tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3514370536099889612011-12-30T16:23:09.619Zculture - design - creations - thoughtsAndrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.comBlogger431100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-10103945540800515872011-11-16T08:15:00.000Z2011-11-16T08:15:00.760Z

Oh my word, this year's MEX conference in London is looking epic! Such a prestigious and diverse selection of speakers, not just from the mobile industry but other areas that have been exploring how mobile can enhance peoples' lives and the way they connect with businesses, brands, media, artwork and so on. The speakers hail from big names like Nokia, ITV News, Plan (yup that's me), TouchType,

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0Kennington, Lambeth, Greater London SE11, UK51.4874711 -0.112108351.4849991 -0.11704379999999999 51.4899431 -0.1071728tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-33921805929041790702011-11-07T12:16:00.000Z2011-11-09T10:56:16.345Z

It is worrying to think about the impact that all this IP wrangling will have on product development in mobile and information and communications tech (ICT) in general. Sneaky portfolio acquisitions, tit-for-tat bickering over who can sell what phone in Australia or Germany, make it harder than ever to innovate on mass market products, while none of this benefits the end user. Meanwhile, there

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-30584802763601840162011-09-10T12:52:00.000+01:002011-09-10T12:55:14.798+01:00

It's at the Human Centred Design Institute (HCDI), Brunel Design, Tower A, Room TA049, at 12:30-1:30pm on Monday 12th September 2011. It's called: “Fashion and technology evolution and the design of consumer products.” You can read the abstract here.

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-1204335275084820562011-04-21T15:48:00.007+01:002011-04-21T18:48:39.525+01:00

Dear all,I have a big favour to ask. I'm looking for sounds that are meaningful in people's lives. These might be sounds that immediately conjure up a memory, like the beep of your grandma's hearing aid when its battery is low; sounds that have changed in meaning, like that playful pop song that you used as an alarm and now it chills you to your core! It's for a workshop I'm running for MEX

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-34163773499711511422011-04-17T09:55:00.003+01:002011-04-17T10:01:32.212+01:00

My mate Jonny is running the London Marathon today for Sense, so we decided to make a sign to cheer him on (I hear 18 miles is the tough part). Good luck buddy - see you at the finish!

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-74665470755567381692011-04-10T19:30:00.002+01:002011-04-10T19:36:53.294+01:00

I just wrote a book review on ShellsuitZombie about the new jkr book, "The Blue Lady's New Look and Other Curiosities". It's a cracking collection of essays about design and brand strategy, definitely worth a look.

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-46714985826116796302011-03-15T10:15:00.007Z2011-03-15T12:12:46.358Z

I went to an interesting event in Holborn last night called "Social Gaming to Gamification - Time to stop playing by yourself". It was all about applying a "game layer" to the way we interact with products and brands. This doesn't just mean having a little flash game on the website, it means tapping into the underlying playful nature that all humans have. One of the speakers, Nicholas Lovell,

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-52423060476992196262011-03-05T23:54:00.004Z2011-03-06T00:04:54.954Z

Working on a tshirt for my alumni lacrosse team to wear to a tournament later this month. It's a continuation of the nautical theme that seems to be emerging in my life and work, with a strong Sailor Jerry tattoo influence in there too.

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-72983518893018066752011-02-25T11:27:00.005Z2011-02-27T21:18:00.907Z

At last Thursday's Glug creative drinks event in London (not www.glug.co.uk, but that looks fun too), I was struck by Catherine Lock's passionate presentation about authentic British craft skills being taken to the grave by elderly craftspeople. One of the products she discussed was the Gansey Jumper, a highly durable, hand knitted, weatherproof sweater favoured by fishermen, often with ornate

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-43439147168566464572011-02-14T16:06:00.010Z2011-02-15T00:08:16.907Z

Just received my Glif in the mail (taking advantage of a new UK warehouse and a limited time free delivery offer), I totally recommend getting one. This elegant iPhone 4 tripod mount was featured on the MEX site a while back. It's an inspiring design success story where a couple of guys with a good idea managed to acquire the funding to tool and distribute their product to a global market.

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-1425824321161004872011-01-24T23:03:00.005Z2011-01-24T23:15:53.130Z

Kigurumi UK - site looks a little bit 2002, but it arrived quickly and is cheaper than everywhere else in the UK!!

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-54430746225351383982011-01-20T20:38:00.009Z2011-01-20T23:45:13.994Z

I was down at the London Art Fair in Islington today and thought I'd share a few of my favourite pieces. These first 2 piratey ones are by Jacob Dahlstrup Jensen. The Bananaboat below was probably my favourite from the whole show (big fan of anything pirate-themed to be honest).This simple yet striking ink drawing by Freya Don really stood out from the other framed pictures that surrounded

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-79029166671978920972011-01-19T12:23:00.019Z2011-03-11T11:27:57.117Z

It can get a bit thin on the ground here at MuirBlogsville. One possible reason is that I have a number of other blogging projects (blogjects) on the go. I currently write on Mobile User Experience related issues for MEX, a mobile strategy consultancy and conference organiser.I contribute posts on design and culture to the blog for Shellsuitzombie, a voluntary organisation that aims to improve

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-76889224471359949092011-01-12T23:30:00.005Z2011-01-13T00:07:00.143Z

During the thesis write-up the mind needs time off. Some people play golf.Basically I saw a gap in the highly saturated chin-face video market for something with higher production values and better dialogue, with no sniggering in the background, but also no CG. The idea would have been to recreate iconic scenes from the movies in a series of very short films, with added chin-themed wordplay in

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-30150650223374090422011-01-08T18:03:00.006Z2011-01-08T18:11:07.940Z

There are quite a lot of things that I never got round to sharing while writing my thesis last year. So glad that's over! I will be putting a few of these on the blog over the next few days.

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-28660146162690665262011-01-08T16:38:00.008Z2011-01-08T17:04:55.931Z

Happy New Year!! So the PhD is done, I passed the viva in late December with minor corrections. I'm lucky enough to be currently employed as a research associate at Cambridge to continue parts of my research, while doing freelance design and research in the mobile industry. I'm also exploring my options for employment after the post doc. Best wishes for 2011 to one and all!

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-50971080416562406062010-11-29T23:29:00.007Z2010-11-29T23:42:44.093Z

I'm speaking at the MEX event this year on the topic of new form factors, and the ubiquity of the slate. See you there! (sorry for the short notice)

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-32669137733031114392010-06-18T17:43:00.007+01:002010-06-18T18:13:54.740+01:00

Just been to see the 1:1 exhibition in which architects from around the world have built small buildings inside the halls of the V&A. My favourite is the Sou Fujimoto tea house on stilts (it was originally meant to be suspended by ropes). It captured the childhood ideal of having a small private space off the ground, with just a ladder to enter it. In other words the architectural lovechild of

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-39977873478387057722010-06-17T23:21:00.002+01:002010-06-17T23:23:19.270+01:00

by Jonny

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-36468329860558562132010-06-09T00:31:00.002+01:002010-06-09T00:32:50.123+01:00

please use my design on your t-shirts.

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-26447153622971429282010-06-09T00:21:00.005+01:002010-06-09T00:25:57.271+01:00

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-43406135897662309182010-05-03T09:55:00.002+01:002010-05-03T10:01:04.382+01:00

Just did this t-shirt for the Black Widows in Cambridge, inspired a little by Ralph Steadman, and a lot by discovering brushes in Adobe Illustrator...

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-19544901362824446162010-02-20T11:19:00.004Z2010-02-20T11:48:08.612Z

Love Art London is a great little idea for busy Londoners who are missing out on the amazing range of galleries, private collections, art sales, exhibitions and magnificent buildings around the city. Members of LAL are given after-hours access to unique and amazing cultural experiences: intimate private viewings, talks by artists, even a candle-lit tour of a stately home.The company was started

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-18846916032774029812009-12-09T10:46:00.006Z2009-12-09T12:10:08.684Z

My PhD was fully funded by the EPSRC's Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre (IMRC) scheme for 3 years. However, as is often the case, writing up the thesis has extended beyond that time period - and 2 months later there is still a lot of work to do on it! I assumed that being in the Cambridge bubble my supervisor would move some money around and help me out. Unfortunately I chose the wrong

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-64205859394978281222009-10-27T10:21:00.007Z2009-10-27T12:43:06.387Z

Mobile Phones for the Senior MarketYesterday I was at this conference, organised by Simon Rockman. It was an interesting day of talks by business and academic experts, and a compelling argument to focus more attention on developing mobile devices for the aging population. Opening talks came from wireless legend Arlene Harris of Jitterbug and Dyna LLC, and Chris Cowpe from Age Concern

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-72375124455608322372009-09-05T14:08:00.004+01:002009-09-07T09:57:33.705+01:00

Last Thursday I gave a little interactive presentation to a couple of user experience guys at Vodafone in Paddington. It was so interactive that we only got halfway through my slides before the hour was up and they both had to head off to other meetings. However, I got loads of great insight and feedback in that time - these interviews and presentations are helping me to build a very rich

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-6316713524693500862009-07-06T18:31:00.004+01:002009-07-06T18:53:54.757+01:00

Last Thursday I presented my mobile research to Orange's Group Design and User Experience team in Paddington. It was a great experience - really good to share my ideas with some experts in the industry, learn from their insight/heckling, and get some feedback on where I might take it next. It was particularly interesting to hear from the perspective of a mobile service provider, a different

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-42397905289297266542009-06-30T13:12:00.008+01:002009-06-30T19:04:46.642+01:00

Last night I went down to Kensington Olympia to meet up with Jonny and the ShellsuitZombie crew at the private viewing for D&AD's annual New Blood event. It was a great opportunity to catch up with what they've been doing, and to find out about the organisation beyond the blog. They have done an amazing job hooking up with the D&AD, and from what I could see, they were attracting a lot of

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-74513759029834921302009-06-16T13:48:00.005+01:002009-06-16T13:52:10.501+01:00

I've just done a new t-shirt design for the Cambridge University lacrosse club.

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-1087920698633411402009-04-29T12:14:00.004+01:002009-04-29T12:20:18.537+01:00

The 5th annual MEX Mobile User Experience Conference & Awards19th - 20th May 2009, WallaceSpace, Londonwww.pmn.co.uk/mex/MEX is the two day strategy forum for the leading minds in mobile telecoms. At the heart of the conference is our 8 point manifesto for enhancing the mobile user experience. This is a blueprint for delivering better mobile products through a deeper understanding of customer

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-6068542614968168652009-03-27T11:20:00.009Z2009-03-27T12:01:03.065Z

Just saw a talk by Rob on roadmapping and developing visual strategies. He is trying to develop a universal language for mapping organisational strategy - a bit like electrical circuits or flow charting. He has gathered over 1000 roadmaps and sorted them into different types, and he runs workshops around the world teaching people and companies visual strategy techniques.I might send him a few of

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-36906888177235441682009-03-18T17:50:00.003Z2009-03-18T18:03:01.706Z

Just had a great little meeting with Matt near Liverpool Street station. He is the director of research and consulting at ARCchart - experts in the wireless industries. We talked through my mobile phone form study and he gave me a great deal of insight into the industry and the forces that act on mobile handset developers and influence the eventual form of their products.The sudoku on the train

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-5070669060832192862009-03-06T15:29:00.005Z2009-03-06T22:21:43.593Z

I popped down to the RCA last night for the award ceremony of this prestigious competition, in which 5 of the country's leading design consultancies pitched their response to the brief: Sedentary Lives - enabling people who are inactive through difficult circumstances or pure laziness to be more active. Rodd Design (met Ben Davies, one of their designers at the Tokyo Challenge) were one of the

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-19458691067065465492009-03-06T09:59:00.004Z2009-03-06T10:40:55.334Z

On Wednesday 4th I participated in my first "webinar" - a surreal experience. 6000km away Valerie Jacobs of LPK Trends presented Seeing Around Corners: How Trend Forecasting Can Illuminate the Curves in the Road Ahead - meanwhile I was sat at my computer in Cambridge (I could have been naked) listening intently and typing questions about trends and design.I asked how they translate trend

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-88488531275873568642009-02-27T12:19:00.003Z2009-02-27T12:53:49.487Z

The product that I helped develop in November's 48 Hour Design Challenge in Tokyo has been featured in the January issue of Nikkei Design, a monthly publication that covers all areas of design. Crowdscape™ is an intelligent crowd management system that uses remotely controlled, modular LED floor and wall tiles to manage large crowds in public spaces and guide them away from danger. In the

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-49454897139400411182009-02-26T20:41:00.002Z2009-02-26T20:44:20.613Z

I'm giving a seminar entitled: Trends in Product Form on Wednesday 11th of March at the OU's Design Group.

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-60801913919823296242009-02-04T18:29:00.002Z2009-02-05T02:55:54.484Z

I'm giving a seminar at the Engineering Design Centre (Sir Arthur Marshall meeting room, area 9) next Wednesday on The evolution of product forms. It will be a review of my research so far and an introduction to the mobile phone study that I've been doing over the last few months.

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-68533045070592452232009-02-02T13:01:00.002Z2009-02-02T13:05:09.542Z

I've had a chapter proposal entitled Product Form Evolution accepted for this publication. All I have to do now is hammer out 5-10,000 words by April!

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-3615459852014247412009-01-30T15:21:00.003Z2009-01-30T15:28:51.432Z

Me: (looking at Sam's phone) "Is that the Sony Ericsson W890?"Sam: (checks his generic looking SE phone) "Yes it is"Not cool. But the phone study is nearly done!!

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-48642386421082710702009-01-29T14:46:00.001Z2009-01-29T14:49:06.099Z

I am now contributing to ShellsuitZombie - an online and print publication dedicated to creative culture.

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-30309906682696034972009-01-16T11:41:00.003Z2009-01-16T13:20:43.595Z

Autumn/WinterGot a new camera - the Panasonic DMC-TZ5 - not a huge amount of control over individual settings - but the epic zoom and numerous scene modes make it possible to take some really fun pictures.Interviewing and coding workshop at the Department of Architecture, Urbanism & Planning, KU Leuven, Belgium. My journey there was slightly hindered by being on the train behind the one that

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-14110683986929007932009-01-13T19:39:00.006Z2009-01-15T18:38:13.302Z

SummerPresented my first conference paper Applying Trends to Design: A Theoretical Framework at the industrial design workshop at Design 2008 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Abstract here - contact me for the full paper. Also enjoyed the warm Dalmatian sunshine in the sleepy town of Cavtat...Interviewed Rob Hall - the principal designer for Saitek, the computer gaming and consumer electronics developers

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351437053609988961.post-2895498776073057652009-01-13T16:13:00.001Z2009-01-15T18:35:20.964Z

I've been meaning to get a blog going for about a year now that relates to my research and general interest in design, trends and creativity - to be as much a record for me as it is for anyone else. So while I remember, with my notepads and google calendar as inspiration, the next series of posts will be a review of what I got up to in 2008. Hopefully this exercise will encourage me to continue

Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06030933863775820403noreply@blogger.com0