Alarm clock app design update

I did it again; just the other day, I set my alarm clock and didn't realize I hadn't switched the PM to AM!
To prevent that, I would've added a simple pictorial background in the built-in win phone 7 alarm app as a hard-to-not-miss visual indicator for the time of the day the alarm is set to. Easy!

 

And while we're at it, I don't like the tedious number scroll on the win phone 7.  And instead of bringing up the bulky keypad, why can't I just scribble the numbers in the huge touch device like the old palms and have the app interpret my handwriting? Faster!

 

Just fingering the letter 'A' should auto input 'AM' and vice versa.

The above design would not be easy to visualize mid day.  It would probably require this other layout. Reminds me of these old clocks I loved and we had around the house growing up. (the 2 o'clock probably needs to be tilted to the right more ;))

 

I'm loving the low fidelity finger painting mobile device app! :D

Usability of the Award Winning Pill Bottle

Although this award winning pill bottle makes the text more readable and one does not need to rotate the bottle to read the instructions, a downside I just observed was that while I was opening the bottle, I was also holding the bottle in the orientation of the text which meant as I got the cap off, pills spilled out from the bottle!  I wonder how many more pills get disposed because they fell on the floor.  How would I have designed the pill bottle differently?

(I recently cut myself so I got these infection prevention pills :) )

back of the napkin crude drawings on a free finger painting app on my mobile device :)
1 idea of many not explored:
Perhaps the medicine bottle should have a bigger base so the label is still oriented correctly; the tip is rounded so the bottle can't be placed upside down and hence keeps the orientation correct.

 

When patient wants to get a pill, s/he will have to explicitly turn it upside down, hence not accidentally spill pills, and catch one in the spherical cap!

The spherical cap is probably not very ergonomic though, especially for older seniors with weaker hand grip, here's another alternative with a sleeker cap which flows with the shape of the main body of the bottle:

Bonus character I drew yesterday when I first downloaded the app and was trying it out ;)

Can Media be more Ubiquitous, Cheap, and Lightweight?

Inspired by this post from fastcodesign, "Can Media be more Ubiquitous Yet Less Invasive? Dentsu and Berg Show How", I would like to do a few quick ideation in the near future on what else might be great "surfaces" to print designs on.

In their video, I love the following examples:
I could see how searching through images while listening to an audio only piece could help cement my memory on the talk with these visual cues.

"Print is cheap and using the receipt as a reading surface"
Today, receipts are used to print coupons and links to provide feedback to the people who had serviced us today.  Paper coupons aren't enough incentive for me and the survey on the receipt has also lost its cool factor on me.  Markets do know our likes and dislikes from that we shop, perhaps they can deduce what types of information on the receipt would interest us and also be a win-win for the shop...
"You like technology news? Well, this week's "Popular Science" features so and so awesome articles."  Me: "Oh la la, intriguing. Let me go back to the shop and pick up this week's Popular Science".
Or, why would I look back at the receipt in the first place?  I tend to look at the receipt to verify the charges are accurate.  Perhaps shops could sell me financial services on how else to save money. Geico: "5 minutes can save you $5,000 in your next car insurance bill!" Customer: "Oh yes, I do need to find ways to save money, I should switch to Geico..."

I love the idea of embracing your fans by showing them off on the receipt for everyone to see.  Announce the current mayor of the shop and celebrate!

Hospital UX

I think i had a 15 min crush on my hand surgeon.
I sliced the top of my pinky off on Sunday  traumatizing.
Doctor's bed side manners = amazing Hospital UX.

Apparently doctors with amazing bed side manners also get sued less even though they may have performed just as many errors in practice.