Atom 28: Metro design principles & examples

Microsoft highlight four principles as being fundamental to the Metro UI; typography, motion, “content not chrome” and honesty.

Metro is “authentically digital”, a contrast to some of the more skeuomorphic design principles of companies like Apple. For example, Apple designed its Contacts, Calendar, Notes and Reminders apps to resemble their more physical counterparts, something which has proved pretty controver

Microsoft’s Zune site is very heavily influenced by Metro, especially notable since the Zune was the first device to really embrace a full-blown Metro interface. You can see in the design a perfect embodiment of Metro on the web.

The BBC’s current homepage adheres heavily to Metro principles with a bold use of typography and grids.

-Extracts from webdesign.tutplus

Atom 26:TV Media: Content Convergence in newer forms

Content Convergence is the relation of combining content from multiple sources. Its been phenomenally used for marketing and bring crowd-sourcing to the core. A blog is a certain example of various components that mix and match and converge to create a wholesome interface.

Amidst plethora of tools and products that makes best use of content, TV the media relation will soon see such a proliferation of Content Converge in multitude ways. One real innovative idea which I would chose to see upfront is the Content Convergences of Multiple Channels into one platform. Putting user first, and understanding the way DTH works - People subscribe to a set of channels or Theme (I don't justifiably see this extending far than Genres!) or la-carte or Pay per use basis.People buy a Basic package and load the additional channels on to the base. People discard to use the additive channels post-event and more probably is a curse for customers to ADD a new channel in the basket during the event and discard it later. It is a forced action that consumer look at it as not a holistic experience. Understandably, each of these seasonal or speciality events period the DTH service clocks money by making certain channels pay-per use. But does this fundamentally relate to consumer choice or been a force to choose without any other alternative?

Atom 25: Connecting First Experiences: Buying a Chocolate Box!

Lets comprehend the way one would pick an unknown Chocolate box. The insight is much a qualitative analysis against a scientific attachment to it. Various size, packs, colors, materials, textures all clamor and entice to be picked! So which one would you chose?

Considering a foreigner who would pick a Chocolate box from a retail store with differing brands (more probably unknown) - is relatively a choice of probability! This vs That, A vs B. What exactly would she be thinking? What is her thought process in finding the better or best one? Though there could be reasons were she would chose a flavor like dark chocolate, but once again there are differing brands in each of the particular flavor or ingredients. Had marketing research or behavioral scientist studied such a case? And if so, they also know that's to do solely with one thing!

It should be easier for the resident or a brand conscious person to pick from the lot - a more appropriate or trusted or tried out brand, But what if in case somebody would want to try a new chocolate brand/tag ? What if though its not a foreigner but a local person who undergoes the similar confusion over choice. Rightly so, pick both or more packs and try out at one stretch, easy go! But lets put in an assumption of one would need to chose one among it for some reason, narrowing it, say for worth of dollars!

It was quite a fact that Packaging design of the Chocolate box brings to the forefront in finding or picking the choice. Its an emotional decision that drives to narrow down against the options, highly the color, texture, the richness of the package drives consumer intention aligning towards the Chocolate of choice. The richer the box looks, a feeling or trust that the package content will also seem to be richer. On comparing "Cadbury's" traditional dark blue glossy skin (glowing blue in my intention looks non-enticing, and superficial) to against more rustic, rich, golden-brown local brand - the well known Cadbury's is not alluring in any manner on the outside. The rustic look creates a sense of honesty, straight-forward appeal, wherein rich golden-brown color is so closely linked with the actual content. The local brand may win here, but creating first impression and first experiences of buying, certainly connect customer with the story of choice everytime. The local brand soon will become the choice in future shopping, if deemed worth! Most of the CPG products needs a connectivity through its first skin, or rather superficial layer - the package to drive people to touch, prefer and buy.

Atom 24: Objects of Plaything

I observed that my niece often at this age of 15 months, constantly - look for non play items as objects of  plaything. Objects of plaything as what we feel, though its object of exploration! She had a bunch of toys to play around but most of the time - wanted to explore new items, colorful artifacts & silvery shining pieces. She had sensational interest with the vegetables, cutlery and silverware. Toys as objects of plaything as we visualize is not part of her domain or her world sometimes! Breaking the common rule.

The key lesson here is that we been engaged with clients and wanted to engender customer delight, the wow factor and happiness as a result of much of our engagement models. We do use various tools, methods, frameworks and concepts to ideate and present messages. Does our messages real end up the way we had thought and derived? Does it create the absolute sensational interest as what intended? Does it been spot-on and also been a serious show or event?

Just with the Objects of plaything, Just alike a differentiation with the Child's viewpoint - We need to readjust, quickly find fascinated objects, look for unknown medium, explore in differentiated outlook to create the sense of surprise and playful characterization to our engagement models. Does this create the total experience? No, this is the path to create such a wholesome experience, as a designer, bringing in new perception and uncanny character to the mundane business-world, will awestruck many as often, naturally how one would feel as found an unknown, new, fresh object - the crave to look, want or understand is more than normal.

Objects of plaything fall in the repertoire of such experience! To break known rules and start going beyond the fixed boundary.

Atom 23: Let's get the cradle connection!

Looking at newborns & toddlers, where their first fascination of light,luminosity & pictures heighten as day by day where they constantly look around the world - indoors and then outdoors - weirdly wonder!

All new things that they look, sometimes even old things that are freshly "cached" in their mind are all part of the catalog they constantly keep source, appreciate and relate. That's why the world of visual connotations are more powerful than words. Its worth it and as of all we know.  Its been a genetic connection that born to look for such things is much easier than a learned behavior of reading anything. Cognitive load is high as understood.

Learning through objects is in some manner more relate to us. We had all become serious with the physical boundary curtailing to be unlike a wonder-kid. I been constantly intrigued with the fact that in a Client interaction - more often in a longer session that run hours together, people participating actively in discussion that relate to sketches, drawings, screen-shots, concepts, visuals and symbols. This is against any form of presentation that increasingly uses words, sentences and mundane specifics. It actively puts everybody in a throttle with the wonder-kid vision, when something gets connected to the cradle behavior.

Do if we need to rejig this stigmata rightly in the way we work - not so in an artificial transplanted world that is unknown against the known cradle behavior, looks more meaningful & ends more tireless sessions, talks and gestures. Sometimes, when in a joint meeting of a document approach presentation and visual storyboard presentation, the drastic valley of drift is well seen. Its time we start cut across words and move towards symbols, dialogues, role-play, videos, animation & sketches. This really seems a tough nut to crack in certain areas but should be widely adopted from coding practices to Minutes of meeting. A machine language that just created by speech-to-text, caricaturing & mine-sweeping. Everybody wants to work in better ways, everybody likes to see new things, everybody wants to find new meaning and enjoy fresh subjects in this demanding consumer orb!

Atom 22: How reviews become closure of news reading?

Online News that has been widely in the forefront for many folks in sections alike Weather,Economy, Politics, Sports to City news and others.

I been witnessing this behavioral attribute (yet to research deeply!) of editor's or author's news is well binded with the Review section at the bottom. Also the likes of Share, tweet and +1. How often the scroll keypad is kept banged, as the news end and reviews begin!

It became an extension of additional news or social information - where the reader is interested to find how people really felt on the news. Eagerness and cut of curiosity is what the extension is all about. Looking at the context of emotional value - for good - as in case India wins the World cup in Cricket, this transcends to capture how fellow country-men and global citizens felt on the win. People thoughts to the news ends most probably as a "recency effect" that lingers in mind. Reactions towards political support, legal laws, malpractices,  crimes and the negative extremity is a bandwagon of agitation, curse, humor and criticism. Such a closure to the news invariably binds the reader to either join or discard, and more probably feel the anguish or burden that is coming through multiple people against the primary "author's" news. It is now a news constructed by many and not so by one. It ends with lots of secondary - tertiary information against the primary news.

Crowdsourcing as it becomes - collective thoughts increases the value of the news to invariable heights. Sometimes the lack of any review column or thoughts is just a void to a news that is more important pr attached to the reader. The final closure never happens, as though been a routine!

How long will the reviews of online news can transcend by time to the Local prints ? Is'nt it much expressive feelings, ideas or pointers are a wanted segment ? Is'nt it a experience of reading lots of "insider information" or "series of mini-news" or "subjects" an interesting way to tie with a news?

Atom 21: Reading Itinerary Chart & Tickets

Its been common that I stumble across people who book wrong tickets basically due to time,date and month misrepresentation or misunderstanding. Booking at one end of the thread, wherein reading the booked information is at the other end.

The error fall under this scenario -
1. Booking wrong tickets due to confusion of month/date notation due to International standards
2. Booking wrong tickets due to confusion over time notation (12H/24H confusion) - Bigger in the lot
3. Reading it wrongly and ending up to depart in the station earlier or later
4. Above all, if all these cases were not part of the individual or routine - cautious approach in understanding and reading the information is become critical - that increases cognitive load and counter-check to trust one's belief.

The real problem of major error is the missing piece of understanding how user look to information in day-to-day life.

1. Can we get a standard way of representation of month/date amidst the International standards, say the month "May" is mentioned to avoid any number representation. So the month is taken out of the picture. But sometimes, there needs a cautious approach in refreshing the mind! If we do mention - "1 month's time from the current date" or "15 days to date of travel" or "Your booking 2 weeks ahead" or "Your plans to leave this weekend" -as all these start to put the user in a frame and support his sequence of thought process. The user always relates terms like my travel is scheduled in "1 week" or "this weekend" or "next weekend" or "in a month's time" or "more than a month's time", as may be found in their daily conversation.
This largely address the booking approach and the critical cognition involved. Agreed, still you need to cross-refer the booking dates to the "daily conversation statements", but the idea is we are getting closer to the user and aiding largely.

2. Next, looking at reading the piece of information is another critical cognitive load, as reading 12H/24 H connotations are pretty confusing! Reason - We are used much to thinking in 12H formats, rarely 24H in everyday life. Alright, I think we can start using "daily conversation statements" formula to map which-ever format it is in. The itinerary chart should read "Morning of May 25 - 9.45" rather 9.45 AM or 0945 (vs 2145). Let the user be trusted with a statement that can support the thinking process - more like "After your breakfast @ 9.45", "Wake early to catch @ 9.45", "Zombie zone @ 2.30", "Miss your sleep on May 25 for 2.30 flight" (intriguing or engaging statements).

3. All these also could be ably supported by Visual connotations and mapping it for easier understanding. This would be a exercise on to structure the Information design through visualization methods.

Atom 20: Is a room really booked in that Hotel?

Online hotel booking increasing gradually by time, and I been wondering its just not the comfort as against booking an airline ticket. A ticket as it shows up in a PDF and ready for printing, is more largely a experience that task accomplished. How about a movie ticket? The process is much similar and the end process confirms the success of task.

Hotel booking though end as a process in a final confirmation or hitherto a PDF file ready for printing, but the hotel booking as a end process is not enclosed or tagged to completion of task, against other examples - where the other task with meticulously closed action item - as a ticket! The ticket has a form of agreed commonality, of a surety - of a booked seat (as on Movie's the choice of seats are predominantly chosen and driven as a goal) - or of a booked flight seat (though sometimes the exact seat is not even chosen).

Hotel booking as a goal looks at
1. I need a room
2. I need a room of such features facing the particular side/sight
3. I would prefer having a room somewhere there or being closer/overlooking to that

Basically, hotel booking though need to look at ways to strengthen the user goals and address the goals. So instead of being a generalized statement, Hotel booking should say user - that the Room 203 is booked for you. It may even suggest the user to choose one room that is available with preferences. It may even book rooms as per choice and confirm the choice. Currently, the booking address that the room is booked, whereas the user is unknown of many things which he would want or need in accordance to personal taste. This may be even going a step ahead and stating that "Ms. Diane would be your Front desk assistant during your arrival on 25th May 2012" (by simply cross-verifying the list of Front desk assistants shift time)

Thus on addressing the Goal and user reaction/emotive response is quite fundamental to hotel booking, as it looks a gap that exist on successful task completion, where sometimes the user would need to call or speak to the Hotel Front desk to really confirm on booking. 

Atom 19: How tough is it to be a designer?

Everbody comments! Everybody speaks about the design? Oh! tough the world is.

There is a design problem. Shaping up a solution is never a straight path. Lots of permutations and combinations, perhaps leading to one or two best ways to address. The solution looks at the following components -
1. The problem itself - Contextual
2. In alignment with your users
3. In needs of business stakeholders
4. Designer way of looking at it

There are three primary people involved - User, Business stakeholder and designer. It naturally happens that the designer blends solution keeping all in perspective. Now what if designer did not like the solution but the business stakeholder showed some interest; though the user world is addressed, and what if designer knows other way to do it might still be better looking. Mostly, designers like to sell the best solution and assuage or impress upon the pitched up idea.

But alternatively there are business stakeholders who would feel their decision stays fit in a context. I think its in the best of the project or as for organizational benefits, designer abides by the rule and fixes the direction as communicated. Now as the designer really understands the evolution of idea did not materialize as he wanted. But will the designer need to get disheartened? Does the designer does not know to sell? Does the designer had not be impressive enough?

I think the solution is addressed towards users, business stakeholders and context. Designer is just catalyst in shaping up the requirement and solution. Where designer sometimes need to step-up from the comfort zone and move in tandem to other tracks and people. Need to evolve and live with other's world. Its the soft aspect that is quite the designer needs to develop.

Design is such a fragile business aspect in the whole gamut of things, everybody is interested to put their hands  or heads to solve, which once again should be accepted by a designer. Be in world of acceptance, embracing, participatory not only prunes design but makes the designer a better receptionist. A designer is not a evolutionist - but more of a receptionist. He is the conductor but never really happens to be a job, without the other musicians and experts to participate in it.

Its not tough to be when as a designer, as the learning curve moves higher and you look at the world from other's eye. Designer learns with all moments that he gets as a chance to improvize. Start being tough to prune your argument. Have a relevance to your concepts. Be receptive and encourage people to move your comfort zone. Its a test!

Atom 18: How would you sell the design?

Problems to solve are the real challenge in the world of design. Solutions that emerge should have strong rationale and basic sense of direction to first prove its meaning. Sometimes, meaning and idealogies itself are catalyst to sell the solution. When the direction is gone wrong, quickly gyrating to the play-field and setting real benchmarks would be a viable option to prove a worthy second round.

If design does takes several rounds and a solution is still not emerging, then the selling of design ideas really becomes cumbersome, as it puts the individual under stress and questions the ability.

Its not an easy job to sell ideas to a large folks, so as it may be easy to a single person. Quite the best way to sell the design ideas has following components which also as the ways to buying it by the client/team -

1. Communicate
2. Manage
3. Own

Leaving alone skills to design, one could sell ideas if the ability to communicate well with internal team, provide support and lend co-operative work. By ways of efficient managing resources and a keen ownership will keep one floated above the rest, since human are social animals, and a team work ability from within is the best moving factor.

So What this does? I believe lot of reviews come to the core from internally, so the best way to manage is to set right with internal team all the goals. If it passes through the acid test, most probably there will be lot of support from within to guide you even on the tougher path.

Now the flip side to think is also, that winning the client's mind. If the client is willing to invest money on your design, it means your design skills needs to be on top and can go for the kill.Either way, its worth to find where your zone of comfort lies - design is not simply just to design - but as in any field it needs Management acumen to successfully cross thy obstacles!! The real selling of concept is also a need to look as somebody buying the design. As somebody opt to buy, one should also look on how would somebody buy - they will look at what communication that happens (visual or vocal), how it is managed and how do they own it?

Atom 17: Designing "Moments"

We been planning and finding the best cake shop in the city. Incidentally, for my niece first birthday function. We been trying to be make very sensible,cautious and methodological decision on this. Why so? for just a cake. This was not just the "cake" as an "object". Relation of the "object" to the "event" is highly visible and indispensable. It creates patterns of relative features.

Patterns such as Cake, decor and food are just "objects" that heightens the entire event. Each of such individual objects unify to create one wholesome experience. Deflection in one of the object can lead to the other, or may not have a consequence. It can remain and stand aloof, It can be a major, minor or a non-trigger.

When planning for an event, all the group of objects are necessarily resolved and planned. The serious onus of all those objects may not be under direct control of individual. But the effort to create a befitting wholesome experience, the objects looks to have control when they remain to be under our purview and decision. Once again, the decision and reaction to it, may well go awry, but the effort in creation of it matters. Such an effort is not just planned, but we design them. We design them through a visual picture, an imaginary cinematic experience.

We just look at the "Moments", We just design those "Moments" and we put all those efforts to seek a fulfilling, rejoicing and appreciable Moment.  Its not alone the wholesome experience, but the object that relates to the Momentary part of it, as the Cake as an object, relates to people, their emotive connections, their reaction, expression and conversations. All this is built by means of the "Moment", by analyzing how such a moment should really exist and how it had existed.

Designing products and interfaces also needs those singular moments, calculative bridging of such "Moments" with the objects are quite a process.

Atom 16: News Consumption on a Small Screen Touch Device

With the defining change of interfaces like tablets and mobile devices, reading takes a new shift. Reading is relatively transferred in easier ways with the invent of touch screen devices. The statistics also brings to extrapolate that in accordance to Pew Research: 27% Americans get their news on Mobile devices and increasing traffic to major news websites by 9%. The research also expects the number of digital news subscriptions nearly double this year.

Looking at the way News Consumption shapes up to the stats is so much relevant. This includes the shift in my diurnal activities on news reading at my own personal front. The positive factors that emerge from it as a habit that grows into an individual could be due to -


1. Easy touch screen device - smooth navigation flow (atleast broadly of the gesture)
2. Hardware quality - pure interaction with a glassy, glossy surface
3. Neat bits of information - chunked to consume easily
4. It clocks to be about 3 minutes to read a news which is quite better against large screens or monitors
5. Information revealed only on scroll, advantageous against finding whole textual data face-front
6. Psychology changes behavior of reading - at smaller piece-meals (by time and content)
7. Helps to grasp the point easily and can be easy scanning


Its pure and pure a behavioral change that has creeped due to hardware, interface and information design transitions.

Atom 15: Smoking causes cancer!

This is Star Movies Channel, and the movie "Undisputed 3" was running. Its a good movie to make one engrossed with it. We been witnessing during sitcoms and campaigns that statutory warning/ads run when people, artist or characters smoke and drink. Precisely says "Smoking is injurious to health, Drinking is injurious to health" and so on.

It took me by surprise that the same contextual warnings have taken a new twist, when there was a smoking scene or a pub that appears in the movie - The warning said "Smoking causes cancer, Smoking kills. Drinking is injurious to health". This is quite phenomenally a differentiated perception, it awestruck me when reading it causes cancer (though I do not smoke for good!). The perception relatively says the end result, says that the action will lead to "this" consequence. This is widely how it can create panic, atleast it did to me. The good thing of this warning is that - it drives to frame a visualization of what an action can do. It is not generic and it is to the point. Though I still knew it can cause cancer apart from many other diseases, but when the message nails it to one particular huge disease - then your perception sways like a pendulum largely.

In the contrary, if you have to read "Drinking is injurious to health" - it now brings a context of that Smoking is more severe than drinking, Oh! this causes cancer but the other one is ok (quite injurious alone). It puts Smoking more alarming than drinking. I don't know if so drinking is not a behavior that leads to deadly disease!

I think drinking as a culture is a part of Western civilization a way to socialize and live to beat the cold weather. Frankly though in part of Asia, both these habits are quite a sinful or uninvited practice on basis of religion, customs or rituals.

The warning message is weird and neatly presented with the content saying what it has to. Atleast the first half had a message that puts viewer by surprise, panic and emotively perplexed - considering the earlier standards which was seen on cigaratte boxes, billboards and TV channels that was just a plain vanilla and sits without much invitation, though it was just saying what it has to. But the message "Smoking causes cancer" is sometimes to be treated as stern note, caring voice or consequential highlight.

Atom 14: Social Happiness : Spread the design

There lies when you found interesting, you discovered new music album, you found a new design principle, you found an ingenious design object. So what would you do?

Instant discovery leads to more happiness, elated state and a more meaningful day in a chaotic life :-). It seems that this becomes an eventual habit where one prone to find some ecstatic piece of discovery. The shape of such a discovery spreads through quickly into lot of terrains, as what if wished so. But expressions differ. But majorily it creates a sense of happiness to the discoverer, and should live to exist as molecules of expression.  So looking at research stats - "New research shows that in a social network, happiness spreads among people up to three degrees removed from one another. That means when you feel happy, a friend of a friend of a friend has a slightly higher likelihood of feeling happy too." 


The function of design challenge is not only to solve problems and create meaningful interactions. But also look at the happiness factor in a social medium. This medium is to be accounted from the ideation phase - client interaction and implementation as a solution. Design should bring in pleasant discoveries and create the unprecedented tags to the storyboard. It is not about the "Wow" factor which is once again on another plateau of creating rejoice. But this is quite an approach, where smaller targets are produced with astonishing "raised eye-brow" feelings. This is not only looking at the big picture, but profoundly fine tuning at slight reverberations and change of mundane routines. Social happiness will evolve as a part of the end result, and would pursue to exist as "word-of-mouth" and spread around with an intangible feel. It delights and proclaims of its highly valuable existence. It multiplies eventually.

Social network will start flourishing as the butterfly effect, will create the good-will and support one or the team needs. Social happiness is not outward, but an inward process, which commences at the door-step of the owner and will soon return back in lot of promises. Its a good-will factor, that brings in energy to the way work culture been to live across. Social happiness is a mood of living in present and showing commitment to the way of living the tomorrow. 

Atom 13: How Convergence Factor lessens Information density?

Information is ubiquitous and unmanageable as days go by. But the world turning towards more handheld computing, the information is falling in a palette. The density is much more better managed, were topics of interest are getting merged and seeming to turn light.

Information density = (Information + channels + knowledge)


The world of Apps is driving through all news and trends based information into one box, where packaged to branch out into multiple arenas. The Apps start to bind the density factor and putting in condensed packages, that is manageable and sensible. Soon gone will be the days where news source as unison and single-dimensional. Its aggregating well, and this is happening widely now - as the apps try to pull all data from multiple sources and push as in from one platform, so as this clears the fuzz of looking around. Social sites like twitter build this case well. Information density does not end here, but localized information is more a need of the hour, which is in a way - personalization. Though the common platforms provide the best of information. But the star attractions of news say in "design" as viewed from flipboard - is different for me as in my view point against another person or against Flipboard favorites. Though Flipboard and design channels when aggregate to bring in best information - the Question is - Is that personalized to feed in the most appropriate data that I want? So if that is the case, there are Apps that serve in particular domain like "Houses" "Architecture" and once again What I want will certainly differ or Where my interest lies in will be really different. Once again Apps address the world of reading news in a better method, as thanks for the devices and OS that made that happen. The data or information inside a shell - Mashable and Flipboard build aggregate of information, but all data that is there is not what one wanted. So still one has to move through density of Information and seek the appropriate one.

Information density is diverging through web and then converging through the apps.If Convergence were to group with Personalization then "Personagence" should factor in, with the density cloud will be there right at the exact subjects, data or info that need to be addressed.

Convergence Factor = Personagence (Device Shift + Personalization)

Atom 12: Mindless Experiences-Certain future of work

Recently, I bought a traditional wooden toy -a walking enhancer - a tri-wheeler - which definitely everyone would have seen. I went to the manufacturing hub of toys-Chanapatna to fetch this. It really is a very pleasant shopping experience. I think when colors come into picture - the world is more gleeful.

But the real crux of the emotive quality in a Toy shop is different being inside a Apparel shop. The overall transition in mind-set is inevitable and its real that Toy shops invoke very lighter, mild, unrestrained & happier moments. The environment is bringing in lot of pleasure and emotions that is untold.

What makes it so different? Quintessentially I can rethink the way I was a kid and went into a Toy shop, and it still remains the same at emotive level, that you buy it for yourself or for someone else. It is invariably the emotion is classically upturned against any other shopping experience. A sense of light-weight, easier connections, dismay, buoyancy & immersive experience.

A mindset that is very much diverse from the usual grind of life. I would call this the "Birth linkages" or "Mindless experiences". Experiences that just spring up at the hour and are not factored by time, consequences and mind in itself. Since they is lot of play that we have been doing from birth, and we learn much through play. Playful mechanisms are always the best source or linkages where we picked up such experiences. Mindless experiences are a fact that is unrestrained and soon the future of work needs to look at where Play and work should be combined, environments need more mindless experiences that engender freewill and spirit.

Atom 11: Solution-based approach in Management

Solution based approach an equivalent term alternatively to design thinking. Design thinking looks at solution in order to start to define the problem solving route. This is opposing to the Scientific method  that which starts defining all the parameters of the problem in order to define the solution.

In a broader spectrum, Solution based thinking also evolves with a formative & involved approach which when collaboratively works well in project management. This is entirely looking at solutions at all plateau, situation and time. What runs a project management efficient, is to handle pro-actively and pre-look towards solution. Now as solutions are the final outcomes with each action, putting solution based thinking as a fore-runner in management will steer the ship safe to home.

If an action needs to be pursued or relatively an action is to be performed, solution based approach will drive and gather lot of steam, as it also makes the self as a responsible owner and maintain heighten relationships with lots of stakeholders. The act of simply overlooking solutions before a problem really shapes up, is really a lot of visualization and supplementary linkages that can emerge. Even a 50% problem statement understanding would strengthen solution based approach, though sometimes preempting solutions tend to be waste of time, but problem statements can itself be structurally stabilized when solutions are looked ahead at and can be necessarily means to find solution, and by knowing things that may not work in certain situation. Just as the way Einstein remarked that he understood by his failures of knowing 1000 ways that it will fail to work. Even at crisis, looking for solutions and a tendency to resolve is in itself a greater deflector to tap and soften problems and situation. Task being major or minor, if perceived in a fashion as to How to resolve ? What can we do to tame crisis ? What can we alternatively do at this time ?  How should we approach the presentation ? All this interrogative styles of How and What are predominantly the way a solution-based approach works. It helps to drive with efficiency and ownership skills, that finds solution towards the process rather than to wait for the emerging set of conditions.

Atom 10: Absorptive Design Management & Thinking

The basic definition of Absorptive are -
Absorptive : Having power,capacity or tendency to absorb or imbibe, having capability of withstanding abuse or stress. (Source: en.wikitonary.org)


Another source from thefreedictionary.com

1. The act or process of absorbing or the condition of being absorbed.

2. A state of mental concentration

"In business administration, absorptive capacity has been defined as a firm's ability to recognize the value of new information, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial ends. It is studied on individual, group, firm, and national levels. Antecedents are prior-based knowledge (knowledge stocks and knowledge flows) and communication. Studies involve a firm's innovation performance, aspiration level, and organizational learning. It has been said that in order to be innovative an organization should develop its absorptive capacity" as explained in wikipedia.


Absorptive design management and thinking is a broader boundary that will address the connectivity of Management and thinking process in design. With precise management, design can be highly meaningful, resource-efficient and collaborative.


On grounds of this explanation, the ability to access information, interrogate, assimilate and churn it beneficial with refined processes is highly an Absorptive process. This is a conscious evolution. Absorption in itself is brought to act without lack of un-consciousness. The cycle of information production or design production is evolved when openness and absorption to varied subjects.


This absorption also involves the stakeholder act, behavior, idealogies, notions which purely understood by perception, socializing & motivated practices. It addresses to speak or put oneself in stakeholder demands and shoes. How it transcends beneficial to the stakeholder and the internal governance of the individual and organization also needs to be comprehended. This by large is absorption in work. Absorption Design Management is specific understanding of common users, specific users, marketing team, various stakeholders, demand, market conditions & business goals. It is absorptive such as all these layers have to bundled into a manageable process and single layer. It means that it is highly intermixed and readily available. 


Now, at the lower level of the fragmentation is Absorptive thinking. The act is to produce design with utmost care, quality and strength such as it has capacity to imbibe the users, observers and succeed them at emotive level. It is not only Emotional design, but a case is built to make how absorptive are the users. It is not immersive, as it can always be function of mind, but absorptive will drive to absorb the people with attention and affection. It is humanistic as in whole, but absorptive as it is effective, easy and attentive.

Atom 9: Observation+Interrogation=Conscious Design

It is utmost bizarre and mind-boggling to be a constant observer and interrogator. It requires lot of willingness, desire and energy. The mind stays active with rigorous look out for things, just alike a beacon tower that does the same functionality all-around the direction.

The theme of observation and interrogation goes well in handy, where this itself good be split up into two phases. Observation is keen looking and wondering at how it essentially is and left to be. This essentially is the pre-cursor to the interrogation mode. Why does it have to do this way ? Interrogation can stem out individually, as to complement with heard voices, comments and reads.This does not need to evolve in pairing, but there could be significant time lag with all observed items can grew to interrogation at a later stage and time.

The key parameter which is Observation, can have a function of x, which is wholesome can turn effective in design, though even interrogative mode is absent in temporal basis. It means to say that half of the job is done by better Observation firstly, as effective design evolves by being a better observant or absorbent!! I think observant really becomes an Absorbent when Interrogation cycle is also complete. It needs a bit more of the mental tenacity and time to get to the other side of the shore, by being a constant interrogator. It requires less of mental energies to act on one of the principle, but when it comes in pair, it really needs twice as much of mental energies to drill and look at the nitty-gritty and details.

It really solves lot of problems towards designing and create conscious designs with a blend of observation and interrogation. But foremost, observation drives the critical essence of conscious design, since the mental impressions emerge to the foreground when in need of solutions, where interrogation automatically triggers to  a point that can quickly map all the observations, call it as "observations image bank", which is really less of a mental energy drain, since being a auto-resolver when in need of solutions.

The conscious design not only leads to creative work, but it could also be relatively equivalent to the routine life and work, where it lead as conscious thinking in totality. I can imagine learning to cook only by the approach of Conscious design thinking, It really sets out like this, that conscious observation of color, ingredients (basic items), boiling point, taste, etc., alone made me to cook more than average (a little tasteful) dishes. The real interrogation happens while "cooking" or in a 'task' where all constant observed imagery evolve and set up the interrogative mode. Why does the color look light when it needs to be darker? Why does the taste is really less when we had tasted it something else? This interrogative approach is a part of conscious dissemination & conscious evolution of the observed quality.

Atom 8:Celebrations: Experiences not everyday?

We been in a society that has Events, Activities, Tours, Feasts & Celebrations. So how often do we have them and what special elusive ways we looked this coming towards us. We block dates, we plan, we discuss, we really go berserk before it actually arrives.

I been looking at days of "Celebration" with contrast and incisive thought. The experience of celebration is immersive, entertaining, riveting & engaging. This is just not part of the environment, it soaks and evolves as a state of mind. The day looks with stark differentiation, which brings to understand that there exist "Normal" days. So whats been so unusual on a Celebration or a day that is "non-normal" ?

Its only been a state of mind, is'nt it? Mostly it is shrouded with the momentary reflection of the 24 hours that has a special meaning in whatsoever way. It may come annually or monthly or come in leap years! Whatever way it is - Its highly a picturesque watermark's of a state of mind, this being individual level, in couples or in groups or as in a whole society.

Experiences like Celebration is an exclusive function of a mind. You create meaningful rejoice by name of celebration. Your fraternity highly finds essence in such meaningful rejoice. The pompous and voices of celebration are really differing experiences. We call them as Experiences, since the "Normal" days are just being without those special "Experiences". Would it be bored to be in a state of such everyday? If it were real true, meaningful "experiences", then why not that be it everyday? Create the meaningful essence and find a differing realm and experience towards celebration everyday. If its a function of mind, create an environment for or be in an environment in longevity of such celebrated days. The true design of celebration is to experience a stand apart timing, so it means to be in a designed state of celebration if that really happens to be good or feel good factor. Its not wondrous or enigmatic to live in designed experiences. It creates meaningful order and healthy experience, which is wholesome for one to create it and be in it.