News / Articles archive

Why do we prototype?

Kevin Hoffmann
July 1, 2009 in Articles

Over the last several years, I’ve developed the mantra, “Just prototype it.” The experience of having to think through how things are built makes you ask all sorts of questions you never get around to in a design/brainstorming meeting. There are a few things to keep in mind before you begin though.

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Friday Links - 06/27/09

Mickey McManus
June 27, 2009 in Articles

Great documentary, patented shoes, living by the numbers, cooking with greenscreen, Low-poly fashion, the architecture of data farming, napping, and the Roots.

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Friday Links - 06/12/09

Mickey McManus
June 13, 2009 in Articles

How to win a cosmic war, the CIO 100, pop-psych persuasion, the appeal of aged news, teaching kids to argue, doctors focusing on patients, a little black hole, Banksy is back, Zaha takes on Burnham, and a taste of Tomato.

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Friday Links - 6-06-09

Mickey McManus
June 6, 2009 in Articles

Babies, learning design through reality TV, a new kind of controller, gestures, a better place, mapping the Internet by hand, the wisdom of the crowds in your head, asking nature, fun with liquid metals, google squared, a powerful story about human-centered design, and of course budgets are sexxy.

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Learning Design through Reality TV

Katie Minardo Scott
June 5, 2009 in Articles

Putting my food-lust aside, Top Chef has quite a few “design lessons” hidden between the fancy presentation and obscure ingredients. It’s pretty clear that the “rules” that make a contestant successful on Top Chef are the same “rules” that apply to good design work. Sure, they’re working with food rather than technology, but the core ideas are the same.

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Friday Links - 05/29/09

Mickey McManus
May 31, 2009 in Articles

Rebranding USA, improve everywhere, an easy solution, avant gardeners, Guilloche patterns, and the swiss army camper of my dreams.

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Friday Links - 05/22/09

Mickey McManus
May 22, 2009 in Articles

Alpha, Data.gov, Imogene, brands that will disappear, the selected works of T.S. Spivet, working with your hands, push-button house, ancient artifact graffiti, calling cards and playing cards.

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MAYA In The Press archive

"A Family Affair"

Fortune Small Business features some of the best small companies to work for. MAYA’s Bring Your Baby to Work policy is highlighted.

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MAYA's goal: Make the technology of tomorrow work better

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mickey McManus, president and CEO of MAYA Design says that to be ready for “the trillion-node network,” everyone must innovate.

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Smartmoney.com

See Mickey McManus’s interview with SmartMoney about the importance of taking smart risks and diversifying during a downturn.

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MAYA Speaks archive

Customer Experience and Engagement Event - Orlando, FL

September 21, 2009

Mickey McManus will present “How to Mark a Clear Path to Customer Satisfaction.” He will show how, by walking a mile in the customers’ shoes, we can determine meaningful customer interactions, analyze the breakpoints, and create a coherent model of the ideal customer experience. In this way we can tame the complexity of the interactions among information, people, and the physical space—providing a clear and seamless path to customer satisfaction.

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AIA Build Pittsburgh 09

April 23, 2009

Dutch MacDonald and David Bishop taught a course entitled “Human-Centered Design in the Built Environment.” They covered the basic philosophy and techniques behind designing spaces from a human-centered perspective, and showed architects how to focus on the user as well as the physical elements of space.


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