the long now (continues)
From the site:
“There is a Clock ringing deep inside a mountain. It is a huge Clock, hundreds of feet tall, designed to tick for 10,000 years. Every once in a while the bells of this buried Clock play a melody. Each time the chimes ring, it’s a melody the Clock has never played before. The Clock’s chimes have been programmed to not repeat themselves for 10,000 years. Most times the Clock rings when a visitor has wound it, but the Clock hoards energy from a different source and occasionally it will ring itself when no one is around to hear it. It’s anyone’s guess how many beautiful songs will never be heard over the Clock’s 10 millennial lifespan.”
I must photograph this clock. I hope there is time…
Austin Govella on User-Experience from SchipulCon
A great presentation from Austin Govella on user experience from our conference.
UX: The Power of Getting Things Designed
View more presentations from Austin Govella
I am looking forward to the video because I couldn’t make this session. But reading through the slides alone is worth it. My favorite quote, because sometimes I think we are guilty of this, is:
One of the hottest memes in user experience landÂcontinues to be agile+ux and its emerging, youngerÂsibling, lean+ux.
You’re overworked and under-appreciated. It’sÂyour job to make sure agile and lean don’t becomeÂsynonyms for creating skimpy, malnourished experiences.
Instead of thinking agile and lean, think about howÂyou can make the organization a healthyÂuser experience culture.
 - Austin Govella’s presentation slides from SchipulCon slide 46
the phenomenology of body
“My life has always somehow been played out in a minor key, unresolved. Art somehow resolves things for me. Through art, you create your own world.†– Daphne Guinness
the intersection of practice and talent
To the social philosopher, the intersection of practice and talent poses a general question about agency: we are minded to believe that engagement is better than passivity. The pursuit of quality is also a matter of agency, the craftsman’s driving motive. But agency does not happen in a social or emotional vacuum, particularly good-quality work. The desire to do something well is a personal litmus test; inadequate personal performance hurts in a different way than inequalities of inherited social position or the externals of wealth: it is about you.
Creativity With Purpose
“…as agreeable an idea as “Creativity for its own sake” is, it’s not particularly sustainable, financially rewarding or emotionally satisfying over the long run.
Human beings are hardwired to embrace “Creativity With Purpose”- i.e.create stuff that actually has real value to ourselves and other people. Creativity is tied into our evolution as a species and our basic survival instinct. It’s there for a reason.â€
great design is not reductionist
“Great design is not reductionist,” (Mau) says. “A lot of current design seems to be about just getting everything down to a clean, perfect experience — which, at its worst, is stale, cold, and lifeless. I think good design should be complex and rich and even messy, like life. When you think about it, design is a philosophical statement. It’s a way for you to say to the world ‘This is who I am. This is what’s important in my life, what I value, what I believe.'” – Glimmer, Pg 248, 249
Apple has been able to create a halo of good experience around its products
“Microsoft wonders why people get so upset when the Windows system crashes, and they try to point out that it crashes less than Apple. But try telling that to an Apple person, and they’ll vehemently deny it. And the reason why is that Apple has been able to create a halo of good experience around its products.â€
– Ziba Design’s, Steve McCallion quoted in the book Glimmer by Berger.