I'll be missing it as I will be off to Morocco and then Paris for the Holidays..
but its sure to be a fun event! IxDA Holiday Party!

Posted by aynne at 03:00 PM | Permalink

How women are persuaded into self-loathing through marketing.

Posted by aynne at 04:30 PM | Permalink

This was a rather odd result whilst running Personas..

Posted by aynne at 03:08 PM | Permalink

I attended a talk last night for the book "The Future of the Internet and How To Stop It", it seems like it'll be a good a book and I hope to get to it soon.

One topic that stood out for me was the notion of Generative vs Tethered systems. My cursory understanding of this is that generative systems do not assign a particular meaning or strict path to a desired outcome. Think things like Google Health or Android as an example of this..

Tethered systems are ones that are proprietary and limit the possible ways one could interact with them. Examples of this might be a application or device for a specific task or even developing for the iPhone, as while anyone can make an application, in order for mass distribution it requires a specific platform target, approval from Apple and must meet a set of criteria .

By extension I think there are some pretty accessible examples of generative vs. tethered systems and some that are more hybrid in nature from the experiential standpoint I can think of. Flickr is a great example of this kind of hybrid web application. At its core there is a very simple things it does: enables you to upload a picture or video and share it. But the creative and social aspects happens after the photo is uploaded. Once uploaded the system is very open, you can use your photo and others photos in many ways on many channels. However, the photo ultimately lives on Flickr. Flickr has the power to delete your photo, shut down your account, or even hold your photos hostage if you don't comply to their rules.

I think this is what we see more of as we become more dependent on systems to house our information and I think it will be interesting to see how we deal with this paradox of having more freedom and control to create meaning through cloud-based information while losing control of our information and privacy. Being exposed to more memes on social networks and at some point wondering what idea and opinion is authentically your own and what was gleaned from your peers because it is popular opinion.

Will this make us more creative or less creative? It will be interesting to see what happens.

Posted by aynne at 07:24 AM | Permalink

ixdasf_09_11_17_102


Originally uploaded by ixdasf

Posted by aynne at 11:43 AM | Permalink

Aynne-ifesto


Originally uploaded by aynne

Posted by aynne at 11:24 AM | Permalink

Posted by aynne at 01:25 PM | Permalink

A while back a UX blogger Dustin Curtis blogged about how bad the American Airlines website was designed. An employee of AA.com left a response and was immediately fired.

I think the whole incident is an example of social media, the internet and the blurring of lines between one's personal and professional life colliding. It also exemplifies the clash between traditional corporate culture clashing with the new paradigms.

I was also interested in Dustin Curtis mention of the "diversity" sites AA.com hosts.
I think this is probably one of the most egregious misunderstandings organizations take when they consider targeted media. Somehow, someone at AA imagined that African-Americans, women, gays (and probably Latinos too) have such different travel needs they require their own websites.

As a bona fide "minority" (I am Latina), I find this completely offensive. No matter how well intended it was.

I'm glad someone is bringing this discussion to the table.

Posted by aynne at 12:59 PM | Permalink

Photos by: Hari Khalsa Simons

Aynne Valencia, Co-Local Leader San Francisco IxDA

Erik Gibb, Director of User Experience, Kink.com

Erin Malone, Founding Partner, Tangible UX

Posted by aynne at 05:51 AM | Permalink

I am pleased to be on the other side of the hot seat this month with my former AKQA colleagues Mauro Cavelletti and Guillermo Torres as a panelist for the November IxDA-SF Event: The New Mad Men come from Silicon valley.

From the site:

The future of advertising is in digital media, as people stop reading newspapers and people turn off their TVs in favor of Facebook, advertising agencies are struggling to redefine themselves as fast as the audience their trying to reach. In the last few years we have seen agencies build IxD teams from scratch, which has been a great opportunity for IxD designers. But it has been a challenge for designers to insert themselves in the copywriter/art director led process.

In this talk we will discuss why the IxD community needs to take notice and take this as a great a great opportunity for our discipline to move forward and learn from fellow creatives. We'll share winning strategies for including design thinking in an industry known for creating more problems than solving them.

More information at IxDA-SF

Posted by aynne at 11:28 AM | Permalink