We’ll have more to say about this place soon, but for now, the horror of their in-room channel advert. Enjoy.

Today is Dan Soltzberg’s first day here and (at my request) he wrote a little reflective piece about his day, and his background.

Welcome, Dan!

So far, in all the ways I usually measure my days, this has been a great one. I’m at my new desk at Portigal Consulting eating my first lunch (a tasty roast beef sandwich from a little café down the street), Steve and I are preparing for a trip next week which will be our first time in the field together, and there are two Beagles and a Golden Retriever lounging around the office. (The dogs are wonderfully insightful when it comes to developing business strategies.) I’ve just joined Portigal Consulting as a Design Researcher, which is the perfect cap on a year which has been one of those wonderful periods of convergence where everything I’ve done so far in my life adds up to create something new.

I’m refocusing my Masters program at SJSU on a hybrid of Industrial Design, Applied Anthropology and Human Factors, which is to say that what I’m really interested in is the intersection of creative problem-solving, collaborative processes, things, and human beings. Four-and-a-half years living and working in Japan, as well as living in California married to a Midwesterner after growing up in Boston, have taught me to respect how deep culture runs, and how important understanding context is if one wants to understand people’s behavior and desires. I’m really looking forward to working with our clients and helping to decipher and communicate these contexts and the design opportunities they illuminate.

I saw this sign earlier this week in Colorado Springs. Turns out that yes, it’s a real place

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What are the two things people don’t like doing on a regular basis? Why, washing their Vehicle and washing their Dog of course. Both are time consuming and messy. So I created a professional, clean and fun environment where you can bring your vehicle, dog or both and get them clean.

• We Are Made Of Stories
  Researchers have found that the human brain has a natural affinity for narrative construction.
• Réussir en groupe de recherche
  My “Seventeen ways to not suck at research” in French.

• McGlobalization/McLocalization
  A list of variations in the McDonald’s menu around the world
• Icon Advertising Museum to open in Kansas City, MO, in Fall 2008
  (although I’ll be right there in a couple of weeks, oh well). Site has a crappy interface but you can eventually pull up pictures and descriptions of items in their collection.

• Why Work Is Looking More Like a Video Game
  Some provocative examples of applying game design approaches to creating work tools that are engaging, effective, etc.

An alternative health center with its own Hummer, asking “How do you want to live your life?”

• More Google Syndrome: I blog about Hungry Jack pancakes, therefore, I represent Hungry Jack pancakes
  “I can’t find Hungry Jack in my local super markets in the area of Claremont, CA. What’s happened?” Uh, yeah.

This is an interesting prototype; used to suggest the overall size/space of the house in 3D. This is done for a local design review by the county/community/whatever-other-agencies-get-involved.

Update: two years later, I learned that these are called “story poles”

• passive-aggressive notes from roommates, neighbors, coworkers and strangers
  Hilarious and cool. Look for one of my photos to appear soon.