interaction design | Peopledesign

The value of networking with customers

The Fulton Street Farmer’s Market across town from our office in Grand Rapids has been providing a harvest of locally grown food more than 80 years. If those stalls could talk they’d share stories about a time when the local open-air market was the center of commerce in our community. That’s no longer the case, of course. More

Off-season awards

By Yang

Who says winning awards gets old? It always feels good. We’re happy to say that we’ve been kicking some butt in this arena recently – and it’s not even awards season. In the Creativity 38 Annual Awards competition, we have 12 award-winning projects, five of which won a Silver, three Gold, and one Platinum. More

Social Media for Business: Customer Service

By Scott

There have been a number of interesting posts lately on ReadWriteWeb regarding the puzzle of Social Media for Business. Businesses have only begun to take advantage of the capabilities of social media tools to empower communications to their customers. More

printfreegraphpaper.com

By Julie

I didn’t grow up with the Internet. It came after most of my learning habits had been wired in. But once I had access, I never looked back. More

Teaching the Web Stuff

By John

A few years ago I spent some time teaching Web design at Kendall College of Art & Design. This is a rough transcript of the lecture I used on the first day of each semester. It was designed to give a brief overview of the technologies, introduce some new concepts to the students, and scare as many as possible into dropping the class… Hello. More

Immersed

By Sharon

A while ago, a colleague with a strong background in interactive design and user experience suggested that I attend An Event Apart in New Orleans with some of his team members. I had mentioned to him that I wanted to learn more about the Web; he suggested I dive right in. From a communications standpoint, I was looking for ways to utilize online tools to help clients get their message out. More

Do your friends know what you do for a living?

By Sharon

It’s a standing joke around here when family visits a coworker or newcomers excitedly tell their parents they got a job in a design firm. Inevitably the next question is, “Do they really know what you do?” You usually get that sideways smirk with a negative nod and within minutes people are sharing their own stories. Comments like, “You draw pictures right?” or “I know, you make things on the computer,” aren’t uncommon at all. More

The Mapping Life

By John

Google Maps and Crime Statistics. More

It's a User-Generated World

By Kevin

Original author Victor Sirotek More and more companies are realizing there is a lot to be gained by joining the world of user-generated content. Think Facebook or Myspace, but with a model that allows users to submit and potentially monetize their ideas. I can’t help but think that by allowing individuals to create and experiment on a global platform, companies will find that it increases innovation, brand loyalty and can be quite lucrative. More

Chumby vs. iPhone