“The company is a design philosophy. It’s about solving problems for every room in the house.” That began my recent conversation with Alex Lee, CEO of OXO.
For the full interview, please visit: http://ow.ly/VYL
Category: gel2008
Repost of Alex Lee from OXO
Last Spring I was fortunate to be able to attend the GEL conference in New York City. One of the people on the slate of incredible speakers was Alex Lee, CEO of OXO. The fine people at Good Experience who organize the conference sent me a link to a video that is now posted to highlight Alex’s talk. I wanted to repost my article, now complete with video, so you can enjoy on the great talk that has had me thinking intently about functional design ever since! Cheers (and thanks to Good Experience!)
You may not know the name “OXO“, though you undoubtedly have seen their products in the kitchen gadget aisles. And their anonymity shouldn’t surprise anyone – after all, their CEO, Alex Lee, believes that designers should be overshadowed by the simplicity and beauty of their own designs. Whether it’s making an incomparable salad spinner or an ingenious measuring cup, the reaction OXO is always looking for from users is their lack of notice of the object. It should be so intuitive and easy to use that its use should go unnoticed, like walking, like breathing.
Alex also made several points about dignity. OXO seeks to design products that are usable by the greatest percentage of the population possible. The goal is to design beautiful products without increasing cost, while maximizing functionality, and never making a user feel like “I’m using this easy-to-use product because I am unable to use another one that is more complicated.”
He and the talented design team at OXO have several axioms that they work and live by. Products should be:
Easy to use
Easy to understand
Use honest language
Instructions not required
As far as finding inspiration for worthy design projects, OXO also makes that search simple. They find objects that cause people some sort of pain or frustration, even if they don’t know that they are frustrated. And then they develop a design remedy to alleviate the pain. For example, why should I need to get my eyes down to counter level to observe a meniscus to see if the liquid I’ve measured is at the right level? I should be able to comfortably observe it from overhead. I didn’t realize that, but OXO did. Design so brilliant you wonder how you ever did without it…
Alex Lee at Gel 2008 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.
GEL 2008: Terry Borden and Bent Objects
I have a fondness for wacky art and the minds that create that art. I’m especially appreciative of wacky art that makes me laugh out loud. Terry Borden is one of those people.
About halfway through Day 2 of the GEL conference, Terry took the stage and talked openly and honestly about all of his failures as an artist. And then he hit upon an idea of Bent Objects, using items found around the house and then making them into “people” with bent wire arms, legs, and accessories, then placed in vignettes. He didn’t, and maybe still doesn’t, have much money so he has to create each art piece for only a few bucks apiece. And that constraint has placed the spotlight on his humor and ingenuity. Again, I am reminded that what makes good art brilliant is the need to work within constraints.
I’d describe them verbally, though the laugh is much more easily shared by just visiting his website. http://www.bentobjects.blogspot.com. One of his works “Paying Respects” is pictured above. Several peanut-people bringing flowers to a jar of Jif. I love this guy.
GEL 2008: Alex Lee, President of Oxo
You may not know the name “OXO“, though you undoubtedly have seen their products in the kitchen gadget aisles. And their anonymity shouldn’t surprise anyone – after all, their CEO, Alex Lee, believes that designers should be overshadowed by the simplicity and beauty of their own designs. Whether it’s making an incomparable salad spinner or an ingenious measuring cup, the reaction OXO is always looking for from users is their lack of notice of the object. It should be so intuitive and easy to use that its use should go unnoticed, like walking, like breathing.
Alex also made several points about dignity. OXO seeks to design products that are usable by the greatest percentage of the population possible. The goal is to design beautiful products without increasing cost, while maximizing functionality, and never making a user feel like “I’m using this easy-to-use product because I am unable to use another one that is more complicated.”
He and the talented design team at OXO have several axioms that they work and live by. Products should be:
Easy to use
Easy to understand
Use honest language
Instructions not required
As far as finding inspiration for worthy design projects, OXO also makes that search simple. They find objects that cause people some sort of pain or frustration, even if they don’t know that they are frustrated. And then they develop a design remedy to alleviate the pain. For example, why should I need to get my eyes down to counter level to observe a meniscus to see if the liquid I’ve measured is at the right level? I should be able to comfortably observe it from overhead. I didn’t realize that, but OXO did. Design so brilliant you wonder how you ever did without it…
Alex Lee at Gel 2008 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.
GEL 2008: Bridget Duffy
If there is any industry that needs a major make-over, it’s health care. And if I or anyone I know ever needs a major procedure done, I am am likely to make the decision to choose the Cleveland Clinic as a result of Bridget Duffy’s talk at GEL. She is an accomplished doctor, as well as the Clinic’s Chief Innovation Officer. She’s involved with everything from empathy projects to redesigning the hospital gown. Originally she wanted her title to be “Chief Empathy Officer” – that’s how much she believes in empathy’s value.
Empathy is a funny thing. Kids have tons of it. In our early adult years through midlife, we lose a large amount of it, and then as we move into our later years, we revert back to our empathic capacity from childhood. So we have it – we are born with it. And like the creative spirit, we bury it somewhere deep within our recesses, until some life-altering event brings it back. Our challenge is to find a way to keep our empathy from being beaten down in the wake our busy lives.
My favorite quote from Bridget’s talk: “Everyone needs GPS – a guide to take them through every system. And companies need it, too.”
GEL 2008: Clay Shirky
Clay Shirky is a professor who studies media, intently. During his GEL talk this year, he spoke about the changing role of newspapers, and all major media outlets for that matter. And his ideas are thought-provoking. Newspapers would be wise to follow his lead in order to stay alive.
Newspapers were begun as a way to disseminate information. Radio and TV have followed this same lead. Today, they are not so much information designators (bloggers can on-line news sources can do that much faster and much more conveniently). They are now taking on the role of being “places” where coordination is happening. Publishing is changing its purpose from printing to acting.
In his book, “Here Comes Everybody”, Shirky discusses how individuals are using major media channels to organize themselves, be it for social justice, to demand better services, or to get the word out about a cause, even though they themselves do not belong to the newspaper staffs. Said another way, we as a society have moved from following news to the news following us, or creating and reporting the news ourselves. Mass media’s challenge is to figure out how to best serve the people by providing new, more useful coordinating tools.
My favorite quotes from his talk, “Thinking is for doing.” ~ William James and “If you have the same problem for a long time, maybe it’s not a problem. It’s a fact.”
GEL2008 – making time for special moments
There are a pile of posts just waiting to be written about my experience at the GEL conference. They will be coming shortly. There are a few points that I think are worth making in a separate post.
I have never been to this type of conference – it’s not focused on a particular industry, but a particular aspect of every industry. Good (G) Experience (E) Live (L). From the first female film maker in the UAE to the Chief Innovation Officer at the Cleveland Clinic to a Brew Master, this conference was filled with speakers and participants that are all interested in making time for and creating special moments for employees, for customers, and inspiring others by reaching out and sharing the stories. This is particularly interesting to me because of my early career in theatre, which was very much focused on experience and taking people out of their element by sharing a story with them.
The first day of GEL2008 was filled with different activities to choose from – I chose the game of Werewolf and a trip to a farmstead cheese farm in NJ. And then Day 2 had a slate of speakers, most of whom I had never heard of. I walked away inspired and energized. I felt like the creativity of the world was buzzing all around me. It was empowering, and made me believe that there is no end to the extent of the work and impact that impassioned people can have.
Posts to come on the speakers…stay tuned.
GEL2008: Werewolf – the best party game ever
My first activity for the GEL conference was learning and playing the game Werewolf. I m now obsessed and planning my first “Werewolf” party. It’s a game of trickery, deceit, and cunning. It’s also tough to imagine walking away from it. I learned it from Charlie Todd, a comedian and creator of ImprovEverywhere, and his team of highly skilled players.
What you’ll need:
a deck of cards with two aces, a king, a queen, a jack, and as many numbered cards as needed to have a card for everyone playing
at least 8 people
Roles:
The moderator (no card)
Two Aces – werewolves
King – doctor
Queen – fortune teller
Jack – hunter
Number cards – townspeople
Object of the game:
For the werewolves: to kill all the townspeople
For the townspeople: to kill the werewolves
There are two cycles to the game:
Night: everyone is asleep. at the moderator’s command, each werewolf wakes up separately and silently points to choose someone to kill. (They must choose the same person in order for that person to die and be out of the game.) The fortune teller wakes up and may silently point to ask the moderator if any one person is a werewolf. The doctor wakes up and chooses someone to save – if that person has been chosen by both werewolves, the person survives.
Day: everyone’s eyes are open and discussion along with accusations of werewolves may be made and voted on. The moderator will let the group know if anyone has died in the night. (If someone dies in the night, they do not reveal their card so the group does not know their role. The group discusses who may be a werewolf. Accusations are made. An accusation must be seconded and then is voted on by the group after the accused takes 10 seconds to defend their position and why they shouldn’t be killed. Majority wins. If the person is voted to be killed, they reveal their role by showing their card. If the person holds the jack card, they are allowed to take another person out with them.
So while it may sound rather gruesome, the game is an absolute blast. Even with a group of strangers, it took one round and everyone was hooked.
Christa Avampato 