[IxDA Discuss] Microsoft Surface (Who Made It)

[Nathan Kendrick]

I absolutely agree with you... to a point.

Do we think that in person or face-to-face this "interaction" may  
have been different? I do. Interaction designers, in my opinion, tend  
to be ones on the team that can see most sides, biz to tech to  
marketing to design. And I know I spend inordinate amounts of time  
simply on the social dynamics of this group.

I am not so sure that the IxDA group is unduly critical or  
maladjusted in compared to other lists of other professions. But I am  
sure that any email-based thread or discussion involving more than 10  
people quickly becomes negative for a host of reasons. I am sure many  
a graduate student out there has made this virtual social dynamic a  
topic of their paper.

--

If I can offer another reason for Surface being overwhelmingly  
criticized: is that its simply so large in scope that there are  
always going to be detractors and people standing on their soapboxes.  
It is certainly not the case where it is so large in scope we  
immediately think its the holodeck... which would have an alarming  
amount of positive feedback if it was released by MS. But it lands  
squarely in that area that its been researched and designed well  
beyond an industrial design student's senior thesis (and again, there  
are many a student's project based on Surface's key concept of  
collaborative spaces) but somehow falls short of true innovation.

my two cents, still critical, but hopefully not negatively.
-N



On Jun 1, 2007, at 8:32 AM, Chris Bernard wrote:

> I've been through a crit or two and as creative and design director  
> for over a decade so I've also played the role of destructor and  
> made people cry and all that business but you're comparing apples  
> and oranges and talking about how we teach versus how we interact  
> as a professional group of peers.
>
> I'd also disagree with most old school art and design folks on this  
> being a 'best' practice in terms of teaching people how to work  
> effectively in teams (although I admit all designers need a bit of  
> a boot camp during their foundational knowledge in both academia  
> and the workplace). And as lecturer at the Institute of Design I  
> talk extensively with incoming students about this very practice  
> during a teaming and collaboration workshop but also caution that  
> how you interact with your fellow students in school will most  
> likely follow you for your entire career. I being polite here but  
> basically if you're into Bob Sutton's work over at Stanford you'll  
> get an idea of my perspective.
>
> But THAT as opposed to the craft of interaction design and how  
> people constructively create new things and work together in cross  
> disciplinary teams is different. Many designers don't get how self- 
> destructive this approach can be in collaborative environments and  
> I'll submit it's why design as a profession is still in a bit of  
> stasis and is largely left out of some of these efforts that seem  
> to be the topic of the day.
>
> The bottom line is that the majority of people that are active on  
> this list (although not all) bitch about what is wrong with  
> everything that people submit versus offering up ways to make it  
> better or acknowledge what is done well and then conversation  
> typically falls into summary and ad hominem judgments on the  
> creators or sponsors of such work. I mean if that's all I or other  
> designers want we can have this debate on Amazon or Slashdot. I  
> simply expect more out of this community I guess.
>
> It's not a small irony that much of what is discussed on this board  
> that involves IxD is not work that has actually had the  
> participation of members of this list or community. Why do you  
> think that is?
>
> We certainly don't need sycophant here and criticism is valid and  
> necessary but anyone that's been to design school knows that the  
> best hard asses that broke you down also frequently gave you the  
> best advice about how to make things better. That last part doesn't  
> exist here as much as it should.
>
> Also, we all know I work for Microsoft but I'm also a part of this  
> community and have been a practicing designer way before I ever got  
> involved with Microsoft and I'm passionate about advancing our  
> profession. My comments here are not just about or specific to  
> Surface but the general tenor of this list and the perception this  
> tenor projects on all of us. I'm encouraged however by how this  
> thread is evolving. And for the record I own 4 iPods and 1 Zune and  
> like them both. :)
>
> Chris Bernard
> Microsoft
> User Experience Evangelist
> chris.bernard at microsoft.com
> 312.925.4095
>
>
>
> Blog: www.designthinkingdigest.com
> Design: www.microsoft.com/design
> Tools: www.microsoft.com/expression
>
> "The future is already here. It's just not evenly distributed."  
> William Gibson
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: discuss-bounces at lists.interactiondesigners.com  
> [mailto:discuss-bounces at lists.interactiondesigners.com] On Behalf  
> Of Nathan Kendrick
> Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 1:35 AM
> To: IxDA Discuss
> Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Microsoft Surface (Who Made It)
>
>
> Clearly someone didn't go to a art school and experience foundation
> year in life drawing =)
>
> destruction is the only way to create.
>
> On May 30, 2007, at 8:07 PM, Chris Bernard wrote:
>
>> I'll also agree that we are all critics from time to time but boy
>> is this a self-destructive posture for this community to embrace on
>> this board if we want to advance our profession and encourage our
>> fellow peers to participate here.
>
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