designfactotum - Network

The MS Teams AI meeting summaries are terrible, but in a very subtle way. Every complex thought, anything that is hard to articulate gets...

The MS Teams AI meeting summaries are terrible, but in a very subtle way. Every complex thought, anything that is hard to articulate gets smoothed over, leaving only vague truisms. It's borderline sabotage and it's happening everywhere.

“There's a profound issue […] that is haunting this hype around agents, and it is ultimately threatening to break the blood brain...

“There's a profound issue […] that is haunting this hype around agents, and it is ultimately threatening to break the blood brain barrier between the application layer and the OS layer”

https://www.youtube.com/live/AyH7zoP-JOg?feature=shared&t=3015

“if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it—a costly myth”https://jamanetwork.com/channels/health-forum/fullarticle/2760187

“if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it—a costly myth”

https://jamanetwork.com/channels/health-forum/fullarticle/2760187

anti-design is back

anti-design is back

Stolen keycaps.

Stolen keycaps.

“Technology always comes first”- Figma report: State of the Designer 2025

“Technology always comes first”

- Figma report: State of the Designer 2025

“[…] there is a seething unhappiness among both manual and intellectual workers because the resultant systems tend to absorb the...

“[…] there is a seething unhappiness among both manual and intellectual workers because the resultant systems tend to absorb the knowledge from them, deny them the right to use their skill and judgement, and render them abject appendages to the machines and systems being developed.“

“However, […] the concern among computer scientists about the implications of artificial intelligence all indicate that the fortress of...

“However, […] the concern among computer scientists about the implications of artificial intelligence all indicate that the fortress of science and technology in its present form is beginning to show gaping cracks.”
- Mike Cooley, Architect or Bee?, 1987

“There is still a widespread belief that automation, computerisation and the use of robotic devices will free human beings from...

“There is still a widespread belief that automation, computerisation and the use of robotic devices will free human beings from soul-destroying, routine, backbreaking tasks and leave them free to engage in more creative work.“

I was looking for this specific chart.Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1609/aimag.v30i4.2271(It’s from 2009. That’s why it...

I was looking for this specific chart.

Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1609/aimag.v30i4.2271

(It’s from 2009. That’s why it misses the past 15 years’ design boom, followed by the rapid rise of machine learning).

I recall a (somewhat polemical) paper suggesting that AI winters lead to HCI summers and vice versa. Does anyone remember this one?

I recall a (somewhat polemical) paper suggesting that AI winters lead to HCI summers and vice versa. Does anyone remember this one?

bold color gradient

bold color gradient

Open studios at Kurzbauergasse—The current generation of sculpture students is definitely up to something, though I'm not exactly sure...

Open studios at Kurzbauergasse—The current generation of sculpture students is definitely up to something, though I'm not exactly sure what.

Kudos to whoever had the guts to revive embossed buttons in 2025. It‘s time to leave flatland behind for good.

Kudos to whoever had the guts to revive embossed buttons in 2025. It‘s time to leave flatland behind for good.

How to evaluate the user experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOEwu17NOAs

How to evaluate the user experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOEwu17NOAs

1987 review of Norman&Draper’s classic book “User Centered System Design”:“[…] we should be cautious of pronouncements that...

1987 review of Norman&Draper’s classic book “User Centered System Design”:

“[…] we should be cautious of pronouncements that 'user'-centered system design should play proactive roles in shaping society.”

Going through my note archives. This is Christopher Alexander on design methods, 1971:„I‘m very sorry...“

Going through my note archives. This is Christopher Alexander on design methods, 1971:

„I‘m very sorry...“

I’m really trying to love this, but what I see is not a game that supports basic story structure. All figures and objects (except maybe...

I’m really trying to love this, but what I see is not a game that supports basic story structure. All figures and objects (except maybe the tree) are static and only appear once. Am I missing something?

«Children (or adults) can make up stories by mixing the plates to create countless variations. The impression of being inside one of these...

«Children (or adults) can make up stories by mixing the plates to create countless variations. The impression of being inside one of these scenes leads to new and individual ideas.
Children can either tell their own story to themselves or to other children or adults, or adults can tell them to children, in a continuous game of fascinating and ever-changing tales.»

«The fairy tale game designed by Enzo Mari in 1965 is still today considered one of the most important and most intelligent games for...

«The fairy tale game designed by Enzo Mari in 1965 is still today considered one of the most important and most intelligent games for stimulating creativity.»