Design Context Clues2008IDEA CONFERENCE

Hi. I’m Jason.Here’s my portfolio.

How do we take context into account when designing experiences that take place in physical and digital spaces?

How does context inform our practice and day to day culture?

Some aspirational crap you can mock me for at a bar later

Today’s talk in 3 parts

T.S. Eliot:Modernist, Curmudgeon.

TS Eliot:Modernist, Hip Hop Artist

Working in Space and Place

FastFrog, 1999

FastFrog, 1999

TWEC Listening and Viewing Station, 2001-2002

TWEC Kiosk, 2001-2002

TWEC Video?

Field Museum, 2002

Orbitz + Orbitz for Business, 2003-2007

Ronin

ThePoint.com, 2007

Vibes 2007

Vibes 2007

Vibes 2007

Vibes 2007

LeapFrog 2007-2008

Microsoft 2008

cMomGo

Along the way I’d acquired team members, partners, + clients, but there was something missing.

We can’t agree on a definition of what we do, though our job is often to define and label other domains.

We can’t differentiate ourselves from interaction designers or usability professionals without utterly confusing the lay person.

As a community, we debate these things amongst ourselves semi-annually.

Why?

We’re willing to accept the oddest of jobs dealing with people and how they use technology to manipulate and retrieve information. It doesn’t give us firm ground to stand on.

Who am I? Who are we?

What do

Go for quick learning generalists

over ingrained specialists. We’ll

never hire someone who’s an

information architect. It’s just

too overly specific. With a small

team like ours, it doesn’t make

sense to hire people with such a

narrowly defined skill-set.

It Leaves Us Feeling Defensive

“

”

“

”1 March 2006

Our Thinking About This Has Become Way Too Uptight

It has come to mean one who works with his hands, usually in devious or "crafty" ways when compared to the true craftsman, whom Levi-Strauss equates with the Engineer. The Bricoleur is adept at many tasks and at putting preexisting things together in new ways. The Engineer deals with projects in their entirety, taking into account the availability of materials and tools required. The Bricoleur approximates the mind of "the savage mind" and the Engineer approximates the scientific mind. Levi-Strauss says that the universe of the Bricoleur is closed, and he is often forced to make do with whatever is at hand, whereas the universe of the Engineer is open in that he is able to create new tools and materials.

Let me suggest we are Bricoleurs

So when we say Information Architect, Fried says designer, and we both mean bricoleurs.

The difference is the context in which we perform our work, but the result is the same:

We derive intuitive, learnable, efficient patterns of human activity for addressing the problems of chaotic, analog life.

So when I say IA, you mean...

“Be so good that they can’t ignore you.”

- Steve Martin

The Design Ecosystem

40 Years of Computing Devices in 60 Seconds

1970’s: consumer ready

2008 won’t be like 1984

It will be much more playful

Design is bringing the power of computing to the oddest of interfaces

Ushering in a New Era of Interactions

We’re Dancing on the Surface

We must balance that potential against a common language

We Don’t Do This

We Do This

We Have to Innovate Our Way Out

And now for something completely different

Ken Garland:First Things First 1964, 2000

Victor Papanek:Design for the Real World, 1970

Viridian Design

The internet of things

Valerie Casey: The Designer’s Accord, 2008

Santa Barbara’s Light Blue Line

The IDEA Conference volunteers and organizers, especially Jorge Arango and Russ Unger.

My team: Mark Baldino, Ben Ihnchak, Jef Lear

My Friends & Clients: Paul D’Alessandro, Chris Cooper, Joseph Wanka, Jeff Laubach, Keith Daniels, Michael Chanover, Gillian Jetson, Janna Devylder, Devin Henkel, Brendan Gramer, Brian Maggi

My family: Lora Kovac and Sophia Kunesh

Special Thanks To

Thank You for Your Consideration

Jason Kuneshjason@kuneshdesign.com

(312) 925-7533 4445 North Sacramento Avenue Chicago, IL 60625–3827