Tag cloud for saree advertising

The local advertising minds are getting geeky. My friend, Shashikant found this web 2.0 style tag cloud in a saree shop in Pune.

East is West and West is East

(Source: http://xkcd.com/503/)

Yes, terminologies can be very confusing especially when the context is shifted. For Americans, what they call “Far East” is actually closer to “Middle East”.

Flash Idea

Since these days I am working on putting together the second edition of IdeaCampPune, I am jammed with the word ‘idea’. Here is one idea that I would like to share with you.

I was wondering that as we can save the last impression of open tabs in Firefox browser, similarly can we retain the last impression for the desktop, such that when we restart the system next time we start from where we left in the previous session.

Photoshop - As real as it gets

Recently, Ad agency Bates 141 designed a poster for their client showcasing a realistic version of Abobe Photoshop CS4 environment. This concept touches the designer in me. It feels nostalgic as I have used Photoshop since version 3.


The amazing part is that the execution keeps up with the cool concept. Get a glimpse of behind the scene act here.

Altered Sense of Time

In my undergraduate course in Physics, I was exposed to “Twin Paradox” - a thought experiment in Special Relativity. According to the paradox, if one of the twin brothers travels at the speed of light to outer space and returns back on earth, he will be younger than the one left behind on earth. This paradox was based on the phenomenon of “Time Dilation” which describes that time slows down for observers in different frames of reference. To better explain the phenomenon, my teacher oversimplified the theory and put across an analogy of two people doing some work. Say, when my Mom is gardening time would fly swiftly for her since she enjoys the activity. On the contrary, if I have to deal with some banking work (which I hate), I will feel that it is taking too long to finish off the drab work.

That was what I learnt in Physics long back. I remembered this episode while I was reading about Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's theory of Flow.

Csikszentmihalyi describes “flow”, or optimal human experience, as a state of happiness while engrossed in an activity. He describes flow as

"being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're
using your skills to the utmost."

When in the state of flow, the mental energies are drawn towards doing the activity better, bringing a sense of fulfilment and meaning. This is a Zen like state where one truly experiences the joy of the activity one is involved in and stops getting distracted.

In this immersed state, one experiences an altered sense of time while surfing on the challenges the activity poses. As challenges are mastered and goals met, newer should surface to continue experiencing the flow. The challenges should match with the individual’s skills. Challenges way beyond proficiency can result in anxiety whereas lack of alluring challenges can set in boredom.

Aquaduct - a tricycle to sanitize and transport water

Imagine rural India where people have to walk long distances, carrying vessels, to fetch water. The water most of the times may not be potable. Can the long walk be replaced with cycling? We know that cycles are low-maintenance and no-fuel means of transportation. How about adding a storage tank and a filter to the cycle? Pretty darn idea coming from IDEO. They have designed a tricycle named Aquaduct which transports, filters and stores water.

IDEO explains how this tricycle sanitizes and transport water simultaneously:
“As the rider pedals, a pump attached to the pedal crank draws water from a large tank, through a carbon filter, to a smaller clean tank. A clutch engages and disengages the drive belt from the pedal crank, enabling the rider to filter the water while traveling or while stationary. The clean tank is removable and closed for contamination-free home storage and use.”

Now I am left wondering how we can adapt the tricycle in Indian context where mostly young girls do the job of collecting water. Can they ride the tricycle with large amount of water stored? In rural area there may not be flattened roads or paths for smooth ride. How would the people fill up the container at the back? Which means do they need to carry extra gear to fill the tank?

I really liked the idea but for it to be suitable in Indian context, there needs more deliberation.

IdeaCampPune

Often our ideas remain ideas and we are not sure whom to discuss them with. You may have a great idea, but the real challenge lays in finding its appropriate application. Cohesive and divergent thinking is what is required to build ideas from scratch to working prototypes. In the process we need to discuss with people from different walks of life to identify how our ideas can make a difference in their lives. Can our ideas make money for anyone?

IdeaCampPune is a self-organized gathering to share ideas and see them shape by applying divergent thinking. The objective of the camp is to get people from different roles like designers, entrepreneurs, financers, creative minds, technology evangelists, product managers and marketers together to bandy ideas from everyone’s viewpoint. Ideally by end of the gathering we should have ‘proof of potential’ for our ideas.

If you want to be a part of this ideation event, register on http://barcamp.org/IdeaCampPune