Entries categorized as ‘Design’
Let’s face it, green design, sustainable design, ecological conscious innovations all of these concepts are highly politicized ideas. It’s inevitable. Every time you have innovative ideas they must enter into the arena to compete with the ideas of folks who’d like to see more of the same.
The main reasons? The usual suspects: money and power. Every time a product saves you electricity that means less money for electric companies. Every time a car saves you gas that means less money for the gas companies.
I remember not too long ago “experts” (being funded by gas companies) denied the risk of global climate change. Right around the same time, our very own president, (an oil businessman), denied the risks also.
So, as you read about sustainable design, I ask you to remain skeptical of the agenda behind “reports”, “news” the words of “experts” and the words of your “leaders”. Remember that in the end, money and politics play a big role on how “truth” is shaped in our societies.
Manufactured truth, in the space of politics, and economics could not be more relative and insignificant as it stands next to the lager realities of global climate change. Our planet, adjusting its climate for its own survival, will continue on its path, regardless of our political and economic games.
The need
There is a need for green businesses, not for profit organizations, and government agencies to publish and speak up about the ecological, financial potential and multi-layered benefits of green and sustainable design.
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- Daniel Montano
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Categories: Alternative Energies · Design · Design ethics · Design thinking · Ecosophy · Multivalue · Politics · Sustainability · Sustainable design · Sustainable societies · green design
September 12, 2008 · 2 Comments
What is Metacognition ?
“Metacognition is the knowledge (i.e. awareness) of one’s cognitive processes and the efficient use of this self-awareness to self-regulate these cognitive processes (e.g. Brown, 1987; Niemi, 2002; Shimamura, 2000). ( Wikipedia entry for “Metacognition”)
Meta cognition can help us understand that there are many different types of thinking tools at our disposal.
Integrative thinking is one of those metacognition thinking tools.
What is Integrative thinking ?
“Integrative Thinking is the ability to constructively face the tensions of opposing models, and instead of choosing one at the expense of the other, generating a creative resolution of the tension in the form of a new model that contains elements of the individual models, but is superior to each.
When making a decision, people proceed through four steps:
- The first step is Salience: what do we choose to pay attention to, and what not? In this initial step, we decide what features are relevant to our decision.
- The second step is Causality: how do we make sense of what we see? What sort of relations do we believe exist between the various pieces of the puzzle?
- The third step is Architecture, during which an overall mental model is constructed, based on what we have arrived at in the first two steps.
- The final step is Resolution: what will our decision be, based on our reasoning?
Integrative thinkers approach these four steps in a very specific way. As shown on the diagram below, in step one they consider more features of the problem as salient to its resolution; they consider multi-directional and non-linear causality between the salient features; they are able to keep the ‘big picture’ in mind while they work on the individual parts of the problem; and they find creative resolutions to the tensions inherent in the problem’s architecture.
Diagram showing the process flow of integrative thinking
(Quote and diagram from Rotman; URL: http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/integrativethinking/definition.htm)
What’s next?
Wikipedia has a page where several types of thinking are documented. Visit it and get familiar with some of the recognized thinking tools you have at your disposal.
Wikipedia: Portal: Thinking
Wikipedia: Entry for “Meta Cognition”
Wikipedia: Entry for either/or thinking (“false dilemma”)
Related in this blog:
Can we have wise innovation?
Types of Thinking
Nonduality and either / or thinking
Explore the category “multispectives” in my blog for related postings.
Bipolar Culture – How either/or thinking affects our societies
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-Daniel Montano
Categories: Cognitive Science · Critical Thinking · Design · Design thinking · Diagrams · Interdisciplinary education · Multispectives · Problem-solving · Systems thinking · Thinking
Quoting from the Buckminster Fuller Institute website:
The Buckminster Fuller Challenge seeks submissions of design science solutions within a broad range of human endeavor that exemplify the trimtab principle 
. Trimtabs demonstrate how small amounts of energy and resources precisely applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change.
Solutions should be:
- Comprehensive — a clear demonstration of holistic systems thinking.
- Anticipatory — projectively tracking critical trends and needs; identifying and assessing long term consequences of proposed solutions.
- Ecologically responsible — reflective and supportive of nature’s underlying processes, patterns and principles.
- Verifiable — able to withstand rigorous empirical testing.
- Replicable — capable of being readily undertaken by others
- Achievable — likely to be implemented successfully and broadly adopted.
References:
Buckminster Fuller Institute: www.bfi.org
Buckminster Fuller Challenge website: http://challenge.bfi.org/
The Buckminster Fuller Challenge movie
Related:
Videos by Edie Weiner – Creating the New Future
Other blogs:
Visit my user experience blog (User Experience + Innovation)
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-Daniel Montano
Categories: Design · Innovation · Sustainability
I started a new blog on another blog hosting system. At the moment I am just trying it out to find out how I like it.
So far I am not impressed with GoDaddy.com’s blogging tools – so, the experimentation may end up soon. But until I decide on another format this new UX blog will be the place to find postings on this topic.
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-Daniel Montano
Daniel Montano, user experience design, information architect
Categories: Design · User Experience
The Art Center College of Design is organizing some discussions under the label of Disruptive Thinking.
Check out their their webpage to learn more about the events surrounding this collection of topics.
Source: Global Dialogues
Related: Experientia - Art Center College Opening a Global Debate
Categories: Design · Design thinking · Thinking
An interesting way to document the historical interaction between science and design. This interface features over 300 designs that are featured in an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art.
This is a good example of an exploratory, discovery-based interactive environment.
Museum of Modern Ar: Elastic Mind
Related:
Visualizing Meaning (Cornell University)
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-Daniel Montano
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Keyword: Daniel Montano, Dan Montano, user experience design, information architect
Categories: Design · Innovation · Innovation (history) · Visualization
There are a few conversations about a possibility that David Paterson, Lt. Governor of New York to be promoted to the position of New York Governor to replace Spitzer.
“…Paterson is a leading advocate for the visually and physically impaired. His 2004 speech at the Democratic National Convention marked the first time a visually impaired person addressed the convention. He is a member of the American Foundation for the Blind…” CNN Online – Spitzer’s Successor Would be the Nation’s 4th Black Governor
I would expect Paterson’s presence to influence the quality of local online accessibility and perhaps some general improvements in the New York built environment.
More on NPR: Lt. Governor Could Replace Spitzer in New York
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-Daniel Montano
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Keyword: Daniel Montano, Dan Montano, user experience design, information architect
Categories: Design · Usability
“The new digerati have brokered a new online/offline balance as they find their “first life” in the real world unexpectedly attractive: face time trumps Facebook. They do not respond to emails on the weekend, as they are hiking, traveling, or engaging in some world changing social endeavor — from running an AIDS marathon to volunteering for the Obama campaign to founding their own non-profit. They share the sensation that one’s fortune is not made in front of a screen and that “quality of life” is the prerequisite of a good life. The new digerati want to be connected but only for a reason. They build their own social networks and take advantage of the communication tools at hand — but they have matured their use of them. They scoff at those who spend their time chained to the PC, while they themselves enjoy utmost mobility.“
Source of Quote: The New Digerati: Connected for a Reason
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-Daniel Montano
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Keyword: Daniel Montano, Dan Montano, user experience design, information architect
Categories: Computer-human interaction · Cultural studies · Design · Human Factors · Human-computer interaction
I am glad to see questions like these popping up within my own field of experience design.
When we talk about sustainable design we are not only talking about the design of products and services but also the design of all the experiences that are related to sustainable behaviors, attitudes, values etc.
Alexa Andrzejewski, over at Adaptive Path wrote an interesting blog post about this topic. She believes that experience designers “are uniquely-poised to encourage sustainability by capitalizing on what we know about human behavior as well as business strategy.” She goes on to suggest that experience designers have the capacity to:
- Make sustainable experiences more compelling than the alternatives.
- Understand and appeal to people’s motivations, values and aspirations.
- Harness the power of information to help people make better decisions.
- Promote a service-mindset vs. a product-mindset.
- Communicate the business value of sustainability.
adaptive path » blog » Alexa Andrzejewski » What does experience design have to do with sustainability?
Related in this blog:
Sustainable Design Manifesto
The Psychology of (Sustainable) Things
William McDonough Cradle-to-Cradle Design
Categories: Design · Design ethics · Sustainability · Sustainable design
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