Manifest Digital Human Experience Society

We’re pleased to announce our move to 35 East Wacker Drive in Chicago. We’ve completed our move-in and are settling down for a long, rewarding run here.  Historically known as the Jeweler’s Building, our new home will witness the continued development of an agency built to meet the demands of a world transformed by digital. We are thrilled to occupy the full 10th floor with room to expand further. We’ve built our current space out to meet a number of demands.  On a daily basis, we’re challenged to find the insights necessary to solve meaningful business problems with a creative tool set. Our formal research...

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The insurance industry is in a period of rapid change, not only because of technology, but because of shifting perceptions about risk and our relationships to others. At Manifest, we understand that those changes have implications not only for insurance clients like Allstate and Blue Cross Blue Shield, but the way we function as a society. Our roving reporter Andrew Benedict-Nelson recently broached that topic with Brian Winters and Jason Ulaszek, two Manifest user experience designers who have led the way on the Allstate project. Here’s what they had to say about what they’ve learned: Andrew Benedict-Nelson: What are some of the things you have...

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Symbol: Express Genus: Glyph Species: Action  Text: 1. a. delineate, depict; b. to represent in words: state; c. to give or convey a true impression of: show, reflect; d. to make known the opinions or feelings of (oneself); e. to give expression to the artistic or creative impulses or abilities of (oneself); f. to represent by sign or symbol: symbolize. 2. a. to force out (as the juice of a fruit) by pressure; b. to subject to pressure so as to extract something. … 4. to cause (a gene) to manifest its effects in the phenotype; also: to manifest or produce (a character, molecule, or...

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Symbol: Learn Genus: Glyph Species: Action Text: 1. to acquire knowledge of (a subject) or skill in (an art, etc.) as a result of study, experience, or teaching. Also, to commit to memory (passages of prose or verse) … 3. to acquire knowledge of (a fact); to become acquainted with or informed of (something) (Oxford English Dictionary) Interpretation: To judge by how often we talk about “learnings,” it may seem that those of us who are committed to user experience design judge our mental abilities by the number of facts we have accumulated. In point of fact, though, our methods embody the opposite assumption. No...

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One of the great things about the user-centered design process is that we don’t only tell people about their liabilities; oftentimes, we tell them about assets that they don’t understand or appreciate. As the Insight Labs team recently discovered, NASA has these in spades: a fantastic brand, international prestige, connections across the scientific community, and unique identification with some of humanity’s boldest aspirations. Yet they still have trouble getting respect on Capitol Hill. Jeff Leitner is Dean of the Labs, the nonprofit initiative housed at Manifest. He recently spoke with InnovationNewsDaily reporter Jeremy Hsu about the strategic session the group convened at NASA’s Langley Research...

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Symbol: Reflect Genus: Glyph Species: Action Text: “1. [with obj.] (of a surface or body) throw back (heat, light, or sound) without absorbing it; (of a mirror or shiny surface) show an image of; embody or represent (something) in a faithful or appropriate way; (of an action or situation) bring (credit or discredit) to the relevant parties; [no obj.] bring about a good or bad impression of. 2. [no obj.] think deeply or carefully about.” (New Oxford American Dictionary) Interpretation: Mirrors have become so common in modern life that looking in one too often is taken as a symbol of superficiality or vanity. But imagine...

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Manifest has long been a teaching company. Several employees have offered courses at DePaul University, and designers hope to transfer knowledge to clients with every project. Now User Experience Director Carolyn Chandler and company founder Jim Jacoby are teaming up with a new educational venture to offer even more ways for the world to learn about user-centered design. The Manifesters are offering a course through Code Academy, a new company helping people with startup concepts connect to the programming and design skills they need to make them happen. Chandler is serving as the lead instructor for a intensive 12-week Web Design course built around user-experience...

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What is a brand? The term has commonly come to be associated with advertising: logos, jingles, a particular color palette. But the origins of the term – the marks burned into the hides of cattle on the range – connote something much more visceral. Even in our present, less painful understanding of the term, a brand is something that needs to be experienced – otherwise it’s just a bunch of pretty pictures. This truth was recently reiterated by Daniel Ash of Chicago Public Media in an interview with the staff of Insight Labs, the non-profit initiative conceived at Manifest. Ash, the public media group’s Vice...

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In Chicago, “flash mob” has recently taken on a frightening connotation, so it hardly seems like the appropriate term for the Web-coordinated labor of love that will take place in Millennium Park this Friday. But it’s something like that. On that date (11/11/11) at 11:11 a.m., people from throughout the world (including more than a dozen Manifesters) will gather for a mysterious happening hosted by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. A children’s author, NPR contributor, and all-around creative type, Krouse Rosenthal will also debut her film “The Beckoning of Lovely” at gatherings throughout the world at that same moment. The story of “The Beckoning of Lovely” began...

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