May 2010
1 post
Uniquely Normal People
I can usually tell…a little too late…when I have done something stupid.
For me, it usually takes the form of agreeing to some seemingly innocent request. So, when I agreed to do a simple 5 minute talk for a local conference… well, that seriously should have sent up some red flags…
I honestly thought when I agreed to do an Ignite Series five minute talk that it would be a...
March 2010
2 posts
Raising the Bar
“…hmm, that can’t be right,” he said, as he stared intently at the LED display.
I watched as the doctor passed the wand slowly across my son’s chest. Again. And again… and again… I have seen this procedure many times before and have come to expect the multiple passes and frustration…today was no exception.
“My readout device is...
Changing the Measures
“You’re close enough, you could drive there,” she said.
So nine years ago, at the suggestion of doctor that I met only once, I made the choice to repeatedly make the six hour drive to Chicago to one of the nation’s top pediatric neurologists and epileptologists. However, this is not the norm among parents of chronically ill children…and even though my son’s...
February 2010
6 posts
Unformed Dreams in the Minds of Children
It is so important to believe in people.
A couple of weeks ago, I was faced with one of those uncomfortable moments for a parent of a child with cognitive disabilities. There in my son’s backpack was a stapled sheet of paper with the words “Models and Designs Project: Sixth Grade Science.” I stared at the words in dread. It’s no secret that the school seems to be tailored...
In Honor of One
PDD-NOS. What a curious, non-term.
It’s been nearly 10 years ago, but I still hear the conversation ringing in my ears. I can see the room… and I still hear myself saying “but he’ll get well, right? We can go to speech therapy, right? There are things that we can do, right?…” She wouldn’t look at me. I remember hearing, “I’m so...
In Praise of Really Bad Ideas
Have you ever had a bad idea? I mean a really, really bad idea?
In design, we are always seeking that allusive transformational idea. The one that will change the world as we know it. But, for most of us, bad ideas seem a bit more plausible. Good ideas are ok, but they just don’t move us… But, if an idea is really bad, someone has to do something. It sort of serves as an innovation...
Worthy of Good Design
In experience design we talk a lot about user-centered design, usability, and participatory processes. And these things are truly important. We need to be aware of them and to respect the richness that they add to the design process. But one of the things that interests me in experience design is advocating for the people who can’t participate. Those people who don’t get invited to the...
The Power of Emotion
I have been thinking a lot about emotions this week. Well, more precisely, have been experiencing a lot of emotions this week. On January 22, one of my students disappeared from the Iowa State University campus without a trace. The police have no idea what happened to him. And, no one noticed his absence for eight days…we just went about our business, doing what we do as students and...
Questioning and Thinking
Experience design has greatly expanded the definition of what it means to be a designer. For me it was liberating to know that it’s ok to design everything. It reminds me of Howard Gardner’s concept of the multi-disciplinarian. But, Gardner goes on to make the point that very few people dedicate themselves so thoroughly to more than one discipline to every really make it to the point...
January 2010
3 posts
Thinking in Pictures and other Lessons from Temple...
I just heard about the new movie about the life and work of Temple Grandin. I have read many of her books and was greatly influenced by her research. In “Thinking in Pictures” she gives us a wonderful account of what it was like to grow up with autism. Her unique ability to articulate her experiences and put words to what so many children and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD)...
Changing Times, Changing Design
Lately, the rules have been changing daily.
When faced with dramatic economic issues nothing is a given. It is both frightening and—if you can step back a bit— interesting. Frightening in that even the most sacred of things are being cut or discontinued. Those very things that were high quality and producing good results…
The interesting part is how will we as designers and...
Design Education...
Design education is what I do daily… and it’s been what I have done for more years than I care to mention. This blog will trace the steps of design education and it’s relationship to research and to real life.
Currently, I am teaching a multi-disciplinary graduate course in Human Interaction Design. It’s an interesting class taught to an eclectic group of students. They...