I got a “one time offer” in the mail today to renew a magazine subscription.  I threw it right into the recycle bin.  I never respond to the first renewal offer I get for a magazine.  If you have ever subscribed to a magazine you know why.  Regardless of what the offer says (one-time deal, [...]

Don’t you just hate interactive voice response systems?  You know, the automated voice that asks you for all kinds of information so it can “better serve you.”
One of my least favorite aspects of these systems is that they pretend to be an effort to better serve me, when in reality they are first, and foremost, [...]

I’ve often marveled at the naivete of designers that are so excited about their cool new web interface, or developers who are so proud of their shiny new service or method when, in reality, their creations are only novelties because they don’t solve a real need.  Cool for cool’s sake is not good design (or [...]

A couple of weeks ago I arrived at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando for a conference. I, along with the others in my group, was immediately impressed with the grandeur of the resort.
From the grand entrance and the ornate lobby to huge atrium with a mini everglades including live alligators, [...]

I was in Minneapolis recently for some meetings at a customer’s offices in a suburban area. While there I stayed at the Hyatt Place. It was my first trip to the area, but those I was traveling with had been there before and said that they wanted to stay at the Hyatt [...]

Note: I started this post back in October, but never got it posted. Dave Brubeck turned 87 on December 6, 2007.
I had the good fortune to see the Dave Brubeck Quartet in concert last month. For those of you who may not know, Dave Brubeck is one of the legends of Jazz. [...]

Good design requires understanding. And true understanding (of customer/user and business needs, constraints, opportunities, etc.) doesn’t just happen. It requires probing, studying, and questioning.
So, when one stops asking questions, for whatever reason, good design becomes much more difficult. Through the years I have repeatedly seen one key reason that people stop asking [...]

Last month I was at MIT for the Campus Preview Weekend for next year’s freshmen. It was a fun weekend packed with seminars, tours, classes, presentations and parties. Of course the focus was on my daughter, not me. But, there still were plenty of things for the parents to do. At [...]

While testing the beta of the new Interaction Design Association web site (ixda.org) I came across an entry that I had posted in a thread about the commercialization of art/design back in December 2005. A slightly modified version follows.
Design is not a random, spontaneous act. It has purpose — a goal that is trying [...]

Wow! Apple’s announcement of the iPhone sure has generated a lot of buzz. In just a few days I’ve probably seen well over 100 articles, blogs, or posts about the iPhone. What is it about the iPhone that is garnering so much attention? There really isn’t anything new here. I’ve seen [...]