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Heima and the Art of Happiness

Mark Ruiz — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:00:19 +0000

I was in Heima – the brainchild of ubercool couple, culturati Bong Rojales and designer Rossy Yabut – for their Love2010 event last weekend.

Heima is a lifestyle & home designs store in the center of the creative universe, Cubao X – which by no accident is also home to Rags2Riches.

Love2010 – an art exhibit with corresponding candles, cupcakes, and cotton candy machine – was celebrated in true Heima fashion, which is to say that it was a hyper-real kitsch-kicking experience :

Love2010 instructions for the night

the Art Exhibit

the centerpiece Cotton Candy machine; photo credit www.arlenesy.com

No odd wheel here – (4) couples Lex Reyes & Marielle Nadal, Birdie Salva & Arlene Sy, Heima’s Bong Rojales & Rossy Yabut, Moi with Reese

Now, the reason I can’t help but talk about Heima is that everytime I go inside the place, I just feel an inexplicable sense of joy; Almost as if some unknown happiness buttons were pushed and lights would go up inside my head.

And it really has everything to do with the overall experience and feel of being there – as Reese and I have had the pleasure of being so innumerable times already :

You see, one has to go inside Heima in order to fully appreciate it.

The place is literally a canvass of Rossy’s playful designs coupled with – intended pun on its way – the couple’s eclectic taste. It’s as if every turn, glance, movement you make reveals new eye candy that makes you say ‘oooohhhh nice!!!’

Whether it be Rossy’s happy couch, intriguingly beautiful art & decor, Bong’s lomo collection, Counting Sheep’s wall stickers, etc etc etc - it’s curated happiness-delivery to design enthusiasts at its most unapologetic; a veritable assault on one’s aesthetic sensibilities.

This rumination on Heima and their Art of Happiness actually reminded me of Don Norman – a leading global design thinker who wrote landmark books The Design of Everyday Things and Emotional Design – and his talk in TED.

Fittingly enough, his presentation is entitled “The 3 Ways that Good Design Makes Me Happy”, and it pretty much elucidates what i’ve been waxing about in this blog post :

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Design Meets Development

Mark Ruiz — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 04:30:30 +0000

IDEO just released version 2 of it’s Human-Centered Development Toolkit.

It’s essentially a free downloadable toolkit using Ideo’s design processes, as applied to the social development world. This was made possible through a collaboration with the Gates Foundation, IDE, ICRW, and Heifer International.

This intersection of design and development is really a combination of two of my most passionate interests.

And while I’ve followed both fields in parallel these past couple of years, the impending synergies are about to reach a tipping point.

My initial exposure to this was the crossover of development and engineering/invention. I was totally blown away by MIT Professor Amy Smith’s talk in TED, as she narrated her d-Lab and the crazy things they were inventing there.

In the same way that CK Prahalad started a revolution in getting businesses to consider the ‘fortune at the bottom-of-the-pyramid‘, I personally think that Amy Smith’s talk opened the floodgates for engineers to develop products for those who live on $1 to $2 a day.

Another important milestone on the design-meets-development path was the creation of OLPC (One Laptop Per Child), spearheaded by technology visionary Nicholas Negroponte. While it’s currently a debate whether the program is a success, nobody can argue with the mission of democratizing computing to the developing world’s children :

But during the course of OLPC’s technological development, more design skills needed to be brought into the fray. In fact, Negroponte would eventually turn to Yves Behar’s fuseproject – an industrial design firm – to bring the One Laptop Per Child into reality. This move I feel proved that not only engineering skills were needed to create the OLPC, but a designer’s mind as well.

In fact, the designer’s input into development work has become so critical that it has become a field of expertise in itself. One particular thought leader in this space is Niti Bahn from the emerging futures lab, who also wrote a very interesting article on ‘The 5D’s of BOP Marketing’.

Examples are now abound on products designed for the BoP, one just has to google. My personal favorites include Kickstart’s moneymaker pumps, VisionSpring glasses, and Tata’s Nano. Here in the Philippines, Hapinoy has been talking to entrepreneurs and organizations who want to bring in products designed especially for the BoP, and we are thinking about the best ways to introduce them into the market.

It’s a huge market, a huge need, and a huge opportunity – both to profit and to help. And hopefully, with IDEO’s new toolkit, more entrepreneurs, designers, engineers, and development workers can collaborate and create more products that will not only be sold t0 – but also serve – the base-of-the-pyramid.

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Why the Leaders of the Future Are Designers

Mark Ruiz — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:27:51 +0000

In his new book Leaders Make the Future - Bob Johansen of the Institute for the Future builds a case for the new leadership skills needed for an uncertain world.

Here’s his list :

1. Maker Instinct: The ability to exploit your inner drive to build and grow things, as well as connect with others in the making.

2. Clarity: The ability to see through messes and contradictions to a future that others cannot see. Leaders are very clear about what they are making, but very flexible about how it gets made.

3. Dilemma Flipping: The ability to turn dilemmas – which, unlike problems, cannot be solved – into advantages and opportunities.

4. Immersive Learning Ability: The ability to immerse yourself in unfamiliar environments; to learn from them in a first-person way.

5. Bio-Empathy: The ability to see things from nature’s point of view; to understand, respect, and learn from nature’s patterns.

6. Constructive Depolarizing: The ability to calm tense situations where differences dominate and communication has broken down – and bring people from divergent cultures toward constructive engagement.

7. Quiet Transparency: The ability to be open and authentic about what matters to you – without advertising yourself.

8. Rapid Prototyping: The ability to create quick early versions of innovations, with the expectation that later success will require early failures.

9. Smart Mob Organizing: The ability to create, engage with, and nurture purposeful business or social change networks through intelligent use of electronic and other media.

10. Commons Creating: The ability to seed, nurture, and grow shared assets that can benefit other players – and sometimes allow competition at a higher level.

—

Is it just me, or are most of these skills part of the DNA of Designers (or Design Thinkers, as the new thinking suggests)?

Let’s run through the list :

The Maker Instinct and Rapid Prototyping are no-brainer skills of designers, what with their incessant need to go from concept sketches to getting their hands dirty and building stuff;

Clarity is a perspective that is inherently designer-centric – an abstractive mindset that sees what can be, and not just what is; Whereas Dilemma Flipping brings to mind the designers’ problem-solving nature – they just have a way of reducing complexity into very simple solutions.

On the collaborative front – designers are masters in Constructive Depolarizing; In fact, by their very nature they work across multi-disciplinary teams with extremely varying backgrounds and fields of expertise. From that standpoint, constructive engagement doesn’t get more real than that.

Taking it a step further, crowdsourcing designers enhance this collaboration by utilizing the power of social media in Smart Mob Organizing. Not only that, designers use an arsenal of technology tools – from videos to simulations to prototypes - to convince and influence their clients, bosses, peers, companies, friends, and the general public into their point-of-view.

Immersive Learning Ability then dovetails into designers’ practice of ethnography and computer simulations/prototypes; While bio-empathy draws from designers’ seeking inspiration in unconventional places. In fact, there are numerous designers who are using bio-mimicry as fuel for their work.

Commons creating is the open-source mindset of designers, of how their work contributes to a vocabulary and milieu that others can build upon for the future.

Looking at all these skills, I rest my case.

Want to lead in the future? Learn how to be a designer.

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The Story Behind the Inovent Electronics Logo

Mark Ruiz — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:00:57 +0000

The Story Behind The Inovent Logo

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Service is Part of the Product

Mark Ruiz — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:00:07 +0000

Let me start by saying that i love HP.

It’s not Apple-level cult-like love, but it’s gadgetlove nonethelss. HP designs are 21st century industrial-hip, functionally impeccable, and with an overall coolness factor to boot.

Nowhere is this HP love more manifested in (2) gadgets i have that are so dear to me .. my HP iPaq Phone (Mobile Messenger rw6828) and of course, my HP TX1000 TabletPC.

For perspective, i change laptops on an average, once every 1 1/2 years. Cellphones, probably every 9 to 12 months.

But my HP iPaq phone is something i treasure. Every person who looks at it always jokes that i’m probably replacing it soon, mainly because it looks so battered and bruised all over. But that’s because i use it so heavily! it’s literally an essential part of my daily operating life. My iPaq and i already have a groove, and i can’t imagine divorcing it. In fact, i’ve bull-headedly had it repaired 3 times already.

It has flaws. It’s GPRS, not 3G. It’s 2MP Camera, not even the current standard fare which is 3.2MP. Yet, i still can’t bring myself to give it up. I’d probably complement it with an iPhone 3g in the future (once the price is right), but not replace it entirely. Funnily enough, i saw some brand new iPaq units yesterday at 50% off and actually considered buying one. Yes, the same model.

There’s even more love for my TabletPC. It’s usefulness just has me crooning. From its portability, to Zinio Reader, to watching videos, to normal work functions, to OneNote, to… ahem … comic-book reading tablet-style, this is something i’m not giving up. Again, i’m all set to get a macbook pro, but it will complement my Tablet, not replace it.

For me, these 2 gadgets have hit that beautiful intersection of design and usefulness.

But this long-winded declaration of love for my HP gadgets transitions into a more sober note.

You see, great products alone do not make a brand. It’s the must-have and cornerstone, i must say. But beyond that, it’s the whole experience and ongoing relationship with the products that makes the brand a true brand in the consumers’ eyes.

It’s the continuing contact that truly defines the love.

Let me cut to the chase.

I brought my TabletPC to the HP service center this morning. Long story why, but it’s cool. And besides, that’s not the point.

I have been there quite a few times already, and the story continues to be the same.

It’s a great place — free-flowing coffee, lounge-like chairs, entertainment via DVD movies and magazines abound.

But the service … is ….. just ……. so ……… freaking …………….. slooooooooooooooooooow.

I came in and got my service number, which was #36. Currently being served upon sitting down was #30.

With supposedly (3) service representatives, i finally got my face-time …

… after one whole hour.

You’d think that’s not so bad.

But you see, one week ago i was in Quezon City Hall processing some papers for a business.

There were at least 3x more people compared to the HP service center.

But i finished in half an hour.

When the bastion of bureaucracy – a government office – services faster than your multinational company, then you know you’ve got a huge problem on your hands.

—

It seems that the HP service center just doesn’t get it.

I don’t care about the free-flowing coffee, the lounge-like chairs, most especially the pile of magazines.

Nobody derives pleasure in going to a service center and having something repaired. It’s an unnecessary hassle and categorically a point of time. In fact, it means that you’re unable to use whatever it is you’re having repaired.

The whole point — the overarching need of a customer — is to have the service repair experience to be over as quickly and as painlessly as possible. That’s the core need.

Nobody wants to stay sick for long, even when placed in the best amenities in the world. Everbody wants to just get well ASAP.

THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD BE SOLVING, whoever-you-are in charge of the HP service center. Speed of service.

Not the lounge-like chairs. Not the free-flowing coffee.

Let me get in, have my beloved HP gadget diagnosed ASAP, and return it to me even more ASAP as i’ve got withdrawal symptoms.

You’re wrecking my love-relationship with the HP brand because of this.

If i wanted to chill, i’d much rather go to starbucks.

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When Hi-Tech is Low-Tech

Mark Ruiz — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:00:17 +0000

This is a practical lesson on User Experience and Over-solving a Problem.

You see, I attended the Manufacturing Expo in Mall of Asia yesterday morning. The maximizer that I am, I decided to go early and drop by for a quick run at Fitness First MOA.

Now, this Fitness First branch is new relative to the other branches. So it’s sort of an iterated version with new features, newer equipment and supposedly better tech.

And it had one feature that stuck out like a sore thumb.

RFID cards instead of locker keys.

This is the way it works there.

You surrender your membership card at the entrance.
The receptionist gives you an RFID card, which acts as your locker key.
You look for an empty locker and put in your gym stuff.
To lock it, you close the door and tap the door with the card, triggering an automated lock.
To unlock, it’s the same process.

Wow! Doesn’t this sound so beautifully high-tech, like a page from the future, present in the now?

Uhmmm, i don’t think so.

Because the alternative available in the other branches is just so much better.

What’s the system there?

You swipe your ID Card at the entrance and you get into Fitness First.
You look for an empty locker and put in your gym stuff.
You put in your card in the slot and take out the locker key, automatically locking it.
To unlock it, you – tan-an! – use the key again.

Beautifully simple.

So i really don’t know what’s the deal with these RFID cards.

But then again, I can imagine the pitch the technology provider gave to Fitness First MOA.

About this revolutionary RFID system that would make users’ gym experience so much better; How it would position FF as an industry leader in the application of technology. How gymmers would be so enamoured and entertained with this tapping system.

I guess both the technology provider and fitness first fell too in love with the technology that they forgot the most important aspect.

Will it actually make people’s lives really easier?

Is it delivering a better user experience?

I’ve a laundry list that argues otherwise :

The card exchange at the receptionist is an UNECESSARY STEP that’s not present in the “low-tech” system. You give a card to get another card? How ingenious.
The beautiful thing about a locker matched with a locker key is the numbers ACTUALLY MATCH. Check out my RFID card # and my locker # below :

This was just so inconvenient. I actually almost forgot my locker #. And my RFID card wasn’t any help.

For people without pockets, how do you go around the gym with this RFID card? Safety pins are sadly not included. I shudder to think where this is sometimes placed.
Take it a step further – how do you take this card into the shower after the workout? With the old dependable key, you’re not really worried about it getting wet.
The tapping the locker door is UNINTUITIVE. It’s locked, it’s not. It’s locked, it’s not.
During unlocking, the locker key on the low-tech system acts as the handle by which to open the door. With the RFID card, no such luck in trying to pry open the door. Basic human factors.

This is a case study wherein hi-tech is low-tech. Or more precisely, a situation wherein the low-tech alternative is actually better than the high-tech version.

The basis for evaluating whether to implement these new technologies is so elementary it’s embarrassing.

Just try it out as a user, and take note of your experience.

I’ve tried it just once, and i’ve already got six reasons why it shouldn’t have been implemented in the first place.

Fitness first, i’m a loyal member.

But as an innovation junkie, an industrial designer, and overall experience maven, i have to say that you really missed the boat on this one.

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Let Me Explain

Mark Ruiz — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:00:18 +0000

SubPrime Primer

View more presentations from Mark Ruiz.

There’s been a maelstrom of content, discussion, and explanation on the ongoing US financial crisis.

I’ve read and watched a lot of analysis and attempts to explain what exactly happened. In-depth interviews. TV debates. Immersive analysis.

But perhaps no explanation has hit the nail on the head inasmuch as this presentation i got as a forwarded email.

Visual communication rocks!

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Products That Are People

Mark Ruiz — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:00:34 +0000

I got myself a birthday gift yesterday.

An iMac G4, the “lampshade” incarnation of this iconic computer.

The funny thing is that I didn’t buy it to use it. I got it because I just love collecting lustfully designed Apple stuff.

This Apple machine is not just a machine; It’s a piece of art.

It’s ambiently appealing furniture.

And it got me thinking.

This was an emotional purchase. I just needed to have it. I don’t need another computer, after all.

And looking at it now gives me a weird sense of joy, as if I were playing with a real live pet. *the flexible crane monitor is so fun to move around!*

It’s something that Apple products are brilliant at. Communicating personality.

I remember when I was in Singapore a couple of years back. A friend had just bought his first iPod. Cradling it in his hand gave him that similar sense of joy that i feel with my new toy. In fact, he was so happy with it that he gave it a name, dubbing it “Snoop”. The it became a he.

The technical term for this is “anthropomorphization”. Wherein people relate with objects as if they were other people. The object begins to take on a personification.

But it cuts both ways. People can treat objects with disdain – just think of all those images of people shouting at traffic lights or kicking errant vending machines.

Or they can evoke positive emotions, like boys talking to their cars. Or women cuddling their jewelry.

As a product designer, you definitely want the latter. In a very twisted sense, the products that truly succeed become almost like a best friend, or a lover.

Now, back to my new toy …

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Happiness for a Hundred Bucks

Mark Ruiz — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 04:00:08 +0000

On our way to a brainstorming-consultation for Rags2Riches in TriNoma, Reese, Memey, and I chanced upon a street vendor selling these funky eyeglasses-moustache-torotot contraptions.

The vendor-guy was actively playing with it as he walked under the unforgiving Saturday sun.

I couldn’t resist. He just looked kickass dumb funny . And so I signalled his attention, inquired, and finally haggled to buy a set of three for a hundred bucks. (marketing lesson : demo demo demo!)

That was quite possibly the best hundred bucks I spent in recent weeks.

What construed was a pure hour’s worth of stomach-turning laughter for the three of us. We torototed our way through and around Mindanao Avenue, to the TriNoma parking guards, all the way into the mall weekend-goers.

We looked kickass dumb funny and weird, sure. But it was pure-as-heck enjoyable.

For the price of one tall Starbucks cafe latte’, we had such an energizingly funny afternoon.

All from a piece of China-manufactured cheap plastic and paper.

Which had me thinking.

What kind of experiences are you offering your customers?

What kind of human moments are you producing, the kind that makes your product an emotional purchase inasmuch as it is a logical purchase?

—

Cranium – the company that makes really fun games – has a term for it.

It’s called “moment engineering”.

Each board game is designed and engineered for a specific moment. For example, a board game can be designed for a rainy stay-at-home moment between mother and child. Etc etc etc.

How about you?

What moments are you engineering your products and services for?

And as with my P100 purchase, it doesn’t have to be an extremely luxurious experience to make it absolutely memorable.

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A Sense of Place

Mark Ruiz — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 04:00:06 +0000

At InoventDesign, we’re cooking up something radically exciting; a veritable gamechanger on technology. Unfortunately, i can’t divulge the devilish details … just yet. For the meantime, I’ll refer to it using our internal codename, Project Faith.

Just yesterday, Brian Quebengco and I were brainstorming on how best to bring this baby into the world.

And as usual, my perspective was : where we will launch is almost as critically important as what we will launch.

The place must have utmost significance; it should intrinsically be part of the story of the brand.

After all, this was how we shared Hapinoy, Rags2Riches (the Rajo Laurel Collection), and the WhyNot?Forum with the rest of the world.

The press launch of Hapinoy was done in Kamayan, of course alluding to our being very Festive and Pinoy-ness.

The Rajo Laurel Collection of Rags2Riches was via a living fashion exhibit/show (thanks to Direk Robby Carmona) in Shangri-La Hotel. That place spoke of our intention of launching a high-end fashion brand made by the rugweavers of Payatas. (of course, part of the story is that we were blessed with the venue being donated by a couple).

The first WhyNot?Forum was done in Warehouse 135. A Forum. In a Club. At night. Picking that place was a critical move. I personally wanted WhyNot? to be “the anti-forum” … after all, most fora are done in hotels, schools, and the like. Uhmmm and zzzzzzzzzz. That’s just not what WhyNot? is about.

—

I remember when i was still working in corporate. I was given a free hand to assemble a multi-disciplinary team to tackle a critical innovation project. The venue where I wanted the project kickoff for the working team? A helipad. I wanted to convey that we were going to scale new heights, to go for the top.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a helipad. So we settled for Top of the Citi in Makati. But you get the point.

A lot of you are probably wondering — isn’t this just frivolity? It’s a nice-to-have rather than must-have? Not exactly.

A sense of place is a critical component of the whole experience of the brand. It deserves so much more thought than it’s currently being given.

And back to InoventDesign … when we finally bring Project Faith into the world, you’ll understand immediately who we are and what we’re trying to do, just because of where we’ll do it.

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