Technology · Creativity · Business · Society
Business websites are often built in the wrong order; design first and content squeezed in afterwards, followed by a scramble to work out why nobody can find them online or easily navigate their site. Planning a website project in the correct sequence and understanding elements such as wireframes can deliver more targeted traffic and audience engagement.
Technology is frequently sold as a tool for saving the planet, by solving many of the most pressing problems confront us. However, technology often consumes huge amount of of electricity. This article looks at different sides of the issues around using technology such as smart grids and precision farming, against the costs associated with their power demand.
Science-fiction movies can both entertain and push the limits of understanding, free from many of the constraints that are applied to contemporary or historical movies. They have portrayed fictional worlds set in our possible future, some utopian, but many dystopian. The characters, situations, science and technology depicted in movies has inspired and been inspired by real people, events, discoveries and inventions.
Among the earliest examples of science-fiction novels, Frankenstein explores themes around the creation of life, loss of control and its tragic consequences. From social conflict in modern society, to concerns about machine intelligence and even existential questions regarding the nature of life itself, science fiction books have explored themes of deep importance to humanity.
Long before writing, our ancestors wove what they learned about the world into stories, which often featured gods, heroes and monsters within heroes journeys. We might think modern civilisation has moved beyond such primitive stories, but themes they explore often appear within our book, movies and television shows. The myths are still with us, shaping the texture of our world.
Good design, such as comfortable furniture, easy to understand technology or a user friendly website, is often not noticed. By contrast poorly designed products or services stand out because they get in the way of us achieving a desired objective. Understanding features of good design could help you to identify it in your own work and that of others.
Beginning in Britain during the eighteenth century and developing through the nineteenth century, the Industrial Revolution led millions of former agricultural workers to seek employment in rapidly growing industrial cities. Parallels have been drawn with widespread concerns today regarding the impact on society of AI and robotics, leading some to ask what we can learn from the experiences of people who lived though that period.
