identifying the strategic contributions of design thinking

"Janet Rae-Dupree wrote about design thinking in the business section of the New York Times this weekend. It is good to see the discussion about the broader role for design appearing in the mass media. The article illustrates the very gray line between the traditional role of design and the more strategic contribution that design thinking can make. It is sometimes hard to tell what happened from the physical outcomes alone which adds to the challenge when it comes to explaining what design thinking is. I find it very easy to slip toward describing what is simply good design (based on a relatively conventional brief) or what is good business using normal convergent processes. A test is perhaps whether the business (or organizational, or societal) outcome is significantly different than would have been the case if design thinking had not taken place. In other words, were new choices created not only about the product, service or experience but about the business goal itself? Did a product become a service? Did a service become an experience? Were entirely new users or markets identified? Were new to the world offerings created? These questions seem to reflect the higher bar that I believe we might expect to be the result of a broader application of the design approach."

Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, on how to identify the strategic contributions of design thinking.

you must accept

You must accept that’s who he really is.
You must accept that you cannot be his
unless he can be yours. No compromise.
He is a canvas on which paint never dries;
a clay that never sets; he’s steel that bends
in a breeze; he’s a melody that when it ends
no one can whistle; he is not who
you thought. He’s not. He is a shoe
that walks away: “I will not go where you
want to go.” “Why, then, are you a shoe?”
“I’m not. I have the sole of a lover
but don’t know what love is.” “Discover
it, then.” “Will I have to go where you go?”
“Sometimes.” “Be patient with you?” “Yes.” “Then, no.”
You have to hear what he is telling you
and see what he is; how it is killing you.

-- Kate Light


Você deve aceitar que ele é realmente isso.
Você deve aceitar que não pode ser dele
a menos que ele seja seu. Sem concessões.
Ele é uma tela onde tinta nunca seca;
argila que não toma forma; ele é ferro que se entorta
com uma brisa; ele é uma melodia que, quando acaba,
ninguém sabe assobiar; ele não é quem
você pensou. Nao é. Ele é um sapato
que anda para longe. "Eu não irei para onde
você quer ir." "Então por que você é um sapato?"
"Não sou. Eu tenho a sola de um amante,
mas não sei o que é amor." "Descubra,
então." "Terei de ir onde você for?"
"Às vezes." "Ser paciente com você?" "Sim." "Então, não."
Você tem de escutar o que ele está lhe falando
e ver o que ele é; como está lhe matando.


++++++++

(had to translate this one; fits like a glove.)

a sign of good things to come

The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC), which is, as the name says, organizing Obama's inauguration event, has created a site where you can see big chart detailing each and every contribution they have received.

The committee only accepts individual donations, and you can sort them by name, employer, amount, and location. "Unlike previous inaugural committees, the 2009 PIC does not accept contributions from corporations, political action committees, labor unions, current federally-registered lobbyists, non-U.S. citizens and registered foreign agents and does not accept individual contributions in excess of $50,000." You can see several well-known names there: several people from Google, Dreamworks, The Container Store ($25,000), Yahoo!, and the Soros family - who donated a total of $250K, being $150K under the Soros Fund Management employer name.

That's the thing about transparency: if information is available, people ARE going to make their way to it. It's really a simple and revolutionary idea.

did you know?

the 'broken window' theory + environment management

New Scientist has an excellent article about some research at the University of Groningen that empirically proves the 'broken window' theory.

"People become more disobedient in environments plagued by litter and graffiti, research has shown. They can be tempted to trespass, drop litter, and even steal money if they perceive from their environment that it's OK to break rules (...)

The researchers conclude that one type of antisocial behaviour leads to others, because people's sense of social obligation to others is eroded. 'When people think they can get away with it because other people already have, they do,' says Keizer."

Gareth Kay, head of planning at Boston's Modernista!, adds some great insight to the subject and discusses how the results of the research could uncover the new role of communications and advertising in the public space, as tools for managing the environment.

"So, perhaps we should think about communications as being more about environment management, creating an environment where people are more likely to behave in a favorable way. About seeding the right environment where behavior is more likely to take hold. Which puts us squarely back in the culture business..."

on "target audience"

"But what should we expect of someone who wants to hit us, who sees us only as a target? Targets don't interact, they are passive. They just sit there, waiting to be stabbed or poked. Nobody respects a target; it's there as an exercise, to count the points of a competition, just so one person can win and the others lose (of course the target never wins). A target is bidimensional, it has no refinement or originality. Nobody wants to know what the target thinks, feels, or wants. It's cruel and tasteless. I don't know about you, but I hate being seen and treated as a target. We urgently need new ideas."

Mas também, o que esperar de alguém que quer nos atingir, que nos considera apenas um alvo? Alvo não interage, é passivo. Fica quieto, só esperando ser espetado ou furado. Ninguém respeita alvo; ele está lá só como exercício, para contar pontos na competição, para somente um ganhar e todos os outros perderem (claro que o alvo nunca ganha). Alvo é bidimensional, sem nenhum refinamento ou originalidade. Ninguém quer saber o que o alvo pensa, sente, ou quer. É cruel e de mau gosto. Não sei quanto a vocês, mas eu detesto ser vista e tratada como alvo. Precisamos urgentemente de novas idéias.

by Lígia Fascioni. Read full text here (in portuguese).

a draft from 10/29/07

"Moving back to Brazil has been a long, tiresome rollercoaster ride. I packed a whole apartment that I had of my own and moved back to my parents' home, where I still have (and always will have) a room and plenty of support. I gave up a stable routine, a small but comfortable apartment that had my personality all over it, a nice car, amazingly loyal friends, and a job that allowed me to pay my own bills, and went from having to having-not. From being fully on my own to not even needing a set of keys when I leave the house.

I know this is sounding bad, as if I'm complaining, but what I'm really trying to say here is that coming back home took me more courage than than the courage I needed when I left to be on my own. Coming back came with a heavy price.

I'm having a lot of time to think, the kind of time that I don't wish to have right now. I feel an almost compulsive need to work nonstop, to occupy myself with things that require from me an almost scientific knowledge of problem-solving. I want all those possibilities to just leave right now. I want them to pack their shit and leave me here with simple and definite options. Like where what I want to do. Where I want to live, and how I want to live. I want days filled with solutions handed to me on a silver tray. Surprise me with the best choice. Brainfreeze me. Make me numb. Let me listen to music and not remember people and places. Leave me nostalgia-free. Vacate me for about a week. Move me forward, push me if you have to."

I wasn't very happy. Some things still bother me, but I'm more comfortable on my own skin. Somehow things worked out on their own, like they always do. I have reconnected with friends, I have a car, a job that I love, a great relationship with my family, and an improved self-steem. But the fact that I came back still blows me away. And I'm starting to get a little more nostalgic. You know, when you start remembering all those great things that weren't really "that" great? This simulacrum is usually what gets me in trouble.

there should be a law... II

If you've know me for more than a day you have probably realized that I'm a very annoyable person. Actually, I am the kind of person who deals better with big problems in life that with everyday annoyances. Finding out the company I work for might go bankrupt might concern me to a certain degree, but having someone not reply to my email is a good reason for me to want to murder you. So you get the point.

About a year ago I wrote the "there should be a law"post, where I mentioned there would be more to come, but there wasn't until now. As I sit here after 2 days of total holiday boredom and too much unnecessary eating, I feel that there's no better time to talk about what makes me bitter. So here we go, starting from #8:

There should be a law - the sequel:

8. There should be a law prohibiting people from whistling. Why the f*ck would I want to hear the sound of air coming out of a tiny hole you make with your mouth? Pretty self-explanatory.

9. There should be a law saying that you can only post on Twitter useful links or funny phrases that will add insight or joy to your followers' days. I honestly do not give a crap about where you are, or what you're watching, or how long you took in that bath of yours. You should do us all a favor and drawn if you're one of those people.

10. Repeat after me: they are = they're; their = belongs to them; there = exists or indicates location. Not understanding the difference between those three, specially if you're (notice: not YOUR) from an English-speaking country makes me automatically lose any respect I might have had from you from the start, if any. I believe this is a good way to measure someone's character.

11. There should be a law against the use of the word "blogosfera", which means "blogosphere" in portuguese. To be more accurate, it means "the universe of blogs made in Brazil", which is conceptually annoying, small and country. It's like calling sneakers "fancy shoes". It's just bad. Don't say it. Unless you want me to hit you, and in that case, you should just ask.

12. There should be a law against people in Brazil correcting you for your accurate pronunciation of English. If I know how to say "world" I will not go out of my way to say "WORRRRRRD" (french "r" here) just because that's how you've managed to say it. I will not say "HAAALPH" if it's "Ralph", or "BLOOTOOPHEE" if it's "Bluetooth". YOU get it right, damn it. I've already done my homework.

13. And by the way, it's BeYONcé (emphasis on "yon"), not BeyonCÉ (emphasis on "cé"). Do I have to keep repeating myself??

14. There should be a law against making any kind of hand gestures when posing for a picture. Unless you are Lindsay Lohan or you belong to a respectable gang - small gangs with 10 members or less are not included - , keep your hands and fingers to yourself. It's not cute, don't make me embarrass you in front of pseudo-gang-member friends.

15. There should be a law against touching my computer screen. Unless you plan on murdering me after pointing something out, and then the C.S.I people can come and collect your fingerprint to find out who killed me and catch you afterward, I do not need you to leave any marks on my territory. Yes, this area here, from the edge of my laptop, to about 1 and half feet around it, is mine to use as I please. Be respectful of that and understand that the violation of those 18 inches I require may result in immediate verbal assault in form of very, very dry sarcasm.

(I'm sure there will be more, but for now that's it)

eartha mae kitt, 1927 - 2008

The most exciting woman in the world.

legallynormal very brief christmas gift guide

from Etsy. Sold out, unfortunately. [via]

Merry Christmas. May Santa not find out you've been bad.

anycoloryoulike

"TRASH: anycoloryoulike is a vivid art intervention for urban beautification and environmental awareness. The project consists of select city blocks in which new artist-created bags transform standard piles of trash into vivid sculptures of color through the participation of local business owners and residents. Each TRASH bag is 100% biodegradable and naturally scented to repel insects and vermin."

bluebird, c. bukowski

ah, the details...

(The name is printed on the branch with a rubber stamp)

[via]

"And then I felt sad because I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can’t ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when you are young and it never fails to surprise you as you grow older as you see the people in your life break one by one. You wonder when your turn is going to be, or if it’s already happened."

- Douglas Coupland, Life After God

i am. and you should too.

[via]

ana

My sister says this is my song. I believe her. And I like it.



(a better, live version is available here)

talent clearly runs in the family

Photos taken by my brother-in-law at Ana Cañas and Móveis Coloniais de Acaju's concert this week. A thing of beauty, right? (Click on the images for full enjoyment)

just what i needed

As if this year hadn't been exciting enough, the universe has awarded me with a 3mm kidney stone.

F*ck you, universe. You better run if I see you.

home

Say what you want to say, Indiana is home to me. Indianapolis was a wonderful home during the 7 amazing years I spent there, and a HUGE part of me became a Hoosier. I don't like it when people put their ignorance on display by talking about how much they know about midwestern culture and the "middle american", as if they have actually deeply experienced that culture and place themselves. It's one of those things that really gets on my nerves. But that's another post.

I've been gone for a little over a year and the landscape of the city I have grown to love as my own is going through major changes. The RCA Dome is being imploded tomorrow morning. Its roof was inflated on September 24th, 2008. This video makes me want to cry, and that's one of the moments I realize I'm no longer just Brazilian.



++++++++

UPDATE (Dec 20, 2008):

I have a new crush. The big and complicated kind. The best kind there is.

2008

Isn't it beautiful when you realize that you have accomplished almost everything you wanted to for the past year? I hadn't felt this kind of "goodness" in a while.

It's finally here.

Not everything was fun – or easy – but 2008 marks the start of a lot of new things for me.

I moved back home as a completely different person. That's an experience in itself. I fell hard in and out of love. I had major surgery. I became friends with my sister and gained a friend/brother-in-law in the process. I traveled a bunch, reunited with good and old friends, went back to weekly therapy. Was crazy happy, then crazy sad, then crazy happy all over again. I took BIG chances, stepped out of my element, and I don't regret a thing.

Being proud of yourself is one of the few things nobody can take away from you.

And I feel pretty damn good about myself right now.

idiot comics

[link]

go to Argentina, have a good ol' time. ask me how.

I just came back from a lovely trip to Argentina that's consumed every ounce of energy I had and that checked-off my "to-do-before-I-die list" a couple of items.

First, I SAW MADONNA LIVE!!! Yes, me – the crowd-avoider, que "don't-touch-more-than-once-or-i'll-hit-you", the "get-me-out-of-here-it's-too-damn-hot"!! I f*cking did it. And loved every minute of it.




I'm too tired to talk about the whole trip right now, but I plan on writing something decent sometime this week. For now, you can check out my flickr. If I look happy and a little tipsy in the pictures, it's because I was.

the truth like you've never seen before