So many times Interaction Designers forget about all the other technology that we interact with on a daily basis and focus solely on the web design.

Angela started by telling her story of a flight cancellation on Southwest airlines last summer during which she interacted with over half a dozen systems including 2 separate IVR systems, outbound text messaging, inbound mailboxes, website, customer service, the airport kiosks, and mapping out all of these experiences. She explained how the failures of the systems, though not terribly expensive on a customer-by-customer basis, can add up to millions of dollars in costs and lost revenues in the event of large-scale cancellations due to weather, mechanical issues, etc.

She then drilled down on each of the systems IVR, kiosks, and alternative displays to give examples of what works and what doesn’t work, and provide tips for improving the customer experience on these platforms that all the participants could use and apply to their daily work weither designing for the web or for other platforms.

Check back soon for more details and the slideshow presentation that Angela gave at the conference.

Farm Anatomy: The Curious Parts & Pieces of Country Life

($11.45 at amazon.com)

Such a sweet story to accompany artist Julia Rothman’s celebration of rural life in Iowa.  While Rothman’s a New York City gal, she wanted to understand the intricacies of farm living that framed her husband’s childhood.  She set about doing so by illustrating every aspect of farm life, grouped by subject (must have been some card sorting activity to figure out the information architecture) and detailed in gorgeous and informative infographics and process flows.

As a former Iowa farm girl, a tear came to my eye as I compared her Longacre Farm in Tabor, Iowa with the Jessup, Iowa farm of my early childhood.  (My first pet was a cow, and I fondly remember sitting in the dirt rows of our garden to eat fresh vegetables right off the vine.) Honestly, this is a delightful read for just about anyone, but in particular UX geeks, designers, architects, foodies, children and former Iowa farm kids.

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“I fight for the users” T-shirt

($16.99-$18-99 at ThinkGeek.com)

I’m a huge fan of political propaganda, so this shirt sings to my heart on multiple levels.  The iron fist is very communist-era propaganda, while the slogan is classic modern-technology; a perfect blend of past and future.  Guaranteed to be a huge hit.

If it’s irony you’re going for, might I suggest the gifting this shirt to your favorite Sharepoint expert?  (With any luck, they’ll get the joke.)

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Money: A chart of almost all of it, where it is, and what it can do
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($15.00 for 36″x34″ poster / $95.00 for 72″x48″ Huge Poster)

A feat of both research and design, Money  ”started as a project to understand taxes and government spending, and turned into a rather extensive research project. With upwards of 200 sources and 150,000 tiny boxes, it’s best appreciated in poster form.”

True that.  I spent upwards of 45 minutes reading every section, but fear I wasn’t able to appreciate the full effort because I wasn’t able to view everything in context.  There’s just so much data.

In addition to your UX geeks, also a great gift for your economist, mathematics and Republican/Libertarian friends.

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Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock T-Shirt

($16.99-$18.99 at ThinkGeek.com)

As popularized by The Big Bang Theory, rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock is a twist on the traditional roshambo game meant to reduce the chances of a tie – but only if everyone doesn’t choose Spock.

For reference, the rules are:

• Scissors cut paper
• Paper covers rock
• Rock crushes lizard
• Lizard poisons Spock
• Spock smashes scissors
• Scissors decapitate lizard
• Lizard eats paper
• Paper disproves Spock
• Spock vaporizes rock
• Rock crushes scissors

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Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock Paper Garland Banner

 ($14.00 at RitaVanTassel/Etsy)

Maybe the T-shirt isn’t enough.  There’s always a the rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock garland – perfect for adding a certain decorative charm to any geek desk.

Handmade with brilliant graphic design, any design-oriented geek will appreciate the both the craftsmanship and the theory.

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Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock Counted Cross Stitch Pattern

($5.00 at Robin’s Design/Etsy)

Perhaps the t-shirt and garland lack a certain je ne sais pas for gifting.  What about a convenient rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock cross stitch explanation of the rules? At only $5.00, you’ll have plenty of coin leftover for the thread and 14 count Aida fabric.

Worried that cross stitching is just for Grandmas?  Never fear – cross stitch is the new knitting for the design geek set.

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Goodnight iPad: a Parody for the next generation

($10.17 at amazon.com)

For those of us who get too much screentime, we need a gentle transitional object.  Goodnight iPad reminds us that our fully charged gadgets await us in the morning, but for now we can settle in for a good night’s rest.  Printed on old skool paper, for a bit of a retro feel.

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Rewined Candles

($27.00 at Rewined.com)

And finally, this isn’t so much related to UX as it is related to two of my other favorite things: wine and relaxation.

Cleverly branded and designed “Rewined” candles use recycled wine bottles as the container for soy candles that come in a variety of fragrances.  Choose Cabernet for your deep red loving friends, Champagne for the fun time folks, Pinor Noir for the wine geek.  (Pinot Noir’s still cool, right?  Of course it is.)

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