Tag: PDD
The future toilet: Impromptu hygiene enforcement
Not the most dignified choice of topics, admittedly, but this is something that has either fascinated or mentally scarred me. I am going to share with you my experience of the ‘futuristic public toilet’, or to be more technically correct an ‘automated toilet.’ It was situated on the South Island of New Zealand by the Fox Glaciers. I was on a guided tour and we had long bus journeys with regular stops at public toilets and more importantly somewhere to get our morning coffee!
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A Doctor’s perspective on learning Human-Centred Design
During my internship with PDD, I participated in the LUMA Institute + PDD’s Human-Centred Design (HCD) for Innovation workshop that the PDD HCD team runs several times a year in London.
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The potential of Wearable Tech in the workplace
A few PDDers and I attended the Wearables 2015 conference in London, which was a great chance to see the latest trends in the wearable tech field. A range of exhibitors from startups to industry giants were displaying impressive devices such as Open Bionic’s 3D-printed Prosthetic Limbs and Samsung’s Oculus Rift-based VR headset.
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Health, well-being and HUMIIN™ interactions at the International Home+ Housewares Show
Our friends at Intersection-inc. attended the International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago, IL, and provided some insights into the hot topics and products from the show.
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A taste of the future
I wish I hadn’t got up at 5:15 last Wednesday morning. Not that I’m complaining, but the multi-sensory experience I had signed up to attend later that day was a mind-altering event that was really worth being all there for…
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The focus of our Deep Dive Human-Centred Design workshop is…
In early January we asked people on our mailing list to let us know which topic they’d like see in a Human-Centred Design workshop from the list below.
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INSIGHT: Why fitness is the gateway drug for wearable tech
Sarita Wilkinson features in StrategyEye and shares her opinion on the latest report from Juniper Research who predicts fitness wearable tech devices look more likely to drive the wearable space than smart watches.
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Cost acceptable & customised innovation – Chinese brands go global!
After attending CEF electronics show in Shanghai, Emily Lai investigates how local Chinese brands can survive and thrive if they want to expand in a global market place. What will set these Chinese brands apart from other players within their own highly competitive and fast moving marketplace?
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Can you teach an old brain new tricks?
Heart failure, Stroke, Cancer, Dementia, Malaria, Bird Flu or even Ebola – take your pick from the latest challenges in world health. Each account of these relative pandemics sweeping societies across the globe allude to being your next arch enemy, ‘the one you need to watch out for’. At the time of writing this blog, five of the major newspapers featured health related headlines including ‘Dementia patients cut loose’, ‘500,000 denied cancer drug’, ‘Statins health risk’, and ‘Superbugs will send us to the dark ages’ – it is clear that health is high on the public radar.
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The why of wearables?
Catching up on my LinkedIn newsfeed, I see a link to a video entitled, “Smartwatches could be a perfect home for augmented reality.” As there are few really good applications for AR, and even fewer for smartwatches, I thought I’d see how the designers envisioned combining two questionable technologies.
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‘Just around the Vend’ – Human Factors and Usability of Vending Machines
As a human factors and usability consultant I talk about usability a lot, unfortunately – but also understandably – most people do not share my enthusiasm; that is, until I apply it to something they find absolutely infuriating. This can range from tin openers to a local council website, whatever it may be it puts the problem in context. There’s one particular product that I find most people have a problem with, a product that irritates me so much that I will join in any conversation involving it. Admittedly there aren’t very many of these conversations, but they’re almost always focused on the criticism of usability; let’s see if you agree.
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Paul Smith: ‘What’s next?’ DM25 talk series
As part of its 25th anniversary, the Design Museum asked leading designers and architects to talk about the future of design and how the design world is changing. Paul Smith opened the series in February with an inspirational talk on the need to reinvent ourselves in an ever changing world.
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Highlights from Pharmapack Paris 2014
Pharmapack 2014, Europe’s main exhibition for pharma and healthcare packaging and drug delivery, has been another successful event for the PDD medical team. Attended by our well-connected Head of Medical Alun Wilcox and me – Sergio Malorni, we had many meet-ups with our past and current clients where we discussed their latest developments and initiatives. Likewise with our simple and clear message, our stand attracted other pharma reps new to us wanting to know how we can potentially respond to their many product development and usability engineering challenges. Let’s see what develops for us in the coming year. As for the exhibition the appropriate size and quality of suppliers and conference talks made this event well-liked; the show was focused which make it attractive for decision-makers to attend.
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The economics of sustainability – part one
I hope you all enjoyed my last post on ‘How design can change the world’. In this post, I’ll concentrate on the economic case for fulfilling a full-scale migration toward environmental sustainment, through design, in addition to the wider global economy. So, are we moving toward a greening of capitalism?
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3D-printing our way to the future…
Toys, products prototypes, automotive parts, guns, shoes, medical implants, prosthetics, ceramics, meat, gold… It is starting to sound like we are on our way to be able to 3D print our way to the future. Possibilities are already endless, and as research and technology develop, who knows what can become possible!
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3D Printing – Hype or Ripe?
It seems you can’t open a tech magazine these days without some mention of 3D printing. But is it all hype or has the technology really developed into something that will transform the lives of designers, manufacturers and consumers?
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“West meets East”
This September we returned to the London Design Festival (LDF), making the journey across town from West London to set up home in a large gallery space on Redchurch Street. This enabled us to run our Human-Centred Design (HCD) taster workshops and showcase two other installations: cultural insights on graffiti from five global cities on large format posters and an interactive trend map, exploring different approaches to beauty around the world.
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Design for Halloween
A staggering £285 million was spent on Halloween related goods in the UK in 2012 and with the figure expected to reach £315 million in 2013, it definitely seems to be big business to create spooky themed products or services for this yearly event. Here’s a round-up of a few Halloween products that caught our eye!
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