Naka Meguro Archives
Objects When Not In Use
Jun 19, 2009
Fixie Osake
Oct 26, 2008
The fixie officiandos amongst you looking for something a little more Japanese will probably appreciate the Nakame venue where this was taken - a mellow bar cum Keirin bike exporter.
Double Dragon
Oct 25, 2008
The Games We Play
Oct 25, 2008
A game of spin the bottle updated for the digital age - gather a crowd, take one digital camera, turn on the flash, wind the strap taut, set the timer and let unwind - as the camera spins, whomever is snapped when the timer runs out takes a shot (or its local equivalents). For every culture the games we play but more interestingly, our motivations for playing.
Social Ice Breakers
Aug 24, 2008
Events that trigger conversations with strangers: mens Olympic baseball - Japan versus USA for the bronze medal. The social tipping point where the interest is sufficiently shared.
Pills Popped
Aug 24, 2008
Outside the Shooting Gallery tattoo parlour, Nakame.
Carrying & Interaction Behaviours
Jun 25, 2008The slides from today's Nike Tokyo Design Studio co-presentation with Fumiko Ichikawa on Interaction and Carrying Styles can be viewed above or downloaded from here [PowerPoint, 5MB]. Regular readers will note it's a minor update to previously published research. Thanks to Fumiko Tsuji and Howard Lichter @ Nike for hosting.
Related material includes: an essay on where people carry phones and why, this might interest you; a thread on carrying behaviours around the world; a taster of how we conduct the research and, um, shoes.
Related research can be found here.
When the Tone Rings
Nov 04, 2007
Taking a late night work telco whilst knocking the top off a nama in a Naka Megruo izakaya. The only other people in the bar are a couple of couples rounding off a meal and the end-of-a-shift energy emanating from host of this tiny joint. The remaining bodies alternate between sake shots, making runs to the loo, lighting up and nibbling on complimentary we’re-about-to-close chunk of melon. When a mobile phone rings its tone is familiar to these ears to the point of generic - the Nokia tune.
The reaction to that tune varies depending on whether you’re sitting in Europe or the US, or China or India, a hip bar, a queue for the 73 bus, a school yard. It can quicken the pulse, warm the heart, trigger a yawn, raise a smile or a smirk - it just depends who you are, and where you are at. For those around you it's a filter through which they view you - a ring tone being, after all an established vehicle for self expression and status.
But here, in this bar in Tokyo coming across that tune is well unusual. The Japanese market is dominated by local manufacturers so a sighting on a night out is not assured.
She reaches into her hand bag eventually fishes out the ringing mobile. And it’s not a Nokia.
Sachiko 28
Nov 03, 2007
Replacement Cycles
Oct 16, 2007
Sunday's street market in Nakame and the emergency services are out force, demonstrating their willingness to, well, service emergencies. Their presence includes this not-particularly Japanese looking resuscitation dummy.
Thought for the day: the replacement cycle for specialist objects; the societal shifts that occur over the course of that time period.
Prickly Designs
Aug 19, 2007
Phone cable covers, Naka Meguro.
Placement, Perception & Actual Risk
Jul 18, 2007
The placement of objects when they are not used. The perceived risk that those objects will be damaged or can damage other objects should they fall, blow away, etc vs. the actual risk of that happening. And the changes to perception and actual risk in a city that has been side-swiped by both a decent earthquake and typhoon in the last week.
For any given context, the type and likelihood of unusual events.
Infect to Avoid Infection
Jun 15, 2007
In a week or so the team swaps the Tokyo rainy season for the Mumbai monsoon. A healthy research team is a happy research team and trip prep includes updating the comprehensive med-kit and getting jabs for stuff you didn't know existed, aren't able to spell, and would end up quarantined should you ever become infected. Ah, so much to look forward to.
By the time we return the rainy season should be over and Tokyo's open air pools, well, opened. After a few weeks on the road, quality of life is a full sized pool next to the office and a decent Nakame sushi.
Urban Camouflage
May 22, 2007
Oh the irony.
Election Bias
Apr 11, 2007 | 2 Comments
Tokyo became that little bit noisier today - with loud-speaker wielding polititions entrenched outside train stations extolling would-be voters to could-you vote for them. With the speed at which hurried commuters approach the station and decend into relative calm of the Tokyo rush hour it is doubtful they hear more than a few words of the candidates message. So if the message is not the message what is? The presence of the politition?
Elections billboard's such as this from sakuraesque Naka Meguro have sprung up in every neighbourhood - giving the candidates an opportunity to enter the consciousness of the electorate. Personality and image aside how might voting patterns be influenced by the design of the board: spatial positioning such as left or right as a reflection of political persuasion; loyalties suggested by the clustering of candidates in relation to one another; numbers each candidate is assigned; the number of slots for candidates as a reflection of a democratic society; the actual (low) number of candidates as a reflection of engagement with the democratic process?
The use of left/center/right to describe political affiliations is enough in common in Europe. But what analogies are in use elsewhere?
Textures of an Urban Interface
Mar 14, 2007
From a pedestrian crossing in Naka Meguro. The blind/dis-abled crossing box includes brail on its top surface.
The Barriers of Barriers
Aug 22, 2006
Space Invaded, Spotted, Eliminated
Aug 22, 2006
Entire Tokyo invasion, documented here.
Balancing
Aug 06, 2006
Safe, Parking
Aug 06, 2006
1. What is parked
2. That what is parked does not need to be locked
Encouraging Behaviours
Aug 06, 2006
Traces of Activities Associated With Wait Moments
Jun 03, 2006
How much time is required to complete simple tasks such as checking incoming mail or Mobile TV listings?
Boundaries of Use
May 06, 2006
A few days relaxation in Tokyo before the next field study, a chance to chill out in Naka Meguro and catch up with people on different time zones. So what time is it in countries x y and z?
It's usually easy to figure out using the N70 alarm clock - an otherwise very usable application. But in a networked world are 15 cities/timezones listed at any one time really a suitable upper limit?
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