Posts Tagged ‘invent_page’

Methods in Collision

by Karen Holtzblatt and Hugh Beyer

Products are produced by using a process – the way people organize themselves to get things done. Whether it is a formal process with a name or just the habits of working that get built up in a culture, nothing is produced without some kind of “way” of doing things. Companies are always looking for [...]

Welcome to InnovationInCool

by Karen Holtzblatt

Come see our new site at www.innovationincool.com! When Apple came out with the iPhone in 2007 it was a game-changing product. Everybody was talking about it, even those not flocking to AT&T. People at parties gathered around the phone to watch the pinch, the swivel, the pictures, and the games. The technology industry, including our [...]

Beyond the Tower of Babel

by Karen Holtzblatt

The sad news about product design is that it requires people to make and ship products. Products, systems, cars, medical devices, games, even apps—all require the work of many coordinating people. First, we have the development team; then add in marketing, product management, and testing; top with user-centered design roles: user interface, user research, user [...]

Corporate Identity and Innovation

by Karen Holtzblatt

Innovation is not just, or even primarily, about technology leaps — or user experience leaps — or new category definitions. Innovation is about corporate identity and corporate skill. Go scan the business bookshelves. Innovation that produces major profit is the holy grail of business. Everyone wants to know the secret sauce. And now everyone wants [...]

Please Come In and Help Yourself! Designing a Self-Service Website

by Traci Lepore

The face of customer service is rapidly changing from a friendly smile or voices on the phone to a something a little more “square” and electronically powered — generally known as a screen. I can’t even remember the last time I stepped foot inside a bank — at least not farther than the atrium with [...]

Anatomy of a Mad Navigator

by Karen Holtzblatt

I am geographically dyslexic. I go up the elevator into my hotel room—and when I leave I invariably turn the wrong way to go back to the elevator. In building 10 at Microsoft I needed a guide to get me to and from the restroom after being lost multiple times! Then there was the time [...]

Smart Automation in Everyday Life: The Public Rest Room

by Karen Holtzblatt

“Mommy, I’m NOT sitting on the toilet! It’s going to get me! NO, I’m not going to!” “It’s okay, Amanda. Look, I’ll go in with you and cover the laser beam so it won’t flush,” says Mom to her 4-year old. Automation is supposed to make life easier. Or automation is supposed to help fulfill [...]