HCIDopenday in London

I visited my University in London for an interaction design conference on April 27 [http://hcidopenday.co.uk/].

CONTAINER ARTIST RESIDENCY When I flew to London I discovered an interesting article in the Norwegian Flight Magazine. The article was about artist traveling on board of container vessels to reflect over the world and to find inspiration for their art work. Exhibitions are planned in Tel Aviv and New York. The link to the project website: http://www.containerartistresidency01.org/ and a PDF of the article: The hidden connection.pdf

TRIM TABS In the conference I learned about a Trim taps. Trim Tabs help your boat operate as intended over a broader range of conditions. They give you more control than you ever had before [https://www.marinedeal.com/category_s/4722.htm]. In a design context this means to find those trim tabs, that have a large effect and give a high value to the users. The expression was used by Norman Foster, who is a British Architect and Designer [https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Foster].

VUCA I also learned about VUCA. VUCA is an acronym for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. And a catchall for "Hey, it's crazy out there!". For designers this means that you need to make predictions and sometimes gamble. 

Also you need to be humble, to empty your mind and make room for the new, like this tea cup story tells:

Once, a long time ago, there was a wise Zen master. People from far and near would seek his counsel and ask for his wisdom. Many would come and ask him to teach them, enlighten them in the way of Zen. He seldom turned any away.

One day an important man, a man used to command and obedience came to visit the master. “I have come today to ask you to teach me about Zen. Open my mind to enlightenment.” The tone of the important man’s voice was one used to getting his own way.

The Zen master smiled and said that they should discuss the matter over a cup of tea. When the tea was served the master poured his visitor a cup. He poured and he poured and the tea rose to the rim and began to spill over the table and finally onto the robes of the wealthy man. Finally the visitor shouted, “Enough. You are spilling the tea all over. Can’t you see the cup is full?”

The master stopped pouring and smiled at his guest. “You are like this tea cup, so full that nothing more can be added. Come back to me when the cup is empty. Come back to me with an empty mind.”

Overall it was a very interesting day with lots of input for future projects.