Dec 20th: To the point
The twentieth day of The Refinement Club’s Advent calendar features Theo Blackburn, Jonas Laberg, Ine Marie Vassøy and their genius idea about efficiency in everyday life.
We are truly blessed, for these days it’s not particularly hard to think of examples of stressful situations and time-gobbling, irritation-generating friction as we move around the city trying to get the Christmas shopping done. This refining idea concerns efficiency in everyday life. By collating streams of data and detecting patterns in them, the service To the point orchestrates the flow of resources within a city to everyone’s benefit. Let’s just all get on with our lives and spend them on something we’d rather do than stand in a queue! Here’s how:
Every time you send an sms, have a phone conversation or access a map with your mobile your location is logged. A wi-fi enabled phone registers the relative signal strengths of the surrounding nets and can track a person’s movement with a high degree of accuracy. Traffic density is measured by sensors below the tarmac. Transaction companies have data to estimate the length of queues in shops based on number of credit card swipes over time. Credit card companies have your entire purchase history (and make good use of it, too.)
Now, take your electronic calendar of choice and smarten it up with a pattern-detecting algorithm. Feed it with all relevant streams of data. Add friends and family into the mix, and coordinate your movements with them. Consider, if you will, the following scenario:
Our protagonist Andrea is a mother of two who runs a one-woman graphic design consultancy from home. She shares a car with her husband Mark and often needs to leave it somewhere in the city for him to pick up. Andrea has been using To the point for some time now, and has grown to trust the service.
1. We first encounter Andrea at home, where she is planning her days ahead. The timing of events is tight.
2. On her way to a client meeting, she leaves the car at a convenient spot for Mark to pick it up. To the point notifies him of its location.
3. Incongruously with her carefully planned schedule, Andrea is still at the same spot. To the point to the rescue.
4. With a succinct message, To the point lets Andrea know it’s got her back, allowing her to fully concentrate on the task at hand.
5. After the meeting is over, Andrea checks the message from To the point. Based on her previous habits, it makes an alternative suggestion which maintains her intentions for the day.
6. Andrea’s relaxed gait and careless smile are testaments to the trust she puts in To the point.
7. Passing a local spa, Andrea spots an ad for drop-in facials. After consulting her schedule she decides she has enough time.
8. The treatment takes longer than she thought, and To the point discovers Andrea might need to cut a corner. Based on data from the credit card transaction companies, To the point suggests she do her shopping at a different store than the one she normally goes to.
9. As Andrea is filling her basket at the newly discovered grocery shop, she feels her day is back on track - thanks to To the point.
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This idea was the outcome of a two day service design workshop at SDN2010 in Berlin, by three young designers.
Theo Blackburn is a service designer from London. With a background studying across Europe, Theo is excited about the role design plays within culture and vice versa. Currently interning at Engine Service Design, he will return to the Glasgow School of Art to finish his Masters Degree. (theo.blackburn [at] gmail.com)
Jonas Laberg is a service- and interaction design MA student at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design. He is presently undertaking his diploma project which will revolve around behavioural design, data visualisation and branding. He loves what he’s doing and he will be seeking employment in a design consultancy from mid 2011. (jonaslaberg [at] gmail.com)
Ine Marie Vassøy is an upcoming service designer living in Oslo, Norway. She’s currently working at Designit as a service design intern, where she is challenged to explore methods and tools of the service deign process and develop services. She has one year left to complete the MA in interaction design, where the focus will be on designing services. When she is finished she wishes to work in creative environments with great people, and do what she likes the most, service design. (inevassoey [at] gmail.com)
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