In Our Opinion

So is the new iPad just for innovative media companies like the New York Times and innovative booksellers like HarperCollins, or can you use it for your business?  I am thinking primarily of business communication content than business utilization.

We were asked this question by a potential client several weeks ago, who was commissioning a website redesign. Of course we gave the precise answer, 24 months, based on plugging into a redesign algorithm the site traffic, the online sales, the relatively modest size of the site, the brand index, the competitive site metrics, the x-factor of new web technologies and best practices, and the loudness of the moon-howling by disgruntled employees and distraught executives.  There were other variables, of course, but they were lost in the howling, and we did answer 24 months.

One of my favorite writers, Italo Calvino, published a book of essays about fiction in 1985 called Six Memos for the Next Millennium, that describes the characteristics of what fiction can and should be. The titles of his essays can serve as a useful construct for many creative endeavors, including websites. Asked to speak about trends in web design at Boston College in September, I used Calvino’s construct to talk about those trends.

Turn back the clock to 1983, when one of the first AIGA chapters was
established in San Francisco. As the professional organization for
design, AIGA serves as a network for designers, supports design
education, provides programming, and is an advocate for design as a
strategic tool in the business community.

When it comes to managing creative people, the most loaded word you can use is the word “manage,” as though it were actually possible to control the process. So let me dispense with the word. In fact, a word by itself hardly ever suffices to define a complex situation. Parables do a far better job. I discovered just such a parable a while ago on the walls of the Galena Lodge, a cross-country ski destination 25 miles north of Sun Valley, Idaho.

Photo by Christine M. Martin for MassTLC

On June 5th I attended my first “unConference” on “The Future of Software and the Internet” sponsored by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council. The future wasn’t totally worked out in the one-day session, but the approach was interesting, the attendees bright and collaborative, and the ideas fascinating.

Have you ever used a poorly designed automated voice system when trying to get in touch with a customer service representative?  After 10 minutes and 5 transfers you eventually get to someone you might want to talk to, but are you in a pleasant mood?

When schools are forced to make cuts in the curriculum, the arts — not hockey or soccer programs — are often first to go. Unfortunately, parents rarely object, believing that their kids can get along without playing an instrument or picking up a paintbrush. In fact, kids who participate in the arts are much more likely to do better in ALL aspects of education, according to leading educational guru Eric Oddleifson.

Several months ago I was part of a Digital Strategy panel sponsored by MITX, “Going Digital in a Downturn,” with a diverse panel and a diverse and engaged audience. Of course everyone was concerned about 2009 and the impact of budget cuts on creative work, on digital experimentation, and on business and consumer behavior.  A few take-away messages for our clients: