try it now. Too bad it's only in Europe.

Literal string

Can't imagine a more effective way of explaining the situation.

Chest-high wall sockets?

Why in the world are these wall sockets so high? 

One idea I had was that it was designed for standing desk but this is a conference room. Another idea was they reduced bending over or stooping to plug things in near the floor. Another idea I had was that to make cables running along the floor more conspicuous than if they laid flat on the ground. Makes me think of the motivations behind the MagSafe magnetic plug that detaches with force instead of yanking the whole machine.

Any ideas?