R I A Z » Personal

Roles i’ve played in my career so far

riaz — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 05:34:00 +0000

Published in Ambidextrous

riaz — Mon, 31 May 2010 20:09:54 +0000

My article for the Stanford Journal of Design – Ambidexterous – has finally been published! Ambi has been one of my favorite publications on design for years and it’s real honor to be part of it. If you’re interested in the real world of design (behind all the shiny objects and pretty pictures) I would highly recommend getting a subscription.

You can either download the pdf of my article here or buy the whole magazine at ambidexterous.org

Guide to Day Dreaming for Robots and Other People

riaz — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:51:33 +0000

// — For Robot –

if see(something) {
((thought + what if) ++1)
}
then say( “ahhhh”)

// — For Human –

1.0 – Dedicate time to day dream
It’s useful to have time in your schedule carved out for some serious day dreaming. The best times, I find, are when you are already doing some menial task that leaves your mind open for you thoughts to wander. A long commute home or laundry day is ideal. Do it every day. Don’t let people take away that time from you. Tell them you’ve got some serious dream work to do. If they don’t leave you alone we’ll send the robots after them.

1.1 – Day dream with others
Day dreaming with others allows you to break out of the world of your own experiences. You can combine the powers of multiple experiences and ideas. Be fearless in your sharing and build on top of each others dreamings. Where to do this can be tricky. Ideally you can carpool, save the environment and day dream at the same time. But if not, you might have to schedule a place where you can dream together. Coffee shops a nice. Urban trecking is even better. Don’t forget to bring your sketchbooks and cameras.

1.2 – Doodle when you dream
Even if it’s itchy chicken scratch doodle your dreams. You can then look at your scratches years from now and marvel at how much finer your scratching has become. Don’t worry about what other might think or how you need save your work for the future generations that will find your doodles and publish them into books. You’re probably not that important anyways.

1.3 – Dream big
If you’re not going to build castles in the sky don’t bother. There’s not fun in building a hut. There might be in building a sustainable multi income sea side community. Basically if you’re day dreaming about stuff you’d be thinking about at work you either have a fascinating job or you are not dreaming big enough.

–

In indigenous aboriginal population of Australia dreaming has an important and revered role. There the act of ‘Dreaming’ represents the collective memory and visual representations of the laws for society, tribal law and the patterns of life for the aboriginal people. it’s a way to represent and comment on the history of a particular society. Dreaming is part of who we are as complex beings and the ability express our dreams is an important part that connects us to society.

InstaOffice

riaz — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:49:01 +0000

I love that $2.35 and a cup of coffee and I have an instant office. Wireless access and a semi-comfortable chair and it’s so much better than any cubicle, regardless of how many cute plush animals you nail to the soft cushiony walls. Even better, my ever roaming office sprouts around wherever and whenever I need it in various different locations. Email, Instant Message and a couple of equally caffeinated friends and we have a team, a network, and a filing system.

It’s not the paperless office, or the home office that that I really desire. After all, the immediacy provided by paper is invaluable, and I really like the idea of having a distinction between work time and home time. I desire an ever roaming, always connected, coffee driven (or lemonade $1.90) office that lets me access and do work anywhere and anytime I desire.

Imagine, if you will, a chain of coffee shops where you can walk in twenty-two hours a day (two hours to clean up and restart – forced nap time for the workers). You walk inside and pick up some sheets from a stack of paper and a pen from the donated library area. You also pick up a copy of Ultimate Style : Rules to Writing someone left behind. You then order a double shot café mocha and sit down on your small red desk. The table has more than enough plug points and a hook underneath it to hang your bag. From there you can get print outs at the counter or you can photocopies made. You can take phone calls on your cell phone. Drop my mail at the mailbox outside when you are about to leave. You can have all the amenities that help you work and maybe more. A critique wall where you can get a critical analysis of your work. A discussion sofa where you can absorb and share new thoughts and ideas.

Then again, perhaps a simple quiet coffee shop, a cup of mint tea, classical music, strangers sitting next to me and friends across is enough. Much like this place right here, right now.

Guidelines for better life

riaz — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:36:56 +0000

For focus
Exercise your mind as well as your body
Take a day of rest
Live in the now
Do one thing at a time
Don’t worry about the past
Clear the path to the future
Identify what you can keep simple
Prioritize and set goals
Make time to dream

For passion
Record your accomplishments
Build on your strengths
Trust people
Realize what you have now is amazing
Be thankful
Be open to serendipity
Don’t push but clear paths instead
Learn take aways to make things your own
Be comfortable with who you are

For accomplishment
Make things
Make what you can now with what you have now
Make the same again built on what you learned from failure
Organize your mind
Build trust
Build tools and methods that help you built more
Build relationships that are human
Take credit for your accomplishments
Use the moment to make things meaningful