IDFuel, the Industrial Design Weblog

Humansys: Focused VS Peripheral

09/11/05

When you were younger, did you ever dream of what it would be like to have a little genie in your desk, or backpack at school, so you could just ask for the answers to those "stupid questions" like "What's the average rainfall of Namibia", or "what are the seven wonders of the world". You might have dreamed it would be a perfect learning tool. Now, 20, 30, or 40 years later, with the ever-growing development and search-savvy focus of the Internet, that genie is available. But the question remains: Is this tool that answers every question really giving knowledge, or just answers?
091105_booksmain

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Humansys: What the Flock is Going On

06/20/05

Humans cherish our independence more than almost anything. We like to think that we are free to buy what we want, go where we want,or become who we want. We fight wars, sing songs, create elaborate social structures, and even break the law in pursuit of that freedom. And for the most part, most are free to act the way we choose. But there are certain aspects of human behavior which are entirely hive-like. Understanding them can literally mean the difference between success and disaster.
swarmmain_062005

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Humansys: Logic Smogic

06/10/05

Humans are visual animals. Because of this, designs which are meant to convince, like advertising, signage, or public service announcements, are largely visual. We also like to think of ourselves as rational -- the most rational of the animals. The combination of this first fact, and this second assumption is responsible for many of the most perplexing things in human behavior. And potentially some of the most design defeating.
060905_logic

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Humansys: Further Human Enhancement

05/06/05

It could be argued that the reason humans have come so far so fast where technology is concerned, is that we've never been satisfied with our own physical abilities. Our arms weren't fast enough to catch fish, so we whittled fishhooks. Our feet got cut when we worked tending crops, so we covered them with shoes. Our eyes went blind in the glaring snow, so we carved slitted goggles from wood to protect them. And, as our command of tools continues to improve, so do the items we develop to augment ourselves.
050605_augmentmain

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Humansys: Hot Mammas (and Poppas)

03/02/05

Chicago's stuck in another cold snap, so we thought a good Humansys discussion would be to try to outline warmth. Not temperature, or heat, but the feeling of warmth; surprisingly, while the these are all related, there is much more to the question of "How can I warm up?" than you might think.
Warmth

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Humansys: How People Work

03/02/05

We've had a lot of fun pointing out the latest findings on the idiosyncrasies of cognitive psychology and ethnographic research in our Understanding Users category, but we felt like there were some other important parts of understanding humans that deserved their own space. So, Humansys, our latest ongoing exploration category, will look at how our bodies do all the amazing stuff they're capable of. If you're interested in language, running, eating, sleep, learning... Well heck, we won't give it all away here. If you take a look in the directory to the right, we've moved some appropriate posts there already, and be sure to check out today's piece to kick off the new series.
Humansys

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Humansys: In the (Cognitive) Zone

02/11/05

Alright, you're a designer, we all know you've had it happen to you; Your final presentation for a project is due tomorrow at 9:00. It's the night before at 10:00 and you've been working straight for 6 hours already. Everyone else is long gone. You had been feeling tired and distracted for the first 4 hours, and you were hungry. But then something strange happened. Call it a second wind, call it "rallying the troops", call it caffeine; at hour 4 you entered a state of total concentration. You worked almost without thinking. You completely forgot the late hour, how tired you were, or how long it had been since you had eaten. You, my friend, were in a congitive state psychologists call "Flow". And understanding how to harness it will allow you to make designs more effective and powerful than was ever possible.
Flow

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Humansys: Focused VS Peripheral

09/11/05

Humansys: What the Flock is Going On

06/20/05

Humansys: Logic Smogic

06/10/05

Humansys: Further Human Enhancement

05/06/05

Humansys: Hot Mammas (and Poppas)

03/02/05

Humansys: How People Work

03/02/05

Humansys: In the (Cognitive) Zone

02/11/05

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