educational institution in Austin, Texas
Jon Kolko is the Founder and Director of Austin Center for Design, a progressive educational institution teaching interaction design and social entrepreneurship. His work focuses on bringing the power of design to social enterprises, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship and large-scale industry disruption. He has worked extensively with both startups and Fortune 500 clients, and he has a breadth of experience in consumer electronics, mobility, web services, supply chain management, demand planning, and customer-relationship management. He has worked with big-brand clients such as AT&T, HP, Nielsen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Ford, IBM, Palm and other leaders of the Global 2000, as well as with startups like Socialware, Spredfast, Vast, Attivio, and more.
Jon has held positions of Executive Director of Design Strategy at Thinktiv, a venture accelerator in Austin, Texas, and both Principal Designer and Associate Creative Director roles at frog design, a global innovation firm. He was also a Professor of Interaction and Industrial Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he was instrumental in building both the Interaction and Industrial Design undergraduate and graduate programs. Jon has also held the role of Director for the Interaction Design Association (IxDA), and Editor-in-Chief of interactions magazine, published by the ACM.
Jon is the author of the book Thoughts on Interaction Design, published by Morgan Kaufmann, Exposing the Magic of Design: A Practitioner’s Guide to the Methods and Theory of Synthesis, published by Oxford University Press, and the forthcoming text Wicked Problems: Problems Worth Solving, to be published by Austin Center for Design in April, 2012.
February 22, 2012, 6:38 pm
@jkolko:: Hey, dietician @Jess_Kolko started a nutrition hotline => Get free nutrition help! Volunteer to take calls at http://t.co/zJ5bHbZu
February 22, 2012, 6:35 pm
@jkolko:: Yowzer. http://t.co/YYnOWJ9X
February 22, 2012, 1:36 pm
@jkolko:: Start your day with this: http://t.co/q63LfOPu
My Heart Is In The Work
Presented at the 2010 Interaction Design Association Conference (IxDA)
In 1900, Andrew Carnegie quietly declared that his "heart is in the work". This talk will examine our ability to affect change at the intersection of experience, behavior, meaning, and culture, and will emphasize our responsibility to approach our work with philanthropic enthusiasm that would make Carnegie proud. Learn more»
Our Misguided Focus on Brand and User Experience
If there is a future for designers and marketers in big business, it lies not in brand, nor in "UX", nor in any colorful way of framing total control over a consumer, such as "brand equity", "brand loyalty", the "end to end customer journey", or "experience ownership". It lies instead in encouraging behavioral change and explicitly shaping culture in a positive and lasting way. Learn more»
Designing in the Face of Change: The Elusive Push Towards Emotionally Resonant Experiences.
Designers are facing simultaneous and extremely meaningful shifts from artifact to experience, from styling to emotional resonance, and from the massive and faceless to the local and personal. These changes are not immediate, and are not complete; just as they didn't begin overnight, they will continue to evolve as culture continues to morph. These shifts, however, have already had - and will continue to have - unprecedented effects on the essence of business, commerce, and trade. Each of the shifts, taken individually, tells a compelling tale of opportunity and cultural change; when considered together, the three shifts paint a picture of a world where the human condition is empowered by the connections of design and business, and where the products, systems, and services that are bought and sold have a positive impact on society and culture. Learn more»
Abductive Thinking and Sensemaking: The Drivers of Design Synthesis
This paper presents a case for the unique qualities of Sensemaking and Abductive Thinking as the fundamental underpinnings for design synthesis activities. Learn more»
