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EVENTS

  • Lextant Fall Fry 2010 > Columbus, Ohio
    TBA

    Fall will be here before ya know it- and with that comes our Fall Fry Cookout Event!

Insights & Blog_In Here and Out There

Our observations of the world around us

  • People Profiles: Carlton Donahoo by Dan Rockwell on July 09, 2010

    It’s that time of year again – Lextant is busy busy busy!  Research “mayhem” at its finest, and we’re all busy as all get out.  And with lots of work comes lots of new faces around the office. So as the official new hire interrogator, I thought this would be a good time to get to know some of the new staff here at Lextant with a series we call - People Profiles!

    Carlton Donahoo joined the team in late June 2010 as a part of our User Experience Design group.  Carlton has a masters degree in Experimental Psychology from the University in Dayton, and his resume touts some pretty heavy-hitting previous employers - University of Dayton, General Dynamics and… NASA! I had to ask him what it was like working for NASA.

    “Its very fast there, hectic environment, great work, but it can be stressful.”

    When asked “Why lextant?” Carlton responded, “Most of the work I’ve been doing lately has been with soldiers and astronauts, its time for something new.” Well he’s definitely headed into new stuff joining our UX team as they take on one of the many automobile related contracts Lextant’s been fielding lately. 

    Carlton’s hometown is Mercer, Ohio, but if he could live anywhere it would be in Japan.  He’s studied martial arts and has a deep love of Japanese culture, anime in particular.  His favorite anime series? Gatchaman!

    Unique facts about people make for the best interview material I think, and in the case of Carlton, here’s a little known fact - he’s a sky diver.  Now you have to give credit to someone for jumping out of a perfectly good airplane - that’s what my Dad always told me.  He plans to skydive again some time this year or next.  We’ll definitely photo blog that!

    Another of my classic interrogation questions is “What would your superpower be?” and Carlton replied, “Empath. I feel what others feel.”

    Finally we get to the last question, “What are your tips of aspiring researchers out there?”

    “Be flexible, and be ready to adapt. Stuff goes wrong, so be calm.  Testing is never perfect – you have to expect the unexpected.” Calm, calculated words from yet another excellent addition to the team here at Lextant. 

    Well that wraps up this week’s People Profile, thanks for reading. And remember… Lextant has NASA experience on our side!

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  • Design Research Methods - Module 2: Planning Ahead by Dan Rockwell on April 22, 2010

    As a follow-up to the first “Catch & Release” Design Research workshop held last fall, Lextant will be presenting the second module in the series – Research Tool Development.  This workshop will be presented as a pre-conference workshop to be held in conjunction with the IDSA Mideast District Conference.  The workshop is free for all conference registrants, $30 for professionals and $15 for students as a standalone activity. 

    Planning Ahead with the Right Tools is the second in a series of workshops developed to expose design practitioners to various design research methods and processes. This workshop is an introduction to creating customized toolkits to capture human experiences and expressions. Designed properly, these tools allow people to not only identify the issues that matter most to them, but also to articulate the “whys” behind their intentions, experiences, and opinions.  In turn, these insights serve to inform and inspire meaningful design.  See our event flyer for more details.

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  • Innovation, the Design Research Issue !! Spring 2010 by Dan Rockwell on March 31, 2010

    If you’re curious about the wave of innovation your brand or business needs to aspire to next then you cannot afford to miss out on the Spring 2010 issue of Innovation from IDSA this month, focusing entirely on Design Research. 

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    Our own Marty Gage, Chris Rockwell and Spencer Murrell grace the pages as well with the articles of Users Take the Lead and Turning Data Into Insight… what’s not to like?  There’s plenty more too! 

    Check out IDSA’s recently launched Design Research Section portal site and download even more articles from the issue. 

    And don’t forget about these upcoming IDSA conferences in April too. 

    April 9-11th
    Charlotte, NC
    IDSA Southern District Conference
    theme: Mass Reduction: The Economy of Design
    Marty Gage of Lextant will be conducting a design research workshop at this event.

    April 16-18th
    Milwaukee, WI
    IDSA Mideast Conference
    theme: Every Design Tells a Story

    April 16-17th
    Union, NJ
    IDSA Northeast District Conference
    theme: CoCreate
    Marty Gage of Lextant will be moderating many of the discussions at this event.

    April 23-25th
    Denver, CO
    IDSA Western District Conference
    theme: Make A Scene!
    Jim Couch of Lextant will be conducting a design research workshop at this event.

    April 30th-May 2nd
    Grand Rapids, MI
    IDSA Mideast Conference
    theme: Faces of Design
    Justine & Marty Gage will be conducting Catch & Release: Understanding Human Experiences Module 2: Designing Appropriate Data Collection Tools at this event. 

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