Windows SideShow in Time magazine

Windows SideShow, the new technology I've been working on for more than a year, is featured in the "What's Next in Gadgets" section of the upcoming issue of Time magazine. You can't see my contribution directly, but it's there in the ethos. Although time didn't say so, the credit for this photo goes to my design cohort Niels. Time: Next Gadgets Photo Essay

Complexity causes 50% of product returns

Half of all malfunctioning products returned to stores by consumers are in full working order, but customers can't figure out how to operate the devices... Product complaints and returns are often caused by poor design, but companies frequently dismiss them as "nuisance calls..." The average consumer in the United States will struggle for 20 minutes to get a device working, before giving up, the study found.

This study makes me want to be righteous and consider that perhaps someday my profession will be properly appreciated. But one of the lines at the end of the article worries me because it suggests like designers like me still aren't getting at the heart of the problem.

Most of the flaws found their origin in the first phase of the design process: product definition...

I have to wonder whether this is because designers aren't involved in product definition (I see a lot of this) or if we truly don't appreciate the user problem. With the increasing complexity of technology products is this problem inherent or can we have products that are simple without sacrificing functionality?

Read the full ABC News article