You can also find these slides on slideshare (without the notes).

Part 1

Hi, thank you for inviting and giving me the opportunity to share some of my ideas about mobile design.

Let me start with a very brief introduction about myself. I’m Marc Fonteijn, one of the co-founders of the service design agency called 31Volts. We use design to create better service experiences, like that of a train ride for instance.

Next to that I co-organize a leading event on mobile innovation called Mobile Monday Amsterdam. It’s free to join, so if you’d like to connect with the pioneers in the mobile field, be sure to sign up for the next event.

So the combination of 31Volts and Mobile Monday Amsterdam puts me right in the overlapping fields of design & mobile.

The funny things is that I actually also scored an appstore hit some time ago with “de beslisvis”, but thats a whole different story that I’m not going to talk about today.

To share my perspective on mobile design today, I’ve divided my presentation into 2 parts.

In the first part I’m going to look at what the mobile phone has actually become. Based on a true story.

In the 2nd part of the presentation I’d like to pose some design challenges that I think are important by aren’t being well addressed by designers at this moment.

Mobile is great. No let, me rephrase that. Mobile is f*cking aweseome!

When it comes to the usage of a mobile phone I’m that guy that usually gets asked “why on earth would you need that for”? You argue that I eat, drink & sleep mobile. Let me give you some examples of what I mean…

I’ve compiled a quick list of the things I use my phone for on daily basis. It’s my address book, calendar, map, flashlight, shopping list, remote control, diary, photo book, tv, cd collection, clock, weather forecaster, arcade machine, translator, city guide, broadcasting station and compass. Yes, I use a compass on occasions!

In the near future it will probably also be my wallet, id card and doctor.

The examples I just gave are not just the things a modern mobile phone can do. They are based on my personal and daily use. And all the pointers are that this usage is only going to intensify!

Isn’t it great that a small device like this has made us less dependent (traveling in London having the tube map in your pocket), has given us more comfort (you don’t have to get off the couch to control stuff), more knowledge (knowing if you need to take an umbrella before walking out the door), more fun (playing angry birds is just a great way to kill time) and made it easier to share our experiences (using twitter as your diary).

I’m a designer. I make a living out of asking questions. So when I stop for a moment and take a broader perspective on these great things mobile phones have brought us, I question what the downsides are? Have we given up on certain things in order to have this swiss army knife on steroids in our pocket? Are we loosing things? And if so, what?

Part 2: Mobile Design Challenges

In this second part of the presentation I’d like to raise some design challenges that I think aren’t being address well enough.

These challenges are not unique to mobile, they probably apply to a lot of media (tv, internet). The thing is that mobile just amplifies these challenges and makes it even more urgent to think about them.

The first design challenge is what I call the eating without smell. Anyone who has tried it knows that food tastes completely different when you eat it while pinching your nose (and that you look funny). If we use just one of our senses the experience of eating just isn’t what it could be. Strangely enough this is exactly how we design for mobile.

We are at a party, concert, b’day and what do we do… we stare at our phones to capture the moment in a photo, check-in on foursquare and send a twitter that we are there. We create mobile applications that tend to suck up all our senses. Mobile phones connect us with the rest of the world but in the same time it disconnects us from the moment.

How can we design for mobile so that it’s inclusive on all our senses and the world around us? So that it enriches our experiences instead of distracting us from them?

I mentioned before that this mobile device gives me (the sense of having) more control. As long as I have this with me I don’t need to get lost anywhere in the world. That’s great but the intensity of having this control over our lives gives us the feeling that we are loosing things like serendipity, coincidence, unpredictability and risks in general. Everything has become so serious and calculated.

This has been happening for quite some time now. Ever since the (dry) compass was invented in medieval Europe around 1300, people have been relying on technology instead or their gut feeling to get where they need to be. But in the 1300s nobody blamed the compass of depriving them of serendipity and the sensation of getting lost. Everyone was happy they could finally find their way!

Of course we can create applications that help us get lost today. That’s not the point.

The design challenge current is how do we seamlessly incorporate these aspects into the mobile age and thus back into our lives.

Some of the clues on how to approach this design challenge may very well lie in play and playfulness. Play is all about trying new things, taking risks and exploring but within known boundaries.

The last design challenge I’d like to address is what I call the flat world.

The whole social media revolution and more specifically services like twitter have made it very easy to find and connect with people you like. These connections are not just digital, think of all the tweet-ups that have spun around the world. For some people these new online connections become real life friends.

If you take a closer look at who connects to who you see a pattern where people tend to connect with other people of that share the same interest. So you’re surrounding yourself with more people who like you enjoy jazz music, go to the local soccer club and work as an interaction designer. So while we are expanding our social network, we are in danger of narrowing or world view.

How can we design for mobile in a way that we stimulate our curiosity to broaden our perspective on the world. A great DJ doesn’t only play the records we like, he also helps us discover new music styles. What or who is the DJ in the mobile age?

I started out by showing how awesome mobile is but also elaborating on some tough design challenges.

So to wrap, I’d like take a quick look on what is the future of mobile could or maybe even should be.

The future of mobile is more connected to our human senses and to the world around us.

Mobile will be more fun. We will be more playful probably without even calling it play.

But most of all the future of mobile will be… even more awesome!

Please share your ideas on how you think we can approach these design challenges.

Thank you.

The presentation took just 10 minutes. After that there were some interesting questions from the audience that sparked a discussion about the value of being disconnected in the future. Crosslab recorded all the presentations so the video should be online soon.

‘How can physical spaces positively influence group creativity’.

Recently I visited the third day of this symposium on Creative Spaces Design, at Utrecht University of Applied Science.
“Aim of the 3 days: Sharing knowledge and experiences about creative spaces and creating new insights in the relation between space and creativity. Generate a set of design patterns that can help practitioners in creating their creative space.”

Designed spaces versus design approach

My opinion is: do not emphasise on designing dedicated creative spaces. Do organise dedicated meetings with creative programs. Depending on and applied to each specific issue, a creative approach to space, time and means is required. Prime participants, get them out of their daily business en organise feedback on the (in)tangible results and take care of fruitful continuation of the program and meeting.
Personal experience: after participating in LEF or the HU Concept Space several times, it’s becoming ‘normal’ or even disappointing because of high expectation not being met. (Expectations created for instance because of the high amount of effort, time, money and modern technology spent developing these spaces.) I was curious about the findings of the 2 day workshop preceding the symposium and about some of the speakers.

Participants’ learnings

Organiser and our friend Remko van der Lugt summarised the learnings of the 2 days workshops and excursions very briefly; some opportunities and some interesting fields of tension. (See moleskine notes below.) I think it is a challenge not to find and build the optimal point in these contrasts, but to keep them open to be adapted every time needed.

Notes on learnings presentation creative spaces workshops

Personal space

Key-note speaker David Kirsh explained the support infrastructure for externalising ideas is very important. His quite inspiring example was a choreographer who sketches by dancing and making sounds, and the dancers copy and evolve the movements. I can’t imagine a space more personal, adaptable, creative, physical and virtual than the space made or taken with your own appearance, voice and body.

White Space

A fresh vision was White Space, from Joren van Dijk. White Space: the space you leave out, you don’t fill, or which is left after removing things. Spacial distance, brakes; in White Space creativity can flourish. He promised to pore over Jelle van Dijk’s question: “What is the White Space left after removing the designer..?”

Space subservient to facilitator and process

The most energetic presentation was the interactive talk from the Creativity Company. After a warming up the audience was confronted with a picture of the most uninspiring boardroom ever. Statement: during a session space should be ‘noiseless’ (Dutch: ruisloos); shouldn’t take time or energy from the facilitator. (And participants, in my opinion.) Challenge was to come up with ideas to be able to transform this room into a creative space within one hour. Within 5 minutes we made the most fantastic plan, for me another proof that a creative approach is more important than a dedicated creative space.

Experts have tricks

The symposium has strengthened my opinion that a creative approach is more important than creative spaces. I heard some interesting ideas and details and can’t wait to test them in sessions or at my own living- or workspace. “Experts have tricks” (Kirsh) indeed and I think 31Volts is developing more and more professionalism in our creative and design approach, with our own strong but flexible processes and adaptable, accessible tools for any space. CreativeSpaces team, thanks for the organisation!

Exploring the O-Gap.

De O in O-Gap staat voor Organisation. ‘Hoe zorg je ervoor dat je prachtige plan niet struikelt bij de uitvoering in de organisatie.’
2 presentaties, afgewisseld met opbouwende discussies. De sprekers zoomden elk in op een methodiek; één vanuit design perspectief en een vanuit business perspectief.
Het was een inspirerende avond, met 2 presentaties, goede discussies en napraten met een drankje.

31Volts was ter plaatse en bracht verslag uit voor de site van het Service Design netwerk Nederland.
Het verslag is hier te lezen, inclusief presentaties. Ook kun je hier aankondigingen van nieuwe activiteiten volgen.

I finally translated my presentation in Enlish. Here it is:

Henk tells the story a lot of (service) designers have been telling for quite some time now. Design has the power to transform our society. We can’t emphasize and repeat it often enough (sorry for the poor translation by google):

In a world flooded with often useless stuff and the bitter fruits of ecological, economic and social injustice day are reaping the simple polishing of products is no longer sufficient. Design and commercial design creates artificial scarcity, you still want that iPhone, even if your phone doesn’t need replacement. Design is at its best when it leads to reflection on society and the role we ourselves play in the sometimes perverse order we’re trying to maintain. Design can connect people with each other and individuals with a community, and the best products, services, practices achieve this – think of a successful court as Parc de la Villette, Scottie or Story Table.

The original Dutch version:

In een wereld die overspoeld wordt met vaak nutteloze spullen en de wrange vruchten van ecologische, economische en sociale onrechtvaardigheid dagelijks plukt is het eenvoudigweg opleuken van producten niet meer voldoende. Design als commerciële vormgeving creëert kunstmatige schaarste: je wilt die iPhone toch hebben, ook al is je telefoon niet aan vervanging toe. Design is daarentegen op haar best wanneer ze aanleiding geeft om te reflecteren over de maatschappij en de rol die wij zelf spelen om de soms perverse orde in stand te houden. Design kan dan verbinden, mensen met elkaar en individuen met een gemeenschap, en de beste producten, diensten, praktijken slagen daarin – denk aan een geslaagd plein als Parc de la Villette, Scottie of de Verhalentafel.

Je zou veronderstellen dat de vraag; Wat is design? door iedereen beantwoord zou kunnen worden. Van de 40 studenten was er één student met één antwoord. ‘Design is een ontworpen product. Een design lamp, of design stoel.‘ Ik ben blij dat er überhaupt een reactie uit de zaal kwam. Maar toch is het gek dat, wanneer je gekozen hebt voor een studie in design, je hier geen helder beeld van hebt.

Maar eerlijkheid gebied mij te erkennen dat er tijdens mijn studie eigenlijk nooit gediscussieerd is over wat design nu eigenlijk is. In de wandelgangen spraken wij wel veel over het verschil tussen ontwerpen en vormgeven.

Design Council geeft een helder antwoord op de vraag.

De gastles ging natuurlijk over service design. Dat je ook kunt ontwerpen waarbij het resultaat geen product is was volgens mij 2 bruggen te ver.

Het antwoord op: Wat is service design volgt volgende week. To be continued…