Life in China with slo & poke & Princess Poopypants x2

It’s been quite a run… June began with a business trip back to L.A. I returned from that trip to chaos and upheaval at home…
P and I finally took and passed our Chinese drivers exam, and subsequently received our drivers licenses.
After exactly 6 years of living in the cozy apartment at Dongshengyuan, the landlord sold it, forcing us to find another place to live, which we did at Huaqingjiayuan. A larger, 3 bedroom place, for more than twice the rent, and to a less-than-pleasant landlord.
This brings us to end of July, the beginning of the 30th Olympics. Brings back images of the games here 4 years ago, and how different life was then.

A few days ago while walking to work, I was approached by a military Jeep-like vehicle, complete with painted camo, military plates and 2 guys in fatigues sitting up front. I thought perhaps they needed directions? But quickly recanted that thought as they would surely have military grade GPS, right? Anyhow, they pulled alongside me and said, “If I had a pair of really good binoculars, would you be interested in buying it?”.
I quickly declined and they went along their merry way.
So my original thought that they needed directions was not completely inconceivable, considering they might’ve already SOLD their GPS!!!

(photo credit: Evan Sung for The New York Times)

I read a food critic’s review of a restaurant that got me thinking about the value of brand.

The meat of the article (no pun intended) for me comes in at the 8th paragraph from the end, where the author suggests that the food, good or bad, may not even be the primary draw of its loyal and growing clientele. The service which delivers their food is what draws it apart from its competition. And this is what builds a strong brand which can transcend the shortcomings of the product itself.

Not to say a strong brand can carry a poor product, but products are never perfect. It is often the brand perception which can make or break success – and the brand is more than just the product. We see it more and more around us. Take for example the ever heated debate between Mac or PC (or Apple vs. everything else, for that matter). As a user and designer for many of these debated platforms, I can see the strengths and weaknesses of each. Each has its good and bad, none are perfect. What makes Apple stand out is that they don’t stop at just the product. They extend their relationship with their customers throughout to just about every interaction point, from marketing, to purchase, to post-sale service. It’s the complete experience. It’s brand building. In a world where products become ever more commoditized, this becomes the new differentiating factor.

As a UX professional, I’m inspired to design this experience into the interaction of my products. It’s not enough for a product to “just” get the job done. Just about anyone and everyone can do that. Today we need to build products that considers its consumers’ experience, creates a story, builds the brand. Your customers will keep coming back for more.

Now I’m hungry…

EV’s now auditioning her fingers for the role of “pacifier”. So far it looks like she settling in on the 2-finger arrangement favored by her sister. The question remains, as she alternates between left and right, which hand…?

Ok, the embassy’s Beijing air quality index seems to be back online, currently reading 335, or hazardous. In case you needed help visualizing this problem on a grander scale, this article should do it.

Instead of taking her vitamins like a good girl, AE prefers to build towers with them…

The sky today started off rather dark, and well, stayed rather dark. The AQI published by the US embassy currently indicates a 94 (out of 500 max) micrograms per cubic meter count – a moderate level, which it has published hour after hour for the past 24+ hours 2+ days. Judging from looking out the window… I don’t think so!

AE has a thing for moustaches as of late. From milk moustache to the latest noodle moustache…

This is a test, using the mobile app to publish.

On Tuesday, I took a cab to Symbio’s office. It took 15 minutes.

Coming home, however… was an adventure.  It was bright and sunny when I went to work so it never crossed my mind to bring an umbrella. Sure enough, at 5pm… thunderstorm and lightening.

Thankfully the Accounting Manager offered me a ride home.  HOWEVER, what we didn’t know was that as soon as we exited the parking lot… TRAFFIC. And lots of it.  1.5 hours later, we had moved about 300 meters.

Then, the gas light came one. Great. In the middle of gridlock.  One hour later, we pulled into the gas station (which was about 500 meters from Symbio, and still about 5 KM from home).

Anyways, G was good and thankfully we made it home safe and dry.  Of course, by then, it was 10pm… but at least I had good company.