Talk to Me before November 7th

Recently, we took a field trip to see MOMA’s Talk to Me exhibit which explores the communication between people and things and how design enhances communication possibilites.

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The exhibit is broken up into 6 categories: objects, worlds, city, life, double entendre and bodies.  Each category explores the impact of design and how design facilitates this communication.

One of our favorites is the SMS Slingshot which allows you to slingshot text messages onto the walls of buildings.

Some of our other favorites include:

My Block NYC http://myblocknyc.com/ -  an interactive mapping website that  presents personal video accounts of the life and culture of New York City.

EyeWriter http://www.eyewriter.org/ - an eye-tracking apparatus & software that allows graffiti writers and artists with paralysis resulting from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to draw using only their eyes.

Tweenbots http://www.tweenbots.com/- a cute robot navigating its way around cities, depending on the kindness of pedestrians to send it in the right direction.

While the objects themselves were interesting, the exhibit curation was a bit confusing and pretentious.   We don’t think it’s worth the high cost of admission ($25). Either go with a discounted admission or on Target Free Fridays.

p.s. We do recommend visiting the MOMA’s Talk to Me site just to see what the exhibition is made up of and then going to each pieces’  webpage.

Work Like A Patron Day 2011

In 2008, Brian Herzog, a fellow Library Journal Mover & Shaker, announced the first Work Like A Patron Day.  This year we’ve decided to participate.

So on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 be a patron.

Using this classic usability research method, we will be putting ourselves in the patron’s shoes.   We hope to discover new perspectives, ideas and changes that we can implement to make the library a better and more people-centered place.

The Secret to Job Security

After reading Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod, I subscribed to his gapingvoid daily cartoon emails. Saw this one recently about job security.

Stuff happens. Budgets get cut. Companies and organizations close down. Pink slips are given out.
The secret to job security: there is no job security.

At the end of the day, it’s about your skills, knowledge and experience. It’s also about people – who you know and who knows you. It’s about your network. 

And we’ve got some stories that demonstrate the power of the network –

• A colleague told us she landed a job through a connection on LinkedIn, shortly after an informational interview with someone from the organization of interest.
• Someone contacted me about a potential job opportunity through a conference program proposal that I had submitted.

What’s your story? 

It’s PI Day!

It’s pi day.

There’s a growing number of pi-related posts, so we’re going to focus on a different PI — us — People Interact.

Here are 3.14 (rounded down to 3) things about PI:

1. What’s the story with PI?

Since developing and completing our people-centered design project in 2008, we learned that there are two crucial aspects in usability: 1) people and 2) interactions. When brainstorming for names for our consulting gig, we came up with People Interact (PI). Read more about our project.

2. Who’s behind PI?

There are two of us behind PI. “Partners in crime”, we’re sometimes called.  Other times, ”peas in a pod”.  We’re always scheming and coming up with all sorts of ideas. Find out more about us.

3. What’s the purpose of PI?

Using a people-centered holistic, systems-thinking approach, we assist with individual and organizational performance. Contact us for more info.