Self-Checkout at Wal-mart
Having worked as a design consultant on several point-of-sale systems for national retail, I find myself evaluating self-checkout stations as I come across them in my everyday routine–even when I don’t particularly want to. It’s a sickness I can’t escape these days. One system that I find particularly offensive–and I say that with my “user” [...]
Meet Mr. Usability
The scene opens as Mr. Usability sits and watches TV on a quiet Sunday afternoon. Enter Wife holding a red and white envelope strewn with the familiar Netflix logo. The paper appears tattered and worn, with a tear that almost splits the envelope in half. Wife: You really did a number on this envelope. That’s [...]
Jean Baudrillard and the Forward March of Customer Experience Design
Last week, Jean Baudrillard, the French thinker who will most certainly be remembered in the states as having provided a convenient prop for Neo to hide his illegal software in the Matrix series died of cancer. Throughout his academic career, he consistently maintained that the best representation of his thesis on Simulacra and Simulation was [...]
This is Artistic Brutality
It’s worth pointing out after my small semi-rant a couple of posts back that The Nation is running a special issue which features an appropriated cover from a once-famous WWII poster by Ben Shahn. Of course, his version was meant to rally the boys into fighting Hitler’s fascism. Today’s version represents an indelible stain on [...]
Target: Design for All
The latest edition of Communication Arts (offline only) lays out pretty thoroughly the how’s and why’s of design and branding over at everyone’s favorite retail store, Target. It’s clear that the company conciously chose to rise above the fold by speaking clearly and consistently about design. Just take a look at the thought that went [...]
