Values-first Redesign of Financial Services for a Social Justice Fiscal Sponsor
Getting and managing grants is a key part of sustainability for small orgs and projects. If the money’s not coming, it’s over. But — what about when the money IS coming but you’re not certain how to manage it? What about when you are making money and you realize it requires…
Portfolio Highlights, 2010-2019
Click the red links in the slide below for more detail on the projects, process and outcomes of each.
How I use speculative games to test design-driven innovation
This article first appeared in Prototypr, Jan 2019 Innovation requires engagement in the problems of reality as well as a willingness to imagine the delights and pitfalls of possible futures. As makers and designers, we’re not usually up against a lack of problems to solve: we’re up against limits on…
Be a Problem-Finding Wizard
~ or, at least, stop solving the wrong problem and wasting your time!~ Question: Modern life. Adulting. Dayjobs. Projects, Clients, Stakeholders. Our families. Vacations. Money ... Which one of these doesn't have problems? Answer: they ALL do, sadly. Our challenge is to identify WHICH problem to work on next with…
Design Experiments with Blockchain teams
I've run a few experiments this year as I kickoff working with teams who are innovating on the bleeding edge - blockchain. Below are two case studies from 2018 - click through to read the methods and takeaways. GAMES, SPECULATIVE FICTION + DESIGN THINKING Design Thinking is popular and proven…
Digital Security Training Guide for Organizations
From Fall 2017 - through the Spring of 2018, I got to work with ten other trainers to collaborate on the design and facilitation of a digital security training series for organizations, and our pilot group was organizations supporting immigrants in NYC. In particular, our goal was to "build power…
Secure your facebook data
The tragic thing about the Cambridge Analytica data is that it was collected in part because people said "Yes" to a Facebook app without getting informed. Given the recent dragging Facebook is getting for being a pipeline to share people's data, I thought this instance of IT Tech Tips could focus on: Things you can do…
Civic participation, digital infrastructure, and why the US is behind
The one simple thing that US digital infrastructure can’t do to encourage civic participation: Share UIDs Those who know me appreciate that I like to get to the bottom of things if I think it'll help solve a problem. There's a reason - logical or otherwise - why things are the…
Using Open Data to Understand Needs: PBNYC Case Study
If you've never worked with data, you might think that finding an open data set available through a trusted city provider would be the end of your journey. And then, you'd open the data set, try to use it in your favorite visualization tool, and realize you had a long…