Roman solved the self-knotting-headphone-cable-problem.

Yes, I am using it wrongly … a little counter-intuitive at first :)

You sometimes go to (underground) hacker spaces and instead of in cubicles you work in hip co-working spaces?

Well, guess what, there’s a new kid on the block and it’s making friends really, really fast.

Enter FabLabs.

FabLabs are all about making (physical) stuff. With 3D-printers, laser cutters, CNC machines, soldering sets and Arduino main-boards you have all the tools at hand to create a myriad of ideas (as long as you respect the fab charter).

The idea of rapid prototyping isn’t new and FabLabs have been around for some while, but the rise of affordable and easy to handle tools will change the rules of the game and up the ante. The near future vision depicts scenarios beyond the current state of FabLab subculture: a decentralization of production capabilities and a grass-root innovation culture.

Something I wrote a few years ago:

In the end, the question isn’t whether things are going to change, it’s about how they will change and to what extent every single one of us is going to contribute. Take your chances.

In Lucerne I caught a glimpse of the future. How am I, are you, are we and our companies/clients going to contribute?

Let’s figure this out.

A shout-out to the crew on the ground for the extensive hands-on experience: Roman, Martina & Patrick.

You get to shape the future.

Photojournalist setup: Fullframe + Wide Angle Zoom accompanied by APS-C + Tele Zoom.

Also: Tools of the Trade I.

Since you asked: no, those are not mine.

Power and wifi are the water of todays digital nomads.

Textures and color palettes in Suzhou, China.

With “advertising” most of you will associate familiar means, mediums and contexts that have been around for some while. Stuff like magazines, TV commercials and billboards.

Pay attention. The density of advertising increases. Our world out there is getting plastered with more and more ads that you just. can’t. ignore.

Creative minds of marketeers unleash new campaigns that are increasingly closing in on the very last white spaces that exist in our public and private lives.

Gazing at the baggage pickup and scanning all the luggage passing by used to be a relief after twelve hours cramped in economy class. It helped to tune out the mass advertising on screens and wall installations at the Munich airport.

No more.

The picture above shows the newest weapon in the arsenal of airport advertising. Yet another revenue stream. Score!

Isn’t it a pity that we as Researchers, Service- and Experience Designers help to expose those opportunities for advertising by analyzing and observing customer journeys?

There are far worse examples and rest assured that more dark patterns are on their way.

Where is our code of conduct? Are we responsible for how our insights are applied?

We should be prepared.

In what context is it acceptable to cross a line?

For whom?

Which lines?

Also: Crossing Lines I

Depending on where in the world you grew up and spent most of your lifetime, a first time visit to China will put your understanding of “big” into perspective.

The multitude of building projects is jaw dropping – a housing bubble or merely an appropriate infrastructure for a growing and demanding middle class?

Another variable that changes is the time-to-market speed race of such projects. You can order an out-of-the-box 30-storey building and have it assembled in give or take 15 days.

Factor in incentive systems (for gov/org/coorp/lobby) and you end up with a lot of money on the table and a Lego-like building block morale.

What is at the end of the road? What are the social and economic consequences of this housing gamble? Only time will tell.

Yet, using a one or two year old China guidebook, you may quite literally feel first indications of that change. What the guidebook says/shows and what has become reality in the meanwhile may differ quite a bit.

Local knowledge via friends, guides or friendly citizens can help a lot. Trust in God and keep your powder dry.

How does a digital fortune teller compare with someone more flesh and bone offering the same service? What is the value proposition of a fortune teller? To what degree is the medium the message? How would your answers affect pricing, appropriateness of different contexts or touch points (the digital fortune teller above is located in a public bus terminal) and the overall customer expectations regarding the content and the presentation of the service?

May fortune favor you in 2012.

Spicy: The earthly version of a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster at the Boxing Cat Brewery, Shanghai.

Thought of the day: for the researcher of human experience, when is time to up the ante? How can you feed extremly contextualized experience back into the design process? What are the moral and organizational limits? Is there a point of diminishing returns?