Consulting designers and engineers often find themselves working for companies that serve niche markets. Many of these companies need to be what I call “all-in” in order to survive, much less thrive.
Category: Misc
It’s (not) the product
I’m a product person. Which is to say I design and engineer products. It’s easy for people like me to develop a myopic view of the role the product plays in a successful product effort. Sadly (for us), such a view is perilous at best.
The Unstuck Hybrid
Some early thoughts on the subject.
A lot of people are hybrids. There are personality hybrids, perhaps having both introverted and extroverted tendencies. There are cognition hybrids, having both strong analytical and emotional capacities. There are cultural hybrids, who may have become so by spending meaningful parts of their lives in more than one culture. You name it. The list is long.
Some important changes
Prior to this year, I provided technical and design services to Audio by Van Alstine on a consulting basis. This meant that I could freely post thoughts and ideas about audio and design here without a direct conflict of interest. But at the start of this year, I accepted a permanent position at AVA, in part owing to Frank Van Alstine’s semi-retirement, which was announced in September.
This means that thoughts and ideas related to audio I want to share will now be published at a URL under AVA’s ownership: https://mithat.avahifi.com.
I expect to still publish here occasionally, but the content focus will shift. I’m not entirely sure how yet, but it’s very likely I’ll be opening this space up to a wider range of subjects, likely with a more personal feel.
Open source for equitable futures
With the mainstream shift away from desktop to mobile devices, it seems the relevance of open source ecosystems is diminishing. The two major mobile OSes have a very effective grip on the mobile OS space, and they have engendered app models that do little to encourage or motivate open source designers and developers. So now might be a good time to remind ourselves of some of the benefits that open source confers. Continue reading “Open source for equitable futures”
Taşkışla cat
I spent the day visiting a couple of my former design profs at I.T.U.’s Taşkışla campus. An unexpected highlight was running into the resident pictured here. She has one eye, a noticeable limp, food, water, and a place to meet her other needs.
Beautiful.