Challis Hodge’s UXblog

Jim Moore�s essay, The Second Superpower Rears its Beautiful Head, argues that the world�s first superpower, the U.S. government, is out of control, willfully dismissive of the international organizations that have been created to maintain world order. Rather than bend to the will of the United Nations, the European Union, or even the people of the United States, Moore says, �the realpolitik of decision-making in the first superpower�centers around lobbying and campaign contributions by moneyed special interests�big oil, the military-industrial complex, big agriculture, and big drugs�to mention only a few.�

Fortunately, says Moore, �There is an emerging second superpower, but it is not a nation. Instead, it is a new form of international player, constituted by the �will of the people� in a global social environment. The beautiful but deeply agitated face of this second superpower is the worldwide peace campaign, but the body of the movement is made up of millions of people concerned with a broad agenda that includes social development, environmentalism, health and human rights.�

We are living in one of the most challenging times in recent history. Our economy is a mess, the world is a disaster and one of the most important professions needed to lead us into the future is missing in action. For sure design has lost its pride, its sense of purpose and its dignity. We as designers are no longer proud to stand up for the inherent value we bring. We are looking for ways to justify ourselves to business alone as if we don�t also play a critical role in social, cultural and quality of life issues. We designers are missing from the decision-making process and humanity is paying the price. Design is broken and it needs to be fixed.

Design has been hobbling along for sometime. Of late it has become increasingly difficult to discern the real problems behind the malady. Some folks have suggested that we designers should just go do good work and things will work themselves out. Others have suggested that we simply need to educate business on the value of design and we�ll earn our place in the boardroom. Still others have called for better communication and cooperation between design disciplines as a potential fix.

I wish fixing design were this simple but it�s not. Fixing design requires change, determination and will. It requires design professionals to dig deep, to answer tough questions and rekindle the magic that lives within.

Restoring belief in ourselves is only the first step in fixing design. We must take on new challenges with new approaches. A simultaneous top down and bottom up approach is required. Making business aware of our value is only a small part. Real change will come only with an organized and sustained effort to force social, cultural and political change.
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The potential downside to this intense customer-driven attitude is the risk of serving customers well in the short term to the detriment of defining and solving their long-term needs.

The transition to mechanized weaponry is key to the military’s transformation from heavy ground forces to smaller human units fortified with robotic weapons. The goal: to limit casualties. Within 20 years, squadrons of unmanned planes will swarm enemy sites like killer bees, launching missiles and avoiding detection with sophisticated jamming devices. Self-programmed submarines will replace dolphins to detect and disarm mines. Robotic mules the size of pickups will haul ammunition, medical supplies and food. Drone ambulances will load wounded soldiers and cart them to hospitals. Crablike robots will crawl into buildings to sniff out chemical stashes.

If you love tech but fear EXP-ism, why not skip work for two years and study interaction design with an international crowd of like-minded pioneers in Italy? A few openings are still available for the Masters Programme at Interaction Design Institute Ivrea. According to Andy Davidson, the professor concerned, “we are especially looking for people from technology fields (computer science, engineering, etc.) and the social sciences (cognitive psychology, etc). In addition, we are looking for more applicants from Italy, from western Europe, and Scandinavia, and Asia”. The deadline for the next course, which starts in October this year, is 30 May.

Former metadesign principal Terry Irwin has published a powerful website/book, on the war on Iraq, entitled 20 Days In Spring. If you’re pro Bush or pro War you may not enjoy this wonderful work.

Walk down the halls in most any office these days and you�re likely to hear the familiar sound of an instant message arriving on someone�s computer: �Ping!� The technology��IM� to its devotees�is like a rapid-fire e-mail that�s instantly sent and received, popping up on top of everything on your screen, as if someone stuck a Post-It note there. About a third of today�s 200 million IM users worldwide are doing it at work. As it turns out, the tool that was so popular initially with teenagers is also great for doing business. Analysts predict that by 2006 IM will overtake e-mail as the primary communication tool at work.