Archive for 2010

The much anticipated iphone4 went on sale Thursday, June 24 after much anticipation from the techno-savvy. But as shoppers rush to be the first to discard their seemingly ancient iphone predecessors, buyers and reviewers are pointing to a persistent problem.

It seems reception for the iphone4 can be impaired depending on how you hold the phone. The problem is perhaps due to an internal antenna that is embedded along the edge of the phone, directly under a user’s grip. Apple, the quintessential hallmark of innovation, responded, “Just avoid holding it in that way.” “That way” being the intuitive, fairly standard way to hold a cell phone. And, in an upsell worthy of any telemarketer working today, they recommend buying the iphone4 cover to reduce the interference, among other ideas.

It may be the ultimate karmic twist that in addition to CNN’s report
on the matter, Gizmodo (who found the iphone4 prototype) and Engadget (who posted the prototype photo) are sharing what looks to be the original email from Apple CEO Steve Jobs offering the advice, as well as Apple’s follow up clarifications.

Based on Jobs initial response, there appears to be a fine line between reinventing the user experience and vaudeville. His advice bears a striking resemblance to the tired classic: A guy goes into a Dr.’s office saying, “It hurts when I do this.” To which the Dr. replies, “So don’t do that.” Perhaps Apple has an amazing sense of humor with regard to their products and this is all a misunderstanding. Surely they are joking if they believe there’s no problem with the design, just the user’s hand.

As for advice regarding iterations of other Apple products, maybe Jobs will continue in this vein and fall back on comedy staple, “a man, a parrot and donkey all set off in a boat …” Forget the Worldwide Developers Conference, Jobs should be at the Bellagio. No doubt seats would sell out early.

This isn’t a very designerly post but I wanted to take a second comment on the sad passing of Manute Bol.

For those of you who are not familiar with semi-obscure former NBA athletes, Manute Bol was a freakishly tall Sudanese-born basketball player who played for a laundry list of NBA teams in the Mid ’80s. I love basketball and I’ve always had an affinity for Manute. At 6′4″ I’m sort of tall compared to many people. At 7′7″ Manute was in another zip code. He was coincidentally born a few weeks after me and I found myself watching his basketball career blossom as my own rec-league level game was fading to an inglorious close.

Manute Bol careened dramatically and unexpectedly onto the US basketball scene with more of a sense of bemusement than fanfair. It would be easy to characterize his career as a freak show / circus-like curiosity and many did. He was clearly not of our culture. Manute Bol loved to relay the story of how he once killed a lion with a spear while working as a cowhearder. Probably not going to hear that one from Lebron or Kobe. I’m just guessing.

Initially his complete lack of English combined with his skeletal frame, terrible scoring ability and incredible cultural differences made him the butt of jokes. Later the US warmed to him and at the end of his career he was a fan favorite. At one point the Bullets (Wizards now) paired him with 5′3″ Muggys Bogues making them the tallest and shortest players on the court. He was, by all accounts, a gentle giant – a quick wit and sly prankster.

His NBA career spanned 10 years and his numbers – aside from his shot blocking – were wholly unspectacular. 2.6 PPG, 4.2 rebounds. 19 minutes per game.

What made Manute truly special, however happened outside of the 94′ fantasy world we call a basketball court. Manute is reported to have spent virtually every penny he ever made on charitable causes related to his war-torn homeland. He tirelessly campaigned for human rights and peace in the Sudan trying to bring some stability to this sad place. He would do anything, anywhere at any time to raise money or awareness… he boxed William the Refrigerator Perry in exchange for an agreement from Fox to broadcast the telephone number to charity he established for refuges. Even though he couldn’t skate, he signed a one-day contract to play Hockey to raise money for Children of the Sudan.

He was a man that reached across a huge cultural divide into my heart and made me value the common threads of humanity that bind us all. I’ve often wondered if I found myself in his size 16 shoes – lifted from a place of tremendous poverty, strife and tragedy – and given unimaginable riches in new world playing a game I love – if I would never look back. Yet Manute Bol is a man who never looked forward. Never forgot and never gave up. For this I deeply admire him.

Manute Bol passed away last week at the age of 47 from a disease he most likely contracted while on a humanitarian mission in Africa. Basketball may have given Manute Bol to us – but Manute gave us so much more. The world has lost a fine human being and I am saddened.

Each year, Design Concepts hosts internship opportunities for students interested in the field of design. This year, we’re welcoming four talented individuals (some current students, some recent graduates) with skills in strategy & research, industrial design and graphic design. They’ll work on every aspect of client projects as well as projects internal to the firm.

In addition to project work, this year’s interns will complete a research project for Design Concepts’ exploring the decision making process. Their completed project will articulate the motivation and process behind the choices we make and will guide the company’s thinking on future projects and client work.

We feel fortuante to have them here, and just had to ask: How did we get so lucky? Why did you choose an internship at Design Concepts?

Pictured (from left to right)

Jarod Beukelman
BFA, Savannah College of Art and Design, Industrial Design
Design Concepts was not just another industrial design firm ornamenting useless objects with plastic. Rather they seemed to really value the holistic design process to solve problems that better people’s lives.

Vivian Lin
Current candidate for AAS in Mechanical Design Technology at Madison Area Technical College (MATC)

PhD, Linguistics (MIT)
MA, Linguistics (SOAS, University of London)
BA, Linguistics (Harvard)
I loved the energy of the people I’d met, and I was drawn by the company’s philosophy and culture. I also felt that the people at Design Concepts were offering me a tremendous opportunity to learn, as well as contribute. I want to help design cool stuff, too!

Jake Ruesch
Herzing University, Graphic Design
I loved the atmosphere, people, projects and the potential for personal growth.

Nick Remis
Savannah College of Art and Design, Industrial and Service Design
I chose an internship with Design Concepts because they use a wide variety of methodologies and disciplines to create innovative strategies, concepts and products for a wide range of clients and fields.

It has been gut-wrenching watching the BP oil spill tragedy unfold in the gulf and my heart goes out to the residents of this area who are facing the prospect of their lives and livelihood being forever changed.

From a purely technical perspective I’ve tried my best to reserve judgment and dispassionately ponder the appropriate allocation of fate and blame. Clearly there are some disturbing revelations and allegations concerning corner cutting and risk taking. At the same time, I fully understand deep water undersea drilling is undoubtedly an incredibly complex undertaking which exists in some part to support our societies’ lifestyle – not to mention the jobs of countless workers in the chain leading from the gulf sea floor directly to my car’s gas cap.

I am reminded of Henry Petroki’s brilliant book - “to engineer is human”. In it, Petroski – a civil engineer by training – speaks of the roll of failure in successful design and eloquently reminds us that all technical human progress involves risk. And while risk begets failure – often spectacularly or tragically – these failures provide a unique opportunity to advance our understanding, knowledge, and practice in a way not easily duplicated through success.

Through all of recorded history – and undoubtedly before, there have been a litany of terrible tragedies – the Tacoma Narrows Bridge , the sinking of the Titanic, the explosion of the space Shuttle Endeavor, the sinking of the Valdez, Hurricane Katrina, Hyatt Regency Tragedy and now sadly the BP gulf spill.

Predictably, and perhaps appropriately, certain individuals will rise up to offer castigation, place blame and seek retribution. Conversely – there are others that will claim fate, misfortune, inevitability or just plain bad luck provide allowances and shrug these occurrences off as “just one of those things”.

Meanwhile, time has shown that though each of these tragedies, yet a third group of individuals will thoughtfully seek deep understanding through careful study, analysis, reflection and use this understanding to refine designs, policies and regulations. Ultimately I believe it is this response – far more than denial, excuses or witch hunts and political posturing – that leads to true benefit and progress.

The Tacoma Narrows gave us safer bridges. The Titanic gave us lifeboat regulations, the Valdez gave us double-hulled tankers and the oil spill prevention act, Katrina may rebuild the levies. It’s possible the BP Gulf tragedy – as painful as it is – will undoubtedly give us safer undersea drilling and may yet be a catalyst to a more sustainable energy policy based on renewable and environmentally responsible technologies.

While executives and elected officials scramble to contain the BP oil spill, answers are coming from Hollywood. Actor Kevin Costner has recently emerged as the most likely entrepreneur/innovator to offer a workable interim solution. Yes, that Kevin Costner.

Innovation really does occur in unlikely places.

Turns out, in addition to his ability to dance with wolves, Costner has the skill of developing shelved product designs. Nearly two decades ago, he purchased technology from the Dept. of Energy and developed a commercially viable centrifugal solution. And, on the heels of stuffing golf balls down the well and attempting to clog the situation with a unique hair salon approach, BP is giving Costner’s product a working chance.

See for yourself as Anderson Cooper interviews Costner on CNN’s AC360.

And suddenly the world makes sense to me – who better to solve the most challenging problems of our time than celebrities? In the coming months, watch for Betty White to address the Middle East crisis and Oprah Winfrey to single-handedly relieve the European debt. She can do that. She’s Oprah.

But to really understand the complexities of the situation, we’ll have to wait for the movie. I have a pretty good idea who will star in it.