Author: adrian_daniels
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Abstract: “Iom”
I actually created these earlier this year but decided to do some slight Photoshop modification to convey a digital, yet organic feel. The organism possesses energy but it is unclear whether this is potential energy or kinetic within a harsh environment. Is the system shutting down or in its infancy? -
Frameworks.
I think I’ve always been interested in solving problems, and when I’m asked to describe my strengths, “problem solver” is a phrase that immediately comes to mind.In my experience, there are three steps to problem solving:
- Identify & understand the problem
- Choose or build a framework in which to solve the problem
- Come up with the solution (or solutions)
For many of the problems I’ve tackled over the past several years (many in the form of specific projects), the “framework” has remained fairly constant: it typically involves the creation of a team organizational chart and a conceptual visual that depicts the project’s “end state.”
While this model works well for project management, it doesn’t fare as well for creating business models.
Historically, business models tend to be verbose and full of financial analysis and risk-oriented topics. In many cases, this results in a business model that is too detailed, lacks true understanding and prone to gaps / errors.
In the book “Business Model Generation“, the authors present a different way of creating business models through the use of a modular graphic, or “canvas.”
This “canvas” approach streamlines the process of creating new business models by allowing participants to focus on the core subject matter vs. having to constantly remember how the pieces “fit” and whether anything has been missed.
Here is what this framework looks like:
I found this approach to be particularly useful, so much so in fact that I used it during a recent interview. One of the questions posed involved identifying several key aspects of introducing a credit card portfolio to a company’s product suite.
To answer this question, I drew two canvas’ on the whiteboard. The first represented the “as is” state and the second represented the future state, one where I had successfully integrated a credit card portfolio into their business model.
I used these two visuals to explain or identify:
- what would need to change
- where resources would be required
- sources of revenue
- potential opportunities
- sources of risk
Once I was able to tell this initial story, I found I was able to answer additional questions much more easily now that I had a solid foundation to work from.
When problem solving, the use of a problem solving framework is, I think, essential to long-term success. Once you find the right framework, you can continue to refine and expand its use, which can lead to more efficient use of your time and can open up possibilities in other areas as well.
When asked a problem that involves getting from point A to point B (physical location or point in time), duplicate the framework to show what sections need to change. Once you have a grasp on the original framework, replicating and showing the delta between the two versions is easy.
It’s at this point where you can spend most of your energy solving the real problem, and that’s where the fun really begins!
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Launch.
After two days of design and development, the new site is up! While the content is similar to what was on the original page, I’ve since included a new “Identity” PDF along with references to my various design portfolios (all in PDF format).
In a future post I’ll explain some of the techniques that I used to create this new version.
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Web Concepts: “Disciplined Creativity”
These are a few concepts for a possible redesign of my main web site. I stumbled upon the phrase “disciplined creativity” when browsing the BMW DesignWorks site; I think a great self-descriptor.The first image is what visitors will see when they first visit the page. The second image shows what’s “underneath” each tile. When visitors hover over an individual tile, the “original” typeface will appear.
The phrases “Gr” and “Ind” will be linked to PDF versions of my graphic and industrial design portfolios.
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Designing the Future
“I think the old definition of designer-as-problem-solver is a bit limited: here’s a problem over here; there’s the solution. The problem isn’t static. It’s moving. It’s a living organism. To think you can simply ‘solve’ it is ridiculous. Rather, you need to negotiate it.”
– Allan Chochinov, Designing the Future (Metropolis Magazine)
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Questions.
When Incubator was in its infancy, I was hesitant to open myself to the “world” and initially restricted its access. After a few weeks, I decided to remove this “barrier” and it, along with Territories, have remained “open” ever since.
The second tier of openness focused on the books I was reading at the time. Many were interpersonal in nature and several were admittedly “taboo” in a professional setting, ranging in topics from marriage “counseling” to personality disorders. Uncertain whether to include such texts in my published reading list, I consulted two colleagues who suggested that I either remove them completely or bundle them within an “interpersonal” section.
I always found this latter recommendation intriguing; did “bundling” somehow dilute or minimize what I was learning about at the time? It’s as if this aspect of my life could somehow be packaged neatly in a box to focus greater attention on the “important” aspects of my Internet presence. What is, of course, ironic is that this “box” was ultimately the catalyst for my electronic presence in the first place.
The third tier of openness focused on posts (essays?) that pushed the boundaries of what an online diary could look like, but never reaching that tipping point. Or have I?
Now half-way through the book Alone Together, I am forced to reflect on where these online posts are heading and what value they are providing me.
While the “negative” examples focus heavily on the use of Facebook, the “positive” can be perhaps summarized by the following excerpt:
“In thinking about online life, it helps to distinguish between what psychologists call acting out and working through. In acting out, you take the conflicts you have in the physical real and express them again and again in the virtual. There is much repetition and little growth. In working through, you use the materials of online life to confront the conflicts of the real and search for new resolutions.“
As originally intended, my online experience over the past two and a half years has been about the latter. But what else is there to work through now?
One could argue that I’ll always have something to work through, and that writing will aid in my ability to successfully navigate through these challenges. And given my success using this approach, I completely support this claim.
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Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto
I am planning to see Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto in late May at the Cocoon Club in Frankfurt, Germany. I stumbled upon them while searching for clubs in the area, hoping to time my visit with electronica artists with which I am already familiar. Needless to say, I was thrilled to learn about them and to get an opportunity to see them live.
While their music pushes the limits of minimalism and experimentation (even for me), it’s worth watching the entire video below. It’s fascinating to see how Sakamoto is intensely in-tune with Noto’s electronic “foundation” and how the timing throughout this song goes beyond perfection.
[youtube]C7FGT2Gitz8&feature=related[/youtube]
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Alteria Percepsyne: “Smoke”
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/11272028″]
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Snapshot.
“Human beings act, feel, and perform in accordance with what they imagine to be true about themselves and their environment. What you imagine to be true becomes, in fact, true. Hold a given picture of yourself long and steadily enough in your mind’s eye and you will become that picture. Picture yourself vividly as defeated and that alone will make victory impossible. Picture yourself vividly as winning and that alone will contribute immeasurably to success.”
Thinkertoys by Michael Michalko
