My Design Notes http://mydesignnotes.com Aarni's personal notes on design posterous.com Sun, 12 Feb 2012 07:34:30 -0800 Why I still sit in an Aalto chair http://mydesignnotes.com/why-i-still-sit-in-an-aalto-chair http://mydesignnotes.com/why-i-still-sit-in-an-aalto-chair

I'm writing this sitting in an Alvar Aalto chair, at a round Aalto table. Beside me stands a lamp designed by the same master of modern architecture. Most of these pieces were originally designed in the 1930s and 40s. How many IKEA models will be around in 2080?

Aaltochair

Alvar Aalto was an architect but also a furniture designer. He and his wife, Aino Aalto, designed glassware, lamps, carpets, fabrics, and so on. Aalto wanted to offer an immersive experience to those who were living and using the built environments that his office designed. 

Many of Aalto's colleagues had the same kind of ideas, but he went a step further. He and Aino were the founding members of a company that started producing and selling Aalto products. They, together with Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl, founded Artek in 1935. The business idea of the company was “to sell furniture and to promote a modern culture of habitation by exhibitions and other educational means.” 

Artek is still in business with three stores in Finland, albeit its owner is a Swedish investor. They also sell through retailers worldwide. Why am I happy that they are still around? Not just because they sell great design.

If I ever want to augment our furniture with matching pieces I can find them at Artek. Not only do their Aalto series go together perfectly, I can also find the exact same chair or table that I bought 20 years ago. When I wanted to expand an IKEA bookshelf at our office, it was already out of production only two years after its purchase.

Another difference between Aalto classics and IKEA products is that Aalto's chairs, tables, and shelves are very solid and practically unbreakable. They last for years and stay in good condition. Furthermore, you can actually repair and renew them, if necessary. Even spare parts are available. That's something that's unheard of with most modern products. I'd say that Aalto's furniture is sustainable in a very practical way.

What is the price of owning modern classics? An Aalto birch chair number 66 costs 270 euros (around $360) in Finland in spring 2012. At the same time an oak and beech chair "Sigurd" at IKEA costs 49.95 euros (around $66). So, you can provide your dining table with five Sigurds for the price of one Aalto and still have money to spare. 

Does it make sense to compare the products of IKEA and Artek? As far as I know they both originally shared the same ideology of bringing affordable modern furniture to every home. They both have a Nordic attitude towards design: practicality, simplicity, and lightness.  IKEA's business acumen turned it into a great company whereas Artek is a niche player. Maybe relying on classic 1930s models cannot offer great opportunities for growth. Will Artek still be here in twenty years’ time, as their products certainly will? As a keen customer I hope so.

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:31:00 -0800 Risk Analysis App - My design of the week http://mydesignnotes.com/risk-analysis-app-my-design-of-the-week http://mydesignnotes.com/risk-analysis-app-my-design-of-the-week

I had the pleasure to design our Thinking Portfolio Risk Analysis app for iPad. The app is a tool for indentifying and analyzing project risks.

Ipad-horizontal-large1

More information at http://www.thinkingportfolio.com/riskanalysis/. Go to App Store to buy the app.

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:31:00 -0800 The social pinboard http://mydesignnotes.com/the-social-pinboard http://mydesignnotes.com/the-social-pinboard

Pinterest is a growing social sharing site for images and videos. It is very simple to set up. Create one or more Boards, add a "Pin It" link to your web browser, and you're ready to go.

Whenever you encounter an interesting image on a web page, Pin It, and a reference to that image with a thumbnail is added to your Board. You can have different board for different themes.

You can follow other users' Boards,  "reping", "like", and comment images. Facebook integration is also available. Popular themes include interior design, fashion, places, craft, and architecture.

My Pinterest board on desing is at http://pinterest.com/aarnih/design-i-like/

Pinterest
Image: Pinterest.com

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:45:00 -0800 Different approaches to package design http://mydesignnotes.com/different-approaches-to-package-design http://mydesignnotes.com/different-approaches-to-package-design

Reading the Steve Jobs book and Apple's philosophy on packaging brought this video from 2005 into my mind.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:00:00 -0800 Logo for Thinking Business - My design of the week http://mydesignnotes.com/logo-for-thinking-business-my-design-of-the-w http://mydesignnotes.com/logo-for-thinking-business-my-design-of-the-w

I've made several logo designs. One that is over 10 years old and still in use is the logo for Thinking Business, a management consultancy. I'm a partner at the company.

The logo is very simple. It consists of a stylized thought bubble and the company name.

Thinkingbusiness
Copyright 2001 Thinking Business, all rights reserved.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Sat, 12 Nov 2011 09:00:00 -0800 An accessory - My design of the week http://mydesignnotes.com/an-accessory-my-weekly-design http://mydesignnotes.com/an-accessory-my-weekly-design

In 2007 I entered a product design competition. The requirement was that the accessory had to be made from 1.5 to 2 mm steel plate. My idea -The 3-board- was a triangular thing that had many uses. I did not get a prize, but it was fun to participate.

3-board1 3-board2 3-board3
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Copyright 2007 Aarni Heiskanen, all rights reserved.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:00:00 -0700 Roll ups - My design of the week http://mydesignnotes.com/roll-ups-my-weekly-design http://mydesignnotes.com/roll-ups-my-weekly-design

Earlier this year we wanted to have a roll up as a background to our COOLacademy video broadcast. I made three versions. Two were typographical and one based on a photo. The photo version went into production. The final size was one meter by two meters.

Coolacademy-rollup-2 Coolacademy-rollup Coolacademy-rollup-5
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Copyright 2011 Aarni Heiskanen, all rights reserved

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Sat, 29 Oct 2011 09:00:00 -0700 Personalized watch - My design of the week http://mydesignnotes.com/personalized-watch-my-design-of-the-week http://mydesignnotes.com/personalized-watch-my-design-of-the-week

Customization is popular. People personalize t-shirts, mugs, beer mats, and so on. I customized a wristwatch at www.fewsome.com.

I chose the watch parts and colors and added my own dial image. The end result is an interesting combination of hard and soft elements.

Watch
Copyright 2011 Aarni Heiskanen, all rights reserved

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Sun, 23 Oct 2011 03:53:37 -0700 Flames - My design of the week http://mydesignnotes.com/my-design-of-the-week-flames http://mydesignnotes.com/my-design-of-the-week-flames

Over the years I've created graphic design for publications, printed items, and web sites. I also have paintings, drawings, and pastel work.

I thought that I could share some of my work with short comments every week.

This is a design for a post card. It looks like flames, hence the title.

Flames
Image copyright Aarni Heiskanen, all rights reserved.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Sun, 04 Sep 2011 06:54:00 -0700 Ten principles for good design http://mydesignnotes.com/ten-principles-for-good-design http://mydesignnotes.com/ten-principles-for-good-design

This week I visited the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, Germany. The museum houses actually four museums and one of them is The International Design Museum Munich. Many design icons were present.

A stereo set from the 1960s caught my eye. It had some of same simple elegance that Apple products are now known for. The designer was Dieter Rams who has made some really cool designs for Braun.

Rams has defined the following ten principles for "good design":

  • Good design is innovative.
  • Good design makes a product useful.
  • Good design is aesthetic.
  • Good design makes a product understandable.
  • Good design is unobtrusive.
  • Good design is honest.
  • Good design is long-lasting.
  • Good design is thorough down to the last detail.
  • Good design is environmentally friendly.
  • Good design is as little design as possible.

Not a bad list for any industrial designer or manufacturer!

Braunstereo
Photo: ©2011 Aarni Heiskanen

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:21:00 -0700 Innovation is not about money http://mydesignnotes.com/innovation-is-not-about-money http://mydesignnotes.com/innovation-is-not-about-money

Steve Jobs said it:

“Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.”

— Fortune, Nov. 9, 1998

Line_at_apple_store_in_nyc
Photo: Wikipedia

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Mon, 22 Aug 2011 01:01:00 -0700 Voices for your business http://mydesignnotes.com/voices-for-your-business http://mydesignnotes.com/voices-for-your-business
Before last Christmas we were thinking, as usual, about what to send as a season’s greeting to our customers. I came up with this idea: let's make a short video of a poem that suites the season.

We found a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson called Winter-time. What we needed next was a reader. I searched for different services offering narration, and found voices.com.

I had the text ready, all I had to do was to post the job and make a few selections, like the language, gender, and age range of the voice I was looking for. I could also select adjectives that described what the voice should sound like. After defining the budget range and deadline I was ready to go.

In two days I got over 20 samples from people who had actually read the poem for me! The hardest part was to pick out one since most of the readers were really good.

Finally we chose one, agreed on the job, and he made the final recording. We were happy with the result and once more amazed at how the Internet has changed the way we do business.

Voices
Image: voices.com

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Sat, 20 Aug 2011 02:36:43 -0700 Tammisaari http://mydesignnotes.com/tammisaari http://mydesignnotes.com/tammisaari

Img_0001 Img_0002
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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Tue, 16 Aug 2011 09:23:00 -0700 9 Design Tricks Borrowed From Biology | Wired Science http://mydesignnotes.com/9-design-tricks-borrowed-from-biology-wired-s http://mydesignnotes.com/9-design-tricks-borrowed-from-biology-wired-s
Media_httpwwwwiredcom_jteyv
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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Fri, 05 Aug 2011 01:21:00 -0700 A vintage ad with a familiar message http://mydesignnotes.com/a-vintage-ad-with-a-familiar-message http://mydesignnotes.com/a-vintage-ad-with-a-familiar-message

Discovered from the attic of an old building –a Marlboro ad in the Finnish magazine Viikkosanomat on June 7, 1967. It says, "With a taste of world success" and "A man's cigarette that a woman likes."

Advertisements have changed since, or have they? The message is still the same: buy this and become successful and admired.

Marlboro

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:00:00 -0700 Simple is better http://mydesignnotes.com/simple-is-better http://mydesignnotes.com/simple-is-better

When tablet computers and smartphones entered our lives we realized that you don’t need to take a course or consult a manual to use software. Even toddlers can understand the interface and logic of an iPad. Why should we settle with less with our business applications?

The world is filled with unused software that was purchased because a geek or an expert liked it. Nobody asked the users with they really wanted the high-end project portfolio management software that came with a 1000-page manual (that has really happened). 

Experts need and can learn through months or years of practice to use a tool productively and get amazing results. Just watch any movie with staggering 3D effects. The situation is totally different when you have a management team that uses a tool once a week, or once a month. The tool has to be intuitive to use and not require lengthy training or constant support from more advanced users.

What makes software really user-friendly? Here are some practical ideas:

  • The design of the application should start with the question: “What would be the simplest and most natural way from the user’s point of view to solve this design challenge?”
  • Users should be involved as partners, not just as testers, in the design process.
  • The application’s logic should be obvious at once. If the user needs to read instructions to understand how everything works, the application is too complex.
  • The application’s user interface should be more “conventional” than “innovative”. Conventional in this context means that the elements of the user interface are familiar. A button should look like a button and function accordingly.
  • Leaving out features is better than adding some extra. Antoine de Saint-Exupery once said, “A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. “ I think that’s a great philosophy for software development as well.
  • A new version of the application should not completely revamp the previous one, unless it is absolutely necessary. Things can and should evolve, but radical change for change’s sake does not serve the users.

At first sight the criteria may seem to set limits to the developers’ creativity. I can, however, assure that creativity is indeed needed if you want to make things simple. As one of our clients aptly cited Einstein, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” 

Manchairgreen
Image: iStockphoto

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Wed, 27 Jul 2011 10:03:00 -0700 Executive summaries of Trend Briefings 2011 http://mydesignnotes.com/executive-summaries-of-trend-briefings-2011 http://mydesignnotes.com/executive-summaries-of-trend-briefings-2011
Media_httptrendwatchi_befnk
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Executive summaries of all of 2011's free Trend Briefings.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:46:00 -0700 Rome - an enchanting city with a challenge http://mydesignnotes.com/rome-an-enchanting-city-with-a-challenge http://mydesignnotes.com/rome-an-enchanting-city-with-a-challenge

I’ve been to Rome many times, and I’m always enchanted, like last week. Some critics say that Rome is an open-air museum, but that’s not fair. Sure, there are lots of tourists around, but that has been the case with Rome for over 2000 years.

What makes Rome so enchanting is its humanity. The scale of the streets and buildings is human; people work and live there, and visitors feel welcome. The structure of the old center of Rome is organic, as you can clearly see on the Nolli map from 1748.

Some parts of Rome are a bit worn-out, and would need investments, like the metro. It is interesting to see how modern structures seem to be much more prone to wear and tear than the ancient ones. There are around 100.000 tourists visiting Rome every day, and the number is increasing. Tourism has a negative effect on the built and natural environment, but surely a positive effect on economics. I hope that Romans know how to balance the equation so that we can visit Rome in the future - without ruining it.

Nolli

Part of the Nolli Map from 1748.

Photo: Aarni Heiskanen.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Mon, 30 May 2011 12:00:00 -0700 Live classical concerts in your home http://mydesignnotes.com/live-classical-concerts-in-your-home http://mydesignnotes.com/live-classical-concerts-in-your-home

I'm a season ticket holder to the Berliner Philharmoniker's Digital Concert Hall. I'm able to experience their concerts live as they happen, as a high definition online stream. The picture and sound quality are great. The Digital Concert Hall also offer recordings of the concerts and interviews of the conductors and soloists. There are over 30 live concerts annually.

Quoting from the site, "The Digital Concert Hall is the only project of its kind worldwide, not least for the technical standards it sets. Six remote-controlled HD cameras have been installed in the Philharmonie in Berlin which, along with excellent audio technology, ensure that the experience is as authentic as it is thrilling.

You can access the Digital Concert Hall both by computer or TV, just as you choose. If you prefer to watch on your television, may we recommend Sony's TVs and Blu-ray™ players which have the Digital Concert Hall pre-installed."

It is not easy to film a symphony orchestra. Most concert recordings are boring. After all, the musicians are sitting in dark suites and concentrating on their performance. But not in Berlin. Those responsible for directing and shooting the concerts there have become really proficient. They make the images live with the music.

Sir Simon Rattle is the principal conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker. I've been a fan of Sir Simon for years. He made cultural history when he conducted the symphonies of Sibelius in 2010. Not only was Sibelius, Finland's national hero, unknown to many in Germany, but the performances were awesome. It was also thrilling to hear the Première of  Laterna Magica by the contemporary Finnish composer, Kaija Saariaho.

Visit http://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/ for more info.

Digitalconcerthall

 

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen Sat, 30 Apr 2011 00:30:00 -0700 New ways to interact with a book http://mydesignnotes.com/new-ways-to-interact-with-a-book http://mydesignnotes.com/new-ways-to-interact-with-a-book

A short demonstration of an interactive book that's made with the tools that Push Pop Press develops.

"Software developer Mike Matas demos the first full-length interactive book for the iPad -- with clever, swipeable video and graphics and some very cool data visualizations to play with. The book is Our Choice, Al Gore's sequel to An Inconvenient Truth."

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/605088/ah.png http://posterous.com/users/4aGcRbmofucV Aarni Heiskanen Arnie Aarni Heiskanen