Welcome to Interfaces.com

This blog is dedicated to product design issues.

I hope this online collection of notes would prove valuable not only to me but to all students and colleagues looking to develop innovating and interesting products. This site focuses on product design, conceptual design, interaction design, interface design, and failure analysis.

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Posts Tagged ‘ social value ’

Language-learning expertise

November 10, 2010

Landau, E. (2010). “From brain to language to accent.”  CNN Online. Retrieved on October 4, 2010: http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/23/from-brain-to-language-to-accent/?hpt=Sbin Becoming a proficient speaker of at least one language is a hallmark of the typical human psychological development. When it comes to learning more than one language, however, our abilities seem much more widely dispersed. Why might some...
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Dating by blood type in Japan

November 9, 2010

Buerk, R. (2010). “Dating by blood type in Japan.” BBC News. Retrieved on 3 October, 2010: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8646236.stm People in most parts of the world do not think about their blood group much, unless they have an operation or an accident and need a transfusion. But in Japan, whether someone is A, B, O or...
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Just Me and My Pessimism in the ‘Race of Truth’

By
November 9, 2010

Kolata, G. (September 2010). “Just Me and My Pessimism in the ‘Race of Truth’.” New York Times Online. Retrieved on 6 November 2010: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/health/nutrition/21best.html In this article the author recounts her experiences about a bike race she participated with her husband. Through the race she explains the factors that motivates people to stay with...
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Sizing Up Consciousness by Its Bits

November 8, 2010

Zimmer, C., (2010). “Sizing Up Consciousness by Its Bits.” NYTimes.com. Visited on October 3, 2010: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/science/21consciousness.html Carl Zimmer’s article “Sizing Up Consciousness by Its Bits” for The New York Times seeks to introduce and explore a relatively new area of research into human consciousness. In interviews with the medical researcher Dr. Giulio Tononi, the...
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Branding & Emotional Design: The Culture of Sneakers

November 1, 2010
Branding & Emotional Design: The Culture of Sneakers

How do we spend our money? Well, the first cut goes to survival: essential goods and services that are absolutely necessary to our survival. Food, housing, medical care are all part of the basic necessities of life. Some, of course, are more necessary than others (we might postpone going to a dentist…but not for...
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How to brand a disease — and sell a cure

October 30, 2010

Elliot, C. (2010). “How to brand a disease—and sell a cure .” CNN. Retrieved on 11 October, 2010: http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/11/elliott.branding.disease/index.html?hpt=C2 Carl Elliott in his article for CNN cites examples of how pharmaceutical companies sell a cure by disease branding. Drug companies today are embracing the ideology that Edward Bernays’, the father of PR proposed—The public...
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Chinese companies ‘rent’ white foreigners

October 30, 2010

Farrar, L. (2010). “Chinese companies ‘rent’ white foreigners.” CNN. Retrieved on 3 October, 2010: http://www.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/06/29/china.rent.white.people/index.html In China, white people can be rented. Chinese companies are willing to pay high prices for fair-faced foreigners to join them as fake employees or business partners. To have a few foreigners hanging around means a company has prestige,...
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Pipsqueak Articles

Cultural Differences or Child Abuse

Cultural Differences or Child Abuse

We view the world through our own personal and cultural filter. We can’t help but do that. But put us in another cultural frame...
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Ambiguity of Natural Language and Computer Language Interpretation

Bad Cop Good Cop Language Abmiguity

In his book “The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature”, Steven Pinker gave the following defense of language ambiguity: Imagine...
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Press Release: World’s Tech Elite Named to Interaction-Design.org Board

Press Release: World’s Tech Elite Named to Interaction-Design.org Board

Today the Interaction Design Foundation, the IDF, has announced its new executive board. The executive board includes Don Norman; Bill Buxton, Principal Researcher at...
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Task Analysis and Product Design

Task Analysis and Product Design

Imagine your were given an assignment to develop a product that could help people eat healthy. How would you go about creating such a...
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Going Potty…or iPotty!

Going Potty…or iPotty!

An iPotty App for kids learning to use a toilet: And here’s a bit for an older audience: Would it have worked if the...
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Musings on Failure in School

Musings on Failure in School

The Math Obstacle In the past few years, reports came out showing strong correlation between failing Algebra and graduation rates — if a kid...
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25 Awesome Quotes, 11 Ways, 10 Hateful Things, 8 Steps, 7 Reflections, 5 Hard Facts, 3 Reasons Why, 2 Questions, and 1 Mistake

5 second test

The latest in the professional social media writing is the creation of lists. Sing it with me: 25 Awesome Quotes 11 Secrets & 11...
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Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!

Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!

Who would have thought that our KFC fried chicken would be an object of desire in Japan? But perhaps all it takes is some...
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UCLA Law Forum: Discuss International Criminal Law

UCLA Human Rights and International Criminal Law Forum Logo

UCLA School of Law and International Criminal Court's Office of the Prosecutor partnered together to create UCLA Law Forum—a place to discuss international law issues. My company, Pipsqueak Productions, designed and developed the site. Please join the debate! UCLALawForum.com.

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Tim and Nick Werby with DRIPS Prototypes

DRIPS project — stands for Deep Root Irrigation and Precipitation System — is a simple device that collects atmospheric water and delivers it to the roots of plants below the evaporation layer. My sons, Tim and Nick Werby, designed and developed the idea and the site. DRIPSproject.

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Cost of Chicken Project is a crowdmapping project that tracks the true costs of food around the world. Most data points are contributed by kids. My sons, Tim and Nick Werby, designed and developed the idea and the site. Please visit their site and contribute the data points from your area. Cost of Chicken.