November 2015

Rejection is Gratifying

November 9, 2015 General
If success is a measure of what you’ve achieved, then rejection or loss signifies the change that you must embrace in order to achieve success. Rejection is grappling against the tide, it’s like that flowing water which briefly encounters a rough patch of rocks. Dashing against it wildly. And then the tranquility sets in again as the stream continues towards its ultimate journey. Success only implies you have arrived at the summit, but for some it means the end of the road. I must confess that I have held my successes closer to my heart. But the rejections or losses weren’t ignored because I was blinded by success, they were just taken for granted. Because whatever it was — success or something similar, it became an integral part of my sojourn towards my destination until I decided to not to settle and move on. Carry my dreams to another level. The desire to succeed isn’t fulfilled if you are averse to rejections. So let the rejections today make up for the success of tomorrow.
Rejection is also about accepting unequivocal change. Rejection is a sign that perhaps you’re on the right trail. And while “Nothing is permanent” — as the Sun pierces the darkness turning it bright and sunny, as hot sweltering summers give way to icy cold winds. Thus too, success will come with time. Don’t stop until you have reached your destination and don’t stop looking around. Let the rejections embolden your spirits and make you more resilient. Keep track of your losses to make appropriate changes. And never ever stop dreaming! Success cannot be far away.

Despicable Me 2

November 8, 2015 Movies

I skipped the first instalment to watch this animated comedy, and the amusement lasted until the last sequence! A hilarious account of a super-villain turned hero/dad Gru managing a bunch of dwarfed, babyish characters somewhat awkwardly dressed called ‘Minions’, and 3 very cute daughters. The Minions are these energetic cheerful bunch of Lilliputians, with no regrets for their unremarkable looks, stature or appeal, having fun always but congregating when distress comes in the form of the villain Eduardo/El Macho. 

It has loads of artistic imaginativeness especially the gadgetry which included Lucy’s inventive automobile that is part-submarine part-aircraft and the jelly guns (slurp!), the design of the croc sofa in the girls’ room and the hippo chair, the nacho-shaped Sombrero with Guacamole that the characters dip and relish (that was so creative!), and last but not the least, a pet chicken called ‘Pollito’ acting as the villain’s henchman (or ‘henchcock’?).

‘Despicable Me 2’ is a mad comic caper complete with a love story, tons of Minion naughtiness, artistic fantasies, and 3 adorable little girls! I’m already waiting to watch the next release.

PlayStation Virtual Reality

November 7, 2015 Design Technology

The Paris Games Week (PGW) concluded last week and I watched the PlayStation media event.

What has fascinated me from the beginning with the PlayStation (PS) console is the ‘Uncharted’ (UC) and ‘InFamous’ titles. ‘Uncharted – Among Thieves’ was the first title (Part 2 in the series actually) that I got my hands on , and I was completely stunned with the gameplay and the graphics. It’s much like watching a movie actually. After that I have played almost all the ‘Uncharted’ titles to date. The much anticipated ‘Uncharted 4 – A Thief’s End’ was announced at the PGW to be released on 18-March 2016, it’s the last title in this ambitious series. The sadness over its culmination has overtaken the excitement from the launch. Guerrilla Games’ ‘Horizons Zero Dawn’ was good in terms of gameplay.

But the highlight of the event for me was definitely the demonstration of PlayStation VR. While Facebook has longterm goals for Oculus, Sony has already announced some terrific exclusive titles like ‘Robinson – The Journey’ for the VR platform, and many others. Looks like VR may finally become a mainstream reality soon and can’t wait to get my hands on it.

About Stars and Hearts!

November 5, 2015 Design

Twitter changed the icon for its ‘Favorite’ tweet feature, from a Star to a Heart. A seemingly small aesthetic change for the Twitterverse to react with surprise and angst! Design updates in digital products haven’t been easier for designers to interpret as organizations and users have embraced design changes half-heartedly for a number of reasons.

The longer a system exists the greater the amount of comfort and trust the users build around its framework. After all this the ultimate goal of following usability principles. These emotional aspects of user behaviour also exist even with badly designed systems. It means any amount of change in the system is met with shock and discontent by the user groups since they need to develop a fresh perspective around the brand. It’s not so simple to drive design changes.

Design transitions are also harder because it affects behavioural changes and users resist any change in their ‘relationship’ with the software overall. Twitter was perceived as ‘violating’ that loving ‘relationship’ of the users with the ‘Favorite’ starry icon by replacing it with a Heart. Though I personally believe that making a ‘favourite’ is a matter of the heart which is better represented by the ‘heart’ sign than a ‘star’ sign. In the end, designers must make users see the value brought by the design changes by bringing them closer to achieving their goals more efficiently than before. The aesthetic changes need to be scrutinized through a branding review as well. Twitter has done its homework:

The heart, in contrast, is a universal symbol that resonates across languages, cultures, and time zones. The heart is more expressive, enabling you to convey a range of emotions and easily connect with people. And in our tests, we found that people loved it.

Design is Experimental

November 5, 2015 Design

I came across a sentence from Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie’s book ‘Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Toolkit for Managers’ summarizing design.

“Design, in contrast, favors trying over extensive planning and is overwhelmingly experimental in its approach.”

Design no doubt is a medium of experimentation, though it must also sync with the business model to create value for its audience. This brings lot of anxiety and isolation for most designers as their ideas get iterated but ignored under the influence of business logic and delivery schedules. Designers must build trust through empathy and personal discussions, become design leaders for the project by translating their ideas to guide design decisions, and helping others to see the value proposition. If business strategy or MBA is about planning as inferred in the book, then design is about doing and experimenting! So go for it.