Photo albums ease of use

So far I have been force to use Flickr web albums because of its appealing simple looks and UI. When lookin photos, you don't want anything extra to bee visible. Difference between Picasa and Flickr is evident at least to my eyes.

Not that selection of webgallery for an Average Joe would be based on one single interaction, but still this is something to consider: In my default PC viewer(IrfanView) next picture is selected by simply using arrow keys. Also Facebook and Picasa has the same functionality. When using Flickr I have to use my mouse to click a small thumbnail to get next picture..
-So of to Picasa I go, thaks for great time Flickr. Disadvantages in this change are the looks and complexity of Picasa but advantages are simple and intuitive use and the fact that now I have all my stuff behind one Google account :)

Realistic marketing

There's a healthy dose of realism in the marketing slogan of this regional newspaper: "Take a good fire starter with you."

Good guidance can patch bad design - into some extent

Bar Balls in Kajaani earns a honorary mention of this explanation how to get the hand dryer working. But the thing is that the design should either implicate the place of the sensor or the sensor should have been placed else where..

This carefully made guidance also tells a clear story how big problems products can create for the users and companies on service branch.

Celebrating tacit knowledge through service design

Even a simple service product or infrastructure -like rail transport- forms an information system including hidden knowledge and inbuilt need for learning.
It took me some 15 years of intensive railroad usage to learn that after the announcement "Train leaves from gate 2", there is exactly 3 minutes time. Today, after 18 years, I learned that there is a yellow color coding in the timetable posters for leaving trains in opposite to arriving.

These information bits are examples of tacit knowledge, which would be useful if know, but is either difficult or considered less important to communicate. In modern world, consumers do not necessarily have time or will to start learning. -Experience should be readily available in full extent.

One task for service design is to find ways to communicate these service and company specific information bits, celebrate those and build a better brand and user experience through those.

-After all, you would like the customer to see your product as excellent as you see it, wouldn't you?

Tivoli

This is one cornerstone for a ~30m high ferris-wheel. Some how it was comforting to see this After we took the ride.
-Scenery over Oulu was nice though.

WHO illustrates A(H1N1) spreading

WHO has taken new actions to improve the understanding of A(H1N1) influenza. They have created an interactive illustration about the spread.
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/history_map/InfluenzaAH1N1_maps.html



-I cannot help but thinkin why in earth they made it this difficult?! And what's wrong in a regular line-diagram like the one I made earlier.