I think it’s quite important to live the present, but also think about the future, particularly on a professional level. It’s almost 3 months since I first started on March 5th, as a Service Design intern at Made by Many, and I’m at a point where I need look at everything I’ve learnt here and try to envisage my future ahead.
Am I doing a good job? Has my work/presence made a positive or negative impact on projects? Where would I like to be after these 6 months? Well as you’ll understand from my pictures and reflections below, I am very happy here, and at the moment I can’t imagine being anywhere else for now, mainly because of two reasons - 1) The great atmosphere created by the lovely people who work here and the beautiful office space makes it a naturally motivating place to work, and 2) The diverse projects I’ve been involved in have taught me many new things and faced me with new challenges (check images below). I know for sure that for now I want to be working with service design, and the part I have enjoyed the most is working with service users and understanding where their problems lie, while connecting the dots back to us, answering questions like “how can we make their life better”?
Here are some more short learnings about my time here so far, and some that have shaped my understanding of the Made by Many way(s)!
These are some of my sketches working on the future of Picle App - I had never really been introduced to how helpful and essential sketching journeys can be - although they may sound so obvious. I hadn’t done that much UX work before, so this has been a very strong learning tool and I know how important it is now.
Sketches when talking about the future of Picle App -I think these were made by Paul.
These are Paul’s drawings. Every time he is talking to me and has a piece of paper near him, he draws stuff to try and illustrate the points he talks about - he is great at articulating things. The service designers here seem to be natural born sketchers.
Kirsty’s beautiful drawings have inspired me very much. This is a large wall in one of our meeting rooms where she’s planned out the user journeys in a very understandable way for one of our projects.
Planning Poker - cards to estimate effort for Taskboard stories. This was a method completely new to me, and I found it a very interesting collaborative exercise, patiently explained to me by Nicki in the first few weeks here.
Some notes from a chat with Cath - She was very insightful and taught me a lot about user testing and how I could talk to Picle users to understand their habits and problems. (one of my favourite tasks in Service design is talking to users and connecting their needs)
There are certain ‘happy things’ that happen in this office that really add to the positive environment. Most important of all it helps getting to know everyone else better, rather than always sitting in front of our laptops all the time. I call this MxM Magic :)
Privacy continues to be a main topic, and in this report it is referred to as a currency which we as users of the internet, have become more and more aware of it’s power and what we get in return from it. These are some great 35 slides by the great Fjord.
It’s the final stage of Cycle 1, and the last, of my final project for Hyper Island. As I’ve mentioned in a post before, I’m working with Wabi-Sabi, an inspiration lab in Barcelona. I’ve been designing the experience and performing design research on 1x2, a new idea combining mobile, sharing & fundraising made easy. It’s been very rewarding and a great learning experience.
1x2 is the idea that won a contest held by PFSK in collaboration with UNICEF & Microsoft by Wabi Sabi. (Read this interview on the Hyper Island Master Class site with Wabi-Sabi co-founder Andres. )
I’m very excited to keep developing this service into Cycle 2 next year, together with Andres & Lucy from Wabi-Sabi, where we aim to change the way we consume, and slowly, make the world a better place : )
Meanwhile in London… today I spotted a new talent for gaining attention of street passers by. There were many people stopping to watch this man’s courageous act, like myself. Maybe starting a new trend? Watch it for yourself!
MadmFia left for Buenos Aires today to work on an innovation project for Kraft Foods during 7 weeks, together with Emilia who left yesterday. (Make sure to follow them online to keep updated on their journey!)
So, before leaving Fia left me this wonderful Green Jasmine Tea, we are both big tea lovers so I was really happy with this gift :) Thank you Fia, will miss you lots!
Some sketches I did today of the experience design for a new project, that involves a new way of consuming, and that will hopefully change the way we all consume! The idea is pioneered by the duo Andres + Lucy from Wabi-Sabi Inspiration Lab, my partners and leaders for this Final Project, based in Barcelona.
More details coming soon.. :)
Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005.
This is one of the most inspiring speeches that has personally motivated me in my life. It’s like everything Steve is saying is perfect and so true! You changed the world and you changed me. Thank you ♥
I just created an infographic of my CV on Vizualize.me, check it out over here.
The Toronto based start-up Vizualize.me, ‘officially’ launched today and after pre-launch sign up to their website, I finally made my CV infographic today! Personalized with font, colors and profile. Are we seeing a new trend for data visualization, trying to make our lives simpler and less cluttered? There was an interesting article today on Fast Company titled: “3 Trends That Will Define The Future of Infographics” that fits in well with this post.
Are infographics dead? I don’t think so, and I believe the uses of real-time infographics are limitless and will be ever more useful to make our daily lives easier. The more we stay and become connected, the more data we will be outputting, and the potential for infographics flourishes. The the desire and integration of HTML5 on iPad and iPhone platforms is a great development for interactive infographics to grow.
A Small Act of Goodness is one of the winning concepts for the OpenIDEO challenge:”How might we increase social impact with OpenIDEO over the next year?” Like it’s title, it is a small step in making people smile, trying to make their day a bit better. I’ve been more involved in the OpenIDEO community lately, and when the winning concepts for this challenged were announced on Thursday night, I was eager to find out which won! On Friday morning while at school and browsing the OpenIDEO website, I decided well, why not try this concept out at school, here at Hyper Island? It’s the perfect place to observe and see how this fun concept could be realized. And so I did… I am reblogging the post I did on the Small Act of Goodness’s Tumblr blog with some photos & text.
- Some interesting things I noticed after posting the ‘It’s Friday, Take a smile!’ paper up, was that I saw some friends had a smiley on their desk, and I went up to one and told him “Ah, you took a smiley!” And he said “No Fia gave it to me!”. Fia is a girl in our class. She saw the papers, and decided to give a couple away to some friends! I immediately realized the impact and reaction this small act can have, it doesn’t have to be YOU that takes a smiley for yourself, but you can give someone else one, such a simple gesture that can create momentary happiness for both friends. Here I also attach e photo of the paper up at the end of the day, with all the smileys gone! I want to try this concept again on a street in Stockholm, and see how people react in a public place here. I love making people smile and put their spirits up, and this is a super fun way to do that! Congrats to Anne on this great concept!
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Hi everyone!
I finally implemented this little gem of a concept at my school today, Hyper Island, which has over 150 people in our building at the moment.. So I thought it would be a pretty great place to experiment. Seeing as Hyper Island is an advertising focused school, and this is not particularly the area I wan’t to work after my education, this might look a bit strange at first over here, as it’s not an advert, or poster for an event. I thought it would be different for that reason too!
There are usually loads of random post-it notes and funny comments lying around our studios, so I thought this would be a softer ‘notice’ lying around. I placed the ‘Take a Smile’ paper on the mirror just as you exit the toiler corridor, and next to the kitchen, so I was sure it was seen. It’s been up for a couple hours and 3 smiles have been taken, so let’s see what happens until the end of the day!
Great idea & concept, hope to see it picked up by more people soon.
Take care, Ana Cecilia
- Profile on OpenIDEO ; - @anaceciliaboman
Could the idea be more cross functional? Love this, and you don’t have to walk too far to reach a book you are too lazy to get up to get! Let’s hope it is comfortable though. By Fishbol.
Bookseat by Fishbol Atelier
The Bookseat, is a simple bookcase that playfully curves and becomes a seat. The creative design is a response to the advent of multifunctional spaces in today’s urban living.
Another great ‘staging act’ by New York based Improv Everywhere.
Isn’t it interesting how at first with these kinds of public installations, now one at all wants to approach the ‘unidentified object/installation’, but once the first person speaks into the microfone, many other observe and follow. That is why I love these public acts so much, observing human nature & reactions is so interesting.
Very very good campaign released June 2011 to raise awareness of victims of sexual abuse. Using map projections, they created the illusion of Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, folding his arms, and giving a hug.
In Brazil, thousands of children and teenagers are victims of sexual abuse. To raise public awareness on the issue and increase the number of complaints, the True Affection campaign has been launched. And a symbol was chosen to demonstrate people´s engagement: A HUG. Several Brazilian artists have joined the campaign and given their hugs. But we needed an even bigger impact to get people´s attention. We decided to think big.
By Monumenta agency in Brasília, Brazil.
Fifty People One Question is an ongoing social experiment and film series exploring human connections through people and place. The project began in New Orleans in 2008 and has since traveled across the globe, touching millions of viewers. Along the way, the films have captured a small slice of humanity; to discover dreams, losses, reflections, stories and secrets, some shared and some completely unrepeatable.
I love this project, although the videos are 2-3yr old, the initiative and the responses it created are very moving. I’d love to do one in my city, Porto. The idea of connecting different people in one place at one time, is so interesting. View more of the videos on their Vimeo channel.
A great innovative idea showing that this big fashion brand never ceases to look for new ways to be different, and collaborate with charities in new ways, such as this pop-store on a beach.
This year H&M took its support a step further by opening a pop-up beach store for two days in The Hague’s popular Scheveningen seaside resort. A variety of essentials for men, women and kids from H&M’s “Beachwear in Shades of Blue” line were available at the shipping container-style shop on the beach, and a full 25 percent of the sales proceeds went directly to WaterAid, according to a report on the Superfuture blog.
Via Springwise
