masimuddy

Down with Innovation - Rick Poynor for I.D. Magazine

I found an article in I.D. Magazine regarding the design profession(s). The topic of what (interaction) design is has been on my mind recently, and I’ve been thinking a lot about how to describe the profession, it’s role in an organization and it’s processes. The article describes the changes and evolution of the design industry, as well as the changes in the way the profession has been perceived. It talks about the differences in designers as stylists and designers as innovators.

The article is a bit controversial as it seems to suggests the role of designers should remain in the aesthetic realm, and the innovation/design-thinking processes being used should be “moved into someone else’s hands”. I’m not sure I agree with that, but I do agree many others professions can benefits from using design-thinking.

via [Putting people first]

Bar codes are becoming more and more common place as ticketing moves to the web and we print our own tickets. Usually a bunch messy squares, the image in this ticket makes use of the aesthetic to provide a nice images. A nice what to present data in a pleasing way. I’m sure there will slowly be more experimentation with this.
(images by david_avi_delta )

This past weekend I went to a cooking demonstration at the Riz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay by the chef from Junnoon. The demo is part of a series from Inside the Kitchen. I chose to attend this one in particular, because I love the restaurant. Kirti Pant serves up truly excellent modern Indian style cuisine.

The class was full, and he demonstrated how to cook 3 popular dishes from the Junnoon menu: Tangy Semolina Shells, Konju Pappas (Shrimp in tomato/tamarind sauce) and Rice-flaked Sea Bass with Kokum Sauce. It was great for me, since I’m not really familiar with using Indian spices so I think I learned a little. The class was accompanied by a tasting of the 3 dishes (a decent portion, actually) matched wines and a take-away booklet with the recipes. Plus the hotel is really, nice and a good excuse to head to the seaside (if you need more excuses).

There is one more class in the series which I plan to attend … more soon!

I’m amused the monopoly board parody of this Techcrunch article.

Aaaah! The sun is out. The week is over. I finally decided to open the chilled bottle of orange muscat I picked up at Ledson wineries. Excellent. Hit the spot. Very refreshing. Not too sweet.