surprise the designer

This post could also be titled: 'Kids are SO cool!' The past year has been a very good one for me. I've gotten to work for a small toy brand that I started out admiring and now downright love. And as a side benefit of that work, I've made friends with a seven-year-old (I don't think there are a ton of 25-year-olds who can say that...) See, the team I work with is a team of freelancers. Each and every one of us works from our kitchen tables and our home offices. Every so often we get to work from each other's kitchen tables and home offices. That means that a couple days a week, I wind up at G's house. If I happen to be there at 3:00, I get to help welcome the kids home from school. Sometimes that leads to grand adventures. More after the jump...

For better or for worse I have always been one to take photos in the bathroom. Don't get the wrong idea, though- I just think that bathroom fixtures and layouts say a lot about culture and people. This photo is from the bathroom in Penn Station. I am impressed both with the unique design of the towel dispenser and the really proper use of an icon to explain the design. I have heard people say that you shouldn't touch handles (on the door, towel dispenser, sink, etc.) after you wash your hands. I think that is a little silly because once you don't touch anything in the bathroom, you will go shake hands or touch some other surface and still wind up all germified . Yet, here is a design that tailors itself to the germophobes by offering a handle meant for your...elbow. I guess it is better to have a germy elbow than a germy hand, but who knows... (!)

While we were in Europe, we had many exchanges with people who didn't speak English (or, you could say, they had experiences with us- people who don't speak Spanish, Italian, Czech, Polish, German, Croatian, etc.). For some silly reason, I didn't really anticipate looking directly at someone who is trying to tell me something and not being able to understand anything they say. I didn't fathom what it feels like to walk down the street and not be able to read any of the menu boards outside restaurants. I especially did not predict that navigation would be so challenging because we couldn't even pronounce street names. Of course, we often found ways around the language barrier. Hand gestures and little drawings can go a long way. There were a few times when we left an exchange flabbergasted and confused- especially when the other person knew a little English, or we knew a little of their language, but not enough. The whole point, though, is how important icons,...

VR working! Originally uploaded by temporary_diversion Yesterday I got frustrated with the wireless connection at our house. It was being really flaky, kicking me off the internet and refusing to let me back on. So, in a huff, I went upstairs, got a pen, and held down the reset button. I held it down for five long seconds. Then, the network was gone. Our little wireless network called 'bunny' was nowhere to be found. I had taken a bad situation and made it worse. Shoot. Almost two hours later, after trying to trouble shoot, emailing my landlord, and eventually calling our service provider, the problem was fixed. The moral of this story? Listen to your products. Or, maybe more so, when you are designing keep in mind that people are dumb. The reset button on the router is one of those little things you have to stick a pen in. It is supposed to be hard to get to. I should have seem that as a warning, but didn't, and consequently lost a couple hours of my night. Th...

By and large, designers like to see the process behind products. Designers are the ones who want to see ideation sketches and photos of models-in-process in your portfolio. It's just so... cool... When we were in Italy we had the good fortune (and good timing, and good connections) to tour the Piaggio design center and assembly line. It was interesting to see the workstations where men (it's definitely a boys club there) sketch out little Vespas that later become reality, but it was AWESOME to see the assembly line, with hundreds of in-process scooters lined up. Then, in Vienna, we wiggled our way to the front row at a Bishop Allen concert. Bishop Allen has been one of my favorite bands for the past two years. I have listened to their music over and over and over again. Somehow, though, seeing them play their instruments right in front of me changed everything. I understood what they were playing when, what was easier to play and what was more of a challenge. Now t...

I Adore Alessi Originally uploaded by denimay It took everything I had not to yell at people when they went up to the (obviously) closed Alessi store at the Milan furniture fair and took pictures. They pointed their cameras into the darkened room and took pictures of the products they (and their cameras) couldn't actually see. They smiled in front of the closed doors while their friends took the photos. They smashed their noses up against the glass doors to try to catch a glimpse of... nothing new. There was nothing new in that store, nothing worth oogling over, just overpriced plastic. That being said, I understand some of Alessi's draw. They are an established company with excellent craft. I even appreciate the humor in a lot of their products. But, in the long run, I think it is mostly about little trinkets splashed with color, a dash of cuteness, and a huge price tag. And even though that toothpick holder that looks like a bunny in a magic hat looks sooooo cute on t...