the designers/innovators real job

I have been in the design and innovation field for over 17 years, and the longer I stay in it, not only do I see dramatic changes in how we do things as ideamakers, but I see clearly (now more than ever) how our roles are being defined. Design in itself has been looked at for many years, post REAL DESIGN era, you know, when we were still designing railroads, airplanes and rocket ships, as the business of "making pretty things". It's not been until here recently that I am starting to feel the shift back to the "good ole" days when ideamakers really cared about making art, making life easier, or more "tolerable" INSTEAD of being focused solely on capitalism and industrialism to the point where everything remains "safe" and above all "profitable". Designers like Emily Pilloton at Project H Design ( http://projecthdesign.org ) have decided to change the game and they are getting BACK to the REAL jobs of Designers and Innovators - "Problem Solvers", "Challenge Eliminators" and "Concern Addressors". THIS is where I feel the business of ideamaking is going. We are in the midst of the Creation Economy, and as the "way makers" of tomorrow we have to really start thinking about the real deal... "Making a difference" .... It matters.

apple ipad: rethinking the newsroom: ken clubb, broadcast engineer pt 2

When new technology hits the market often times we, the broadcast engineers, are among the first to begin analyzing and looking into different methods on how we can incorporate these new items into our existing work environment as smoothly as possible. I say smoothly because, most broadcast engineers prefer simple over complex. 

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When the iPads were first introduced, I can recall talking with Vincent Hunt about the many different features this item carried and how great it would be if we could use them with our news programs; not just for the new technical aspects of this device had to offer, but to eliminate using paper products and saving our business thousands of dollars each month in associated cost.  

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The biggest obstacle we had to overcome seemed to be how we were going to interface this new Apple iPad with older and very preparatory PC based software such as AP News Center. "With a little trip outside the normal thinking box" the solution was simple. Just print scripts from AP using a simple freeware PDF print driver and email it to each host iPad email account. No wires, emulating software or many wasted head banging hours on configurations needed, just email it.

About Ken Clubb

Ken Clubb is the Chief Broadcast Engineer at WFXL FOX 31 in Albany, Georgia.

apple ipad: rethinking the newsroom pt 1

With all of the buzz surrounding the iPad, one thing really surprises me... We are somehow forgetting the evolution of the iPhone, which in my opinion is the "little brother" (or sister) of the iPad. When the iPhone was first introduced, many of the skeptics were simply classing it as another cell phone with a big shiny screen. With the release of the iPad we have become witnesses to the same type of language... "The iPad is simply a big iPhone - OR "... it's just another tablet PC". In my opinion, It's something much, much more. 

Ipad

The iPad represents a new paradigm in how we do things. When looked at as something totally unique unto it's self, we begin to see the limitless possibilities the device offers. From a design perspective - we should start exploring the ability to now replace "paper driven" systems, which effects the publishing industry as a whole, and from an innovation perspective we should start thinking about ways to make what we do from day to day easier. 

Over the past year I have had the pleasure of working within the Broadcast industry, where many of the core functions from the news desk to the production table are paper driven. When they first announced the iPad I quickly began to see unique possibilities that would forward green efforts and really start refining our day to day task. From the scripts that Journalist use to the rundowns that Producers and Directors navigate,  I began to identify opportunities to not only cut cost, but to also enable the professionals on the WFXL FOX 31 team, bringing them closer to content and making them more agile, all inherited attributes of the iPad. THIS is the type of thinking that I feel will forward the evolution of this device. 

The first challenge I wanted to tackle with the iPad was a highly visible and relevant area, the news desk. On the average, our station spends over 2,000USD's a month on paper and printer repairs. By taking ONE function from the Journalist, scripts, and putting the scripts on the iPad, we projected saving approx 1,500USD/mo in this one area alone. If we look at this savings over the 15 Barrington Broadcasting stations - our savings were astronomical. 

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This only represents the beginning, and while the broadcast industry is only one of many that I can see clear and relevant applications, I feel that by rethinking how we view the iPad we will be able to uncover many news ways to do things... 

there is bad design everywhere

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There is bad design everywhere. I know this is a pretty bold statement, BUT it's true. There are poorly designed customer service experiences, horribly designed signage experiences, and if I sat long enough, and had enough patience, I could probably rattle off about 100 other EXPERIENCES that are poorly designed. And if I am honest with YOU and MYSELF, I would have to admit that all of the BAD DESIGN is not 100% of the design stakeholders fault. IN fact, I would have to say that about 80% of the BAD DESIGN that we engage is the fault of the Designers.

Where We Miss It... Sometimes.

For a long time (real long time) Designers have been charged with making things pretty and not held responsible (at all) for experiences. We are not held responsible for insuring the experience associated with the "pretty thing" lines up with the really good looks. This is a broken practice. Over the last few years we have seen a surge in Experience Designers and Interaction Designers for this very reason. The Experience Designers and Interaction Designers are the insurance policy (or should be the insurance policy) that not only does a thing "shine well" on the surface, BUT it also "shines within" as it pertains to the experience...

Closing thoughts -

Start thinking about experiences. Start giving a damn about how people engage your designs rather you are the stakeholder OR the designer, we are all responsible (HELD RESPONSIBLE) for not only making things "pretty" BUT we are responsible for making them "make sense"...

emily pilloton: project h design... manifesto

Emily

"We need the design world (particularly industrial design) to stop talking big and start doing good; to put the problem-solving skills on which we pride ourselves to work on some of the biggest global issues; to design for health, poverty, homelessness, education, and more..." 

Read the complete manifesto: http://tr.im/projecthmanifesto