Mapping is a favorite topic of mine, not only because I worked on locative media, but also because I find they are fascinating objects. Maps are really interesting these days as they exemplify one of the design trend I spotted recently: the transformation of non-digital objects by design technique...
See-through toilet
Another item I found curious while spending time in Lausanne the the other day: a see-through toilet. Based on a steel-and-glass architecture, the toilet is based on a transparent system: when pressing the "voir" button (which means "see"), the glass gets transparent and it turns opaque when someo...
Kinder eggs
Interesting piece of packaging here with these Kinder eggs, in a sort of matryoshka twist: like a set of dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside the other. The yolk-like yellow container, in which a little toy is compacted, is inserted in a chocolate egg. This piece of artifact is one of th...
Wifi zone
Interesting configuration in Lausanne: a WiFi area (that is indicated through the signage on the wall depicting both the waves and the usage with a laptop) and places to sit with a laptop (the wifi wave are also present there too). A small cluster of high chairs for people who pass by. And yes, it...
Digital close to physical
Seen at the office today. When the digital (in the form of a DVD that contains drivers and software) needs to be put close to the physical (this scanner) through the magical use of duct tape. DVD like this often gets lost although they're generally needed, a quick trick to avoid losing it is to k...
The role of theory in ethnographically-informed design research
The use of ethnographical methods in design research here and there out of academic circles brings back the question of the role of "theory", and its articulation with research methodologies and techniques. This is a recurring topic with clients, research colleagues and I've seen it popping on mai...
Visual marker on the sidewalk
Interesting encounter in a one-day trip to Paris this morning: a visual marker, complemented with a unified resource locator on the pavement of Paris, close to Place de la Bastille. Aimed at mobile phone owners who will surely be led to the url. What's intriguing here? a curious merging of the d...
Paper in contemporary cities
Different forms of paper-handling solutions in Geneva, Zürich and Seoul: (pieces of paper maintainted by a piece of string in Zürich) (paper bin in Geneva) (Huge and compressed stacks of paper, once collected, in Geneva) (Failed attempt to recycle shredded paper, in Geneva) (Shredded paper in ...
Tools to analyze weak signals
Spent last friday in Zürich presenting the Lift screening process and trend analysis with Holm Friebe's class at the Design Hochschule. The morning was about the Lift Conference, more specifically about our process to scout for speakers and ideas, to set a theme and work it out. The message was tha...
Pervasive games book
It seems that the book "Pervasive Games: Theory and Design - Experiences on the Boundary between Life and Play " by Markus Montola, Jaakko Stenros and Annika Waer (editors) is finally out, published by Morgan Kauffman: "Quickly emerging from the fast-paced growth of mobile communications and w...