Indiosign

Organizing post-calamity chaos

2011-12-18T23:43:00.002+08:00

After calamities like Ondoy and Sendong, we could now make out a pattern in the way we respond to disasters, particularly our online response through social media like Facebook and Twitter. It is not a good pattern. It is characterized by chaos and disorganization. Ironically, we've used online tools to coordinate other tasks both mundane (eg, organizing reunions through Facebook or

Discombobulated UnionBank

2011-03-08T00:42:00.001+08:00

I had to deposit at UnionBank in Shaw, Pasig City today. I took my number (62 in the queue) and discovered that the teller was currently processing #52. Good I thought. Just 10 people before me. It was 12:00 pm. There was only one teller serving us. My number said "Single Transactions," meaning, this was their express lane. By 12:20, I still wasn't served. The lone teller was only processing #53

Ideas for Reducing Bus Accidents

2010-09-13T18:47:00.002+08:00

I've been on a personal campaign to decrease bus accidents ever since a reckless driver crashed his bus into my car. Unfortunately, it's tough to get reforms because these bus companies can pay off the authorities or use their clout (some of these are owned by police and military officers). It had to take the death of a celebrity to wake us up. That's good enough for me. If government is

The Streets Are The City (a Sort of Manifesto)

2010-07-19T22:34:00.000+08:00

Dear Filipinos, Like you, I want less stress when I go to work. I want clean streets. I want streets without danger of getting crashed by motorcycles, tricycles, jeepneys or buses, even if I'm driving defensively. I would like better streets. No more arrogant police escorts banging their hands on the side of my car to let them squeeze in and make way for an egotistic Congressman or Mayor. I want

Ballot Design - 2010 Elections

2010-05-13T12:25:00.000+08:00

What is the most important vote in the 2010 elections? It's the vote for the President and Vice President, of course. But examine the ballot for the elections and you don't see this reflected on the ballot real estate. (See picture, below). I've added colored shading to dramatize the problem. The yellow shading is about 10% of ballot space used for the President and VP lists. In contrast, the

Improving the customer experience of tech companies the Philippines

2010-02-01T16:26:00.005+08:00

My wife and I are going through one of the most harrowing experiences in Manila -- getting a DSL internet connection. As I write this, my wife just finished queueing up for more than one hour at the PLDT office in Megamall. She was 10th in line when she started. There were only two people serving the long line and since each customer took an average of 20 minutes to process, I estimated she

It's about the little things

2010-01-28T18:12:00.002+08:00

I just downloaded a PDF file containing scanned documents -- needed to copy some information off it. The page I was reading was rotated 90 degrees to the left. I was about to start the usual series of menu clicks to rotate the page when I realized I could do a multi-touch gesture on my touchpad. So I put two fingers and twisted to the right, and the image rotated. Being able to do that gave me

Blenz Cafe Experience

2010-01-25T17:06:00.004+08:00

I'm at Blenz Cafe, second floor of SM Megamall. This cafe is thoughtfully designed to encourage nomadic (aka "mobile") workers and entrepreneurs. Since it's in Megamall, wifi is free. But Blenz also offers its own free wifi service, whose password is printed on the receipt.Blenz has plenty of electric outlets located near the tables, so no jostling for tables like in Starbucks. The sockets are

Anti-Money Laundering Comicbook

2009-10-17T16:14:00.000+08:00

In 2007, our company was asked to develop an instructional CD-ROM to help the Anti-Money Laundering Council train the staff of pawnshop and money changers. We developed the CD-ROM using Flash, HTML and video, but we also threw in this low-budget comicbook.To create the comicbook, I used screen grabs from videos shot by the crew and wrote my script around it. I used ComicLife in the Mac to do the

Humanizing Technology

2008-12-20T22:18:00.009+08:00

When we were planning our wedding, my wife and I agreed that we had seen too many ceremonies ruined by technological attempts to immortalize the memory. We also wanted our wedding to be intimate and fun. So we specifically instructed the photographers and videographers to stay out of the way. We didn't want them obstructing the view of the guests. We didn't want their assistants moving around

The problem with digital

2008-12-15T12:16:00.004+08:00

The problem: as gadgets get smarter, they also become more difficult to use. Just look at your remote control and try to figure out your television menu.In analog devices, we used to have buttons and dials that you can touch and feel. If you wanted to change contrast, you just had to rotate the dial. Feedback was tactile and instantaneous. Today, to do the same thing on our LG television set, we

Building the First LCD iTV

2008-12-01T14:07:00.012+08:00

For four months, we teamed up with electronic engineers, industrial designers and software developers to build the prototype of an LCD interactive television (iTV). We dubbed the iTV "Ilumina" and our codename was "Project Faith".We wanted to show that Filipinos have the creativity and the smarts to build an innovative product through "inovention" -- the fusion of innovation and invention. Hence

Another accident involving a dump truck

2008-11-24T06:50:00.003+08:00

On our way to UP Village yesterday, we saw a large dump truck rammed into the frontage of Bo's Cafe at Katipunan. From what we could see at that time, the truck had crashed into several cars parked in front of the cafe. Data also saw a motorcycle pinned by the truck. A couple of people were hysterical and a crowd composed of curious and/or angry people had gathered around the scene. It looked

Project Runway Philippines: Finale and Photos

2008-11-13T01:48:00.005+08:00

Just came from Solar's special viewing-slash-party for the Project Runway Philippines (PRP) Finale. By now, you'll know who won. But before anything else, let me suspend you a little bit by discussing more detail. I previously wrote that Veejay's collection was a disappointment. I've since had a chance to take a closer look and I saw that his collection turned out to be elegant and well-made. The

Road Safety: Tighter Penalties for Transport Companies

2008-11-02T11:16:00.000+08:00

Philippine buses are notorious for causing numerous accidents. Just yesterday, a Fermina Express (FermEx) bus trying to overtake at NLEX (North Luzon Express Way) smashed into a Toyota Revo. The impact was so great that it split the Revo in half and shrivelled the front of the bus to bits. (Inquirer story here)I am not surprised. I have seen many FermEx buses driven by reckless drivers. But it's

Process Management to Assist Government of Bohol

2008-10-10T20:01:00.005+08:00

The Government of Bohol is intent on improving its services and it has sought the help of many experts in various fields. I'm helping them through process management: customer focus, process focus and continuous quality/process improvement (which involves process redesign). Let me jot down what I've been working with them in terms of process design.My part on this is just a small one. There is a

Bohol needs a new airport

2008-09-24T17:08:00.004+08:00

It was my first time to visit Bohol. I am working with the heads of the provincial capitol to help them improve their business processes and align them with their strategy. Here's what I noticed on the airport (see photos, below). As you can see from the pictures, the airport badly needs expanding. It was packed with passengers of PAL and Cebu Pacific.Interestingly, when I checked in, the PAL

More expensive fuel means less traffic

2008-08-05T08:26:00.003+08:00

On the brighter side of the perpetually rising cost of gas, Metro Manila's streets have become decongested. My proof is more anecdotal. I used to tear my hair out because of the craziness of the clogged and noisy streets. But now, even during rush hour, the streets are less noisy and there is less traffic when I drive out.Of course, some of the decongestion can be attributed to the efforts of

Standardizing the Prosecution System (Department of Justice)

2008-07-19T10:04:00.012+08:00

Here are pictures of my recent work. This time, it's with the Department of Justice. I'm helping them standardize and improve their basic procedures for filing cases and complaints.It turns out that in all these years, among all the prosecutor's offices, there was really no standard way to file cases and complaints.I can validate this because several years back, a bus rammed into my car and I had

Bad Implementation: SM Cash Card

2008-04-01T21:56:00.002+08:00

Around 2 months ago, SM Supercenter required its fast food customers to pay through a Cash Card. Here is how the procedure was intended to be:Pay P200 to a central cashier. This will load P200 worth of cash in your cash card.Get the Cash Card.Order in the various restaurants in the fast food center.The fast food center issued warnings and posters saying that all customers must use the Cash Card

Bad Transport Websites; Missing Train Schedules

2008-02-13T23:54:00.008+08:00

I am writing a piece on Metro Manila for an online travel guide. It's pretty interesting, because I learned more about the broken services in our city.For instance, yesterday I discovered that we do not have a website for our international airport (which our friend Urbano dela Cruz found out a year ago).Today, I discovered how lousy our government websites really are.But before we launch into

Where's Our Airport on the Web?

2008-02-11T22:07:00.000+08:00

Sometimes the state of government service may be gleaned from unexpected places. Take a website, for example. There are solid reasons why a government should keep a well-maintained and well-designed website, or websites, for its various agencies and functions.Our country wants to boost its tourism and participation in the global trade, for example, and creating a website on this would be highly

3-D Box Maker - Online!

2008-01-29T22:36:00.000+08:00

I was amazed at this online tool. It lets you create 3-D boxes via Flash programming. It asks you to upload a cover, a side design and a top design. Using 3-D boxes to sell software makes the software look more professional (of course, whether the software is good or not is a different matter).Tip: If you'd like to make a book, you can simply create a graphic that looks like pages of a book and

Escalator Ethics

2008-01-23T17:13:00.001+08:00

Sometimes, a system or ethics (which we define here as a proper way of doing something) is not obvious to a culture until it intersects with another culture.As a result of our contact with the West, we Filipinos have also inherited some of these Western memes. There's good manners in the dining table and right conduct in a cinema. There's even phonethics for using mobile phones.What I was amazed

Design Shortcomings of NAIA Terminal 2

2008-01-22T12:42:00.000+08:00

Our airport recently received a lot of flak because its rating was downgraded by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).Even without relying on reviews of foreign boards, I could say our airport system (Terminals 1 and 2) lack sufficient management, just by going through them. Although Terminal 2 is much much better than Terminal 1, it still has many shortcomings.One of these shortcomings is the

Trillanes Fans Club Launched

2007-11-30T21:05:00.000+08:00

Sali na! Read the story.

Being 10 and a Showcase of Drupal in the Philippines

2007-11-15T20:56:00.000+08:00

By the way (what a weird way to start a blog-- "by the way"? anyway:). By the way, I just realized that our company Dig It All Solutions is now 10 years old! Wow! On paper, Dig It All Solutions was only incorporated in 2004. As a sole proprietorship, it officially became a legal entity in 1999 as Digital Solutions. But our company really began as a rag-tag team in 1997, when we were just

Long-Stemmed Mirrors, Metal Detectors and Popping Up Trunks: Lessons from Congress and MRT Blasts

2007-11-14T07:05:00.000+08:00

Continuing my series on Design of Pinoy Security.GK Chesterton once said, "The criminal is the creative artist; the detective only the critic."To me, this sums up the whole tragedy of security design in the Philippines and anywhere in the world. A security tragedy happens (like the bombing of Glorietta, Megamall, Congress and MRT) and authorities respond to it with very uncreative security

Studying MSIT in Adelaide

2007-11-04T09:00:00.000+08:00

The contract arrived this week, which makes it official. I am going to study MS in IT at the Heinz School, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Australia. The stint will be full-time for 12 months (Jan-Dec 2008). w00t!I've been wanting to study abroad for several years and I nearly gave up this dream, until AusAID and CMU granted me a scholarship. w00t w00t! Data will be flying in to join me early

Design Lessons from Glorietta Explosion

2007-10-19T18:59:00.000+08:00

Many will be talking about today's blast in Glorietta, but most will ignore two important design elements that came into play but will be ignored. First is the design of our buildings in general and second is the design of security in malls and other public places in our country.Design of Buildings. An eyewitness interview in TV Patrol revealed an important detail that will be ignored by most of

Going to Google

2007-10-01T09:55:00.000+08:00

It's slowly dawning on me that I'm leaving this Friday for Silicon Valley to attend the Google SoC Mentors Summit, to represent the Drupal community (I'm one of three geeks who will be going there for Drupal). This was so sudden that my brain is still in denial. I wouldn't have accepted this had it not been for Google's sponsorhip of my air fare and one night's stay. I'll just extend a few days

My Elements of Design

2007-09-02T04:40:00.000+08:00

I learned design by picking up a thing or two here and there, reading tips in recommended books (like The Design of Everyday Things), and observing good designers and their work. I had no formal schooling, but in retrospect, a lot of what I've studied or done helped me in the design work I've done.I will summarize what I've learned through years of work, trial and error, and My Elements of Design

The Design IQ of MRT

2007-08-24T00:02:00.000+08:00

The lowest design IQ in the universe must be concentrated in the management offices of MRT (aka, LRT-3 or the EDSA light rail). A visit to MRT especially in rush hour is a lesson on how Bad Design can cause you more stress:Trains break down, forcing huge human traffic jams.Long queues at the ticket booths, winding all the way down the stairs and spill out into EDSA. People here can wait as long

Please wait to multiply

2007-08-21T19:45:00.000+08:00

I don't really like social networking sites, that is, the way they are built right now, because they force you to build something that you can't really share later on. Friendster, for instance, requires you to register before you can reply to a friend's blog. And if you register, the next level of pressure is for you to build your own site. It so happens that I already have my own site, a blog

Improving the DOH Retirement Process

2007-08-17T15:21:00.000+08:00

Just got back from the Department of Health, after giving a workshop and mentoring session. Our goal: help a cluster of the KM team to use some knowledge sharing techniques to improve their retirement process. We began by defining the process start and ending, then started using Post-Its to write down the steps. After lining them up in the whiteboard and drawing arrows (thus the boxes-and-arrows

How a Principal Redesigned Our (Formerly) Lousy High School

2007-08-16T11:45:00.000+08:00

This is the story of how a young principal named Imelda Penecilla-Macaspac worked against the odds and revived our ailing high school. I am a graduate of a public school called Pampanga High School (PHS), formerly called Jose Abad Santos HS (JASHS) in Pampanga. I owe a lot to this school -- it gave me a scholarship and a good academic preparation for college. It's where I honed my skills in

Knowledge and Ideas from Abroad

2007-08-10T10:30:00.000+08:00

It always helps to get ideas from other countries. I used to scorn politicos who justified their foreign trips by saying that it "broadened the mind." Probably because most of them came back and continued being bad politicians.My first trip abroad was in Hong Kong and I marveled at their train system, the lack of security guards checking bags in malls and office buildings, and the cleanliness of

Upgrading the Sari-Sari Store Sign

2007-07-31T01:30:00.000+08:00

Surf (yes, the soap maker), has begun innovating the old, reliable sari-sari store sign in the provinces. In Tagaytay and Sta. Rosa, we recently saw the transformation from signs hand-painted on galvanized sheets to those using scanned photos of the store owners and most probably printed with large-format printers. Click "Read more" for more pictures!...If you look closely at the photo above,

Indiosign is back!

2007-07-27T11:04:00.000+08:00

Quite unexpectedly, Google unpublished the Indiosign Blog, thinking it was a spam blog. A spam blog is the spawn of a bot that automatically generates blog entries. Why would anyone go to such lengths to create fake blog entries?Most search engine optimization experts will know the answer: fake blog entries with links to a certain website will boost that websites ranking in Google.I think the

Designing the Customer Experience

2007-07-27T09:37:00.001+08:00

It's a fancy term for a very much-needed concept that should be basic in all businesses: customer experience design. It means improving a business service by designing the process around the customer (instead of making the customer adjust to shoddy procedure).Everyone has had a taste of bad customer experience design: making us wait in queue for a long time (whether you're lining up in a bank or

Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, rhyming slogans ang kailangan

2007-07-22T03:04:00.001+08:00

This blog's favorite anti-hero is the bureaucrat with the bright idea. Somewhere deep in the recesses of our decaying bureaucracy, fossilized government employees or officers are cooking up wonderful designs and slogans of such caliber as "Sorry for the inconvenient. Your taxes is working for you."We see this malady not just in bad government posters, vomit-inducing PIA video ads, and what I can

Rizal on a License Plate

2007-07-22T02:42:00.000+08:00

The purpose of a license plate is to quickly identify the vehicle. This is why in most sane countries, license plates contain no other elements but letters and numbers, using clear, large font sizes.In our country, some bright bureaucrat probably got a brainstorm and changed the design of our license plates into something more... "beautiful".I am referring to the license plates that started

Displaying Our Flag

2007-07-22T00:21:00.000+08:00

Pop quiz. On June 12, when you hang the flag vertically, which color should be on the left field? Red or blue?A decor, whether trivial or important, will reflect the care and thoughtfulness that went into its creation. This manifests in our everyday rituals as individuals and citizens, like displaying our flag during independence day. I have noticed that more and more, we have become careless in

indio(de)signage

2007-07-21T23:55:00.000+08:00

Signage and design are two things that fascinate me. In college, I had an unquenchable thirst for understanding signs and symbols and how they work. After all, they are the building blocks of human thought.They help us organize our world, analyze it and make it more interesting. Thanks to symbols, we can manipulate our world in ways that we cannot do with the real objects that they represent. In

Send Photos!

2007-07-21T02:57:00.000+08:00

Join the discussion! Send photos! Please send me photos of bad and good designages you see! Email alibata(at)gmail(dot)com. Include your name and URL if you like, so I can credit you properly. Salamat!