I was in Houston a few weeks back to teach a user research workshop at a client’s site. I did get some time to take photos and here’s a few.

Welcome hackers

Spec’s liquor

Donut

GUNS

A couple of weeks ago I was in San Antonio, where I was one of the presenters and workshop leaders at the Enterprise UX conference. Here are some of my pictures.

Out the hotel window, before the sun comes up.

Welcome to the party.

This toilet was flirting with me.

Roasted? Iced? Local language norms or just really fancy catering?

Conference breakfasts.

• Shudder: Ford is using "Invented characters" to get everyone on the same page – Antonella is the personification of a profile created from demographic research about the Fiesta’s target customer, said Moray Callum, executive director of Ford Americas design.

  Ford is using characters like Antonella to bring a human element to the dry statistical research drawn from polls and interviews. Based on psychological profiles, these characters are a more modern version of the “theme boards” that designers once covered with snapshots and swatches of material to inspire a design. They are also like avatars, those invented characters used in online games and forums to symbolize a participant’s personality.

  “Personalizing gives context to the information we have. Sometimes the target demographics are difficult to relate to by, say, a 35-year-old male designer.

  “We found in the past that if they didn’t understand the buyer, designers would just go off and design something for themselves,” he added.

• All of the highbrow talent lavished on lowbrow fare – Frank Bruni riffs on shifting trends in food and tastes as informed (or exacerbated) by the Internet's power to bestow a laser-like focus on the details of the details. Cupcakes, donuts, hot dogs, hamburgers, but what does it all mean?

• In NYC this weekend 13 Dunkin' Donuts stores will become Tim Hortons – This is the first arrival of Tim Hortons to New York City. There are 427 Dunkin’ Donuts within 10 miles of Times Square.
• Engendering Change in the Silicon Valley – An investigation by our friends at Orange Labs SF into the history, present, and emerging roles of women in technology.

Without donuts being part of the plan when I travel, they seem to show up with some regularity. While Krispy Kreme and Dunkin’ Donuts seek to provide a consistent experience across geographies, there are also very unique experiences available in the very same category. The notion of donut is rather broad and is reinterpreted in some engaging ways. There’s something about the pure pleasure of a donut that also invites a fun approach to all aspects of the experience: the flavors, the environment, the presentation, the messaging.

Here’s a few I’ve documented. Please leave recommendations for other donuts-shops-to-experience in the comments.

Randy’s Donuts, LA (Amazing site, donuts are pretty good)

Voodoo Doughnuts, Portland, OR: Rex Diablo and Ol’ Dirty Bastard (fun to choose, less to eat)

Murciano in The Marais, Paris (the best thing I’ve ever eaten)

Fractured Prune, Washington D.C. (didn’t get to try it)

Roti Donat, Bali, Indonesia (definitely not good)

Mister Donut sign and exterior, Taipei, Taiwan

Mister Donut Simpsons promotion, Kyoto, Japan (I don’t remember what I got but it was good!)

I’ve uploaded nearly 1300 of my Japan pictures to Flickr. For reasons I’m sure you’ll understand, I haven’t added titles or tags or descriptions proactively, but please add comments or questions on flickr and I’ll gladly offer a story or explanation.

Meanwhile, I’m including some of my faves here, as well as part 1 and part 2.

cap’n crunch doughnut, originally uploaded by mokin.

Still life with Bacon Maple Bar and Voodoo Doughnut, originally uploaded by HPZ.

voodoo doughnut, originally uploaded by Poisson.

blood-filled voodoo doughnut, originally uploaded by mokin.

I’ve got to get to Portland soon and check this place out. Cool menu, interesting attitude.

Grape Ape
(raised doughnut with vanilla frosting and grape powder)

Dirt
(raised doughnut covered with vanilla glaze and oreo cookies)

Arnold Palmer
(cake doughnut covered with lemon and tea powder)

San Dimas
(cake with three types of chocolate on top)

Butter Fingering
(Devils food, vanilla, and crushed Butterfinger)

Neapolitan
(chocoalte doughnut with vanilla frosting and strawberry quick powder)

Triple Chocolate Penetration
(chocolate doughnut, chocolate glaze, and cocoa-puffs)

Voodoo Doughnut
(voodoo doll doughnut)

Dirty Snowball
(chocolate cake doughnut covered with pink marshmallow glaze and surprise filling)

Apple Fritter
(apple/glaze/doughnut as big as your head)

The Memphis Mafia
(chocolate chips/banana/ peanutbutter/glaze big!)

Portland Creme
(raised doughnut filled with creme and covered in chocolate with two eyes)

Cock-n-Balls
(Bachlorette party favorite, tripple cream filled, with your favorite saying written right on it. Comes in its own pink box. $4.95 Order ahead as supplies can be limited.)

Nyquil Glazed and pepto-bismol (currently on hold)

No Name
A doughnut so good we couldn’t come up with a better name. It has chocolate rice crispys and peanutbutter on it.

VEGAN
(thats right, vegan doughnuts! assorted flavors, come in and eat many)

Strange sign seen near the UXWeek hotel in D.C. Fractured Prune is a strange name for a donut shop (I mean shoppe). Their website explains how they named the chain after Prunella Shriek, a female athlete (sometimes injured) and landowner from the 1800s. But more interesting (as if the story of Prunella isn’t jaw-dropping in and of itself) is that “Here’s the fun part — you pick the toppings, glazes and sugars for your donuts!” from choices such as

* GLAZES
honey, banana, chocolate, maple, strawberry, raspberry, peanut butter, mocha, mint, cherry, lemon, orange, blueberry, mixed berry, caramel
* TOPPINGS
rainbow sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles, coconut, peanuts, Oreo cookie, mini chocolate chips, graham cracker crumbs
* SUGARS
powdered, granulated, cinnamon/sugar

and resulting in a wild array of interesting combinations:

Peppermint Patty
Mint / Mini Chips

Blueberry Hill
Blueberry / Powdered Sugar

Trail Mix
Banana / Nuts / Coconut / Jimmies

Who knew? I just saw a strange logo and an old deli being torn down. Looks like an interesting version of a familiar product, with customization as an easy but powerful tool for reinvention. I would bet it’s a pretty fun experience, too.

Tracing the roots of a Canadian icon

Wendy’s International Inc. is expected to spin -off a 15-per-cent stake in Tim Hortons this week, and curious observers are watching to see how many of the shares will land in Canadian hands.

The stock will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange, but the vast bulk of Tim Hortons’s coffee sales still occur north of the border, where the chain has strong roots.
…
Tim Hortons now has about 2,597 outlets north of the border and 288 in the U.S.

Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan cheered when they learned that Tim Hortons is opening an outlet in Kandahar.

Hmm. Eating Timbits in Afghanistan? A new book idea!

From York University sociologist Steve Penfold’s folkloric history of donuts in Canada:

By 1979, the Greater Toronto Area had a Donut Corner, Cave, Nook, Tree, Hole, Haven, Place, Shop, Shoppe, Plaza, entre, Fair, King, Queen, Duke, Master, Hut, Shack, House, Inn, Castle, Factory, City, World, and Galaxy.