My work is about studying how people use various technologies as well as micro testing innovative business models. I provide insights, ideas and prototypes for designers, engineers, marketers and entrepreneurs.

The inquisitive experience researcher always strives to challenge his own doing & thinking. Therefore learning how others look at and experience the world, as well as sharing these experiences is a crucial element of shaping the researchers mind towards an always on mentality.

On 12th October 2009 the local chapter of the IxDA Munich arranged its first informal get-together. Special thanks go to IDEO Munich for being such a nice host and heartily kudos to Design vs Art for their personal commitment to organize such an event. Fortunately a lot of people with diverse professional backgrounds showed up. In the future the local chapter of the Interaction Design Association will serve as a forum to share ideas, insights and best practices. I look forward to listening to Pecha Kucha style presentations on topics ranging from visual design to hardware sketching and design research.

From now on, a meeting will be held every 6 weeks. The local chapter is member-supported without any cost of membership. For more information and upcoming announcement visit the IxDA Munich page and join the linkedin group.

Photo: Snacks and beverages catalyzing the meet and greet.

Picture: A POS interface in the German supermarket “Edeka”.

What are the implications of an UI that uses 40% of the screen real estate to display a mission statement & advertising campaign? Conditioning the clerks, whenever they cash in? Bad interface design by the POS manufacturer?

Field research is en vogue. Social science in general is having increasingly more advocates in the corporate world. The newborn heroes are titeled “information anthropologists”. See Garnters recent article on “the rise of the social scientist” for success stories in the web world. However, classic “real world” field work is becoming more important as urbanization increases and trends, needs and actual usage patterns are harder to identify in the melting pot of modern metropolises. The work of “inbetween people” with a mixed  background (e.g. design, anthropology, innovation forecast, management etc.) will shape the future of major brands. There is an understanding, that technological feasibility is not enough to stay on top in a complex (business) world.

Recommended Talk: Ethnography vs Real Ethnography.

Picture: Refining a field study design after pretests in Munich. Highly recommended: Dinner at Türkenhof.

Picture: Spray paint advertising on a Berlin sidewalk.

Advertising is about to change. Future scenarios like those outlined by Nokia show an ideal world. Where is advertising in that scenario? Mixed and augmented reality services offer infinite layers for the bomb carpet of advertising. Sure, there are some really nice examples of augmented reality advertising campaings. Nevertheless, I guess that in the long run an ubiquitous presence of targeted advertising -more cruise missile than bomb carpet- is going to evolve. Think about RFID and GPRs enabled devices like described in Dean Donaldson’s dystopian blog post on location-based advertising.

Photo: Entrance area of a student dorm. The notice on top is a legend to link the names of the residents to the corresponding doorbells below. It is updated weekly.

What are the social implications of an identity that is increasingly variable? How does it affect the way you live, connect with other people and use information technology when the context of your life is changing every 1-2 years? Think about mobile identities. Think about augmented identities. Change is happening.