Fit: A Working Definition of IxD Design

October 25, 2011

This is the best definition of Interaction Design that I’ve encountered so far: not engineering or styling, but fit. It describes the role as one of connection, rather than invention (though invention may occur in the process). IxD Designers are not primarily responsible with creating technologies, ensuring proper functioning, or aesthetics, but rather with the [...]

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Designing Humans: A Service Experience

September 25, 2011

I recently tested the service Airbnb, “a startup that allows people to rent out their own spaces – everything from an extra room to a private boat, a castle in Italy or a treehouse overlooking the San Francisco bay” (CNN, Money). I sketched out a mindmap of the service, and describe it below. The Culture [...]

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Software Services

August 13, 2011

I just had a pleasant conversation with Naftalik Chepkoit. After moving to the United States from Kenya, Naftalik studied information sciences before going into finance. He then worked as a retail manager for three years. “People don’t appreciate how flexible things are here. You can work as a doctor, then go back to school and [...]

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Non-Zero Sum School

April 1, 2011

One of the adjustments that’s occurred between the first and second class of SVA’s Interaction Design program is the doing away with of grades. Individual students of the second class can request (opt-into) grades from faculty but none have done so to my knowledge. This policy has been received with mixed reviews. One redeeming quality [...]

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Fix it

March 23, 2011

Last semester I adopted “ship it” as a mantra to encourage breaking through those nagging inner voices that say “it’s not good enough,” or “finish it later,” or “I wonder if it’s been done before.” I’ve been somewhat successful. In any case, today I thought of a new project in the spirit of doing. As [...]

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The Unexamined Thought

January 30, 2011

A classmate of mine recently told me in response to some writing I had submitted to a group project, “Nice, it reads well.” The writing was for what’s called a user journey among interaction designers. Look it up if you care. The point is that the document and the writing therein, like most writing, was [...]

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