Director, Austin Center for Design
- jkolko@austincenterfordesign.com
September 7, 2010, 10:12 pm
jkolko: @egoodman Sure you will.. #ixd11
September 7, 2010, 6:41 pm
jkolko: @haigarmen The lineup is pretty phenomenal. Hope you can make it!
September 7, 2010, 6:21 pm
jkolko: @johnwaynehill Yes, http://bit.ly/bToMzK
September 7, 2010, 6:19 pm
jkolko: @haigarmen Were you looking for the "usual suspects"? #ixd11
September 6, 2010, 5:35 pm
jkolko: @gcsf orly - when will you be in town? wanna come visit with @ac4d?
Jon Kolko is an Associate Creative Director at frog design, and the Director of the Austin Center for Design. He has worked extensively in the professional world of interaction design, working around complicated technological constraints in order to best solve the problems of Fortune 500 clients. His work has extended into the worlds of consumer electronics, supply chain management, demand planning, and customer-relationship management, and he has worked with clients such as AT&T, HP, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Ford, IBM, Palm and other leaders of the Global 2000. The underlying theme of these problems and projects was the creation of a solution that was useful, usable, and desirable. His present research investigates the process of Design, with a focus on Design Synthesis and the creation of meaning.
Kolko's present work is heavily influenced by his prior role as a Professor of Interaction and Industrial Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he was instrumental in shaping the Interaction and Industrial Design programs. He presently sits on the Board of Directors for the Interaction Design Association (IxDA), and is the Editor-in-Chief of interactions magazine, published by the ACM. Kolko is the author of Thoughts on Interaction Design, published by Morgan Kaufmann, and the forthcoming text tentatively entitled Exposing the Magic of Design: A Practitioner's Guide to the Methods and Theory of Synthesis, to be published by Oxford University Press.
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My Heart Is In The Work.
In 1900, Andrew Carnegie quietly declared that his "heart is in the work". This talk will examine our ability to affect change at the intersection of experience, behavior, meaning, and culture, and will emphasize our responsibility to approach our work with philanthropic enthusiasm that would make Carnegie proud.
Presented at the 2010 Interaction Design Association Conference (IxDA). -
Our Misguided Focus on Brand and User Experience
If there is a future for designers and marketers in big business, it lies not in brand, nor in "UX", nor in any colorful way of framing total control over a consumer, such as "brand equity", "brand loyalty", the "end to end customer journey", or "experience ownership". It lies instead in encouraging behavioral change and explicitly shaping culture in a positive and lasting way. -
Designing in the Face of Change: The Elusive Push Towards Emotionally Resonant Experiences.
Designers are facing simultaneous and extremely meaningful shifts from artifact to experience, from styling to emotional resonance, and from the massive and faceless to the local and personal. These changes are not immediate, and are not complete; just as they didn't begin overnight, they will continue to evolve as culture continues to morph. These shifts, however, have already had - and will continue to have - unprecedented effects on the essence of business, commerce, and trade. Each of the shifts, taken individually, tells a compelling tale of opportunity and cultural change; when considered together, the three shifts paint a picture of a world where the human condition is empowered by the connections of design and business, and where the products, systems, and services that are bought and sold have a positive impact on society and culture.
While these dramatic shifts are changing the very essence of industrialized business and culture, the industrial design process that is commonly taught and practiced hasn't similarly evolved. Thus, as the Fortune 500 and Global 2000 realize the need for cohesive ecosystem design and search for the "end-to-end product experience," design consultancies are struggling to deliver mo... -
Abductive Thinking and Sensemaking: The Drivers of Design Synthesis
This paper presents a case for the unique qualities of Sensemaking and Abductive Thinking as the fundamental underpinnings for design synthesis activities.