When a CEO gets it

Ok, enough of Steve Jobs. So how about A.G. Lafley, from Procter and Gamble? From Business Week Online: In his new book, The Game-Changer: How You Can Drive Revenue and Profit Growth with Innovation, P&G CEO A.G. Lafley explains the difference between the two methods: “Business schools tend to focus on inductive thinking (based on […]

Design school frameworks

Below is based upon a reply I made to the ixda list re: design school frameworks… Two personal anecdotes from design school: 1) My first graphic design class, I remember trying to get the hang of compositional space and laying out letters and image with the grid, etc. And I was trying too hard to […]

Teaching “UI fundamentals” at SJSU!

I’ll be back at SJSU this fall teaching an evening course on the fundamentals of interaction design for undergrad ID majors, which should be quite fun! (and tiring too…who knew teaching was so much work! But very enjoyable) I learned a ton on my first go at it last fall and have thus been re-tooling […]

On listening to customers

Below is based upon a reply I made to the ixda list awhile back re: listening to customers (or when not to!)… I always take user research findings (quantitative or qualitative) with many grains of salt. It’s supplementary data to help a designer understand, empathize, interpret, and then make a “good” decision. Designers are informed […]

What’s helped most in my career

Just realized that this month (July) marks my 7th year working in Silicon Valley (and being in “the real world”), as a designer of various digital products (software, websites, devices, etc.). Yep it’s been quite a run so far! I’m incredibly grateful for the advice, opportunities, mentors, and projects all along the way that got […]