There is nothing worse then feeling like a faceless number being rammed through a system. Increasingly customers are turning to service providers who take into account both their emotional and functional needs. Unfortunately it is also one of those things that’s simple to say but can be difficult to actually pull off. Many businesses shy away from such approaches because they are uncertain of what steps to take. They assume changing to this method will be time consuming and costly. But the simple fact is that when it comes to emotions, it is more often the small things that have the greatest impact.

For example, I recently had a trip to the hairdressers. This is usually something I dread and want to be over in as little time as humanly possible. However on this occasion it was surprisingly pleasurable. But what was different this instance from previous others? It wasn’t until I got home and thought about it that I realized all the little human actions and interactions that had taken place. While I waited for my turn, I was presented with a cup of tea, a biscuit and a chocolate. When ready, the hairdresser asked for me by name and introduced herself. She pulled out a chair and sat down facing me to discuss what I would like to get done. The cut was fast and efficient. When leaving, she said goodbye, again by name. What is the additional cost of this approach to all the others I had previously been subjected to? A few euro for some chocolate and biscuits. The rest was changes in the behavior of the service provider, the small things that related me to her. It was down to such a fine art that I was unaware of the subtle differences, only that I enjoyed the experience as a whole.

It is often the interactions, frequently viewed as padding to the service, which leaves the biggest impression on the customer. Being aware of the client throughout the process, rather then exclusively concentrating on the end result, will provide a well-rounded service, which caters to both the functional and emotional. It is the small differences which will emotionally link the customer to the company and greatly increase the chance of a return customer.

My father just got his iPhone 3G. Beyond all the features and functionality, one of his first comments to me was, “The phone came fully charged!” Think about it. You get one of the most anticipated gadgets on the planet and the first instruction is to fully charge for 12 hours before using. Brilliant. Works right out of the box. Apparently the AT&T salesman in the States said it was the first phone that ever arrived fully charged.

Note: Can anyone confirm that all iPhone 3G’s arrive charged?

Even we blogged about the Bruce Nussbaum speech where he declared that “designers suck”. There was plenty of diverse reaction to the speech that did exactly what it was meant to do: stimulate thinking. The folks over at NextD actually published a special issue of their magazine (PDF, 3.5MB) created entirely of 50 responses from the design community to the speech. Good stuff.

I was reading John Maeda’s Simplicity blog and struck by a post he did on diverge vs. converge. Though he appears to be speaking more about management issues, his thought speaks to an underlying benefit to collaborative work around innovation.

The successful soloist is likely to realize the more creative outcome, whereas the successful team is likely to realize the more meaningful outcome.

I may be reading too much into this, but one of the tenets of design thinking is around collaboration. Although an insanely creative solution has benefits, it is worthless without meaning to the end user. Solo creativity begins to become more about art, whereas successful design innovation is about the user.

Last week I was over in the UK, where I took in meetings at the Design Council in London, Design Wales in Cardiff, and the Centre for Research on Innovation and Competition (CRIC) at the University of Manchester. First to folks over at the offices of the Design Council in Bow Street London, where we talked in depth about various research findings with respect to recent business surveys conducted by both the Centre for Design Innovation and the Design Council. (more…)

As we look into the future, what skills and behaviors will our future graduates need to possess? Have a look at the portfolio of projects already under the belt of Zachary Jean Paradis, still in his last semester as a graduate student at the Chicago Institute of Design. If you are a company looking to compete in the new value-driven economy, you’re in luck. If you’re applying for the same job and see him sitting outside for the next interview, I wish you luck.

Anyone else want to go back to school?

The arrival of the iPhone has been greeted with the expected euphoric reaction by all converts of the ‘Church of Macintology’. It may be the “best ever iPod” as claimed by Jobs. It may indeed! But the world’s most advanced phone? I don’t think so.

Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing at Apple, suggests that it is “the world’s most advanced phone.” Can a 2G or 2.5 G phone be described as the most advanced phone? Can a phone that has been designed to make texting difficult be called the world’s most advanced phone? Text messaging has succeeded by accident as an alternative to QWERTY where other systems have tried but failed i.e. Agenda’s Microwriter of the mid 80’s. The iPhone doesn’t have the keypad layout, predictive texting or even keys that give the sensory feedback necessary for fast texting. The automatic input techniques of expert texters who barely have to glance at either the screen or the keys have been totally overlooked. With the iPhone you need both hands as opposed to ‘the dexterous thumb’. Texting is far more important than talking to a very large percentage of people on this side of the Atlantic (Near East). It’s the language of a generation. The iPhone is too big, cumbersome and precious. It demands too much respect for what is essentially a very utilitarian tool. Phones end up in bags and pockets with keys and loose change. The iPhone won’t inspire mobile operators.

The bigger screen size combined with the touch screen finger input allows for easy typing of URLs. This is a good thing. But it is still a small screen to view a whole web page of content. It’s a compromise. On websites that you are familiar with navigation should be easy enough. But on a first hit you’re going to have a lot of zooming and panning or “pinching and scrolling” to do. Not to mention download times of ?? 30 to 60 secondzzzzzzzzzzz on the not so advanced 2.5 G networks.
The album “cover flow” mode of browsing through your record collection rocks, to use an appropriate parlance. I think they’ve really nailed the digital age version of flicking through the 12” vinyl at the record store on your way home from school. (The artwork of record sleeves was probably the first intro into, if not the only experience of the world of visual arts for a lot of people). From the demo I saw, Apple have really got something here.

It’s a techie’s dream, it’s fun, it’s a gadget. It’s sexy but it is not, as Jobs has claimed “five years ahead of any other mobile phone.” Face it Steve, it’s an iPod with phone, web, camera and email capabilities.

To quote Jonathan Ive “it’s very easy to be different, but very difficult to be better.”

Oh yeah, and as for the social consequences of this device? In an ever more alienating world, some people wear their iPods all night long in bed. Now with the iPhone they can just stay plugged in 24/7 and get all their news, do all their chatting, shopping, playing, without plugging out. Matrix anyone….?

While traveling in London, my son came up with a clever design solution. My wife had lost the covers to her iPod earbuds and we stopped in a Virgin Megastore and purchased a pack of assorted color replacement pads. My 11 year-old son instantly requested a single red pad. I asked him if this was some sort of quirky fashion statement like his mismatched socks, to which he replied, “No, it’s so I can tell the right from the left without having to look for the tiny letters.” Brilliant. Not only practical, but arguably a more universal solution for anyone that might have a hard time reading the type.