departure from Google for Twitter sparked a lot of heated discussion this week. In a brutally honest post, Doug cites Google's restrictive data-driven engineering culture for stifling design innovation. Most of the follow-on conversation has been partisan -- some defending Doug's position, others saying that Google has it right, regardless of how designers feel. My take is that both stories are incomplete. The underlying problem is that design is a holistic discipline while data-analysis, applied dogmatically, is a reductive discipline. When the two coincide, serious friction can ensue. But far from vowing to never interact, these two disciplines need each other tremendously. The designer brings perspective that helps to organize experiential systems at all scales, while quantitative metrics are key for validating decisions. The problems arise when analysis is treated as the primary driver for invention -- that's like setting a measuring tape on a drafting table and expecting it to design spectacular architecture -- rest assured, the genius is not in the tape. To best illustrate this point, I'm going to put on two hats... " title="Bowman vs Google? Why Data and Design Need Each Other" alt="Bowman vs Google? Why Data and Design Need Each Other" border="0"/>

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Paint By Numbers

March 22nd, 2009 by Tom Chi :: 5 Comments

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5 Comments

twiki.corp.yahoo.com

November 18th, 2008 by Kevin Cheng :: Comment »

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Writing About Comics Instead of Drawing Comics

July 16th, 2008 by Kevin Cheng :: 4 Comments

Yes, we know you’ve been neglected. I maintain that OK/Cancel is not dead (and in fact, brand new ones are still appearing in ACM-CHI’s Interactions magazines) but both Tom and I have our respective ventures that have been keeping us busy. If only you could see the collection of ideas for new strips I’ve been collecting, though …

For me, the next few months will be spent writing and drawing about comics instead of drawing comics for OK/Cancel. Some of you may have attended my previous presentations and workshops about using comics in the design process. Certainly, you guys have been a great example of how a comic can draw in an audience around a topic.

After a couple of years of back and forth and discussions with Lou Rosenfeld, I’m happy to finally announce that I have started working on a book for Rosenfeld Media.

The book is entitled, See What I Mean: How to Use Comics to Communicate Ideas and as its title suggests, I’ll be talking about why comics are a powerful medium for getting ideas across to stakeholders.

I’m really looking forward to writing this book. As it is a work in progress, I hope interested readers will check the book’s blog regularly and help contribute and shape the future of the book. You might also consider adding yourself to be notified when the book publishes.

Of course, I will also continue to update my usual personal blog at kev/null and Twitter so feel free to keep tabs on myself and the book that way instead.