Generation C

I thought trendwatching.com's account of the new Generation C was pretty interesting.  I have heard bits of this theory in my marketing research class last semester.  The idea of "egonomics" and the need for personalization and room for creative freedom.  The report on Generation C, I thought, was pretty accurate.  Our generation and especially the generation after ours (early 90's kids) tend to seek out products that give them "creative genius" and allow them to be the artist.  However, sometimes I think that maybe the tools needed to be the artist are embedded in the product.  For example, there are so many internal tools in a camera to ensure a perfect shot...so really, the camera is doing a lot of the art.  Further, access to this kind of creativity takes money...and a lot of it.   I recently bought a Canon Rebel XT and that set me back $600.  This reminds me alot of some of the photos I see on facebook that, typically girls, retouch to scrawl messages in wild colors and fonts on about being "gurlfrndz 4 lyfe" or something of that nature. Photoshopping the photo in this manner, I think, is a characteristic of Generation C.

New Uses: Coffee Filters

I thought this was useful and innovative!

Use Coffee Filters to:

1. Diffuse the flash on a camera. When you’re taking a close-up, soften the brightness by placing a coffee filter over the flash.
2. Strain wine from a bottle with a broken cork. Place the filter over a pitcher or a carafe and slowly pour the wine into it.
3. Serve popcorn or other snacks. The filters act as disposable bowls, so there’s no dishwashing.
4. Make yogurt dip. Use a rubber band to secure a paper coffee filter over the mouth of a deep cup or jar. Slowly pour 8 ounces of plain yogurt onto the filter. Let drain for one hour. In a bowl, mix the thickened yogurt with 1 small minced garlic clove, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crackers.
5. Heat up leftovers in the microwave. Use a filter as the protective covering over a bowl or a plate.
6. Prevent soil from draining out of flowerpots. When repotting, place a filter at the bottom, over the drainage hole, then add the soil.
7. Prevent scuffs and scratches on fine china. Use flattened coffee filters as spacers when you stack your dishes.
8. Protect hands from Popsicle drippage. Slide the wooden stick of an ice pop through a coffee filter so your hands stay mess-free.
9. Serve pita sandwiches. A circular filter is the perfect size for carrying a sandwich on the go.
10. Clean windows and glass when you’re out of paper towels. Coffee filters leave no lint or other residue.

Information taken from: www.RealSimple.com

Small Ironing Boards

Small ironing boards look innovative - they make large, formidable ironing boards into smaller, more easily manageable ones. Looks can be deceiving, though. These small, low to the ground ironing boards are hard to operate, require you to kneel to iron, and don't give you any space to let the rest of the piece of clothing dangle from the board itself to prevent wrinkling while you are ironing the rest.   My first experience with one of these things was during my freshman year of college.  The small board was a perfect solution to the relative lack of space in the dorm rooms.  Little did I know, it was a waste of $10.  I should have just put my shirt under my mattress while I slept. Because of the small size, these ironing boards find their ways to dorm rooms and other tight spaces. While they are innovative in a size approach, they are not innovative in a features approach. 

Inefficient

The small ironing board does not allow for efficient ironing. Often, you have to re-iron what has already been ironed. That means more time re-doing what has already been done and wasted time.

Quick Fix

These small ironing boards make sense if you have a small place and no room for a standard board.  Still, its a quick fix that really was not well-planned.  They make wall-mountable ironing boards now for those who are pressed for space, likely as a result of the ineffective and inefficient small boards.  

Cost ineffective

 When I bought my small ironing board, it was about $10.  Now, I see these at the store going for closer to $20. I am not sure the reasoning but they are no longer in the affordable college-kid category.  This was a surprise and a disappointment. 

Therefore, a good product will be efficient, a well-thought out solution and cost effective. 

Try to find a good standard sized ironing board and forgo the small variety so you dont get burned!!

Ethnography

The video posting on how to approach an ethnography was interesting and pretty relevant.  Right now, my fellow Communication Studies cohorts and I are all diligently working on our senior theses.  I chose the qualitative track and conducting an ethnography is one of the possible tracks for study.  I never saw an ethnography as an opportunity to gain insight into a culture to improve upon some dimension of that culture and I think that is really awesome.  Gaining access to an entire culture and using that information to help is very inspiring. 

I am not doing an ethnography but I will share this observation with some of my classmates who are doing an ethnography.  I wonder what they could come up with based on their studies!  Just something to consider...

Dan Gilbert's Ideas Change Nothing

I cannot say that I agreed with much that Dan Gilbert had to say.  I found myself taking notes on his theories and automatically noting my disagreement with them. The flaws that I found rest mostly in the theories dealing with monetary value.  When Dan suggested that people are too "stupid" (his vernacular was over the top in my opinion) to see that the difference between a declining salary from 60k --> 40k and an increasing salary from 35k-->50k is a 25k difference, over time, if you were to accept the declining salary.  Well, many people cannot continually adjust their lifestyle to feel comfortable with a declining salary even if they do make more in the long run.  It is more than a dollar amount, its a lifestyle change that people consider. 

Further, the idea of comparing the past and the possible did not relate to my life.  He mentioned the ticket example.  Well, if I spent $20 on an item and I lost that item, I would not pay $20 again for the same thing.  That is because I would like to spend that $20 on something different - a new experience perhaps.  Also, the example with the _ _ R _ and R_ _ _ (trying to decide if the english language has more words containing R in the 3rd place or R as the first letter) did not apply to me.  I knew off the bat that there are more words with R in the third place.  I think Dan underestimates the human mind to a serious degree. 

I was SO pleased with the audience member who poked holes in Dan's lottery ticket theory.  Dan's response did not impress me. I agree with the audience member's point that many people buy lottery tickets for something other than winning, they buy them for the anticipation and excitement. 

Sorry if this was really opinionated!!!! I just think he underestimates the human mind and emotions. Thanks for the opportunity to listen to him and challenge my mind!

Human Centered Design

The reading for today, Human Centered Design, was  pretty fascinating.  The concept of designing products around people, for the betterment of people seems like it should be the first thought designers have when creating new pieces. But, most likely, the thought of creating the most economical product- getting the most "bang for your buck" and turning a profit is the goal. It is nice to know that there is a whole school of thought dedicated to understanding how the product helps people. 

I thought it was pretty cool how the author separated the concepts into books; Hear, Create and Deliver booklets (interesting how the acronym HCD for Human Centered Design and HCD for Hear, Create, Design match up). The three stages are well organized and cover the bases in terms of creating a product from start to finish and staying in line with the goal; creating a product for the person.  I really liked how in the Hear stage, there is an element of inspiration through human interaction that occurs. Taking the time to spend a while in the environment for which you are designing a product will likely have a profound effect on the Creation process, because of that experience. 

The qualities that an HCD product must have are simple, but crucial. The three qualities are desirability, feasibility and viability. It is noted that for the product to be successful, all three qualities must be present.  

As a side note, I also enjoyed the funky tips and warnings that advised the designer to use power wisely - I thought that was clever to stage this personal piece of advice with the universal warning sign symbol.

I researched Human Centered Design and found this bike which was designed by a company 

called Giant, it says:

Boston, MA - - The Giant Revive was included in a display at the opening of the Institute for Human Centered Design in Boston, MA. The International Exhibit and Showroom had it’s grand opening on March 19, 2007. The Revive was included for it’s comfortable ergonomic design and ability to be easily adjusted to fit riders from 5’ tall to over 6’. The ground breaking seat and pedal position relationship pioneered the safety and security of being able to touch the ground while still providing an efficient pedaling position.