All projects: Gel, Good Todo, Games, Uncle Mark, Bit Literacy
Archives / December 2011
Using what you have (and when to change)
Some friends came by my office recently and commented on my monitor, a 10-or-so year-old Samsung SyncMaster, shown below in the photo of my desk:
I hadn't thought much of the monitor for years, since it just - works. When I'm looking at the screen, I'm thinking about the bits flying around inside, not the plastic chassis holding the screen.
My friends were amazed that a "technology guru" would be using such an old piece of equipment. And it's true, this monitor is old enough that it's almost retro-cool at this point. But I'm using it with no irony - the thing works!
That got me to thinking: there's a particular pleasure to using what you have, without having to change. I suppose I'll get a newer monitor at some point, whenever this one dies, but in the meantime I'm happy to have a piece of equipment that I don't have to think about much. That's the point of technology, isn't it? To be a tool that we can use for some purpose, without having to think about the tool itself.
Of course this runs counter to the dominant theme of the technology industry - buy more, and buy often. Count this "guru" as caring less about what's new and more about what works. (If it happens to be new and works better than what came before, then I'll be the first to add my praise.)
The photo above shows another way of working with what you have: not just working with it but turning it into a strength. The "B" sign on the left shows the New York City health rating, which every restaurant is required to display in their entrance. This particular restaurant got a "B" - a middling rating that restaurant owners aren't too happy to receive.
You can see what the restaurant did: they copied the same font, size, style, and color of the "B" rating into two more pages, showing an "A" and an "R". And there you have the most creative sign for a BAR in New York City.
Finally, there are some cases when it's not enough to work with what you have - it's time to change. Take a look at the photo below, of my local post office's kiosk where I was trying to buy stamps:
I read and re-read this menu of options: where are the regular stamps? I've bought from this kiosk before, and there's always something called "stamps." The only mention of stamps here is to buy one of "different value" (which had me thinking, different from what?).. I didn't want Express Mail, or some holiday baubles (whatever those are - Christmas tree ornaments, perhaps?), or Priority Mail, or "different value."
My best guess was the 1st class stamp, which mentioned that it could go international as well. Turns out that was too expensive, around a dollar.
It took me some time but I finally figured out where the normal stamps were hiding out. I can't be the only customer who was confused (though perhaps you figured it out already). It's obvious that the postal service should make some changes here.
Here's to a 2012 knowing when to hold on to what we have, when to use it creatively, and when we really should make a change. Happy holidays!
Quiz: are you good at customer experience work?
Here's a two-question quiz to find out if you're suited to do customer experience work. During a recent visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art here in New York, I came across an unusual installation: as shown in the photo below, a park bench, painted black, sits mostly empty except for three white plaster figures.
As we entered the room with this installation, our tour guide reminded all of us not to sit down on the bench. "You'd be surprised," she said, "at how often people sit down there and an alarm goes off. Happens all the time."
Walking closer to the bench, I noticed the sign shown in the photo below. It reads: PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH.
I immediately told the tour guide why museum visitors continually sat down on the bench.
Now you're ready for the quiz!
Question 1: Why do so many people sit down on the bench? (Are they careless, malicious, or just too tired to stand? Or is something else at work?)
Question 2: What would be one way to address the problem?
When you have your answers, check my answers (what I said to the tour guide). Feel free to post your answer in the comments below - perhaps you have an even better solution.
This is the sort of quiz I would give anyone applying for a job in customer experience. Consider what it requires to create a solution:
• empathy: being able to see the scene from the visitor's perspective is the most important skill in the process. And it's hard to do - even for the staff of a world-class museum!
• analysis: noting the many different things at work in the scene: context (museum), object (figures and bench), instructions (sign), and subtle cues of position (sign's placement almost directly in front of the first figure people see).
• synthesis: putting it all together to figure out why the problem is occurring, and what the solution might be, is a rare skill.
Note that the quiz doesn't ask you to "list the popular methods you know how to use," or to "define how 'interaction design' is different from 'user experience.'" The skills of empathy, analysis, and synthesis are essential in solving customer experience problems. That's what I look for when hiring someone new.
It's also what you should look for when asking someone to work on your customer experience. (Contact us at Creative Good if we can help.)
3 truths of info visualization (and some whiskey, too)
The explosion of data in our daily lives has recently made information visualization a highly sought-after skill. (I think "graphing" would be a better word. Such a long phrase - "information visualization" - makes me wonder what George Carlin would have said about it.)
Most of the infographics I see are sleek, colorful, digital designs that are oriented more towards visual pop than to imparting any kind of understanding. Which is a shame, since the entire purpose of a chart or graph is to impart understanding. Whether it's pretty to look at is a nice-to-have, secondary matter.
With this in mind I was happy to come across Chris Fahey's flowchart for rye, bourbon, and scotch whisky (originally posted on Twitter), below:
Notice how Fahey is able to distill a chapter's worth of material into a single page. You can compare and contrast the three drinks by glancing quickly around the drawing. In other words: You're learning! Here understanding is imparted more effectively, more efficiently, than even a well-worded written description would have done. In short, this is what infographics should be used for - imparting understanding in a way that the written word can not.
It's no coincidence that this great example of infographic design was created totally independently of any digital device. Hand, pen, and paper were the only tools necessary. Let this be a lesson that "information visualization" does not require a computer. In fact, it might be a better discipline to force oneself not to use a computer.
Next time you see a sleek and beautiful digital infographic, try to look beyond the visual excitement and ask yourself: what am I really learning?
3 truths of info visualization:
1. The entire purpose of a chart or graph is to impart understanding.
2. Infographics should be used in cases where they impart understanding better than the written word.
3. "Information visualization" does not require a computer. It might even be better created without any digital tools at all.
(Thanks again to Chris Fahey, on Twitter at @chrisfahey. I'm at @markhurst.)
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Uncle Mark 2012 is now available
I'm happy to announce the new Uncle Mark 2012 Gift Guide and Almanac available for download, right now: download it here.
If you have read Uncle Mark in the past (this is the 9th annual edition!), you'll still find new material in this year's guide, such as:
• Comparing the Kindle Fire to the iPad ... which camera, Kindle, computer, and smartphone you should buy ... how to buy a TV ...
• how to learn Chinese ... two new gift picks for kids ... items for new and expecting parents ... two inexpensive devices to stream music and movies ... Uncle Mark's favorite wristwatch (darn whippersnappers) ...
• and a documentary you might like, how I cured my back pain, how to manage your email, an umbrella storage system, and the classic "how to prevent a sneeze" tip ...
I'd like to ask you to share this year's guide as it is jam-packed with recommendations for products and companies that are dedicated to good experience. Let's spread the word about these well-built designs - they deserve it.
Here's how you can help:
• Share or "Like" the Uncle Mark Facebook page.
• Post on Twitter - something like "Uncle Mark's 2012 Gift Guide is out: fun gift and tech picks for the next year. Get it! unclemark.org by @markhurst"
• Post on Google+. I'm at +Mark Hurst.
• Drop an email to friends and point them to download the PDF. (Or just attach it to the email :)
Thanks - you'll be spreading the word about products that everyone should know about. Download Uncle Mark 2012 here. (PDF)
Just quietly posted the new Uncle Mark 2012 gift guide (or click for PDF download). More to say soon... for now, interested in your feedback.
Serving the customer at Singapore's Changi Airport
In an interesting Wall Street Journal profile of Singapore's Changi Airport, which is known to be one of the world's best, an executive at Changi describes their secret (emphasis mine):
"Serving the customer well always correlates with earning money," said Mr. Foo. "Do you need a swimming pool in an airport? No. No one asked for that. We are creating the market, creating the demand. People choose Singapore because they can swim."
I flew through Changi last year and was constantly surprised by the total lack of annoyances present in my local NYC-area airports. For example: the baggage claim carousel was whisper-quiet. No squeaks, screeches, or clanks - the luggage just rode quietly around on the track. Same with the luggage cart: the wheels didn't squeak. And the airport hotel was actually part of the airport, allowing me to push the luggage cart from baggage claim to check-in desk. The experience overall was efficient, clean, and in some of the design choices, aesthetically pleasing.
And yes, the airport makes money with this approach. I especially like the validation process for riding the slide:
A four-story amusement-park type slide is even tied into retail. If you want to use the slide, you have to have a receipt from an airport merchant showing roughly $8 and up in purchases. Without that, you can only ride the bottom 1½ stories of the slide.
What will it take for American airports to oil the wheels on their luggage carts?
