Indeed
Solicitor's office, London.
Writing from Tokyo | April 11, 2007 | Permalink
Game On
Mobile phone game advertising, Shibuya station.
Writing from Tokyo | April 10, 2007 | Permalink
Context is Everything
A skate shop ad sticker using the b-word. The context? Heathrow's terminal 1.
Signs warning against bomb-related jokes can be found in a number of airports, LAX springs to mind. When does placing a advertisement become an arrestable 'act of terror'?
And taken to the nth degree by WK Interactive, and now viewable in Neo-Tokyo (ta David).
Writing from Tokyo | April 6, 2007 | Permalink
Predictability, Margins of Error, Quality of Life
Think about your daily commute - how accurately can you predict your time of arrival? To the minute? 5 minutes? Within an hour? And in what ways does being able to accurately predict where you will be when effect you and the people around you?
After graduating from college I lived for a number of years in Stoke Newington - a Williamsburgesque neighbourhood in north London made marginally more affordable by not being connected to the Underground network. Transport into central London meant getting on a bike or catching one of the iconic 73 Routemaster busses, with public transport putting the traveler at the mercy of road works and the then frequent IRA bomb scares*. A journey into town might take 35 minutes or then again an hour.
*For a number of years millions of UK citizens were affected IRA transport disruptions and in turn were forced to think about what their government was doing on their behalf outside the cosy confines of the ‘mainland’. In its own little way, changing the predictability of the daily commute bought the war in Northern Ireland home. Flyers in the US may well be experiences a similar pause for thought every time they take their shoes off going through TSA security.
Commuter travel in Tokyo is a very different story - public transport is both frequent and arrives on time (not that I'm unduly affected by it - its a city that is easy to get around on a bicycle). If a train is more than a couple of minutes late Japan Rail issues an apology and on arrival at the destination a queue may form at the station-master’s office to pick up an official late-note. Blaming public transport is not a viable excuse in Tokyo. Predictability encourages just-in-time behaviours and frees up time that can then be put to other uses. The flip side of this - not knowing the time of arrival puts the onus on travelers to maintain awareness of their current surroundings, keep abreast of the ongoing status of the transport as well as juggle destination related parameters - such as keeping colleagues or clients abreast of arrival times. If you have a job where being on time is a necessary component of functioning effectively then the ability to accurately predict where you will be when is also valued. Its a simple proposition - people tend to be willing to pay for stuff they value.
And yes the ability to successfully move millions of passengers, as in the photo of the Tokyo rush hour above, increases the flow of people to the point is literally and figuratively swept along by the crowd.
We are of course in the midst of significant shifts in the way we perceive time, location, and the world around us. Real time status updates are available from an ever wider variety of sources whether its knowing when a bus will arrive to parcel being delivered and yes, the mobile phone is playing an expanding role in supporting both micro-coordination and maintaining awareness of those things we, well, wish to maintain awareness of. Lateness is increasingly relative - when the people and things we coordinate with have sufficient awareness of your whereabouts they are more likely to mitigate the consequences of lateness by using the time for other valued pursuits. For some the concept of being late or early is a twentieth century notion.
But technology is far from neutral and affects us in different ways (the photo above is of a gender segregated queue for a bus in Tehran). What are the implications for being ‘late’ in business or social contexts? Or, bearing in mind societal stereotypes for way finding or map reading - what does it mean if as a woman you turn up late for a meeting compared to a man? Employers or employees? Brazilians or Germans? In the near near future your geo-location is just another parameter to decide to share with others.
Or at least that's the theory. Because many consumers won't fully appreciate what about their location is being shared and with whom - hidden behind deliberately opaque business models or poorly designed interfaces. Or quite simply they won't have a choice about whether to use the technology or not. Which is where the astute and empathic designer comes in - you have the power and with power comes responsibility.
Been playing around with Dopplr these past few days and whilst its too early to judge whether it will become a valued tool for the long distance traveler the signs are there: it requires minimal setup and ongoing maintenance to derive real value, and has a pleasantly neutral weather-forecast approach to informing members who is roughly where and when.
And why these photos from train stations around the world? The photo above is from Seoul Station taken during a study on Mobile TV early adopters [related essay]. Would-be passengers are relaxed and watching a sports event, trains and departure platforms have been announced well in advance of departure so they can switch their attention to other more leisurely activities. The photo below is of passengers in London's Waterloo Station, with only five minutes before the train is scheduled departure the platform has yet to be announced and fellow passengers spend their time intently staring at the screens.
Any (service) design students out there looking for a thesis project? Design a service utilizing mobile devices that helps passengers know where to be when. What would a station or an airport look like if everyone maintained an absolute awareness of their here-now, and there-next?
Writing from Heathrow | April 5, 2007 | Permalink
Gaps Minded
The same message targetted at passengers standing on the platform and those disembarking from the train. Given the semi-random scattering of passengers on a platform versus the limited number of doors on a train there should be more messages facing the train - there were however equal numbers facing both directions.
The role of technology in supporting the delivery of micro-targetted messages. The contexts in which it is likely to be ineffective.
In Helsinki this week - a welcome opportunity to deliver projects, share ideas, fill in the gaps and plan strategies. And the best part? talking though research topics with the team; and figuring out the most appropriate places in the world to conduct the research. Time for something a little more challenging.
Writing from London | April 4, 2007 | Comments (0) | Permalink
Jarring Intrusions
When advertising makes its way into spaces that you'd rather it stays out of.
Like? Like the advertising for mobile phones on the hangers of London's Bond International.
Writing from Hoxton | April 3, 2007 | Permalink
You Are. Are You?
Writing from City of London | March 30, 2007 | Permalink
My Icon. Your Icon?
Consider the impact of this grafiti on the walls of Geneva (where it was spotted) versus on the walls of Tokyo. Iconic images for whom? And why? And what reaction from the local population?
What are the technologies that increase the immediacy at which this kind of information flows around the world? And the accuracy of those flows. Blogs? Don't be silly. Think Microsoft's Photosynth. Though as a TEDster pointed out this moves from Wow to genuinely interesting when it is able to recognize the Post Falls Seven Eleven from every other Seven Eleven out there.
This morning's commute is a little longer that usual: hello London, followed by hei Helsinki next week.
Writing from Tokyo | March 27, 2007 | Permalink
Oo
Writing from Tokyo | March 22, 2007 | Permalink
Localised
Graf includes a Japanised version of the Ronald McDonald face.
Writing from Tokyo | | Permalink
Rules, Exceptions
Height rules for travelling on Bangkok's Sky Train: 140cm or less - free only on children's day, 90cm or less - free everyday.
And the exceptions to the exceptions?
Writing from Bangkok | March 21, 2007 | Permalink
Smoking Makes Your Teeth Go Bad
Mentally quite affective - the package design is simply not something you want to have lying around on a cafe table. But why stop there? Packaging with abrasive surfaces, increasingly unpleasant odors...
Thanks to our local guides, Nad & Yu for making our stay that much easier.
Writing from Bangkok | | Permalink
Information Positioning
Taxi license plate posted on the left and right passenger doors supporting information recall. Related to the risk of forgetting and then having to retrieve belongings from the taxi, and perceptions of passenger safety?
Writing from Bangkok | March 19, 2007 | Permalink
Thai Sticker Graph
Writing from Bangkok | March 17, 2007 | Permalink
Advertising in 3 Dimensions
Physical advertising for Kenzo in a Daikanyama cafe includes supplying and stocking bamboo furniture, product samples, framed aren't-we-in Vietnam/Laos/Cambodia/Thailand photos for the walls, and a rather weak movie projected on the walls.
Writing from Tokyo | March 14, 2007 | Permalink
Appropriate Use of Punctuation
Unusual use of exclamation marks in street signage, or more accurately park signage - Tokyo's Komazawa Koen.
Writing from Tokyo | March 13, 2007 | Permalink
When you Delegate Positive Experiences
During yesterday's TED talk I proposed that from a design perspective a potential solution to pretty much every design problem is delegation - getting other people or technology to complete those parts of a task or activity that the user is unable to complete themselves. With the exception for things like bodily functions e.g. going to the toilet or entertainment - you wouldn't pay someone to go to the cinema and enjoy a film on your behalf. (Yes, just because its a potential solution doesn't make it a worthwhile goal to aim for).
Except that at some point - when we are better able to understand and map sensorial experiences and have a better understanding of how the brain processes these you may well be able to delegate entertainment experiences to other people, to be enjoyed at your leisure at a later time and date. In essense - time, location and body-shifting experiences. Movie buffs amongst you will already be tutting about Strange Days, and so you should.
Experience shifting raises all sorts of interesting questions about empathic design, where from an physiological-emotional perspective experience designers will literally be able put themselves in someone elses shoes. What are the characteristics of the people whose experiences will define, well, the essense of the experience we wish to design for, to communicate? It can be anything from designing an out of the box experience to learning, knowing what it feels like to walk in a Sao Paulo subway station (above), the touch a razor from a Chinese back street barber (below) and yes, will encompass sexual encounters. In this world DRM boils down to removing experiences from human memory and the inevitable badly written DRM leaves its host as a vegetable.
A new profession will arise - people whose job it is to experience stuff, and who will be judged on their ability to capture the subtlties of any difference process, task or context. With a distinction between raw experiences and those enhanced though stimulants, or post production. And yes, Gonzo?
Anyone feel like writing a job spec for this job from the future? Thoughts in the comments please.
Writing from Monterey | March 10, 2007 | Comments (1) | Permalink
Perception, Reality, Privacy
Close Circuit TV camera becoming a lightening rod for the debate on privacy. To what extent do people perceive their privacy to be violated by CCTV cameras? To what extent is their privacy actually violated i.e. the information that is collected is acted on in some way? And how big is the gulf between the perception and the reality? And is the difference irrelevant?
What design changes can be made to mitigate/extenuate the feeling of being watched?
Given the granuality of information they are able to collect, why doesn't this sticker include the name of a search engine? What does it say about our awareness of what search engines (and other services) versus physical presence? Or about the willingness to give up privacy for convenience?
Writing from Salt Lake City | March 4, 2007 | Permalink
Trust Jesus
Writing from Salt Lake City | March 3, 2007 | Permalink
Jahwe
Mobile phone appliations advertised on the side of an advertising truck.
Writing from Tokyo | February 25, 2007 | Permalink
Message Complexity
Writing from Geneva | February 11, 2007 | Permalink
Our Heroes, Who Are They?
Heroes? Heroines more likely.
Writing from Geneva | February 10, 2007 | Permalink
How it is Communicated
Writing from Geneva | February 7, 2007 | Permalink
The Line Between L'Humor and
Writing from Geneva | | Permalink
Looking for What You Expect To Find
A fly poster plasters the only available flat surface on a car park wall, pausing to keep a keyhole uncovered.
It's Switzerland, and I expect to find order. So I find order (regardless of its merit).
Writing from Geneva | | Permalink
Logos as a Moments in Time
Recommended by and listed in the guidebook. The entry is updated yearly with new stickers being added to the entrance of this restaurant, providing customers with a snapshot of design tweaks.
Writing from Grand Montets | January 30, 2007 | Permalink
Heritage, Reference
A digital sign capable of displaying text in any font or layout. What are the motivations for copying previous, analog sign designs? To what extent does the visual transition between the fixed analog form and digital support passengers looking for visual clues that they looking at the right sign?
Writing from Tokyo | January 10, 2007 | Permalink
How to Avoid Becoming Road Kill
The striking thing about the journey between Rangpo and Gangtok apart from: taking chai breaks from a packed Mahindra; the scenery - tropical forests clinging to the Himalayan foothills; and packs of monkeys lining the route - are the multitude of signs extolling drivers of the dangers of the road. Arrive in peace, not in pieces, don't gossip let him drive, and my personal favourite because of its proximity to a particularly cliff-like cliff drive, don't fly.
The past days in the Himalayas have been physically and mentally tough (in ways you might not expect) and recent travel experiences have put a lot of things into sharp focus. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger right?Tomorrow starts the final leg of my winter journey - heading to Hokkaido for fresh powder and onsen. The future (perfect) can wait a few more days.
Writing from Sikkim | January 1, 2007 | Permalink
Microbreak Advertising
The appropriation of a zebra crossing in Chengdu as a backdrop for advertising, somewhat similar to this in Tokyo's Daikanyama.
How will local government digital infrastructure be similarly appropriated?
Writing from Chengdu | December 16, 2006 | Permalink
Contextual Advertising
Advertising for train pass (Suica) equipped mobile phones advertised at the point of their intended use - the ticket barrier.
Writing from Tokyo | December 4, 2006 | Comments (4) | Permalink
QR Bar Code Meta Data
QR bar codes (photo below) embedded into the mosaic of the station posters (above) - each 'tile' is a separate bar code. Snap a photo of the bar code with an appropriate camera phone to follow the link. From Shibuya station.
Writing from Tokyo | December 1, 2006 | Comments (1) | Permalink
Human Traffic Flows, Design Flexibility
Form and flow of the sign facilitated by the ability to read top to bottom. The flexibility of sign design in a culture that reads left to right and top to bottom.
Writing from Izu | November 30, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
Trial, Error, Aspiration
Train carriage canvas for aspirant graf artists. Apply your tag/artwork/visual noise from the comfort of your own sofa/school desk/bedroom. A simple lifestyle object with strongly implied intentions.
From the Montana store, Heidelberg.
Writing from Tokyo | November 27, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
Elevation to Art Form
The Heidelberg Montana graf shop somehow simultainiously at home and at odds with the twee surrounds of the old town. To what extent does the ability to see what other people have been doing in the same field, essentially comparison shopping legitimise the medium?
"Iranian grafitti?"
"..."
"Its all political isn't it?"
Indeed you might expect so.
Writing from Tokyo | November 17, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
Relative Metrics of Success
Hard to figure out whom this advert is aimed at - its extolling the number of devices success of Bluetooth with a full page spread in the USA Today.
Writing from Heidelberg | November 16, 2006 | Permalink
Harass, Segment
"On weekdays this car is 'only for women' in trains for Osaki and Shinkiba departing from this station from 7:38 to 9:33"
Of note: the necessity for gender segregation of train carriages; the precision of the rules; colour, design and placement of the sign.
Writing from Tokyo | November 13, 2006 | Permalink
Line, End
Signal, Daikanyama attempts to brand the end of the line. Urban spam? How could it be cleverer?
Cheers to the Tokyo crew - you're what Sunday's in Tokyo are about.
Writing from Daikanyama | November 5, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
Peace Needs a New Logo
Lights projected onto the United Nations University in Aoyama being photographed by numerous passers by. Proportion of camera phones to cameras? About 8 to 1.
Writing from Aoyama | November 4, 2006 | Permalink
Mobile Classifieds
From a Tehrani free sheet.
Writing from Tokyo | November 2, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
ID Cards and the market for Fake ID Cards
Take a journey through a Chinese urban landscape and you'll soon come across stenciled advertisements for fake IDs - one phone call, meet up, hand over some yuan and you can obtain a work live/permit for a different city. In China there are restrictions on where you can live/work and although its possible to get away with it, having the necessary permit brings a degree of flexibility. Jump over the ocean to the US where college students are frequently carded - producing a photo ID, typically a driver's license to get served in bars or enter nightclubs. It's not surprising that in the US fake IDs abound, or at least that they did when I was underage and hitching my way across Texas.
What has this got to do with Iran? Iranians carry a National ID card and from experience where there are originals there are invariably fakes. Or are there? Buying a train, bus or plane ticket requires the ID card but the activities where fake IDs are most likely to be used in other cultures - drinking alcohol and entering night clubs don't apply to Iran. Underground events or private pool parties aren't the sort of places where a card with a photo is any more likely to get you in and buying alcohol is strictly an under the counter affair.
What mainstream activities enabled by being able to prove you are a different age, person or even gender? Are these 'benefits' sufficient to trigger the mainstream use of fake ID cards?
And what does this have to do with the photos above? Actually... nothing, they're just details from one of dozens of revolution related murals that have been painted on the sides of Terhan tenements. These remind me of the 'men ...rituals... touch...' by Barbara Kruger.
Writing from Tokyo | November 1, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
Local Graf
Writing from Tehran, suburbs of | | Comments (0) | Permalink
Abstract Commodities: Money, Identity
The shared understanding and agreement of value that enables markets to form and transactions to take place. Current Iranian Rials, Shah era Rials and US Dollar bank notes for sale in the photo above, and SIM card + phone numbers below.
SIM cards are still scarse in Iran - ordering one takes months unless you're willing to pay to jump the queue. Numbers starting with a 1 - the first SIM cards to be issued by the government/operator, command a higher price than more recent issues. Abstract values indeed.
Shipping out in a few minutes. Cheers to the local crew for making it happen so smoothly: Mahsa, Saeed, Mohy, Nigar and Azadeh.
Writing from Tehran | | Comments (0) | Permalink
The Consequences of Walking in the Wrong Door
I'm currently sitting in a roadside restaurant sipping coffee and trying to avoid eye contact with a heavily set gent on the next table. It's quite difficult because I know he knows and I'm wondering if anytthing will come of it.
We're situated is on the hug-the-mountain road somewhere between Tehran and Amol. To our left lies Mt. Damavand - Iran's highest peak and the focus of today's attention. Except that my goal of scaling a decent mountain in these final two days in Iran has come to naught due to a combination of mostly positive factors - the driver having sidetracked me with a series of increasingly interesting diversions. And anyway this time was set aside to think through the events of the last month and focus on some big decisions for the next - I recently passed a six year milestone at Nokia and need to figure out where and with whom to focus the next.
Don Norman's treatise on designer's taking responsibility for people pushing a door that was designed to be pulled was one of things that inspired me to get into this line of work, so there's some kind of justice that it's the current reason for my current undoing. Twenty minutes ago I was, shall we say in need, and confronted with two signs denoting access to a male and a female toilets. Yes I know I should have figured out the Arabic for male and female public toilets but frankly it's not been that kind of trip. The challenge? There were no secondary design clues - no colour coded signs, no difference in smell (ladies trust me on this) and no one walking in or out to help me decide which door to pick. For all my inherent prejudice against blue denoting male and red or pink denoting female, colour coding gender specific signs sure helps you’re struggling with Arabic or any other unfamiliar script. The often re-assuring confirmation that you've walked into the right/wrong toilet - the presence of a urinal is wholly missing from Iran's public toilets - the squatting position dictated as the posture of choice by the powers that be.
So I flip a mental coin and walk in, do what I need to do, clean-up and walk out. And its one the way out that I meet the heavy set gent, walking out the other door.
BTW - photo above from a gents.
Writing from Rehney | October 30, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tire Man
Writing from Tehran | | Permalink
Bug Soap, Oxymoron
Writing from Chalus | October 26, 2006 | Permalink
Devil Bush
First piece of stencil art spotted in Tehran.
This is the city of murals.
Writing from Tehran | October 23, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
Missing, a Good Thing
Our arrival in Tehran is certainly auspicious - 3 camera crews are here to greet the plane's arrival. The focus of their attention? A trophy wielding sportman returning home to the greetings of fans and family and camera crews. Clearing customs is a synch - for once the foreigner's queue at customs goes quicker than than for the locals - its a a half empty flight, and I guess October is not the tourist season. A female colleague is politely asked to don a headscarf before her passport is processed.
Within an hour we arrive at the hotel. Turn on the TV to try and see out what kind of event the sports heroes were competing in but get side tracked by videos of the intifada on channel one. The production values of the videos being broadcast are actually close to many of the underground sk8 promos floating around, or is it the other way around? Visions of of Mssrs Shortys, Fuct, et al. watching stone throwing resisters for tips on how to keep it real. For all of sk8s hardcore pavement chic you don't get any edgier than death so chemagh wins out over hoodies.
A late walk through a rather sizeable local park in an effort to stretch my legs. By 10:30pm the remaining visitors are families checking out the animal enclosures, couples and groups of male youths. I suppose sitting on exercise machines whilst smoking is a double act or rebellion where ever you are in the world. They smile, nod and like teens the world over check out my footwear.
Many of the strategically placed two seater benches have views of greenery, and of other two seater benches. Watching me watching you. I assume to know very little about Iran (though at this stage maybe a little more than you) but there are two striking features of this park - both things that are missing from comparable parks, say in the UK or the US. The first is that the children's playgournd is, well, not enclosed. The second is that the only signs in the entire park direct people to 'Don't drink this water' or 'Drink this water'. Nothing that suggests anti-social behaviours within these grounds. Signs can tell you a lot about the norms in a culture. A lack of signs may also speak volumes.
But at what point does the public display of signs become redundant?
Writing from Tehran | October 19, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
Quiet vs Prayer
Writing from Doha | October 17, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
Street Norms
Writing from Cairo | October 15, 2006 | Permalink
Hassan Does
Writing from Cairo | | Comments (0) | Permalink
Emotional Push, Emotional Pull
Writing from Venice | September 24, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
Activities That Bring People In Contact
The delination of parking spaces, and the stakeholder negotiation that goes with deciding who gets what - the chalk marks were being applied as we arrived. A simple example of an task that brings people from the local community in contact with one another. I'm reminded of living in an othordox Jewish part of Hackney - there wasn't too much interaction between neighbours until an elderly volvo driving gentleman managed to shunt 3 parked cars - mine included. The things that enduce first contact.
Writing from Venice | | Permalink
Understanding Consequences, Affecting Actions II
Related to this.
Writing from Venice | | Permalink
Damping Identities
The distance between the advertising for a service and the hosting or epicenter of that service, particularly beneficial for services which fall into legal grey areas - like online betting in the US - there have recently been a number of arrests related to online gambling sites. Given the myriad of ways in which we are 'present' - anything from actual physical presence, online avatars, phone numbers or web sites, how can authorities arrest or shut down our multiple identities? Legally binding arrest warrants (and bounties) for second life avatars?
Writing from Venice | | Comments (0) | Permalink
Street Decoration
Writing from Tokyo | September 19, 2006 | Permalink
Objects That Support Tracking
Exchanged for bags at entrance to restaurant.
Writing from Tokyo | | Comments (0) | Permalink
Activities Watched
Writing from Helsinki | September 11, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
Proof of Purchase, Experience, Honesty, ...
A fan clutches an admission ticket from a football match in Brazil above. A lottery was held at half time, a cue for spectators to take out their ticket stubs and try to catch the numbers read out over the stadium intercom and win a prize.
The detrius of receipts from the exit of a supermarket in Lhasa below. On leaving the supermarket the contents of bags were checked against what appeared on the receipt, which was then ripped and thrown on the floor.
Receipts that also function as a form of lottery tickets were reasonably common in China - a move by the government to encourage a culture of giving and receiving receipts with the ulterior motive of moving business to run on rather than off the books.
For any transactions, what tangible objects are produced as part of the transaction process and why? What are people's motivations for keeping hold of receipts and tickets, in what form and for how long?
During wallet mapping exercises its common for our participants to pull a few receipts from their wallet or purse - and to use the interview as an excuse to sort and throw. Reasons for keeping hold of receipts include: proof of purchase - being able to exchange at the store at a later date; the fear of being accused of shop lifting; franchised stores trying to reduce the risk of sales not going through the cash register - see examples from Seattle and Delhi; re-assurance that the right objects were bought and the right price was paid - especially for multiple-object purchases; horders who feel the need to keep a receipt for everything - and like to track the transaction minutae of their lives; the self employed who tend to systematically collect and catalogue receipts as real or potential expenses; receipts as emotional momentos of where you've been and done; and last but not least as conversation triggers to talk about what you've been and done. Bourg St Maurice train stubs? Moi? Mai oui.
Bearing in mind the reasons for keeping receipts what role is there for tangible ticket stubs in an otherwise digital transaction? What happens in the football lottery when match tickets are digital and everyone carries a personal communication device?
Writing from Tokyo | September 8, 2006 | Permalink
Clues to Where People Sit
From a jetlag induced early morning street walk through Brazil's Kobrasol.
Writing from Tokyo | | Comments (0) | Permalink
Welcoming, Filtering, Projecting
Welcome mats of sorts - from Tokyo above, the fishing village of Kansensero and São Paulo, below. The Future Perfect of mats here.
Writing from Tokyo | September 4, 2006 | Permalink
The Entrance To
Design of the sign, affecting perception of the message.
Writing from Nagano | August 29, 2006 | Permalink
(The Benefits of) Switching Defaults
The male and female entrances to this onsen are swapped depending on the day of the week.
Despite assumptions to the otherwise each entrance led to a slightly different experience - swapping gives visitors an opportunity to try both. In most other contexts however it would be unusual to change such as basic part of the process - there is a moment of "did I walk through the right one?" just prior to turning into a crowded male/female changing room.
What are the benefits to swtiching defaults? In what contexts? And for whom?
Writing from Nagano | | Permalink