Irene Au

The World According to a Two-Year Old

2007-08-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

As much as it irks my husband to give our two-year old control of a $300+ digital camera, I love to see the photos she takes. Her photos give a wonderful glimpse into how a two-year old sees the world. From a trip to a Chinese restaurant:

And photos from a recent walk:

Reisenthel

2007-07-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

I normally am not a fan of websites completely built in Flash but Reisenthel's shopping experience makes good use of the technology to create an effective online shopping experience.

Check out the Reisenthel site

"Yes, AND..."

2007-06-30T02:10:00.000-07:00

I just started taking an improv class at Stanford--the decision to take this class was spontaneous and I hadn't given much thought to what I wanted to get out of it; it just looked like fun. Having had the first class this week, I had some interesting takeaways that will stay with me as a parent, a manager, a designer:

Dan, the instructor, had everyone break up into groups of four and pretend we were on a planning committee to work on a task (e.g. redesign a city park, plan a vacation, etc). The first round, we were instructed to respond to every suggestion with "No...". In the second round, we were told to respond with "Yes, but...". In the third round, we responded with "Yes, and..."

The effects of these various responses were profound. Even though we were only in a mock situation and following orders, the impact of having someone say "No" to every suggestion was a real downer, limited the flow of ideas, and even affected people's body language and physical interactions. Feelings of resentment surfaced toward people who rejected well-formed ideas, even though they were acting on orders.

In the "Yes, but..." condition, people were more animated, but this passive-aggressive way of saying "no" still killed creativity and people's willingness to advocate for their ideas. Watching this scene unfold, "Yes, but..." mirrored countless business meetings we've all had.

In contrast, "Yes, and..." generated the wackiest and most innovative ideas, and was certainly the most fun to participate in and watch. "Yes, and..." created implicit ground rules that people were not to judge others ideas but to accept them all, and to build on top of them. People started to lean in closer to each other and make physical connections with a touch of the shoulder or brush of the arm in affirmation. They were smiling and jumping up and down. Everyone felt like a winner coming out of the conversation.

"Yes, and..." captures the essence of what is needed for a successful brainstorm: divergent thinking, nonjudgmental acceptance of ideas, ideas built off of others. Children naturally have this gift for "Yes, and...", but we lose this over time. "Yes, and..." is an excellent mnemonic to help stimulate creativity and be more positive. When is the last time you said "Yes, and..."?

Hello Kitty

2007-06-08T01:02:00.000-07:00

When I was a child my most treasured belongings were my Hello Kitty accessories: combs, mirrors, address book, wallets, pencils. I loved the compactness of the designs, the attention to detail, the use of high quality materials. Back in those days, you couldn’t find Sanrio toys in the United States; everything I owned came from Hong Kong. As a sign of how much I loved these items, I stored all my Hello Kitty paraphernalia in a special box my grandmother gave me. Now still in excellent condition, I have passed them on to my kids and know they treasure these things they way I did.

So I was especially interested when Hello Kitty stuff started to become more accessible in the US. You can now find Hello Kitty just about anywhere, especially at Target, where there are items created exclusively for the store under their licensing deal. My five year old daughter is just as into Hello Kitty as I was, citing “Hello Kitty stuff” as the only toys/accessories she really wants.

But what made Hello Kitty stuff so appealing when I was a child was not the image of her character, but the design and quality her character represented. With the licensing of her character, Hello Kitty is slapped on the same bags, shoes, clothes that you’ll find next to similarly made items with Barbie, Disney princesses, or Dora the Explorer on them. Even when I want to buy Hello Kitty “stuff” for my daughter, I find nothing worth buying unless I go directly to the Sanrio store. Hello Kitty has lost its cachet with me, and not because it is no longer an exclusive brand. The brand doesn’t represent the same things it meant to me 20 years ago: thoughtful, well-made, well-designed accessories for children (and even some adults).

1931: A restaurant that delights

2007-06-08T00:58:00.000-07:00

One of the best meals we had while in China was at a small restaurant called 1931 in Shanghai, in the French Concession area. The food could easily stand on its own merit, but there were many non-culinary details of our evening there that made it a delightful experience. Reflecting on that meal, these are some of the key ingredients to creating excellent customer experiences:

(1) Consistency of experience
The decor of 1931 was recently remodeled to a more sino-Western 1930's look, complete with colored glass votives and lamps, flowery wallpaper, a painting of four 1930's Shanghai women playing mah-jong in the parlor, and old jazz playing in the background (they even claim to have a Victrola!). The restaurant itself is very small, with only 8-9 tables cozily packed in a small space. The experience felt as if we had wandered into someone’s house in the Concession for dinner. (Unfortunately there was a sign prominently displayed in the restaurant that said no cameras allowed!)

(2) Needs anticipated
Although the restaurant is small and cannot accommodate many diners at once, there was no shortage of wait staff tending to our needs when we were there. Dressed in traditional qipao, the waitresses were attentive and responsive without being too intrusive.

(3) Quality beyond expectations
We had the pleasure of experiencing many wonderful meals in China at some of the nicest restaurants, and this meal tasted as good as the best of them. What made this one stand out was how finely prepared all the ingredients were: potatoes, scallions, and cucumber julienned into the thinnest slivers; vegetables minced so well that almost no chewing was necessary, the food just melted in the mouth. The chef at 1931 clearly recognizes that texture is as important as taste when it comes to creating a delightful meal.

(4) A surprise that brings delight
Shortly after we ordered, we were served three small appetizers served on a glass-blown caddy: roasted seasoned peanuts, tofu with cabbage, and soybeans with vegetables. The finely prepared appetizers did more than put us in a good mood over having bonus food before our meal; they gave us a preview into what was to come. As Brian Wansink has shown, our perception of the quality of a meal is greatly influenced by external factors beyond the food itself, down to the smallest details like where the wine comes from.

The surprise appetizers, attentive wait staff, and consistently 1930’s, cozy atmosphere set such a positive impression and warmed our perceptions toward the restaurant so that the food tasted even better than if the same dishes had been served to us at any other restaurant. We got a great meal and a nice lesson on creating an excellent customer experience.

This space for sale

2007-06-07T05:04:00.001-07:00

I was struck by how prevalent advertising is in China. There isn't any space that can't be sold! It was not surprising to see advertising in taxi cabs, even if it is on every seat (even the front passenger side):

But street signs and traffic signals are not exempt either:

And there are these huge boats whose only purpose as far as I can tell are to move giant electronic billboards up and down the river:

To what extent are the Chinese desensitized vs. tuned in to advertising? How are their expectations and tolerance for advertising different from other cultures where public spaces are not sold as heavily? How does that translate to web design?

Pearls Before Breakfast

2007-06-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the Washington Post article Pearls Before Breakfast (a bit long, but worth the read; you can also catch the video of Joshua Bell playing at the DC Metro station), I'm going to make a conscious effort to be more mindful of my surroundings and enjoy the beautiful things in life.