Aviation has always been a huge part of ergonomics and interface design. Partly because of the linked military history, partly because of the grave consequences of design errors involved in trying to keep a large hunk of metal flying through the air (you know… cause it ain’t natural). And there’s airports, a crucial part of that equation.
Popular Mechanics put together a list of the 18 strangest. From islands to intersections, cliff-sides and frozen tundras, here’s a tribute to the modern gateways of the world in this travel-heavy time of year. Happy flying. And safe landing.
Few things command attention like the Big Red Button.
Throughout modern civilization, red buttons have generally communicated one of a few things, depending on who you ask. “Press in Case of Emergency”, “Press to Stop”, or “Don’t Press! (but if you do, you can be damn sure something’s going to happen)”. But unless you work in a nuclear power plant, regularly operate heavy machinery, or are an elevator attendant, you probably don’t run into these very often.
Yet here’s one in the strangest of locations; a Citibank ATM, next to the door, actually controlling the door. Obviously (as I’m sure you guessed) it’s a trap… as this one seems to say “Press to Exit and Let us Record How Tall You Are”. Note the inconspicuous tape measure.
It’s a crafty yet unsettling ploy that seems out-of-place in Chicago’s uppity Gold Coast neighborhood. Was this ATM a frequent target for robberies because of all the big spenders in the area? Did something horrible happen here? Do I feel safer or less safe now? Are they recording my height to better target me as a potential new customer for a future ‘Join Citibank’ marketing campaign?
These are the questions I found myself pondering as I stood in front of that door, my wallet full of cash, eyeing that big red button.
The design lesson here — don’t mess with classic design conventions.
But the real lesson — as always — use your own bank’s ATMs.
Yeah, I went there. Timeless and wildly prophetic, the graphic tree sequence vividly illustrates an all-too-common pattern in today’s high tech development world. This version also demonstrates the power of enlisting an extra sense (that auditory one) to drive a point home. For the full effect of this diddly, play from your cube with the sound up, base up. Loud. Oh yes.
It’s huge. It’s popular. It’s in style . It’s the current global catalyst of communication and information. It’s the Internet. And there’s a lot of people using it. But what for, you ask?
In January the BBC charted the use of internet by measuring unique visitors and created treemaps charting the top 100 most visited websites as well as breakdowns by site categories. The result is a series of interesting and digestible visualizations of the madness that is the online world — at least from a traffic perspective. You’ll find some surprises, and some things you might expect. See for yourself, and keep on surfing.
Now we can know how you really felt about this scene.
Move aside focus groups, there’s a new way to measure how entertained we are! And surprise surprise, it involves looking at our brains. Looking at them real close. That’s right, the future of the movie industry (at least the editing and directing aspects of it) may soon involve regular MRI brain-scanning of sample audiences to help directors to tweak their films based on our emotional responses measured by brain activity. Check out the video below or article from Wired Magazine about MindSign Neuromarketing, a San Diego based company exploring this area.
It’s a cool concept that’ll raise questions about the weight we put on physiological measures versus subjective self-reporting. “I don’t care what you thought you felt – you brain was on fire during the opening scene. Lit up like a fire-cracker. You were scared straight!” That fine line that many of us like to draw between body and mind continues to blur.
"Beaches it is I guess. I mean I'm already on the way there.. "
(In honor of my first sub-zero degree day in Chicago, let’s talk about somewhere warm.) You can tell a lot about a place by its government-sanctioned signage. One of the more obscure reasons I love San Diego is because of its signs, and how they always seem to communicate more than the obvious.
Plastering the freeways are signs for “8 West – Beaches.” Everywhere. Not LA, not Palm Springs, not another town or city, but Beaches. The direction of beaches… all of them (you know, cause they’re all right next to each other). It must be tough driving to work every day past a dozen signs reminding you of a place that you’d rather be besides than your office. Cruel and unusual for commuters, helpful for tourists, and all around very telling of the culture down there. Does this not seem to hint where priorities lie in this sunny corner of America?
While many cities around the world are full of subtle cues (and small signs) that label their various urban districts, San Diego likes the massive in-your-face approach. These twenty-foot tall behemoths of signs serving as gateways between their ‘hoods. They stick out. They can’t be avoided. They glow at night, even through the thickest of fog that comes off the ocean and floods the city. They make sure you always know where you are. But I’ll tell you what else…. they also communicate confidence, and a certain pride in their neighborhoods that you don’t see everywhere. Where do you think you are? You’re in NORTH PARK – that’s where!
So next time you’re traveling and see a sign that seems out of the ordinary, look harder. Read deeper.
More interesting than your typical flower pot holder.
Walked by this the other day, had to look twice before seeing the mailbox underneath all the plants. How symbolic of the world we live in today. These things used to be superstars, the ultimate hubs for communication and information sharing all over the world. But no longer. At least in the information-sharing sense, real mail is dwindling, rapidly becoming a relic of the past.. though in this case, at least we got some nice urban decoration. Let’s make sure we’re pointing these things out to our children and grandchildren while they’re still around, before museums and junkyards will be the only places left where we’ll find them. Just sayin’.
Get excited robot junkies and futurists, this video out of Boston Dynamics showcases a new four-legged transport “dog” designed for the military. Surprisingly enough, the most illuminating part of it isn’t the technology itself – which is pretty amazing – but people’s reactions at the :35 and 1:27 marks.
Go ahead and watch.
Now did you feel yourself cringe at those parts? Did you feel even the slightest pang of feeling for the thing? That, my friends, is empathy. Empathy towards a real-life robot. Now what does that tell you?
Posted by Infinite User 
