Finding Flow

Jul 17, 2008

With a week's worth of home and contextual visits under our belts and an ongoing exploration of the local ecosystem we've reached that point of turning design insights into something a little more tangible. Or maybe visual - our hardware wizards are still in LA thanks to a normally swiftly issued visa applied for in trying times (state Olympic paranoia) and the general tardiness of DHL. Team members are sorely missed.

It takes time to become sufficiently comfortable with data to be able to meld it into something useful, a mental process that needs to cross references previous studies, a wealth of analyst data and the task at hand. Working on a design task takes and creates a new kind of energy and our days start earlier and end much later. Just need enough energy to make it to the plane, two more days in the Tokyo office then off on an extended summer break. Sleep is underrated.

Photos? A colleague's last night in Handan before she heads back to Beijing so we roll around town looking for somewhere a little more upscale than the usual beer and street food - and settle upon the relative glitz of a KTV joint. The spiel inside is fairly scripted, including numerous attempts to sell up services - one of the benefits (or drawback's if that's your thing) of arriving as a mixed gender group is having an easy to articulate excuse when you leave. But frankly, with a business model that is all based on reading body language and the subtle art of human persuasion, a decor that's off the wall, Chinese pop on tap, and a VIP booth that include its own classic disco floor it's a highly recommended experience for design researchers and mere mortals alike.

Location:
 China »  Handan Keywords:
 KTV | team | today's office