Jerry Knight is one of the three associates at 80/20, a studio based in San Francisco and New York: they are specialized in user experience. They worked with clients such as Apple (Aperture interface, Mobile Me), Adobe (CS4), as well as Verizon, Vodafone, Sony Ericsson and others.
The challenge in their work is to always make the interactive experience as simple as possible for the user (who doesn’t have a master degree in usability). Their design often goes unnoticed since it’s not advertising or branding: they really focus on the user experience. While some companies tend to forget that when they design, the user experience is the core of the 80/20’s business.
80/20 have developed a new cell phone operating system named Sonar; it helps customizing and managing the cell phone’s interface. Most of the cell phone market is still about “non-smart” phones and their interface is not user-friendly at all. 80/20 hence decided to develop a usable demo for “non-smart” phones to sell to major mobile companies. They took the risk of launching this demo because they truly believed the market was unexploited: they saw a good business opportunity. They signed a agreement with one of the major mobile company in United States; no need to say it paid off!
It was really interesting to meet with him and to get a different perspective on design. We are looking forward to see more work from their studio.
Jerry’s best places in New York:
- Allen and Delancey
- Club Cielo on Thursday night
- Momofuko (Ko) (it took him a couple of months to get a reservation so if you plan a trip soon start the process - they only take online reservations)
I first met Richard Borge 8 years ago while I was still in design school at UQAM in Montreal. He was my teacher for an International Design class about illustration. His style as an illustrator is very unique. He is specialized in editorial illustrations for trade magazines and animation for music videos.
He grabbed a bite with us in the middle of a big animation project. I always like the way he works: it reminded me of the work Dave McKean does. He told us that it was in fact one of his influence. Each of them have their own style but you can see that they create universes in which their creations can exist, though Richard’s style is more joyful and dynamic.
His studio is located in Hell’s Kitchen as he used to live there: later he moved in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He told us that we are most likely to find interesting things in Brooklyn. It’s where the cool kids (not to call them Hipsters) are and where interesting things happen. The skinny jeans, vintage shoes and tattooed hipsters aren’t in SOHO or East Village anymore, but in Brooklyn. It’s now where they hang out, party and perform.
Places to visits in Brooklyn:
-Bedford Avenue
-Williamsburg
-Greenpoint
-Long Island City
-Dumbo
Jason Randal has accomplish a lot in his carreer. We have trouble keeping track with his resume: author, actor, songwriter, magician, musician, singer, stunt man, stunt coordinator for tv and movies, sixth degree black belt in Karate, certified hypnotist, special effects pyrotechnic operator, scuba dive instructor, single and multi-engine flight instructor, and a Ph.D. in social psychology. He trained Chuck Norris, played in Pretty Woman and was also a stunt coordinator on An Officer and a Gentleman.
How did he do it? By overlapping schema and time. Therefore, learning about something might just help you learning something else afterwards. And by learning several things at the same, you fell like you live on a fast track trampoline.
He explained that in the end, it’s how often you do it that counts. The more you do something, the more you are able to learn it. And if you learn something and you don’t use it, you will forget about it. It’s all about repetition and efficiency.
There are three critical criteria in order to be able to learn something:
1-Desire/Interest (Get exited)
-Emotion practice
-Power of intent
-Use of motivation
-Play and experiment by making it a game
2-Ability to learn
-Stretching
-Toggling
-Mnemonic
-Overlapping
3-Enlist for support
-Get a coach
-Peer Power (You are who you hang out with)
In the end, he explained that you are who you hang out with, and that’s what really matters. If you get around passionate people it will rub off on you. He also said that you have to reduce everything to what you can do right now. That way, you won’t be overwhelmed by the whole thing. Instead of thinking about how to do it from A to Z you’ll figure out how to make it from point A to point B, and then from B to C…
Céline is a refreshing French graphic designer who lives in Park Slope (Brooklyn). We met her at the Loki Lounge on 5th Avenue in Brooklyn.
She decided to leave Paris, where she worked on projects such as www.elle.fr and www.people.fr, to explore New York with her boyfriend. She now works at the only graphic designer for Original Signal Recordings, a music label located in Tribeca district in New York. She creates all the graphic designs: cd sleeves, websites, myspace pages, ads, posters, etc. Have a look at her portfolio at portfolio.celineoberle.com
You should listen to The Sounds or Ingrid Michaelson or the other bands who are on the Original Signal Recordings label. Founded by young entrepreneurs that shared love of music, this label is located in New York.
Each time I’m in New York I have to stop at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Shop. They have a great selection of design books and other little design treasures. My best advice? Don’t bring your credit card or you will spend waaay to much money on great books… I’ve been able to limit myself to buy only 3 this time around.
“New York City is rife with digital savvy and entrepreneurial vision, so much so that not only has social media permeated through Silicon Alley, but it’s stretching its reach to the arts, entertainment, and fashion.
A city with such density begs for community events that bring together people with a passion for the web as a social platform. With more than we can possibly list, the variety of New York’s events is nothing to scoff at as they continue to attract hundreds, if not thousands, on a monthly basis.
We’ve tried our hardest to present the best of the city’s offerings, but we know that this is only a sampling of the deserving individuals and organizations who are advancing a more social way of thinking in the Big Apple.
This post is part of Mashable’s Social Media Hub Series, which shines the spotlight on local social media communities, companies and personalities. The series is supported by Virgin America.“
Spring is a design shop and an exhibition place at the same time. What’s interesting about Spring is that it’s not only a great place to find design gifts you want to buy for yourself, but the entire store is re-designed every season. You’ll find very interesting pieces like cushion with the Top 10 Google search on them or Dexter dinnerware.
“Spring is a starting point, an idea base, an exhibition space and related store promoting design and art through curated shows and highlighted products. Structured on four principal shows a year, we work with a pool of talented guest artists, designers and curators to create cohesive, informative and, above all, interesting exhibits. It is an ambitious and exciting project that promotes thinking, explores new exchanges and provides a link to, and association with, innovative projects.” - Blurb taken from Spring’s website.
Meet, Photo | kfanctil | 
April 29, 2009 18:59 | 
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