»etiquette«

Currently I am working with a small studio called Exit Design run by a friend of mine, Karn Malhotra. Increasingly I am beginning to believe that the days of big company = capable company are gone. Its all about transparency now.

It doesn't make sense for you to be a 2 member company saying that you have 10 people working in your team just because you think the client will not give you the project otherwise. I think the client sees more value in you telling him at the outset itself that even though you are a 2 member company you have the capacity of putting together a team which can handle the project.

In my opinion, eventually the client is not concernd about the nuts and bolts of your company as long as you can deliver what you have promised. It is YOU who the client is dealing with, YOU are the face of your company and it is YOU who he needs to trust and put his faith in. One of the best ways to gain that trust & respect is through TRANSPARENCY - to be upfront about your assets but confident about your capability. This also takes the client by surprise sometimes but majority of the times, in a positive manner.

This is my belief as of now. I guess I'll know how true it really is only by way of practicing it more and more !

" I've been asked not to use my iPod and all of a sudden I feets strange hearing people talking all around me", said a girl I met today who has been asked not to listen to her iPod for a while by her doctor as she heals from a certain problem with her hearing.

That is one statement that says so much about the iPod culture.

The primary reason I dont own an iPod is truly reflected in that statement. We have become so self absorbed in what we are doing that the even our familiar surroundings have become a strangers. However, the question that comes to mind is - Is the product (iPod) to be blamed for this OR are the people who use the iPod to shield themselves from the world to be blamed for this?

I have begun to think that people nowadays do not buy the iPod to listen to music only. The motivation behind the purchase is also to cut off from their surroundings for a while. This is still acceptable as all of us constantly are in search of a place of peace and quiet. The iPod does allow an easy transition into this place that can be called personal space and have their peace and quiet, without being disturbed by occurances in our surroundings. The question to be asked here is how much do we need to cut off before we start osolating ourselves?. Personally I do think this is not the fault of the device itself but our fault as a increasingly individualitic i,me,myself society.

Opportunity? As a designer I find these issues as great opportunity spaces. Although it is not the fault of the iPod that people have become that way, I wonder if there is space for products that will help reverse this situation and bring back the sense of community and sharing.

A few tips on drinking etiquette that I've been made aware of until now:

+ You never pour alchohol for yourself when you are out with drinking with a friend. You pour your friend a drink and he pours one for you

+ While pouring the drink, the person who is pouring always holds the bottle in two hands and similarly the person receiving the drink should hold his glass in two hands