Saturday, November 7, 2009
Conceptual Integrity
I came across this concept a while back when my friends asked me about it.
Initially, I thought that it was all about being original, having an idea of your own, not building upon an idea that is accumulated from other designers. But, now, I think I have finally managed to grasp the idea of this theory.
1. It is interdependence and synergy. It is almost like a jigsaw puzzle, you put the different pieces together, but they all help one another to form the bigger picture. Even if you are short of a small piece, the entire picture will collapse and crumple, that is precisely how crucial that one piece is.
The arcane balance of the entire system lies in the fine dependence of one on another.
It is not about editing or plagirism, it is more of an inspiration, getting an idea from an idea. The key here is the initiation of a whole new tree, not a branch from the old tree.
2. Omit the useless adjunct ideas even though they seems impressive but they are de facto independent on their own. Add ideas that are coherent with the ONE design idea of the product. This is especially important in product design, I once heard from an expert commenting about a cereal box in the market. She said,"There are simply too many things cramped up in this cereal box, that is not necessarily a bad point since you have a plethora of benefits, however, if you are fighting for a spot in the market, you need to be focused in order to penetrate the market."
She is right, you have to be focused. The consumers do not have the time to read about all your rattlings on the content page, they simply want to know what sets you apart from the rest. If you are just adding a lot of stuff in, they might be worried that those stuff you added in might clash with the initial stuff the original product possess.
That is the problem with modification these days, will it crash the entire system? I'm sure a lot of us are worried whenever programs are modified because once we install them, our computer system tend to slow down due to incompatibility.
All in all, I will like to reiterate that the idea of conceptual integrity is coherence, interdependence, synergy and of course, specialization.
Credits -mayo
Initially, I thought that it was all about being original, having an idea of your own, not building upon an idea that is accumulated from other designers. But, now, I think I have finally managed to grasp the idea of this theory.
1. It is interdependence and synergy. It is almost like a jigsaw puzzle, you put the different pieces together, but they all help one another to form the bigger picture. Even if you are short of a small piece, the entire picture will collapse and crumple, that is precisely how crucial that one piece is.
The arcane balance of the entire system lies in the fine dependence of one on another.
It is not about editing or plagirism, it is more of an inspiration, getting an idea from an idea. The key here is the initiation of a whole new tree, not a branch from the old tree.
2. Omit the useless adjunct ideas even though they seems impressive but they are de facto independent on their own. Add ideas that are coherent with the ONE design idea of the product. This is especially important in product design, I once heard from an expert commenting about a cereal box in the market. She said,"There are simply too many things cramped up in this cereal box, that is not necessarily a bad point since you have a plethora of benefits, however, if you are fighting for a spot in the market, you need to be focused in order to penetrate the market."
She is right, you have to be focused. The consumers do not have the time to read about all your rattlings on the content page, they simply want to know what sets you apart from the rest. If you are just adding a lot of stuff in, they might be worried that those stuff you added in might clash with the initial stuff the original product possess.
That is the problem with modification these days, will it crash the entire system? I'm sure a lot of us are worried whenever programs are modified because once we install them, our computer system tend to slow down due to incompatibility.
All in all, I will like to reiterate that the idea of conceptual integrity is coherence, interdependence, synergy and of course, specialization.
Credits -mayo
Friday, November 6, 2009
Most viewed of 2008 Part 3
Stalking India's Hemis National Park, an extremely rare snow leopard lives up to its name in U.S. photographer Steve Winter's award-winning National Geographic magazine image.
Giant sea stars, or starfish, that measure 24 inches (60 centimeters) across are held by Sadie Mills, left, and Niki Davey of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research on February 15.
They and other researchers collected 30,000 sea creatures--many new to science--during a 35-day census in Antarctic waters in February and March.
An aptly named winner of the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest, "Deadlock" was captured in the dead of night in a Belizean rain forest.
U.K.-based David Maitland observed from midnight to 3 a.m. as a rare Morelet's tree frog doggedly refused to become supper for a cat-eyed snake--and still didn't see the conclusion. "I was exhausted," the photographer said.
Captured in National Geographic News's most viewed individual photo of 2008, Chile's Chaiten volcano erupts on May 3 after 9,000 years of silence.
The blast may have generated a "dirty thunderstorm." These little-understood storms may be caused when rock fragments, ash, and ice particles collide to produce static charges--just as ice particles collide to create charges in regular thunderstorms.
The eruption, which continued off and on for months, forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and cattle from this corner of Patagonia.
Credits -nationalgeographic
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Avalanche of Troubled Mortgages
I think there is a plethora of troubled mortgages out there right now and it is because of the measures put in place by the government.
Right now people are turning to either foreclosures or short sales. In this case, short sales literally means that the lender agrees to accept a payoff that is lesser than the mortgage amount in satisfaction of the loan, this helps people whose houses are now worth less than the mortgage amount.
I believe that the government has provided the tax credit of 8000 dollars and this has indeed spurred sales and that is the prime reason for the revival of the real estate industry. However, I do believe that this temporary rise will fall back hard on them once the stimulus package is removed. What I want to say here is that it is not only a matter of plummeting of sales in the houses; my point is that the number of foreclosures will surge tremendously. So this is a lose-lose situation here, you lose the sales and the number of houses left empty surges like mad.
Not only that, the real estate industry has an extremely high centrality. What I mean here is that when it falls, a lot of other industries will follow suit inevitably and this is extremely bad news.
Okay, I will present a succinct paragraph here about the whole repercussions issue here. As we all know, unemployment rates are hitting an all time high and even people with jobs are not having an easy time now either. This leads on further to a lack of income or even no income at all. Then, people start to drag on their mortgage payments every month and they soon ended up in a dead-end, foreclosure. As more and more houses are left lying out there along the streets, the real estate market starts to languish due to a lack of sales and a plethora of unoccupied houses left lying there.
Then, we see the construction companies forced to drop projects because houses are not selling at the moment and constructing new houses will be pointless since no one will buy them no matter how enticing they looked. Then we move on to what constitutes a proper house. Furniture, lighting, bricks, cement, steel, electricity, utilities, all of these industries will collapse upon one another, piling on each other. But, fear not because the banks will come in and provide loans to revive these industries but won’t this move lead to more bubbles building up in the banking industry? Haven’t we already seen enough of the damage caused by the burst bubbles?
A chaotic situation will be plausible if the government does not attack the roots, the paradigm of people. It is of paramount importance now, to ask them not to buy houses and cars already, if they simply do not have the wherewithal to support their purchase. The key here is to instil some rules and regulations to regulate the purchase, to judge whether they can bear with the cost in the long term, not to focus too much on sales. Ultimately, it is up to the government, I will leave the decision to them because right now, I feel that they are saving the leaves and branches, but they are missing out on the roots which are rotting away rapidly.
Credits -registrars
Right now people are turning to either foreclosures or short sales. In this case, short sales literally means that the lender agrees to accept a payoff that is lesser than the mortgage amount in satisfaction of the loan, this helps people whose houses are now worth less than the mortgage amount.
I believe that the government has provided the tax credit of 8000 dollars and this has indeed spurred sales and that is the prime reason for the revival of the real estate industry. However, I do believe that this temporary rise will fall back hard on them once the stimulus package is removed. What I want to say here is that it is not only a matter of plummeting of sales in the houses; my point is that the number of foreclosures will surge tremendously. So this is a lose-lose situation here, you lose the sales and the number of houses left empty surges like mad.
Not only that, the real estate industry has an extremely high centrality. What I mean here is that when it falls, a lot of other industries will follow suit inevitably and this is extremely bad news.
Okay, I will present a succinct paragraph here about the whole repercussions issue here. As we all know, unemployment rates are hitting an all time high and even people with jobs are not having an easy time now either. This leads on further to a lack of income or even no income at all. Then, people start to drag on their mortgage payments every month and they soon ended up in a dead-end, foreclosure. As more and more houses are left lying out there along the streets, the real estate market starts to languish due to a lack of sales and a plethora of unoccupied houses left lying there.
Then, we see the construction companies forced to drop projects because houses are not selling at the moment and constructing new houses will be pointless since no one will buy them no matter how enticing they looked. Then we move on to what constitutes a proper house. Furniture, lighting, bricks, cement, steel, electricity, utilities, all of these industries will collapse upon one another, piling on each other. But, fear not because the banks will come in and provide loans to revive these industries but won’t this move lead to more bubbles building up in the banking industry? Haven’t we already seen enough of the damage caused by the burst bubbles?
A chaotic situation will be plausible if the government does not attack the roots, the paradigm of people. It is of paramount importance now, to ask them not to buy houses and cars already, if they simply do not have the wherewithal to support their purchase. The key here is to instil some rules and regulations to regulate the purchase, to judge whether they can bear with the cost in the long term, not to focus too much on sales. Ultimately, it is up to the government, I will leave the decision to them because right now, I feel that they are saving the leaves and branches, but they are missing out on the roots which are rotting away rapidly.
Credits -registrars
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The Fun Theory
I mentioned about Advertising yesterday and I have recently came across this article speaking of thefuntheory.
Everyone will love to play a piano and impress the public like how Beethoven does, but there are de facto only this small group of people that can impress. The rest of them are merely putting up an ostentacious performance that are mediocre.
So how do we make use of this point, that human wants to do what they do and what they want to do at home, in the outside world, in front of everyone but at the same time not being overly-pompous about it?
That is exactly what Piano Stairs has achieved. Everyone is now playing on the stairs, showing off their closet-talent in front of so many people and that everyone is indulging in the fun per se. They get to unleash their child-like ideals and they can go on and on with it because they can relate to it in their personal life.
Building on this point, we like to see products that showcase the way we will like to see it. As Jeffrey Gitomer says, "Understand why the customers buy." This is such a simple theory.
There is simply no point bombarding them with all the pontification and ostentacious advertisements when they don't get the information they need. These sort of advertisements will simply boost their cynicism against the industry.
How do you tell that they do no need the information at all? Very easy, just look at the questions the customers ask the salesperson at a car roadshow.
This might sound crude but the questions come down to prices, installments, the top speed of the car, type of material for the wheel, durability of the seats, new functions of the car, how easily is it burnt out, type of safety precautionary tools installed.
All these questions might sound amateur and cliche but they are all facts, reality. People buying cars simply want to know things that they need to know. They are not buying it to race on the F1 track or to fly it across the ocean. They simply want to know its durability and how well it runs on the road.
We are all no car experts as compared to the designer and the manufacturers and we simply don't care about the technical jargons that they bombard us with. They simply don't impress us a bit.
All in all, I guess it's time that the marketing department and the advertisers find new ways to advertise because most of the advertisements on the market now are just out to impress. They have no idea what exactly the customers want to know. Being too hazed by the technological industry, they have totally misunderstood the point of information translations today.
It's time they wake up their idea!
Credits -thefuntheory, -wikimedia, -iee-cense, -newsimg
I am sure that you guys have already watch the "Piano Stairs" on Youtube? If not, please view it.
As you guys can see, the advertising industry blooms on human behaviour. Notice in the advertisement how everyone switched to stairs immediately even though its long and strenuous as compared to the elevators? Simple, because they want to have fun and are often intrigued by things that they do and want to do in life.
Everyone will love to play a piano and impress the public like how Beethoven does, but there are de facto only this small group of people that can impress. The rest of them are merely putting up an ostentacious performance that are mediocre.
So how do we make use of this point, that human wants to do what they do and what they want to do at home, in the outside world, in front of everyone but at the same time not being overly-pompous about it?
That is exactly what Piano Stairs has achieved. Everyone is now playing on the stairs, showing off their closet-talent in front of so many people and that everyone is indulging in the fun per se. They get to unleash their child-like ideals and they can go on and on with it because they can relate to it in their personal life.
Building on this point, we like to see products that showcase the way we will like to see it. As Jeffrey Gitomer says, "Understand why the customers buy." This is such a simple theory.
How do you tell that they do no need the information at all? Very easy, just look at the questions the customers ask the salesperson at a car roadshow.
This might sound crude but the questions come down to prices, installments, the top speed of the car, type of material for the wheel, durability of the seats, new functions of the car, how easily is it burnt out, type of safety precautionary tools installed.
All these questions might sound amateur and cliche but they are all facts, reality. People buying cars simply want to know things that they need to know. They are not buying it to race on the F1 track or to fly it across the ocean. They simply want to know its durability and how well it runs on the road.
We are all no car experts as compared to the designer and the manufacturers and we simply don't care about the technical jargons that they bombard us with. They simply don't impress us a bit.
All in all, I guess it's time that the marketing department and the advertisers find new ways to advertise because most of the advertisements on the market now are just out to impress. They have no idea what exactly the customers want to know. Being too hazed by the technological industry, they have totally misunderstood the point of information translations today.
It's time they wake up their idea!
Credits -thefuntheory, -wikimedia, -iee-cense, -newsimg
Most viewed of 2008 Part 2
On September 13 a worker inspects damage in front of the JPMorgan Chase Tower in downtown Houston, Texas, after powerful Hurricane Ike slammed into the Gulf Coast, damaging buildings, flooding streets, and knocking out power for millions of people.
With winds reaching 110 miles (177 kilometers) an hour, Ike came ashore above Galveston, Texas, as a strong Category 2 storm just after 3 a.m. ET.
Recreational fishers and biologist Zeb Hogan (wearing cap) hold a live, 14-foot-long (4.3-meter-long) giant freshwater stingray the fishers caught in Thailand's Bang Pakong River on March 31. The species can reportedly grow to 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms), which would make them the largest freshwater fish in the world, Hogan said.
After weeks of combing remote Southeast Asian rivers for giant freshwater stingrays, Hogan finally found the creature near the city of Chachoengsao. To his surprise, she gave birth soon after capture.
A mile and a half (two and a half kilometers) underwater, this alien-like, long-armed, and--strangest of all--"elbowed" Magnapinna squid is seen in a still from a video clip obtained by National Geographic News and published on November 24.
Credits -nationalgeographic
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Advertising
Stefan Engeseth, the man that has recently sparked off a discussion on the point he made. The fall of Public Relations, The rise of Advertising. I’m not going to discuss on this point he made. Rather, I’m going to make a point about the rise of advertising.
Personally, from my perspective, I feel that today’s advertisements are completely missing the whole idea of accentuating the richness of the product. In layman terms, I cannot remember the name of the product and its esoteric strength apart of other products.
Typically, I see many lots of animations, a lot of words, a lot of descriptive, flowery language, fantastic cinematography, but what I don’t see is its distinguishing factor. There’s simply too much emphasis on the fact that the advertisement should be KAPOOW, a boom, a story that will espouse each and every one of the consumers out there. Well, I must say most of them captured my attention because the story is so strong and realistic and they capture every single details. But at the end of the day, it’s like a movie for me honestly, I watch it and I go back home and forget about it.
I believe that advertisements should be like trailers, they entice you, they tell you the important points which includes what the product is good at, what are the new innovations, how is it better than other products, and why is it applicable to me and most importantly what is the price like?
All these key factors are of paramount importance and yet I see them missing from the advertisements these days. That is precisely why people do not feel the adrenaline rush to get down to the shops and check these products out. It is simply because they do not even know what’s so good about the product and that they are actually the target audience.
Hence, my advice to the advertising industry is to make a succinct advertisement that encapsulates the essence of the product, one single or maybe two factors that is new from its past products and who are they targeting as their target market.
Credits -webdesignbooth, -moviesmedia, -hospice
Personally, from my perspective, I feel that today’s advertisements are completely missing the whole idea of accentuating the richness of the product. In layman terms, I cannot remember the name of the product and its esoteric strength apart of other products.
Typically, I see many lots of animations, a lot of words, a lot of descriptive, flowery language, fantastic cinematography, but what I don’t see is its distinguishing factor. There’s simply too much emphasis on the fact that the advertisement should be KAPOOW, a boom, a story that will espouse each and every one of the consumers out there. Well, I must say most of them captured my attention because the story is so strong and realistic and they capture every single details. But at the end of the day, it’s like a movie for me honestly, I watch it and I go back home and forget about it.
I believe that advertisements should be like trailers, they entice you, they tell you the important points which includes what the product is good at, what are the new innovations, how is it better than other products, and why is it applicable to me and most importantly what is the price like?
All these key factors are of paramount importance and yet I see them missing from the advertisements these days. That is precisely why people do not feel the adrenaline rush to get down to the shops and check these products out. It is simply because they do not even know what’s so good about the product and that they are actually the target audience.
Hence, my advice to the advertising industry is to make a succinct advertisement that encapsulates the essence of the product, one single or maybe two factors that is new from its past products and who are they targeting as their target market.
Credits -webdesignbooth, -moviesmedia, -hospice
Monday, November 2, 2009
Most viewed of 2008 Part 1
Shown in National Geographic News's tenth most viewed individual photo of 2008, members of an "uncontacted" Amazon tribe fire arrows at an airplane above the rain forest borderlands of Peru and Brazil in May. The natural dyes covering their bodies probably signal aggression, native-rights experts say.
The heavens smiled down on Earth on December 1 in a rare celestial trifecta of Venus, Jupiter, and the moon (shown here over Manila in the Philippines).
The carcass of a colossal squid floats in a tank at the Museum of New Zealand on April 30, giving scientists their first close look at the elusive deep-sea creature.
The squid was frozen for months after being caught by fishers off Antarctica in 2007. A dissection of the thawed beast yielded astonishing discoveries, including the animal kingdom's largest eyes and light-emitting organs that may serve as cloaking devices, scientists said.
Credits -nationalgeographic
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Dow Jones
Since peaking at rally highs a week ago, the Dow has lost 2.3%, the S&P 500 has lost 3.4% and the Nasdaq has lost 3.4% through Tuesday's close.
Banks, techs and retailers are the main cause for the sudden plummet in stocks.
U.S's perpetual weakening currency is starting to damage the economy. Imports continue to drop and they are losing alot in terms of exports as well.
Consumer confidence index dropped to 47.7 from 53.3 which is in fact below 50. This means that they are not feeling optimistic about the economy at all and this translates to lower demands and decreased spending on products and services.
With a decline in demand, the share prices of many retailers and service-providers will follow suit (which is to decline) since the situation is rather gloomy at the moment when everyone is sitting on the fence right now, waiting to see what happens next.
The recent uproar about the tax credit for cars and houses seems to be having a great influence on the citizens' perception. It forces them to be skeptical. In that sense, they are compelled to capitulate to the increasing ambiguity by staying low.
Nonetheless, when everything is cleared up, I surmise that the consumer confidence index will rise. Particularly when the White House has just announced that they will extend the house credits to 2010. In addition, they will offer a new target market (2nd-time buyer who has lived in their first house for more than 5 years now) a total credit of $6,500. Definitely a good catch for people wanting to cast their old home aside.
Things to look out for in the technological sector : Windows 7, IBM's DNA processor, HP's printers
Things to look out for in the banking sector : Perpetual low interest rates without any signs of increase in the central banks.
Things to look out for in the energy sector : Rising oil prices but stablised at the moment.
Things to look out for in the aviation sector : China's airplanes, Boeing's new aircraft, Delta Air Lines
Credits -CNNMoney, -innercityelectric, -paulruffle
Banks, techs and retailers are the main cause for the sudden plummet in stocks.
U.S's perpetual weakening currency is starting to damage the economy. Imports continue to drop and they are losing alot in terms of exports as well.
Consumer confidence index dropped to 47.7 from 53.3 which is in fact below 50. This means that they are not feeling optimistic about the economy at all and this translates to lower demands and decreased spending on products and services.
With a decline in demand, the share prices of many retailers and service-providers will follow suit (which is to decline) since the situation is rather gloomy at the moment when everyone is sitting on the fence right now, waiting to see what happens next.
The recent uproar about the tax credit for cars and houses seems to be having a great influence on the citizens' perception. It forces them to be skeptical. In that sense, they are compelled to capitulate to the increasing ambiguity by staying low.
Nonetheless, when everything is cleared up, I surmise that the consumer confidence index will rise. Particularly when the White House has just announced that they will extend the house credits to 2010. In addition, they will offer a new target market (2nd-time buyer who has lived in their first house for more than 5 years now) a total credit of $6,500. Definitely a good catch for people wanting to cast their old home aside.
Things to look out for in the technological sector : Windows 7, IBM's DNA processor, HP's printers
Things to look out for in the banking sector : Perpetual low interest rates without any signs of increase in the central banks.
Things to look out for in the energy sector : Rising oil prices but stablised at the moment.
Things to look out for in the aviation sector : China's airplanes, Boeing's new aircraft, Delta Air Lines
Credits -CNNMoney, -innercityelectric, -paulruffle
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