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Sustainability Circles Previewed at Case Western Reserve University's Fowler Center For Sustainable Value

Pictured: Beau Daane, Elliot Hoffman and Sustainability Circle Preview attendees

Do you own or work for a small to mid-size Northeast Ohio company interested in capitalizing on its 21st century competitive advantage by embracing sustainability practices?

If so, consider participating in the forthcoming Sustainability Circles at Case Western Reserve University's Fowler Center for Sustainable Value.

The Fowler Center for Sustainable Value is partnering with True Market Solutions, a San Francisco-based organization led by CEO, Elliot Hoffman.

Hoffman was in town the week of October 10-14 to preview the Sustainability Circles with other program leaders from Case Western Reserve University.

They include Chris Laszlo, PhD, an Associate Professor teaching strategy and sustainability in the MBA program at Case Western's Weatherhead School of Management. His new book is Embedded Sustainability: the Next Big Competitive Advantage, and Beau Daane, the Fowler Center for Sustainable Value manager. Graduating cum laude from Duke University is among his impressive accomplishments.

• The Sustainability Circles unite up to eight diverse organizations as a peer community, meeting one day a month for six months.
• Monthly individualized coaching sessions are included.
• Each company will host a Circle meeting at its facility, sharing experiences and ideas.
• Each organization will devise a unique Sustainability Action Plan.

Sustainability transcends "going green," as simply participating in company recycling programs or adding solar panels to design (although both can be important components of a Sustainable Action Plan).

Sustainability asks organizations to identify their value-add beyond their own four walls. This includes suppliers, vendors, and the community at large.

Increasingly, consumers and companies are demanding that businesses embrace social and moral aspects in addition to making a profit.

To learn more about the Sustainability Circle Programs beginning in November 2011, contact Beau Daane at the Fowler Center for Sustainable Value at 216.368.4795, or cbd29@case.edu.  

 

 

#Usability: Top 10 Things Every Designer Needs To Know About People-Northeast Ohio Usability Professionals' Association Presents Dr. Susan Weinschenk

Pictured: Susan Weinschenk

On Tuesday October 18, 2011, the Northeast Ohio Usability Professionals' Association (NEOUPA) hosted Susan Weinschenk at Metrics Marketing in Westlake, Ohio. 

She presented "The Top 10 Things Every Designer Needs To Know About People," based on her new book, 100 Things Every Designer Needs To Know About People.

Weinschenk has a Ph.D. in Psychology and a 30-year career in applying psychology to the design of technology. She recently founded her company, the User Experience Institute.

Here is Dr. Weinschenk's top 10 cross-sectional representation of her top 100 things every designer needs to know about people:

10. People Only Attend To What Is Salient (Important Characteristics).

• When viewing websites, people will only focus on what they care to find. The designer's point of view is totally different from the user's.

  9. Speaker and Listener Brains Are In Synch.

• Brainwave patterns in both the speaker and listener illustrate similarity. Video (which features audio, is growing exponentially). Reading text shows no synchronicity. 
• Audio with video allows the viewer to remember the message better, deeper and longer. The future of websites includes less and less text.
• VideoGenie-This site allows fans of your business to leave testimonials on camera. Intuit and ShoeDazzle are two companies using the service.

   8. There are "Weak" Ties and "Strong" Ties.

• Professor Robin Dunbar (University of Oxford), an Anthropologist, states that there is a natural community size for different animals. There's a relationship between community size and brain size.
• The maximum number for strong ties is 150; and represents the count of people in physical proximity. Here, you know a person and how everyone else in the community relates to them.
• The weak number of ties isn't defined. 
• Online communities (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)-some use these as strong ties and some as weak.
• When designing an online community, decide whether you plan to focus on strong or weak ties.

   7. The Fusiform Facial Area (FFA) Makes Us Pay Attention To Human Faces.

• The visual cortex of the brain is the largest and allows us to recognize (or not recognize) people.
• People pay attention to faces. Pictures draw attention.
• For maximum emotional impact, have faces on websites looking right at you. If emphasizing a product, have the eyes looking toward it.

   6. People Can Remember/Deal with Only 3-4 Items at a Time.

• The classic Psychology 101 teachings of 7+/-2 memory chunks is an urban legend.
• Avoid having too many items in a group on a website, i.e. long list of course options.

   5. People Use Peripheral Vision More Than Central To Get The "Gist" of The Scene.

• Peripheral vision is extremely important. For example, early man able to recognize an approaching lion in their peripheral vision were better able to survive (as well as the species).
• Eye tracking in Usability studies tend to measure Central vision. Be careful! Distinguish between what people look at and whether they are paying attention to it.

   4. Hard To Read or Overly Decorative Fonts Make People Conclude That The Task Is Hard.

• Avoid small or decorative fonts on websites to enhance their usability.
• Test with real users so you don't design for yourself.
• Interestingly, Gen Xers are the smallest demographic group among Millennials and Baby Boomers, yet, they're making the bulk of website design decisions.

   3. People Create Mental Models.

• Design conceptual models that match mental models.

   2. People Reconstruct Memories Each Time They Remember Them.

• Memories are "totally faulty."
• This is important when deciding which methodology to use.
• Be careful with the words you use when asking questions.

   1. People Expect Technology To Follow Human-To-Human Interaction Rules.

• Make sure your website makes sense.
• Don't talk down (or too far up) to me.
• Ensure your website loads quickly. Respond ASAP to inquires.
• Be flexible (For example, don't penalize users for placing dashes when entering their phone number).
• Check out the classic book, The Media Equation: How People Treat Computers, Television, and New Media Like Real People and Places.

Dr. Weinschenk returns to Cleveland on Thursday November 10, 2011 to help NEOUPA celebrate World Usability Day(WUD).

World Usability Day is observed annually the second Thursday in November in over 40 countries. Each year, WUD focuses on a different area of usability, including education and transportation. NEOUPA traditionally focuses on Web design and usability.

Dr. Weinschenk will facilitate a new 4-hour workshop based on her first book, Nero Web Design: What Makes Them Tick."  You'll learn about unconscious mental processing and the implications for designing engaging and persuasive websites.

You're encouraged to bring a website you'd like to improve.

Visit NEOUPA for additional details regarding World Usability Day in Northeast Ohio on Thursday November 10. 2011.

Green Mama by Tracey Bianchi-Environmental Book Review-Compassion Fatigue, Eco-Language and Eco-Snobs

Are you concerned about the state of the Earth's environment? 

Do you feel overwhelmed by all of the worthwhile causes that need our attention?

Do you perceive people who practice "green" living as eco snobs?

Are you intimidated by all of the eco language?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, consider reading Tracey Bianchi's book entitled, Green Mama: The Guilt-Free Guide to Helping You and Your Kids Save the Planet.

Topics include Compassion fatigue,Eco Language and Eco Snobs.

For additional perspective on Green Mama, you can read my book review published on EzineArticles.com.