Tag: conferences

90% archaeology: my notes and reflections on Service Design in Government 2015

There's never been a more exciting time to be designing services in the public sector. But it can still be a lonely existence - in any organisation, a small number of advocates may find themselves trying to shift a large mass with plenty of inertia. The Service Design in Government conference that I attended last week has an … Continue reading 90% archaeology: my notes and reflections on Service Design in Government 2015 →

Some things I wrote down at Laptops and Looms

Three days in the spectacular Derbyshire countryside with a bunch of clever, skillful doing and making people. Lots to digest, but for now here's what I found in my notebook this morning..."simple single purpose things"learn > sell > make > record > learn >source > scale > repeatthe circus printerArtefact cards + iPad + Gorillapod + projector"do the … Continue reading Some things I wrote down at Laptops and Looms →

Some things I wrote down today

"Managed by her nine-year-old niece." - Bryony Kimmings "We should create and imagine and lie. It's good for us." - Jane Pollard "Being creative is sometimes about connecting the dots and taking two things and combining them." - Kyle Bean "What file formats want..." - Kenyatta Cheese "'Unfortunately the Arts Council is interested in something Miss Littlewood isn't. … Continue reading Some things I wrote down today →

dConstruct 2013: “It’s the Future. Take it.”

It puzzles me that technology so easily becomes the dominant metaphor for explaining society, and not the other way round. "Self-organise like nanobots into the middle," exhorts dConstruct host Jeremy Keith as we assemble for the afternoon session at the Brighton Dome. We shuffle obligingly to make room for the latecomers, because everyone here accepts … Continue reading dConstruct 2013: “It’s the Future. Take it.” →

dConstruct threads: Arrogance, uncertainty and the interconnectedness of (nearly) all things

The web is 21, says Ben Hammersley, it can now legally drink in America. And yet, as it strides out into young adulthood, it has much to learn. At dConstruct we hear some of those lessons - ones about humility, unpredictability and the self-appointed tech community's responsibilities to the rest of humankind. I agree with … Continue reading dConstruct threads: Arrogance, uncertainty and the interconnectedness of (nearly) all things →

“Our real stories are too dangerous to tell”

Once more to The Story at the Conway Hall, where facts and artistry have an uneasy relationship. Matthew Sheret's god-like view of Last FM users' scrobbles calls into question the hours spent by artists, producers, and record companies in sequencing the songs on an album. "Before we had data..." explains away Simon Thornton, recalling past … Continue reading “Our real stories are too dangerous to tell” →

At dConstruct, the real world is calling. It wants its designers back

Kelly Goto stands on the stage at Brighton's Dome, head down, staring at her palm, a perfect mimic of the modern smartphone user, and issues a simple challenge to the dConstruct audience: "Help people to stay upright." This is the pivotal moment at which digital design finds itself. After decades training people to gaze into … Continue reading At dConstruct, the real world is calling. It wants its designers back →

Small pieces loosely joined: on the way home from the Story

Cornelia Parker got the army to blow up a shed full of stuff and then hung the shards from an art gallery ceiling. It felt like a metaphor for almost all the talks at Matt Locke's brilliant event, The Story: everywhere narratives are fragmenting, and no one seems certain how to put them back together. … Continue reading Small pieces loosely joined: on the way home from the Story →

On a faster horse: meanders heading home from dConstruct

OK, so I have to get this stuff down by midnight before my head turns into a pumpkin. dConstruct was a day well-spent, listening, tweeting, scribbling and discussing design and creativity - with nine of the most thought-provoking talks we'll hear in the UK this year. And some of my smartest colleagues and former colleagues … Continue reading On a faster horse: meanders heading home from dConstruct →

Matthew Murray: what next?

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Interesting North is "a one-dayer of interesting, unexpected and original" stuff at Cutler's Cutlers' Hall, Sheffield, on Saturday 13 November 2010. It's like the other Interestings, only in the North. Credit to Tim Duckett for making it happen. Among other things there will be talks about Eyjafjallajökull, cake, riding side-saddle, feral children … Continue reading Matthew Murray: what next? →