Author Archives: Michael Spitzer

Nov
18
2008

Wrong information or no information?

Anyone who rides the New York City subway knows that you pretty much never know when the next train is going to come.  You get to the platform and hope you didn’t just miss one.  For the most part, its just random luck (although schedules apparently exist in some secret location that even train operators [...]

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Nov
08
2008

Etch-a-sketch and the iPhone

In both the low-tech etch-a-sketch and the hi-tech iPhone, the device is merely a framework within which you are free to express yourself.  The key is that they are both so intuitive to use.
The classic etch-a-sketch…  What an example of great design.  It’s not an accident that it is such an iconic toy.  Creating something [...]

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Nov
06
2008

Cell phone key lock (almost)

A few months ago I purchased a BlackBerry Pearl.  I was faithful to my previous 4-year old BlackBerry, but it was finally time for a new one.  It seemed like a no-brainer to go for the “new and improved” model.  All-in-all, the phone is fine, but there is one MAJOR design flaw that is just [...]

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Nov
05
2008

Election design

Yesterday, the presidential race finally ended with John McCain’s concession speech and Barack Obama’s victory speech.  One thing that I noticed was the impact of design on those final speeches.  Win or lose, each candidate was going to use the same stage setup that they eventually used to make their speeches.  Politics aside, the setting [...]

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