I bought this lovely and quite practical oil and vinegar dispenser set for myself for Christmas. Or actually I bought it for my Mom so that she could give it to me as a present. I guess keeping secrets is not a tradition in our Christmas celebration. Openness leads to better presents anyway!

And this present really is a good one. When making dinner before, I had to run back and forth from the kitchen to the dinner table several times to fetch the oil, the vinegar, the salt and the pepper. Or I tried to carry all the different containers at once to save some precious seconds, ending up making a mess instead.

Now, however, I can carry all four items AND my dinner plate in one hand, and my glass of water in the other. In addition to this, the oil and vinegar bottle tops pour the oil and vinegar in a way that ensures that the exact right amount of liquid ends up in my salad. I pour oil like a pro now. And I almost get emotional while pouring. I no longer need to hold my breath and concentrate deeply while adding oil or vinegar to the dish of the day – worrying about when the bottle will release a river of wetness onto it. Emotional, I tell you. Wow.

The design of everyday things is a book by Donald Norman, a professor in cognitive psychology and a brilliant speaker I got to see last year at the “From Business To Buttons” conference in Malmö. He is passionate about the things that surrounds us, and at the conference he talked about how design might make us emotional. Design might also confuse us, though… Norman asked the audience at the conference an “everyday” question concerning the salt and pepper shakers:

Most salt and pepper shakers have one top with one hole in it, and one top with two, three or more holes in it. Would you put the salt into the container with one hole, or the container with several holes in it?

Most people were convinced they had the right answer, still the audience at his conference were divided into two equally large groups. When googling ‘salt pepper shakers’ I found that many product designers are confused about the matter too:

Alternative 1:

Alternative 2:

When I filled my salt and pepper shakers for my new dispenser set – I simply chose alternative 1 because I know that I salt my food too much as it is. With only one hole, I might trick myself into cutting down on the salt!

Which container would you put the salt into?

I found this cute song through Dan Roam’s blog about a little girl expressing her love for charts. The graphics are quite ugly after my opinion, but the song still might inspire some kids to become information designers one day… Because a chart is indeed a “handy dandy scientific tool” :) Here are the lyrics:

I like checking out charts, cause charts rule
A chart is a handy dandy scientific tool
It gives you information you can see with your eyes
A chart lets you visualize
You get the picture – So do I!

May I please draw your attention to this weather chart
I tell you this chart is a work of art
I see clouds on Friday and rain on Monday
And look there’s gonna be sun on Sunday!

I like checking out charts, cause charts rule
A chart is a handy dandy scientific tool
It gives you information you can see with your eyes
A chart lets you visualize
You get the picture – So do I!

How many kids like a dog or a cat?
Who wears a hoody and who wears a hat?
Making a chart of what people eat
Some charts look like a pie and you know that’s sweet!

I like checking out charts, cause charts rule
A chart is a handy dandy scientific tool
It gives you information you can see with your eyes
A chart lets you visualize
You get the picture – So do I!

…and I am ready for it now that I just received these beautiful wrist worms from a nice and talented girl in Gothenburg. Thank you, Sandra!

When I am not buying worms made of yarn

• I work and learn interesting things about life
• I listen to the radio (a new passion of mine) to learn interesting things about the world
• I go quizzing to make use of all the less interesting things I know
• I dance/cook/stare into thin air to clear my mind completely

A new version of the website for Norsk Folkemuseum (The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History) was launched yesterday. My company, Logica, was hired to design and develop the site in co-operation with the museum. As a part of Logica’s design department, UX, I have been involved in developing the concept and the information architecture for the site.

I might deliver a “final” information architecture (IA) to the client at the end of my department’s process. Still the IA will often evolve after a site is launched to meet new needs. Even though we always try to continue the dialogue with the client after a project is over, it is important that the client understands the principles of the information architecture. They have to deal with suggestions and complaints on a regular basis from within the organization…

When some colleagues and I went to the launch party for norskfolkemuseum.no yesterday, I was intrigued to hear that the people from the project group of Norsk Folkemuseum still could list the principles for the IA – over 6 months after my department was involved in the project. Yay!

What do you think of the site? Check it out in Norwegian or in English.

What to wear?

For now, I am only lurking around even though I found some beautiful dresses. I am too busy converting inches to centimeters in my head, and measuring my waist over and over – whishing that some inches will be lost in mentioned area just in time for the final bidding round… Or should I just keep eating my daily dose of delicious gorgonzola cheese, and rather make the dress myself out of a pattern like this one?

Lots of beautiful patterns are available for sale on eBay. I guess sewing machine skills aren’t, though…

I have never really been a fan of the show Sex and the City. I find the four female characters to be somewhat annoying – too exaggerated in a way. Lately, however, it seems all my friends are consuming the fancy shoe box of DVDs containing the whole series 24/7. This is required to be prepared for the big premiere of Sex and the city: The Movie the 6th of June.

Since my girlfriends and the TV-channels invite the sex addicted quartet to the screen quite frequently nowadays, I have watched a large amount of episodes myself the last weeks. Actually, I am starting to like the characters in the show now! Still, I don’t think I ever will become as shoe-obsessed.

There’s probably something wrong with me, but I think most shoes in the shops are ugly. Often disproportioned. And since it is so difficult to find nice shoes, I have decided to be obsessed with clothes instead. And then I just need my shoes to go with anything. And preferably be somewhat practical. The last pair of shoes I bought are definitely in that latter category. And they are actually a replacement for the pair I bought 4 years ago. The exact same model. Black. Leather. Suit both my baggy pants and my chic black skirts. Sun or snow. A perfect fit. Just brilliant.

Ecco Soft II. My brand new (and my very old) kicks.

Every time I see another lady with these fabulous shoes on, however, she’s at least three times my age. Last year I came to realize that I needed an alternative. I ended up buying a pair of shoes that would add some centimeters to my height. Though still; Black. Leather. Suit both my baggy pants and my chic black skirts. Maybe not my first choice in the snow, but still definitely a perfect fit. Just brilliant.

Sixtyseven. 60′s style. Lovely. And 8 centimeters added.

If I don’t have an endless supply of these exact shoes for the rest of my life, I don’t know what I’ll do. I actually think I should buy a new pair right now. Just in case.

Yikes. I sound really old.

The old Prisma book above gave me the color palette, and I got the style of the pictures from a quilting fabrics shop called Volksfaden. The Volksfaden picture is better viewed in its natural environment where you’ll also find a bunch of other beautiful pictures and fabrics. I have also been quite inspired by a design blog I just discovered by Scott Hansen, ISO50. Any Californian guy who likes The Whitest Boy Alive / Erlend Øye is a friend of mine.

When it comes to the photo I’ve used as an illustration, it’s a part of a series of photos from Bologna where I spied (sorry!) on some cute kids playing in a public park. The footer picture shows how one girl tries to distract the girl in the red (blue) dress, while another one drops an apple on her head. A classic! The original photo was this:

As some may have noticed, I’ve started writing in English now. Hard decision to make, and I actually don’t know if I want to quit writing in Norwegian all together. We’ll see how it goes. The framework for the blog will be in English no matter – I’ve already updated the About page with some delightful lines about myself. The CV page might need some extra work though. As I still will link to Norwegian sites and my own earlier posts, I’ll mark them with an [N] so you’ll now the language is changing. Not the perfect solution, but it’ll do for now.

I know I haven’t been the eager blogger I once was. Now that I’ve kicked that awful bottle out of the sidebar, at least you can follow my life through Twitter (microblogging) if nothing much has happened in the main column. And it won’t until next week, anyway. Tomorrow, I’ll be on my way to Copenhagen for the weekend, leaving my Mac behind, but including my camera and my HappyBook[N].