The Brain Dance. Week 1–2: Jan 1–15, 2017
This is, again, another biweekly Brain Dance list. That’s what happens when you have a long Xmas break and you spend proper quality time not connected to the online universe and I hope I can keep the pace of the weekly list. But well, back to the action now and ready to face this —hopefully— amazing year that’s ahead of us.
Last year started hard with the AR/VR revolution that became a bit hidden in the second half of 2016 with the AI emergence. This year continues the same way last year ended, with plenty of news around artificial intelligence and quite a few of them focused on autonomous vehicles… will this be the topic of the year? Seeing how fast everything goes I would be surprised if this is it. I cannot be more excited of 2017.
This first edition of 2017 Brain Dance doesn’t have a recommended book, although there are a few I’ve read in the last weeks that I want to share with you, but we have plenty of interesting articles that I hope you find as interesting as I did.
The Brain Dance: Week 1–2
January 1–15, 2016
Artificial Intelligence
Let’s Talk About Self-Driving Cars
This is the hot topic of the beginning of this year, autonomous vehicles. I guess it’ll be around to stay and I hope it ends well and we embrace this big change (because it is…) sooner than later. This article is a perfect guide to understand everything about it.
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The Future of Self-Driving Cars UX: Augmented Reality, Office Cars and More…
Another interesting article on the topic but more focused on the upcoming UX challenges if this finally becomes a reality.
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The Road to Autonomy
This is another comprehensive article from R/GA, this time focused, of course on the topic of Autonomous Vehicles.
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As Self-Driving Cars Approach, the Auto Industry Races to Rebuild
And of course, this is serious and, as I mentioned before, is here to stay so the auto industry needs to take part on this next revolution.
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How robot cars learn to drive without leaving the garage
Regarding cars but not only that future where they will be driving themselves this is a curious article about how cars get smarter by learning while they are not —apparently— functioning.
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Japanese company replaces office workers with artificial intelligence
Changing the subject, there are plenty of reads and books about the future of professions, some reports say in 10 years we will lose almost 50% of jobs… but well… that’s already happening.
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What to expect of artificial intelligence in 2017
Of course… it’s still prediction/trend list time! This time a very good list on what to expect of AI in 2017.
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This AI will battle poker pros for $200,000 in prizes
AlphaGo was the big AI hit of last year, pretty impressive… and now let’s forget for a moment about ancient japanese games and let’s talk poker.
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Artificial Intelligence At Work: The Future Of Workplace
To close the AI chapter of this week some insights on the role of AI at work and how we can take advantage of it.
Virtual Reality
The Inside Story of Google’s Daydream, Where VR Feels Like Home
Looooong article about Google’s Daydream, it’s new VR headset. I’m still curious to see if VR will have the massive adoption the industry is expecting.
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What virtual reality needs to achieve mass adoption
Exactly… and this is what it needs to do to achieve that. Pretty obvious points but interesting to keep in mind.
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Putting the mixed reality cart before the augmented reality horse
Interesting article about Augmented Reality (AR) Vs. Mixed Reality (MR). It’s good to help clarify concepts and what the differences between them are.
User Experience
How Ikea’s Assembly Instructions Champion Universal Design
I deeply hate to assemble IKEA furniture… really, I hate it. But I have to recognize their instructions soften the pain.
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Designing for Brand Interaction
Almost a couple of years ago I read a great article from the same author of this one, The Principles of UX Choreography. She returns with another great one talking about how important motion is for brands. There are grrrrreat insights here.
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How Functional Animation Helps Improve User Experience
Micro animations are, in my opinion, one of the more effective ways to improve user experience. Done it right is a huge improvement that can bring a simple design into a killer success.
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Don’t call it “she”. It’s a computer, not a person.
I cannot agree more with this article. I put this under the UX label because it’s about this, not about AI, robots and all that. We have to think how we humanize technology and the perils of going to far.
Creative Industry
David Kolbusz: 2017 must see a return to genuine creativity
This article is amazing, it describes a disease of the creative industry, nothing new, that virus that infect some and they take work too personal like they are changing advertising instead of actually… focusing on make good work.
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Why Creative Agencies Need to Think Like Consultants in 2017
Somehow connected with the previous article and I have mixed feelings about this one. Starting with seeing in the same sentence the words “Creative Agencies” and “Consultants”… it makes me feel awkward. I don’t have anything against the usage of data and creativity, but it worries me creative decisions are only considered from the angle of logic. Nice read anyway.
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The Change Whisperer
Time ago I had a chat with one of the creative directors of SY Partners. I didn’t know the company and what he told me was pretty impressive. This is an interview with one of its founders Keith Yamashita. Pretty interesting and insightful.
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A great creative department needs everyone in the team being willing to fight
Self-explanatory title. It’s about attitude, energy, ambition, culture and knowing why you’re there…
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No Dickheads! A Guide To Building Happy, Healthy, And Creative Teams.
Wildcard — Article from 2015
This is not an article from these last 2 weeks but I think it’s interesting to bring it here. It’s one of the eternal songs… trying to build the best team possible, a team that embraces culture, happiness and creativity. You probably won’t discover anything mindblowing here but it all makes sense and is truly relevant.
Design
A Designer’s Guide To Tech In 2017
Last week this year’s edition of CES took place in Las Vegas. Here we have some interesting thoughts on cool products for designers.
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The Type Snob
Do you want to kill it on your next design meeting? Do you want to have an adult conversation with your family and make them feel proud and impressed with your wisdom? Become a know-it-all about typography with this article.
Miscellaneous
We need more companies like Medium
I love Medium since almost the day they started. They made a move last week of letting go a big part of their staff, a strong move without a doubt. This article explain an interesting point of view of why Medium is great.
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Why we may be living in the future of The Running Man
The Running Man, an instant classic of the 80’s, depicted a dystopian future where crime was punished on prime time. This article from BBC Future tries to find the analogy with what’s going on (or about to happen) today.
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How to Beat the Imposter Syndrome Feeling
We’re all suffered at some point the Imposter Syndrome feeling (I’m sure you’re all did). This article summarizes some tips on how to deal with it. We’re not perfect and we don’t need to be.
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Uber and Seamless ads reveal how Silicon Valley is screwing us
Fun article that describes a pretty fucked up reality… technology is actually brainwashing us slowly.
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Wi-Fi passwords from airports around the world in one brilliant map
How many times I would have loved to have the wifi password at an airport that doesn’t have a free option. Perhaps this map can solve that frustration in future flights.
