[In] a classic psychological study on group norms … students assigned [randomly] to … liberal dormitories became less conservative as the group’s norms seeped into their consciousness, [and vice versa.] …

Participants [in another study] equated creativity with following the group norm… The unwritten rules of the group … determined what its members considered creative. In effect groups had redefined creativity as conformity. …

When people’s individuality rather than their …

Designers should be advocating for end users; these being the users of the actual final outcomes (a product, a process, a services etc), and not the users of the designer’s services.

It can be all to easy to get caught up in advocating for the users of the designer’s services – also called the client. Especially if the client is the noisier wheel. Doing so is detrimental to the …

The city of Malmö is criss-crossed by canals. Loads of people ride bicycles here even in the depths of winter. This floating bike parking platform installed in a canal next to central station is a great use of space.

(The canal has frozen since I took this picture.)

Conventional businesses are designed from the ground up to run gravy trains. Research and development is kept as short as possible. It’s primary intention is to quickly developing a gravy train to run.

Once a train is up and running, all new thinking stops. The default behaviour is keep things running as smoothly and consistently as possible. Occasional incremental improvements aside, changes are kept to a minimum. “All aboard…” …

Little tags like these are mounted in Japanese hotels rooms – in room corners, behind the doors or on the ceilings.

What are they? What is their purpose?

My limited deciphering tells me these tags have something to do with the fire department, and they are a form of “definitive identification” useful during the course of disasters.

Like the fire hydrants in Perth, these identity …

Tokyo is huge. Too big to hold in my head all at once…

In a village or small town, you have specialists/craftspeople, individual businesses that offer specific services like medicine, carpentry, bakery etc.

In a big city like Tokyo, these individual businesses cluster into streets or towns. Districts in the city become known for various specialisations such as the fabric street in Nippori, and the electrical/electronics …

I spent much of today on a high speed train to Hiroshima. The rail network is incredible – both in its comprehensive coverage and its efficiency. How do they do it? What powerful political/cultural drivers must exist to commit to this level of effort ad quality? And at what cost (beyond the financial)?

The rail network aside, Tokyo is also an incredibly wired city. The …

Everyone is so well mannered here. I watched a mother pick of a small piece of sticky tape from the bottom of her young son’s socks on the train today, and put it in her pocket to dispose of at home!

I spotted a Coming of Age day survey on TV briefly – on what 21-year-olds desire for their future. From what I could decipher, …

There are vending machines everywhere in Tokyo. Many are installed outside, on public pavements. And they all appear to be well maintained, well stocked and operating flawlessly.

There are no signs of vandalism, burnt out lamps, scratched glass, or any other signs of people behaving badly towards these machines.

Is this a sign of civilisation? Where people have moved to other forms of expression beyond wanton damage?

Tokyo is proving …

Tokyo is big. I know this. And yet the first powerful gut reaction to it was – it’s a lovely, quiet, gentle town. It felt fundamentally, palpably good. In a way I had not felt about any other city of this size.

Yes there are loads of people. But they don’t seem to get in anyone’s way. Foot traffic flowed easily – taking in …