This is Peter&Wendy, an awesome boutique graphic design studio in Paris.

MX 2007 presenter, and author of The Myths of Innovation, Scott Berkun, is featured on CNBC’s new 5-part series, “The Business of Innovation.” As “The Provocateur”, he is a welcome tonic to some of the commentary on the show. As they say, check your local listings.

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Like many interaction designers, I’m increasingly dissastisfied with the static, page-based tools that are used to create and share wireframes (OmniGraffle or Visio, anyone?) There is simply no way that these applications can communicate the fluidity and richness of interactions that are now possible.

So when Alexa held a tutorial on prototyping with Flash, I jumped at the chance to attend. It’s been a long time since I’ve used Flash, and never in the context of prototyping. I was concerned that I didn’t have the chops to follow along, but Alexa made it easy. I learned a ton, and I’m eager to use my new knowledge on a project.

And now, you, too can jump into the world of Flash Prototyping. Alexa has published her tutorial on Boxes and Arrows, complete with detailed instructions, templates and tips.

And if you want to experience the in-person version, Alexa’s teaching her tutorial at UX Week 2008.

Long live the interactive prototype!

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Traveling abroad can be a challenge to the emotions, senses, patience and pocketbook. I’ve traveled a considerable amount over the years, but my current venture is probably the most complex to date. Three weeks, 4 countries, 5 cities and somehow a daunting 8 different hotels (long story). Before you start thinking Adaptive Path is cruel for making me do this, I’ll be very clear in saying this was all my own doing. Facilitating workshops at 2 conferences, visiting friends on weekends and arranging meetings with industry colleagues during the week - all my choice and I’m enjoying it all too! Well, actually, to be honest, what I’m not enjoying is the harrowing logistics of traveling and being away from familiar foods, surroundings, family and friends.

I will spare you my whining about the logistics (apologies to folks following me on Twitter, you get it instead!)

However, what has been going well on this trip is the vast amount of tools available to stay connected with the office, family and friends. I set up my travel plans before I left on Tripit and Dopplr and have shared with friends and colleagues. Tripit was critical in showing me I had somehow forgot to book a few days accommodation during part of this complex trip. Each night, at day’s end, I’ve been reading Twitter to catch up on friends and colleagues (I don’t receive Tweets on my phone because SMS’s are so expensive). I’m also viewing my contacts’ Flickr streams and uploading my own photos every few days. When I’m using the computer, I keep iChat on and get to see who’s online and what they might be up to based on their status. It’s familiar and brings me comfort to see their routines continue while I’m unable to have my own routine. Although the challenge has been coordinating the best time to call, my husband and I have been using Skype to have long conversations every few days - essentially for free. He sounds like he’s literally right next to me. I’ve been able to pay bills online through online banking as well as make sure I have enough funds in my ATM account and see the exchange rate and fees within a matter of minutes of a transaction. Of course there’s email for contact with the office, but I’m also using our internal wiki to share what I’m up to with colleagues back at the office too. For coordinating with folks in the local areas, I’ve been using email, SMS and saved maps on Google maps. There seems to be enough free wifi in London to also connect my iPhone for an occasional map  look up for a nearby restaurant or Tube stop.

All in all the software technology has been very supportive. I find it odd that the virtual world of the internet has been extremely helpful, but the real world, face-to-face interactions and logistics are still a huge and sometimes daunting challenge. Why is it that we can create these services to stay connected, but still cannot take care of the basic necessities of travel? Is there anyone out there willing to fix the logistics of travel?

I can also see more clearly why people are using the internet to interact and connect rather than endure face to face interactions. Somehow looking foolish in the virtual world is easier to take in the privacy of your own room than having the same thing happen to you while standing in front of total strangers at the street corner, unfamiliar restaurant, hotel lobby, public transit ticket counter, etc.

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I’d like to share the process and ideas behind the cover design of our richly produced book, “Subject to Change: Creating Great Products & Services for an Uncertain World”.

We began by setting visual goals that best convey the content of the book. We agreed that it would be graphically conceptual and that it should invoke a sense of transformation, urgency and excitement.

These were early design explorations in different directions to begin brainstorming some visual ideas.

We loved them … but they wanted to see more. (*~*) And to be honest none of these strongly conveyed the design goals. (- _ -)

Then came the publisher’s input and we were provided with a brief outlining the publisher’s “General Brand Sensibilities”. In response, the next set of explorations incorporated intriguing photographic images to create an emotional response.

We also needed to address some practical points. “From a retail merchandising standpoint, the title should be easily read both in retail and online. The imagery and the title should be memorable, intriguing and inviting.”

After many more iterations, we arrived at the final cover design with the following three main design elements to communicate what’s inside.

The image
The book is about creating great products and services for an uncertain world. The dynamic image communicates the idea of speed and transformation. Twist and turns of a rapidly changing world.

Bright orange!
This is to get your attention and the orange band placed diagonally conveys urgency.

The title
White against vibrant orange makes the title pop and creates a sense of excitement. San serif typeface Fedra Sans was chosen for its clean, contemporary and versatile feel.

Here’s the final cover:

Graphic design practice can sometimes seem like a battle between the aesthetically driven designer versus commercially driven publishers, marketers and authors. In reality, good design utilizes the collective knowledge and experience of all parties involved and balances various factors to arrive at the final appropriate result.

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Last weekend while waiting for a flight in Chicago O’Hare airport, I caught a BBC news segment on the devastating earthquake that struck Sichuan province in China on May 12th. The segment relayed the story of people across China using microblogging services to broadcast the tremor, update friends and family about their well-being and report stories of life on the ground. I found similar articles online and the report echoed much of how people used Twitter during the San Diego fires in October 2007.

What I find particularly inspiring about these microblogging examples is their insight into how I think we should be approaching mobile services - by focusing on human needs.

I’ve seen a fair share of mobile services – and quite honestly many make about as much sense to me as putting beans up your nose. Most are either awkward attempts at forcing PC-based services into a tiny device or so obviously designed from a market-segment perspective they completely miss the boat on serving convincing human needs. To be fair, not all mobile services fit these descriptions, but many do. Few seem to be getting it right and enjoying widespread adoption.

Traditionally, products and services designed for emergency situations have proven boons for innovation because they approach the problem from a non-market-centric mindset. Designing for emergency contexts frees us from typical drivers such as market segmentation and economics and forces a focus on human needs. Many technologies we use today such as walkie-talkies, the Internet, even the original landline telephone started out as products designed for emergency situations and found their way to the consumer space and widespread adoption.

At some point, any of us could receive a reverse 911 call and become a refugee. Natural disasters, political upheaval, or even war could force us to leave our homes, our possessions… everything we know behind. The only piece of technology we will probably be able to take with us is a mobile device. How might we want to use a mobile device to begin rebuilding our lives? What services will we need?

Photo courtesy of Qian Wang

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This is the second briefest visit I’ve ever paid to Seattle. I arrived last night and I’ll be leaving in just a couple of hours to head for home.

The briefest visit I’ve ever paid to Seattle was just over a week ago. That lasted just long enough for me to grab a few hour’s sleep in a hotel near the airport — in room 404, no less — before heading north to Anchorage, Alaska.

In the following week I saw plenty of sights. I certainly had no lack of daylight in which to see them. With just a few weeks to go until the Summer solstice, night time doesn’t last very long.

I spent three days on The Spirit of Columbia cruising around the glaciers of Prince William Sound and the rest of the time was divided between Anchorage, Talkeetna and Denali National Park.

The three-day cruise offered up plenty of wildlife sightings: one bear, a drove of mountain goats, a bevy of otters, a bob of seals, a convocation of eagles and a gam of whales. The sight of a young humpback whale lunge-feeding near the shoreline was eclipsed only by the unusual sight—to my eyes, at least—of an eagle swimming. I thought that maybe the eagle was in distress but no, apparently when an eagle catches a really big fish, it will try to swim to the shore with it rather than let the prize go.

The landscape was, needless to say, spectacular. I took plenty of pictures but the only ones that really get the scale across are the panoramas I stiched together (Photoshop CS3 makes this a breeze using File → Automate → Photomerge).

Peruse these at full size to get all the detail. I’m particularly fond of the panoramas created from pictures taken on a crisp clear day atop a glacier at Denali after an exhilarating helicopter ride.

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Tagged with alaska travel