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Month October 2008

Entries 3 Total

Project Masiluleke via PopTech 2008

Oct 24, ’08 1:32 PM

While I was at frog design, I was able to be part of the research and exploratory phases of Project M (or, Project Masiluleke, which stands for “lend a helping hand” in Zulu). Frog is also collaborating with various other organizations.

Using simple mobile technologies like SMS along with home-testing kits, Project M focuses on addressing the AIDS/HIV epidemic in South Africa’s province of KZN (KwaZulu Natal). It is a massive project with a purpose of bringing awareness and information in a country with limited resources and stigmas centered around getting tested for HIV.

To see some of the concepts generated by frog, please go here.

Comments (1)

21st Century, 20 Million People, 19 Cities

Oct 15, ’08 4:30 PM

I found out today that Richard Saul Wurman (creator of L.A.T.C.H., founder of the TED conferences, and renown information architect) is my alumni. He graduated from UPenn back in the late 50′s with a bachelor’s in architecture and a masters in architecture. Though we also share the same undergrad alma mater, I was more interested in his time at PennDesign since I was part of the MArch program before leaving it for CMU’s Interaction Design program. I thought Louis Kahn and Bob Venturi were the last of the “great ones” from Penn’s program and thought the school had lost its touch with a changing world. I don’t know what’s happening there now but Wurman is a pleasant surprise (despite the fact that he graduated in ’59).

I think of his work relevant in the context of a changing world for two reasons. At the personal level, his contribution to the discipline of Design is relevant today. At CMU, his work was one of the first that I was exposed to and helped me understand information in a different light. Secondly, one of his other projects is very interesting:

Supercities Study - http://192021.org

Supercities Study - http://192021.org

19.20.21 stands for “19” cities, “20” million people, in the “21st” century is a ”five-year study that will encompass all aspects of the phenomenon of supercities”. The study will cover comparative and statistical analysis of the world’s 19 major cities based on the following subjects: health, education, transportation, demographics, energy consumption, growth patterns, water sources, use and quality, waste management, economics and the cost of living, infrastructure, quality of life and standard of living indices, crime dynamics, calamity risk, culture and art.

Pretty interesting.

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Best Pizza Ordering Experience Ever

Oct 2, ’08 8:03 PM

Oh, how the Ninja Turtles would be envious of what’s possible today.

I just ordered Domino’s Pizza with my sister-in-law and thought I was going through a typical transaction over the web. After the credit card payment, however, I was brought to this flash-based interface on the confirmation page:

30 Minute Guarantee Dynamic Interface from Dominos.com

30 Minute Guaranteeing, Dynamic Interface from Dominos.com

While we waited, there was also a “Are you a Republican/Democrat?” poll to interact with.

Usually, once I’ve purchased a product, I leave the computer or close the screen but I’m still here, waiting eagerly to see how my pizza is progressing. They’ve broken it down into 5 easy steps: order placed, prep, bake, box, delivery. And here’s also a nice touch:

Yes, bake that pie, Corine

Yes, bake that pie, Corine.

What a nice personal touch, adds a nice human element (kinda makes me want to go to Domino’s right now just to see if there’s really a Corine there). But now, the final touch:

Steve is on his way!

Steve is on his way!

Methinks I hear the doorbell. I’m gonna go say hi to Steve and watch the VP debate. What a delightful pizza ordering experience!

Edit on 10/3/08:
Ordering pizza, or buying some other commercial product online, has now become a mundane process. As Goffman would say it, we have a transactional process of “initiation, maintenance, and leave-taking.” It’s the last phase of “leave-taking” that really interests me. In much of life, we greet people, get to know them a bit, and at the end of the day, say goodbye.
Dewey calls his form “conception, development, and fulfillment.” Many times, people will make a purchase and once they give out their credit card, the confirmation page is a just another moment in their day where they transition to another activity and mode of thinking. However, this Dominos pizza tracker took it beyond just a “leave-taking” stage. I actually stayed in Dominos land (Dominos became my environment because I had intent to stay) and we had a type of conversation. I don’t know what I exactly mean by that, but it was something very different from other transactions I’ve had before.

Comments (1)