By Susan Dray

As field researchers, we face a dilemma. Our roles require us to interpret our findings carefully and to be perceived as competent and professional. Yet everyone who has done fieldwork for very long has been in those situations—sometimes funny, sometimes frightening, sometimes heartwarming—where things didn't go as planned and when even the best prepared of us has had to modify an approach or change a particular visit to "pull it out of the fire" from time to time. Yet it can be hard to share these experiences with our wider professional community in order both to find their meaning and to learn from them. There was never a forum for us to share our experiences and to learn from them.

Until now. A little over a year ago, esteemed colleague, friend, consultant and author Steve Portigal began an experiment. He solicited and posted "war stories" from field researchers around the world. He says that he didn't really know what would come of this, but the result has been a fascinating set of cautionary tales and hilarious, tender, interesting stories from the field told by and for an international audience of fieldwork professionals. As Steve introduced it:

We love stories, and in our work as ethnographers, we love war stories about fieldwork. These experiences—the crazy household, the dog that does his business on your shoes, the GPS failure—are inevitable and are often (at least in hindsight) hilarious. Exchanging these stories is a way of socializing our technique and creating learning opportunities for both tellers and listeners.

Based on his own experience conducting field research over the years, Steve is well aware that Murphy's Law is alive and well when researchers go into the field. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong, and even if you have brought multiple spares, extra batteries, cameras, etc., there's always something else to test your flexibility.

The themes of the 50+ stories currently available vary widely. This growing collection has great examples for those teach or who are learning how to do ethnographic research, as well as those of us who do or have done it. There are many lessons in them. Here are some of my biggest takeaways:

What really happens in the field?

Because roles in many firms are siloed, not all designers get to experience participating in a full-blown ethnographic study, up close and personal with a trained user researcher, this means that they may not see how it evolves over time. They may have a chance to do one or two visits, but that's typically not enough to get anything other than a superficial sense of the overall process, specifically the dynamic challenge of gathering all of the information a team needs. Because of this, some designers don't see the value of having a user researcher leading the effort of getting the vast amount of data that ethnographic studies inevitably generate. These war stories can give a flavor of how this happens over time and can help designers understand better what they can get from a good user researcher from time in the field.

Seemingly ubiquitous problems include but are by no means limited to: pungent pet smells, recruiting nightmares, inclement weather, and unsavory neighborhoods in which researchers find themselves, often at odd hours of the night. Many of these are hilarious. Some are poignant. All recount familiar circumstances that I suspect seasoned field researchers will recognize.

Since I made the observation about protecting one's cards in Myanmar and China, I've noticed another example of the personalized/expensive solution versus the one-size-fits-most/affordable solution that related directly to my research on resource-constrained approaches to mobility in China. The challenge was, "How do I protect myself/my cargo from the elements while driving my three-wheeled vehicle?"

In Jiangkou, a small and remote city in Guizhou province that is accessible solely by road, a thriving workshop fabricates cargo shelters and cab covers specifically for three-wheeled vehicles. I had spent some time trying to locate this shop, as its fame for producing high-quality covers had drivers traveling from as far as the next province over to have covers made for them. Depending upon the size, a custom cover costs between 700 and 2400 kuai (US $111–$382) and requires 6–14 hours of labor. The result is a durable shelter for one's three-wheeled vehicle, with the option to add several other security and performance-enhancing innovations, such as additional in-vehicle storage, electric windshield-wipers wired directly into the vehicle's circuits, and "lock-rings," as seen in this piece for Ethnography Matters.

Meanwhile, a different solution is available for the residents of Tongren, Guizhou, a larger city and the county seat. Tongren is linked by rail and highway to other cities and provinces, and is better connected than Jiangkou to the rest of the country. However, there exists no comparable means of getting a custom-fabricated cover for one's vehicle there. The only comparable service I was able to find was a repair shop that offers to attach a front cover to one's three-wheeled vehicle, modified (usually using a combination of a saw and power drill) to fit a vehicle's particular dimensions.

The shop in Tongren

Last week saw the run of the first annual Collective Design Fair, the first of the many art and design events and exhibitions in New York City this May. Organized by architect and interior designer Steven Learner, the Fair is the 'collective' effort of a "passionate group of designers, curators, collectors and gallerists who recognize a need for a new commercial and educational platform for the design collector and connoisseur. With the avid support of the New York creative community, Collective intends to showcase a compelling vision of design today."

"SWASH" installation by Dana Barnes Studio

If BKLYN Designs has long been an alternative to the ICFF, the Collective Design Fair was more a complement to Frieze, which returned to Randall's Island after a very successful showing last year—the newcomer offered design-centric galleries and dealers an opportunity to get in on the action. Although both BKLYN Designs and the Collective Design Fair took place in former industrial spaces, they could not have been more different. Where the St. Ann's Warehouse hosted a range of young and emerging designers from as far afield as Bushwick, Pier 57 housed some two high-end design galleries from the world over, exhibiting an eclectic but unequivocally upscale wares.

Sebastian Errazuriz's cheeky installation was legible from afar

Yet so too was the work consistently interesting: just beyond Sebastian Errazuriz's 'statement piece' in the foyer, a special exhibition of Gaetano Pesce's eccentric works of design-art—a dubious categorization at best—set an interesting tone for the show.

In his practice, Pesce expresses the necessity of working in a multi-disciplinary way, breaking down boundaries between artistic languages. Observing that the culture of the object has been growing rapidly in the past two decades, he insists that objects are the art of our time.

The fair closed its four-day run over the weekend, but we're pleased to bring you some of our favs—motorcycles, an animated GIF and much more after the jump...

Leaders of the industrial design world will gather in London this week at the third Product Design + Innovation conference, to reflect on new dynamics in the industry in the midst of shifting social and technological paradigms.

With speakers ranging from in-house design innovators from the likes of Nike, Cisco and Philips Design, to design agency directors of Seymourpowell, Priestmangoode and Kinneir Dufort the packed two day programme will feature expert perspective on the emergence of connected objects, wired transportation, the maker movement, healthcare consumerisation, as well as the fields of synthetic biology and energy harvesting.

Whether you watch Mad Men or not, you understand that the advertising industry reflects the times we live in, addressing our distorted self-images with occasionally ruthless trenchancy. Thus Ogilvy Paris has commissioned the Slender Vender, an ultraslim vending machine for client Diet Coke.

It's more of a stunt than the real deal; while the machines were actually created and scattered about Paris, they dispensed free product. And though advertising blogs are heaping praise on the things--Adland TV writes "The idea is quite nice, turn the vending machine into a slender pole, reminding people that Diet Coke is the skinny choice" while Adverblog posits "Diet Coke is the responsible choice when it comes to calories, so why not let the vending machine show how slender it can be. Nice campaign to make the point of sale an experience," it doesn't take a major cynic to see these machines probably wouldn't fly in the 'States. Walk around your average U.S. shopping mall and see if the folks drinking Diet-anything are any skinnier than the folks drinking the regular variants.

Johannesburg's Southern Guild traveled halfway around the world for the Collective Design Fair last week, and their legwork didn't go unnoticed: the inaugural exhibition marked the New York debut of the platform for contemporary South African design, featuring work by some of the country's best talent. "Devoted to provoking the local design industry and to encouraging designers and artists to explore and produce more challenging and important work, Southern Guild... aims to inform the world market about the dynamic new work that is being produced in this arena."

Porky Hefer's handmade nests are inspired by those of weaver birds.

The "Blackhole" is made out of discarded truck tires

Vogel & Plunkett - Love Me, Love Me Not

Had they been exhibited individually, the pieces might come off as exotic for the sake of kitsch; presented together, I was struck by the dialogue between, say, a sculpture of a gorilla and a quasi-fetishistic rubber cocoon—an uncanny coherence that might be deemed a certain South African sensibility.

Artisanal, hand made and cerebral, South African design elicits a physical response as much as it invites a viewer to think. Some of this experiential quality derives from the handmade nature of the work. Its distinctiveness is grounded in social and political realities, narrative, a true bond with nature and a sense of human connectedness with little interest in passing trends or in highly polished, technologically driven visions of design.

And if Michaella Janse Van Vuuren's digitally-fabricated figurines somehow contradict the above characterization of South African design, I should note that I took surprisingly childlike delight in activating the Birdman. Tucked away in the back of the booth, the eight-inch tall figurine was my favorite piece at the booth—and perhaps the entire fair—. Not only were the Birdman and Rocking Springbok among the most detailed 3D-printed objects I'd seen in person, but they both featured moving parts, a signature element of the artist's work.

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Imagine, if you will, a design exercise in which the primary constraint is simply to answer a brief with ideas that have never been dreamt of. The themes range from Global Warming to Time, and are selected based on passion as much as relevance and timeliness, and as such, design teams are expected to come up with ideas that meet those criteria as well.

These are the guiding principles behind IDEO's "Designs On—," an ongoing internal project that has taken off since IDEO Associate Partner and Industrial Design Director Blaise Bertrand introduced it in 2008. The global design consultancy has just launched a dedicated microsite for the fifth annual edition, which tackles the seemingly mundane (or otherwise overdone) issue of Packaging. And while the topic is ostensibly more pragmatic than past themes such as Food and Birth (as well as the two mentioned above), it's not so much a departure from the spirit of the platform as it is an affirmation of its breadth.

The idea of "Designs On—," according to Bertrand, is to "let designers pick a personal perspective" on the topic at hand. The goal is "to push the edge of a particular content area [as well as] to constantly question our assumptions about design." IDEO employees organize themselves into teams as they see fit, developing, iterating and ulimately packaging their ideas over the course of four to five months.

"The 'Expired' concept is one of my favorites," says Bertrand. "It feels natural—to take a simple analogy of a banana, [which has] a very powerful emotional aspect."

Bertrand excitedly noted that "Biomimicry is a growing domain."

Starting this Friday night, the students of the new MFA in Products of Design will be appearing at WantedDesign from May 17–20, where they will present ALSO!, a series of interactions that explore how we experience new design.

Through a roving set of mobile interventions—both cart-based and human-worn—visitors to the show will participate in "an unfolding narrative around celebration, sustainability, digital mediation, storytelling, and scale, each expanding the conversation around design beyond form, function, and materiality." There are teasers up at www.alsoproject.com, and ALSO! on Facebook, but here are some intriguing particulars:

A smartphone kaleidoscope and lift apparatus expose the distortion of constantly consuming experiences through our screens; a set of ViewMasters lets us peer into speculations around the unseen, "un"wanted, and marginalized; a sound crew with microphones and headphones invites visitors to listen in on the untold stories of objects; a digital microscope on a remote cable reveals hidden design details invisible to the naked eye; and a die-cutting station prompts guests to transform their printed materials, ennobling ephemera and inviting visitors to reflect their experiences to one another.

Through this series of moving, participatory installations, the work hacks the exhibition at large, prompting visitors to see design through a variety of new lenses.

The event is free. Located at 269 11th Avenue, New York City, WantedDesign is a creative destination for the design community that offers innovative installations, student workshops, and engaging discourse.

This year, WantedDesign is being held in concert with NYCxDESIGN, New York City's inaugural citywide event to showcase and promote design of all disciplines.

Tonight! Core77's Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club enthusiastically welcomes Frank Novak of Modernica, Inc.!

Tonight's talk starts at 6pm at Core77's Hand-Eye Supply store in Portland, OR. Come early and check out our space or check in with us online for the live broadcast!

Frank Novak (Modernica, Inc.)
How to Make an Eames Fiberglass Chair? The History & Revival of an American Icon
Hand-Eye Supply
23 NW 4th Ave
Portland, OR 97209
Tuesday, May 14th, 6pm PST

Frank Novak is the co-founder of Modernica, Inc. Modernica owns the original presses and the original preform machine that were used by Zenith Plastics for Charles Eames production of Herman Miller chairs. Their preform machine is the only such machine in existence. Both the presses and the preform machine are the very same pieces of equipment used to create thousands and thousands of chairs since their very first run in 1950 and now sixty years later, these seminal pieces of equipment are located at Modernica's new Los Angeles factory.

From the Modernica Archives

From the Modernica Archives

From the Modernica Archives

Frank Novak grew up in Omaha Nebraska where his family owned car dealerships from the 30's to the 70's, and an antique store from 75 to 2001. He went to Goddard College, Evergreen College and New College of California. Frank moved to California in 1986 and worked as a set builder and production designer for Roger Corman. He was the Art Director for Woody Harrelson's first film, Cool Blue. In 2000 his directorial debut Good Housekeeping was an official selection at the Cannes Film Festival. While working on films he began building furniture and in 1989 founded Modernica with his brother Jay. Together they were one of the first American companies to reproduce out of production mid century furniture. Modernica products , including the George Nelson Bubble Lamp and the Eames Fiberglass chair are sold worldwide. Modernica employs over 100 people in the Los Angeles area at their factory and film prop rental house.

Like my train pass wallet, these objects fall into the category of things I touch and use every day. Carabiners are intended for mountain climbing, but their simple design and great utility make them super-useful to city dwellers like me, who only climb subway steps. I use them in the photo studio, during event coverage, and for my dogs, and I now wonder how I ever got by without them.

Leash Splitter

These were initially pet-driven purchases. Because I own two dogs and spend up to two hours a day outside with them I was looking for a way to hold two leashes in one hand and prevent the leashes from becoming entwined. First I bought this thing, which is called a rotor swivel:

I spotted it at a mountain climbing equipment store across the street from Core77 HQ. It's just two aluminum loops attached by an enclosed bearing that allows them to rotate independently, and it set me back forty bucks. Being designed for climbing, I figured it's got to be watertight, which I'd need to weather thunderstorms (I'm out with the dogs rain or shine).

Next I sewed a length of webbing through it to serve as a handle. (If any of you are interested in working with canvas webbing but don't know how to sew, please pipe up in the comments and I'll prepare a basic tutorial. With a simple trick, someone with no skill can use even a junky sewing machine to sew canvas webbing.)

Then I needed a carabiner to attach the two leashes to the rotor. Mistakenly thinking beefier would be better, I initially bought this Omega Pacific locking carabiner at the same equipment store for ten bucks.

However, I found this carabiner too bulky, and together with the rotor it added too much weight to the leashes for my taste. But at the hardware store I spotted these cheapie "key holder" carabiners for just a few bucks.

They appear to be made from aluminum and one can be used to handily attach the rotor to the two leash handles.

Looks cool, but what does it actually do?

The acronym "P.O.S." always struck me as somewhat ironic: most folks who have worked in retail know that it's short for Point Of Sale, but it also has a pejorative meaning in common parlance. When it launched in 2010, Square's register app marked a digital solution to the former—precisely because extant payment gateways so often might be characterized as the latter.

Today, they announced a major upgrade from the now-iconic card reader.

Square, the company making commerce easy for everyone, today announced Square Stand, beautiful new hardware for brick and mortar businesses that turns an iPad into a complete point of sale. With local businesses increasingly tearing out their old point of sale systems to run Square Register, Square Stand gives merchants a remarkable new way to manage and grow their business, all for the price of a cash register.

"Local business owners take as a given that they need an ugly, slow, expensive, and complicated point of sale system cluttering their counter," said Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of Square. "Square Stand is elegant, fast, affordable, and easy to use. Whether you're selling cupcakes, cardigans, or cappuccinos, running your business with Square has never been easier."

Designed by Ammunition Group in collaboration with Square, the simple swiveling stand is designed as an all-in-one system. The card reader is discreetly integrated into the base, providing a larger and more stable slot for swiping.

They've also managed to cast a young Julianne Moore in the role of a lifetime:

Of all the reasons why I could never be a construction worker—not strong enough, can't consistently wake up at 5am, don't know how to catcall—preeminent among them is my deathly fear of heights. It was terrifying to watch this video of construction workers hoisting the spire onto One World Trade Center (someone slapped a GoPro camera onto the thing). The crazy part is that at the end, you get to see a handful of guys jimmying the massive thing into place with what look like crowbars.

Warning: This video isn't edited at all, it's a continuous nine-minute shot of them hoisting the spire from the roof to the top of its supporting structure. Part of me wishes they'd fast-forwarded the video, though if they had I would've peed my pants or thrown up (probably both).

The problem with driving the same route, day after day, is that it becomes easy for commuters to stop paying attention. They know the route so well that they subconsciously tune out, ignoring signage both static and electronic, even when the latter is flashing danger warnings in big, orange letters.

Needless to say this can have deadly consequences, and the authorities in charge of Australia's Sydney Harbor Tunnel decided to do something about it after the following incident: "We had a fire in the tunnel," explains Harbor Tunnel GM Bob Allen, "motorists ignored the warning lights and signs and continued driving towards the fire. These drivers exposed themselves to smoke and toxic fumes from the fire and then to compound the situation they turned around (in a one way tunnel) and drove back out of the tunnel against incoming traffic."

Through a government-led R&D program, Tunnel administrators were able to contact Laservision, a creative technology firm that designs architectural lighting, permanent attractions and special events primarily for the entertainment industry. They teamed up with pump manufacturer Grundfos to create a HUGE stop sign that is impossible to ignore: It seems to materialize out of thin air, directly in front of your car.

The Softstop, as it's called, utilizes a combination of pumped water and light projection. Watch it deploy:

Via Doobybrain

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Move over, Jack Handey: Forum member Sanjy009 has recently posted some serious food for thought (so to speak) on our discussion boards. Citing a somewhat opinionated Washington Post article from the past weekend, "Are Foodies Quietly Killing Rock-and-Roll," the Adelaide-based designer notes that:

[The article] states the internet has turned music into a digital commodity, has removed it's value, and in doing so lessened it's cultural status. Food culture at the same time has exploded, and is filling the cultural and economic hole left behind.

I've been thinking about it in terms of product design and branding and self-identification. Why is it OK to identify with culture, but commercial identification is seen as crass? Can a product or brand do what music and food seem to be able to do naturally? Is this an inevitable result of technology making something easier?

Within 24 hours, a couple of his peers had posted thoughtful responses to his open-ended query, launching what has proven to be a fruitful dialogue on value, commerce and commodification in the digital age. Where the article makes a (somewhat hyperbolic) case for the ultracontemporary notion that "Chefs are the new rock stars," Sanjy009 is concerned with the implications for product design. (For the record, I vaguely recall New York Magazine hailing Brooklyn designers as rock stars several years ago; so too do they expound the hypothesis that "food is the new punk rock.")

Image via Wikipedia

The discussion has covered everything from the demise of music to the ice trade of yore so far, and in the interest of obliquely contributing to the conversation, we've seen a fair share of music- and food-related design lately. Examples include a full-length released as sheet music, a crowdsourced DJ and digitally-fabricated records, to name a few... not to mention a variety of comestible or otherwise food-related projects.

Thus, as a corollary to the putative commodification of creativity, both music and food have been areas of design innovation: the former because the industry is in decline and the latter for the opposite reason.

In any case, peruse the discussion and put in your two cents here.

As data continues to indicate that spending all day on your ass isn't good for your health, there are exciting opportunities for workstation and seating designers. Standing desks, treadmill desks and funky chairs may fade in and out of popularity, but we like seeing the weird permutations and risks that designers are willing to take in their quest to find the "correct" solution.

One such new seating product comes from Turnstone (the Steelcase brand dedicated to furniture solutions for small companies and startups) with their Buoy, designed by Michigan-based ID'er Ricky Biddle. "Research shows that even people who typically work out after work don't receive the same benefit if they are sitting all day," writes Turnstone. "Overall, we recognize that movement is good so any way we can bring movement to the office is something we look for."

To that end, the Buoy is designed to be off-balance, like its namesake bobbing device, though not as extremely as a Pilates ball; the idea is that the microadjustments you're continually making with your body are not annoying enough to be a hassle, but adequate to burn some calories. Also unlike a Pilates ball, the Buoy is height-adjustable.

We wanted to find a simple seating solution that would allow for movement and work in multiple environments and applications. Turnstone had explored some initial ideas around active seating with a rocking stool concept called Humma shared at Neocon a few years ago, but for Buoy we wanted to allow a greater freedom of movement and a create a highly functioning product that could complement multiple settings and work with different height tables and related items around the home and office from both a functional and aesthetic point of view.

Last we heard from Burgopak, they'd sent us their packaging design for Little Printer (a.k.a. the BERG-o-pack), and it so happens that their latest project also happens to be for a product that we'd covered before (let's just say that all parties involved have impeccable taste).

Lapka is a set of "artisan electronic devices" for gathering data about one's immediate surroundings: each of the four building-block-like sensors can be attached to one's iPhone through the standard headphone jack. Coupled with a free app, they can provide detailed information on radiation, organic matter, electromagnetic fields and humidity—interesting features in themselves, enhanced by the product's quasi-organic, vaguely totemic form factor.

To complement Lapka's effort to make the product look more like jewelry or tabletop sculptures than gadgets, Burgopak notes that "The products themselves are luxury tools that convey their connection with nature. The packaging, we felt, should do the same."

From the beginning this was not intended to feel like an, 'Apple' product. It is intended to disrupt preconceived expectations about consumer electronics. Brown kraft board, single colour print and incredibly limited product information were all intentional features.

The devil, as they say, is in the detail; using precise harmonious proportions (derived from the product) Burgopak created a simple tray to protect and frame the product. This was wrapped in a sleeve with an integrated lock and finished with a single tamper evident seal.

The weather here in Portland, OR has broken as of late and recently (although not today) we have been dripping in sunshine. Our natural inclination is to head directly to the river to sip cold ones and barbecue with buddies at Washougal Falls, the Clackamas, Columbia or Sandy river. We've also got some secret spots that we won't share, lest they become overrun with yahoos.

At Hand-Eye Supply we believe little siestas are essential to the design process, a chance to relax our minds, shut off our smart phones and decompress for optimal performance. Perhaps a dip in the glacial runoff is just the right ingredient for the eureka in the bath tub moment for that stubborn design problem you've been battling. The point we're trying to make is, "Dude, it's time to take a break."

It is in this spirit that our photographer Christine Taylor headed up to some of Oregon's lovely pastoral regions with a selection of Hand-Eye Supply goodies to inspire you good creative people to take a siesta of your own. More pics in full size on Hand-Eye Supply.

Photography by Glen Jackson Taylor for Core77

This past weekend, we took the water taxi to Randall's Island for the second edition of Frieze New York, which has established itself as an extremely well curated and produced art fair. The 250,000-square-foot temporary tent by SO - IL architects provides generous space for exhibitors, amazing natural light, and stood up remarkably well to the rolling thunderstorms that struck on Saturday afternoon.

Not one to shy from controversy, visitors were greeted by Paul McCarthy's giant 80 feet tall inflatable 'Balloon Dog', a dig at Jeff Koons' failed attempt in court to get exclusive rights to balloon dogs worldwide, if you're skeptical of the stakes, McCarthy's homage sold for $950,000.

LA-based Pae White won hearts with her suspended installation of tiny upward facing mirrors reflecting their bright geometric patterns underneath. Dan Colen's circular sculpture made from basketball backboards at the Gagosian booth provided awesome photo opps for 2001 style shots, and as far as found objects go, it's hard to beat the cement mixer by Alexandre da Cunha.

There was an abundance of bold new work on display with a lot of galleries choosing to promote the same artists they represented last year. Tom Friedman's solo show was hugely popular; we were really into Daniel Arsham's volcanic ash and broken glass cast resin pieces; and Liam Gillick's 'Scorpion or Felix' decorative door screens would probably do quite well at the ICFF this weekend.

Clearly, the organizers know their audience partnering with food vendors—Frankies Spuntino, Prime Meats, Roberta's, Mission Chinese Food and Blue Bottle Coffee, to name a few—and we were really impressed with the amount of water taxis they secured to ferry visitors to-and-from Manhattan. We'll see if The Armory Show, which takes place in March at the crowded Pier 92+94 complex, steps up its game in response next year...

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