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Insight & Ideas_In Here and Out There

Our observations of the world around us

• Through the looking glass of Twistori by Justine Carleton on May 07, 2008

  People embrace emotion. We like to feel them, express them, cause them, watch them.

  In the past people expressed their emotions in diaries, letters, and photo albums; today, people increasingly express themselves online in blogs and on sites like Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, and MySpace. The web is giving us, as designers and researchers, the chance to “peek” into other people’s emotional expressions, like peeking into a diary or photo album.
  
  Most of our meaningful experiences are surrounded by an intense emotion. And, as evidenced by Twistori, even our day to day interactions are connected to an emotion. Twistori takes real time Twitter entries and filters them honing in on words people use to express themselves like: love, hate, think, believe, feel, wish. Like the irresistible urge to glance at a car wreck on the side of the road, Twistori lets us “watch” emotional situations unfold.

  

  If emotions are core to our being, it is no wonder that the new goal for design is to make a meaningful, emotional connection between and the product or service and the human being at the other end.
  
  Designers need to grab a hold of the human psyche and not let go. It’s our job as designers and researchers to understand how and why people respond emotionally (as well as physically and mentally) to products and services. If we can understand the why and how, we can begin to design for emotions as well as purpose, function, and form. Although it’s easy for people to feel emotions, it’s not always easy for us to express emotions and then “assign” them to a particular interaction with a product or service. The web is providing new and unique ways to accomplish this goal.
  
  Diaries, photo journals, participatory design, good conversation, and the web can all be powerful tools to understand how products or services can affect emotions, giving designers the knowledge to better connect with the human psyche.
  
  Lextant President Chris Rockwell did a great presentation on design for user emotion at the recent International Home + Housewares Show. The presentation was titled “Research That Inspires Breakthrough Products: Moving From Experience to Aspiration,” and you can listen to or download the 30-minute presentation here. 

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• The secret is out by Dan Rockwell on May 05, 2008

  

  As noted in the Columbus Dispatch, Lextant is busier than ever — and we’re adding staff and office space to meet the demand. In the coming months, we will double our space in the Smith Bros. Hardware Building to 10,500 square feet. It’s a necessary step, as we help more and more companies use design research to develop better products and services.

  We love working in the Smith Bros. Building. Now at 98 percent occupancy, it’s one of the hottest business addresses in downtown Columbus. 

  We’ll post an update when the new space is complete. In the meantime, you’re welcome to stop by and see the work in progress. But please, excuse the dust!
  

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• Taste of Independents by Dan Rockwell on May 01, 2008

  Tonight, May 1, Lextant will host Taste of Independents (I love that name), a special event benefiting The Buckeye Ranch. We’re serving as title sponsor, and it all takes place right here in the Smith Bros. Building from 6 to 9 p.m.

  The evening will showcase food and drink from 33 of the area’s best—and locally owned and operated—restaurants. Listen to a trio from Jazz Arts Group, sip a special Mango Maytini, and bid on cool stuff in the silent auction. Tickets are $100 per person, and all proceeds benefit The Buckey Ranch, a local United Way agency that treats serious family issues including abuse, neglect, additions, and behavioral disorders.

  Much of the staff will be present and I hope to see some pictures of the event soon afterwards.
  

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