How wonderful to see the TES giving top level exposure to the use of banned technologies in the classroom. And I’m not talking about tasers, CS gas or pepper sprays as implements for controlling undesirable behaviour in the classroom.

“So the next time you get hopelessly stuck in a game, remember - it’s not your fault. You’ve simply been badly taught by the designer.”

So says Keith Stuart in today’s Guardian. That’s hardly rocket science, nor the suggestion that gaming environments should reward curiosity and creativity, and similarly a general flow of bite-sized learning opportunities. But Keith is absolutely right in bringing this point to the fore -  as gaming development has perhaps reached adolescence there is still a lot of awful stuff out there, but at least we’re in an age where the potential for “serious gaming” is being realised. Its absolutely clear that what is taken for granted in a well structured, traditional learning experience/classroom environment could be easily and meritoriously transferred to game design. Depending upon your viewpoint, the opposite could equally be applied!

Despite the glut of exciting new projects – both new and ongoing – that are keeping everyone at IE very busy indeed, many of the team have at times spared a thought for the events unfolding a few thousand miles across the Atlantic. Hockey moms, pit bulls, the cost of the First Lady’s wardrobe, the US vox pop – it’s all been hard to ignore.

From a marketing perspective, elections can be very interesting indeed. A huge amount of effort goes into persuading voters to leave their mark in the right box. Nationwide market research and opinions polls, voter analysis and segmentation, a deluge of high-value advertising collateral – each one is a vital ingredient in the creation of that all-important political brand that draws in votes.

Delving back into US presidential history – specifically into those dark days pre-web when marketing was just so much harder – I noticed that a common denominator to virtually all campaigns was a strong slogan, often accompanied by a badge. Some are definitely pretty sharp, whereas to say that others are showing their age is generous.

Some of my favourite examples are shown below. However, I certainly feel that if prospective presidents of yesteryear had IE’s team of designers and branding whizzes on side, the look and feel of their campaign collateral would have been much less amateur! Maybe voter expectations were lower…?

Eisenhower US presidential campaign 1952

Lyndon Johnson US presidential campaign 1964

Herbert Hoover US presidential campaign 1928

Wendell Willkie US presidential campaign 1940

I read this article this morning, Strategic Design: 6 Steps For Building Successful Websites.

The approach is very similar to the principles which we built our web service offering on 7 years ago, and is the simple pragmatic results of some of the sound usability research that’s been done in academia.

If you are thinking about commissioning a website for your charity or business at the moment then it’s worth a read before you get going, it may just give you a different way of thinking about what makes a website ‘good’.

I’m a great fan of TED talks. These aren’t the best presenters in the world but who can failed to be excited by dry water, squashy magnets or 10ft poles you can keep in your pocket…