Cash Only

Used to be that “cash only” was a mark of something “under the table” or “off the books” — a way to pay for a service without raising the attention of the authorities (like the tax accessor). With a “above board” “on the books” transaction, records are kept which can be looked through to determine if one or the other of the party has not made an accurate assessment of their business and, subsequently, their taxes owed. Using a credit card forces these sorts of automatic, databased transaction records. PayPal is probably the closest thing to a cash transaction system in the digital world — you can configure it to just pull money from your banking account and this way you do not incur a penalty (psychologically or financially) for holding a debt through a credit card.

Stuck in the dessert? Out of cash? Out of gas? Or, a remain from the lake that was once here, when the dinosaurs weren’t even thinking about their future in our gas tanks?

Here, gas in the desert of Palm Springs can be purchased for cash — you just slip your currency into the little vending machine here. No record is kept unless you use a debit card, which is almost like cash. I heard recently on NPR that service stations can actually loose money from gas, which seems crazy. But, at the end of this particular supply chain the guys and gals running the station is in the least beneficial position. The fees they pay for the opportunity to use credit card transaction networks (Mastercard, Visa, American Express) can be a genuine burden on their ability to make a profit, and many open up ancillary businesses based on the fact that they have your attention for a few minutes while you pump — an opportunity for a quick grocery shop or glazed eyeballs watching an advertisement on a nearby flat screen.

Why do I blog this? My eyeballs were glazed while I pumped gas on my way out of the desert and I tried to think of what curious things were going on whilst I waited. But, seriously..cash and its benefits can outweigh those of an electronic transactions. In this case, the ARCO service stations are known in the US for only accepting cash and, for that, you get your dinosaur remains for a couple or few cents cheaper on the gallon than if you use a credit card. The question here is — when and where does cash work better than digital bits to complete a transaction?

Where in the world is this? It is here, and here

To The Accessory Crap Heap

Yes, an old original iPhone car charger and…what’s this? The iPhone 3Gs cannot take the same charging accessories as the iPhone original!? So..basically the introduction of something new forces something old to be tossed out? Maybe there’s something that can be done with the old charger, but, I mean…really? Is this “Good Design” or adhering to those Green sensibilities that Apple is so often associated?

Think not.

Epic Fail. Epic, epic fail. I’m slack jawed. Shocking.

Why do I blog this? Something is always wrong. The whole smash barely works, seriously. It’s not uncommon to get Apple fetishists asking me why Nokia does not do things as cool. There are all kinds of good and bad reasons. But, one of the good ones that makes the most sense to me is that Nokia has to design compatibility (which it does not always do well, to be honest) across hundreds of its factories’ products, and with so much stuff out in the world that, every year if you put them all end-to-end? They’d wrap around the world more than once. But, if you make three or so phones and you can’t get them all to use the same charging specifications? That’s just really bad. Imagine, every upgrade has someone tossing some entirely opaque hunk of plastic and electronics into a bin.

(Oh yeah. Rem Koolhaus’ wonderful Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan is about the only happy thing in this photo.)

Designed for Transparency

New York City.

Knife shop. Madrid, Spain.

Two curious examples of “everything-ness.” The first is this “Everything Electrical” company which does, well — everything having to do with electrical installations and so forth. They also have these interesting trucks which are made to be easily loaded and off-loaded at work sites or at the warehouse. I like this design, where the “black box” of the normally closed, obscured truck is opened from three sides. Transparency and efficiency of some sort are in effect here. There’s something quite intriguing about this. Similarly, the knife/scissor/tool shop found in Madrid attempts a similar sort of draw, showing all the fascinating kinds of cutters and so forth are displayed in the open, behind glass and in enormous, visual assortment.

Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York City.

Finally, the intriguing architectural frontice of the Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York City, with its mechanisms for opening itself up to the street in an atypical manner, with flaps and square portholes raises this question itself. What are the ways that digital contexts can learn from the physical mechanisms of transparency, openness and an ability to draw people’s attention in creative ways? How does openness and transparency translate to frankness and trust.

Why do I blog this? Some visual examples of different strategies for creating physical transparency, something that is strangely absent in digital contexts. Things are either there in front or have to be rooted around for — the “storefront” metaphor in a digital setting hits a number of, err…brick walls when translating these settings. The question here to consider are strategies and tactics for creating digital forms of transparency and display.

Where in the world is this? It is here, and here, and here

Design Leadership — How Design Thinks?

The new Amsterdam Public Library.

A short piece by RISD VP of Media + Partners Becky Bermont in the Harvard Business Review Blog describes her experiences learning about the way design can contribute to how business does what it does. Despite the reference to designers as “experience perfectionists” who want to arrange the music in a room to enhance a meeting that will take place therein (wtf? makes designers sound like flouncy dandys or something), the sensibility of the short piece is to think about design as an active, leading contributor to business strategy. The heart and soul of the larger challenges we think about here at the Laboratory are in the right place in Bermont’s note. It ends with the necessary short-question style pitch to businesses to perhaps come to RISD (as, evidently, Target does on a regular basis) to consult on how design can shape what the business does and how it does it. All good stuff. Read it here.

Why do I blog this? Always on the look out for these sorts of things, looking for some substance and arguments and good-points on this topic of design leadership. What is it? How does design contribute from the start and take charge of how to create more sane, habitable worlds.

Innovation 2.0?

Expectation or anticipation? In Batvik Finland?

An interesting article in the Harvard Business Review that I came across recently. It is relevant to a long-standing interest in other strategies for “innovation” particularly in commercial enterprises.

The article is called “Fewer Engineers, More Anthropologists” by Navi Radjou. It argues for, like…more anthropologists and fewer engineers while an enterprise attempts to “effectively identify[ing] and address[ing] the explicit and unmet needs of the broader consumer base in emerging markets.” (Quick translation — selling more stuff that makes sense to local people/cultures/practices in Brazil, India, South America and probably Africa, too.)

Why I find this intriguing is how ancient it sounds. If it the article was dated in 1990 I might understand. But it is quite recent, published only this month. This makes me think that something was forgotten, as is the nature of history. This is fine, except along with what was forgotten goes any lessons or insights learned.

Where in the world is this? It is here, and here, and here

Urban Historical Infrastructure Layers

A strange reveal within the historical layers of this New York City post office building. Changes in typography standards forced the new layer? Found here.

Another form of layering within the infrastructure and architecture of the city. A new bit of building fitted upon the old. In this case, some fancy condo module plopped on top of an older light industrial building in Brooklyn, err….DUMBO.

NYC Highline Park evolved from an old abandoned stretch of train track that sits one story above the ground. An elevated light industrial infrastructure repurposed for public and pedestrian usage. Found hereabouts. Still a very delicate, very monitored thing. Feels more like walking about a museum exhibit (don’t step there, for godsake! what’re you doing! stop that..!) than a park. Partially understandable, sure, but like china still which turns it from a park into something else.

Three curious examples of a kind of infrastructural sedimentation, found in New York City and Brooklyn. The first one shows a broken portion of a (ugly) sign that had been placed over the original art deco style lettering on a behemoth post office. The next is a (ugly) fancy condominium module that has been plopped on top of an old light industrial / warehouse building in the now Tony / over-the-top section of Brooklyn’s “DUMBO” (down underneath the manhattan bridge overpass) section. Finally, The Highline, a new urban park that was found within an old abandoned stretch of train track that sits one story above ground, along the westside of Manhattan, around Chelsea-ish.

The first example of the Post Office signage feels like one of those things where an old infrastructure is long forgotten and is then revealed and someone in the office of infrastructure, or probably a local resident with a civic interest says — hey, that old art deco chiseled into that building? It’s historical! And, it’s cool type. Lets reveal it all! And someone writes a little pithy, clever blurb in the “Around Town” section of the New Yorker, interviewing someone from the company that’s going to remove the old sign. I’d put a fin down saying that’s what’ll happen within the next 2-3 years. There’ll be some revival of sorts to continue this tendency in NYC of rehabilitating and making more habitable the city and its views. In any case, the layers here are quite a stark contrast it seems. I wonder why the sign was put up in the first place. Maybe it was easier to let the sign be dirty, as it inevitably will become from the street exhausts and so forth, because of its dark background.

This second example of historical and material sediment in Brooklyn shows a

Where in the world is this? It is here, and here, and here

Street Mountain

Seen here while enjoying a cooling gelato (mix of mango, pear and passion fruit) with friends in the West Village after a successful day of Urban Scout Adventures.

A curious urban mountain or boulder of some sort. I think there’s a story behind this concrete lump, but I’m not 100% sure. It could be some

Where in the world is this? It is here

Street Furniture

Times Square beach, complete with tourists (as any beach should), found here.

Urban Lounge found near Madison Square, New York City.

This is probably old hat for current New Yorkers certainly, and something that makes visits

Where in the world is this? It is here, and here