Category: Business

Cubicles Are The Phone Booths Of The Future

I just read an interesting blog post from Benjamin Bran, who says cubicles are the phone booths of the future. I don’t agree with everything he says, but in the end I think he is mostly right. Every morning I get up, shower, put on a shirt and tie, take my dog outside, and take my son to daycare the mornings I have him. From daycare (or straight from home) I usually sit in traffic round trip for 40 to 60 minutes a day. Don’t get me wrong, I try to make the most of the time I am in the car by listening to podcasts, but I’m still not as productive as I could be.

The days I work from home, I get so much more accomplished. I work on a campus of over a thousand people and interestingly only need to meet with .001% of them on a given day. Of the people I see, I could just as easily talk or video conference with them when necessary.

I’d much rather work on a Linux system, and could probably do everything I need on my home machine. I’m more than happy to buy my own coffee, heat, and A/C, electricity, broadband, computer, uniform (t-shirt and jeans) and more when I’m able to work from home. Not only that, but I also think working from home can have its drawbacks if you are not careful. If telecommuting is not properly managed, I’m sure it could turn into a nightmare, but for the most part I think it is inevitable in the very near future. What do you think?

Creative Japanese Barcodes

Anyone who knows me knows that I am for whatever reason, fascinated with barcodes. I’ve had some ideas in the past; some for what I do for a living and some for personal business ventures. Barcodes are amazingly powerful yet very simplistic. Evidently a design agency in Japan is doing some interesting things with tweaking the design of their barcodes, which I loved.

The Evolution of Barcodes

Since their creation in the 1970s, barcodes have become ubiquitous in retail and inventory management. The standard barcode (UPC – Universal Product Code) was designed purely for functionality, with aesthetics as an afterthought.

However, as products compete for attention on crowded shelves, innovative designers—particularly in Japan—have begun reimagining barcodes as an opportunity for creative expression rather than just a necessary technical element.

Traditional barcodes focus on function over form

The Japanese Creative Approach

Japanese designers have led the way in transforming the humble barcode into a canvas for artistic expression. The designs shown in the featured image demonstrate how creative thinking can turn a utilitarian element into something that enhances brand identity and customer experience.

Nature-Inspired

Barcodes transformed into trees, leaves, and natural landscapes

Cityscapes

Urban skylines integrated into functional scanning codes

Product Integration

Barcodes that visually represent the product they identify

What makes these designs particularly impressive is that they maintain full functionality while adding visual interest. The bar patterns must still be readable by standard scanners, requiring designers to work within strict technical constraints.

The Science Behind the Art

Technical Constraints

  • Must maintain specific height-to-width ratios
  • Requires precise spacing between bars
  • Needs adequate contrast for scanner recognition

Creative Possibilities

  • Extending lines beyond the required height
  • Adding visual elements around the code
  • Integrating the code into thematic illustrations

Business Applications

Creative barcodes offer several advantages for brands:

Enhanced Brand Experience

Turns a mundane technical element into a memorable brand touchpoint

Packaging Differentiation

Sets products apart in competitive retail environments

Design Cohesion

Integrates necessary technical elements with overall packaging design

The Future of Barcodes

While traditional barcodes remain standard, technological advances are opening new possibilities:

  • QR Codes – The next generation with even more design flexibility and data capacity
  • Augmented Reality Integration – Codes that launch interactive experiences when scanned
  • Custom Scanner Technologies – Development of systems that can read increasingly artistic code variations

As both technology and design thinking evolve, we can expect to see even more creative approaches to these essential but often overlooked elements of product packaging.

Your Thoughts?

Have you noticed creative barcode designs on products you’ve purchased? What other utilitarian elements of packaging or products do you think could benefit from more artistic approaches?

Inside Cisco Headquarters

Telepresence and the Future of Communication

I went to Cisco’s headquarters yesterday in San Jose for a CMMA event to talk about what they are doing with their communications. We met with Margaret Smith Cisco’s Collaboration Specialist and Abby Smith Cisco’s Director of Employee Communications.

I was able to see telepresence for the first time, which was very interesting. You really do feel like you are in the same meeting room as the person in the other location (could be anywhere in the world). After seeing telepresence, I am further convinced that our educational system will be completely changed in the next 10 years. I can’t imagine us continuing to have large, expensive universities when you can literally sit directly in front of a television and feel like you are in the same room as your professor and other students.

Below are my notes from the visit.

Abby Smith – Director of Employee Communications

Cisco’s Corporate Communications Organizational Overview:

  • Employee Communications
  • Investor Relations
  • CXO Communications
  • Public/Analyst/Community Relations
  • Communications Architecture
  • Strategy and Integration
  • New Media
  • Asian Pacific Communications

News@Cisco is their media portal

  • Single site for Cisco Community and Social Media
  • Newsroom.cisco.com
  • 350+ RSS Feeds
  • Where the public can go to get news about Cisco
  • Social Networking (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
  • 650,000 hits quarterly on the site

Cisco has a social media communications policy

CEC – Cisco Employee Connection (Cisco’s Intranet)

  • Executive video blogs, discussion forums
  • CEC articles
  • Management Central
  • Pulse Surveys – how is the culture, what are you feeling etc, how

John Chambers, the CEO, has a video blog of what is on his mind on the CEC. Employees said “I’ve never had a conversation with John so having him give me a personal message each month is amazing.” It also helps to save money on video production costs.

They did their first virtual company meeting on August 23, 2007

Their Communications Department has ~250 employees

Cisco TelePresence Overview

  • Cisco Telepresence – life-like in-person video collaboration
  • Unified communications – video calling, WebEx, and interoperability
  • Desktop video streaming – video broadcasts to desktop PCs
  • Digital signage – networked video signage
  • Video surveillance – IP-based video surveillance
  • Can support up to 48 segments (65″ plasma and a camera)
  • Integrates with Lotus Notes and Microsoft Outlook.
  • Their telepresence (“TP”) is 1080P resolution. Spatial audio, which provides virtually an in-person experience.

Why did Cisco get into the video space?

The problem

  • More than 60% of communication is non-verbal
  • Current collaborative technology doesn’t allow for clarity, interaction of face-to-face
  • Scalability, productivity trade-off

Rules of Telepresence

  • Experience the meeting, not the technology
  • Life size and high-resolution to discern body language
  • Guarantee everyone a seat at the table

Coming Soon

Sounds like in the later part of 2010 look for consumer telepresence from Cisco

Technical Requirements

Cisco’s enterprise telepresence requires 14 Mbps up and down

Immersive Experience

Feels like you’re in the same room with remote participants

Educational Potential

Could transform universities and distance learning

Communication Focus

Technology that enhances rather than distracts

Your Thoughts?

Have you experienced telepresence technology? Do you agree that it could transform education and business communication?