uxmelina

I’ve now been back in Ontario for a few weeks, getting settled in school and missing the bay area. My friends keep asking “how was Palo Alto?” to which I quickly reply “Love”. Here is what I have learned from a summer in Silicon Valley, where the culture is likely unparalleled to anywhere else in the world.

Balance life and work…with sandals: I was likely at my office longer than an other coop job I have ever held, but the casual nature, even having small things (like wearing sandals instead of heals) didn’t make it seem like work. It was just fun, designing, researching doing everything I did at less casual companies, but enjoying it a little bit more because of the small things. Now, I understand wearing sandals to work isn’t going to fly if you’re an investment banker on Wall street, but whatever you do and wherever you do it, find your “sandals”. We often feel like we need to take a class, or go to the gym to be “balanced” when simple things can also have a huge impact.

Learn something new everyday….from someone new: I picked up and moved out there, without knowing anyone. I quickly learned the area is basically full of engineers, and everyone you meet is very intelligent. It was so great meeting new people, and learning about the work they have done, because it was usually related to my field. However, don’t think you need to be surrounded by people in your field to learn something new. Everyone you meet, regardless of the field they work in, knows something you don’t. Have you met someone new today?

Internal motivation is better than external: Property is expensive, much more expensive than in Waterloo or even Toronto, it gets worst if you want to live in San Fransisco. I quickly realized that my goal to buy a cute place shortly after graduating might have to put on hold (though it’s still not impossible, but that’s a whole other conversation). This made me aware that the goals we set for ourselfs can really be motivated by external expectations or circumstance and should be intrinsically motivated for ultimate success and happiness. Look at your goals for the next year, 5 years, 10 years, you might realize that it’s not something you really want/need at all and you can invest more resources into accomplishing other goals that are more personally satisfying.

A 20-something can drive a Lamborghini and only have t-shirts in his/her wardrobe: This one is more of a fun fact, their were a lot of nice cars there, cars you don’t expect to see parked at the grocery store. The message: Never stop innovating, it can, and does pay off!

A fun part of being in 4th year, is job hunting. It’s fun to think of all the doors that could be taken, and realize that the hard work is paying off! So, in come the employers, each running their pitch about why we should apply to them, and of course, giving out free stuff! After 6 work terms, I’ve thought I have seen it all in “swag”. Things I have received in the past include: shirts, backpacks, travel mugs, pens, free food and sometimes booze, frisbees, hats, small tool kits, stress balls and the list goes on…..All beautifully branded with the company’s logo.

But today, I received what may be the most useless, over-designed item I have ever seen! Take a look at the picture and try to guess before reading on. Note: The Sharpie doesn’t have anything to do with it, other then to give you an idea of the size.

So what could it be? A marker? pen case? flash light?…NOPE!

Here is a video to show you how it works (Sorry about the bad quality, my camera isn’t great on video). The yellow papers are post-it notes only used the hide the company name, because I happen to think highly of this company, just not this product!

After seeing the device, I can only guess it’s used to clean monitors and key boards. As I sat, surprised and confused by this item, I thought to my over-optimistic-self “Ok, don’t judge it until you fully try it, maybe it rocks”. Well let me tell you it doesn’t.

Here is what’s wrong with it:

1. Affordence of Use: A quick poll of my friends, assures me that a large portion of people couldn’t guess what it is by just looking at it. Even touching it, without twisting, doesn’t give you any clues as to how it works or that you are suppose to twist it.

2. Awkward Manipulation: You can even see me screw it up in the short video. It takes a large amount of coordination to twist the long half, twist in back, switch your hand around and twist the lower half (the opposite way), and twist it back.

3. Actual Function: If it is suppose to be used for cleaning, the brush is too wide for a key board, and the wiper top is too small for large monitors. I felt like I was at a gas station trying to clean my windshield with a toothbrush!

4. Over Designed: This one is the most important. It has a plastic, rubber, and stainless steel body with mechanical interior parts and its utility could be replaced with a klennex, or if you want to get fancy a static free cloth!

Random fact: “Swag” is actually an accronym for “Stuff We All Get” <–I heard that on the radio, therefore it must be true!

As 4th year begins, I’m very excited about my courses. Getting to really dive deep into my interest in courses like “design and society” analyzing how to design for society, “cognitive ergonomics”, “conflict analysis”, and “designing learning tools with interactive media”, as well as my 4th year design project course! All are very exciting, and should fuel some interesting posts on this blog!

One of my profs,  likes to channel discussions in his course. It’s a great way to promote learning, and his methods of making them provocative, even sometimes insulting to the largely engineering audience keep them engaging. However, my beef is with his consistent interchanging of the term “Designer” and “Engineer”. Some people may think they are the same thing, but using them interchangeably is not correct. I’ve worked with a lot of very skilled designers who aren’t engineers, and I know a lot of engineers who have never designed anything professionally. So here is the difference.

Engineer (in Canada): This term is restricted by law to to mean those persons who have demonstrated their competence and have been licensed by a provincial licensing body [1]. The bacholors degree (in an accredited program) is a the basic educational requirements, however each province has different additional requirements (work experience, ethics tests, etc). Engineers are educated in many different areas and can hold professional positions where they analyze, evaluate, lead, plan, and yes sometimes but not always, design. Basically the term “engineer” refers a person with a proven level of education and competence and doesn’t refer to their professional responsibilities.

Designer: This term is much more general, and can encompass anyone who designs anything professionally. Home interiors to fashion to home electronics. The term “Designer” refers to a person’s professional responsibilities and doesn’t imply anything about eduction or competence. Designers can have educational backgrounds in fine arts, social sciences, and yes sometimes but not always engineering, as well as many more. Designers can also be self tough without any formal education. 

So where do I fit?

I haven’t completed my degree (yet!), or gone through the certification to be an board licensed engineer. As such, I am a designer!

1. G. C. Andrews, J. D. Aplevich, R. A. Fraser, H C Ratz, “Introduction to Professional Engineering in Canada”, Prentic Hall, June 2002