You’re a researcher, and you know all these theories ranging from Foucault to Box. You know how to talk shop with your colleagues. When you talk, a string of esoteric words just roll smoothly off of your tongue. For those in your field, they nod approvingly, drinking every single word that you have to say. […]

A couple of days ago, BBC posted an article revealing how gameplay contributes to feelings of aggression. The University of Oxford conducted a study that examined how other factors apart from content may impact players’ aggressiveness. In the study, participants felt aggressive when it was difficult to master the game-play. Regardless of whether the game […]

Hooray! There are many exciting things happening at Local Narratives, and we can’t wait to tell you all about it. First, as you can tell if you’re reading this on our website, we have a new look (and a new logo)! The original layout was a bit a text heavy, so we’ve changed it to […]

It’s human nature for us to remember events or things that stand out from the norm. Think of the pyramids in Egypt or the Google Glass. They are different, because they don’t fit within the typical realm of design possibilities in their respective design categories. The pyramids of Egypt were unlike the typical graves of […]

Back in January, a reader has requested for me to give an update on the shuttle bus issue in San Francisco. Due to having just returned from a trip and my intention to ramp up on a new study, I had to put the update on hold. In January, companies like Google and Apple decided […]

Ah, the new year always compels people to make resolutions, and it is well known that one of the most common resolutions Americans have is to lose weight and/or get fit for the year. Like many others out there, I too aspire to be healthier this year by exercising more and eating healthier meals. As […]

I had never appreciated The Maury Povich Show (Maury for short) until recently in these past few years. For me, Maury was a show of poor taste where people are paid to get on a talk show to air their dirty laundry to the public. Infidelity, sex secrets, out of control children…Maury purposely creates controversy […]

Narrative building is not just for bards, writers, and other creative professionals. It is part of our everyday lives. Our actions and our words are our life stories. Today, I want to deconstruct this idea of the narrative, because it is far too common for people to move on after they’ve grasped the theme of […]

Traditionally, cities are complex physical and social structures that attract high concentration of development. It is a place where various resources can be found in close proximity to each other. Such density of people and resources encourages new networks and ideas to be formed, which makes a city a fertile ground for innovation. For this reason, […]

RAD LAB: Urban Park in Downtown San Diego This came across my Facebook page, and at first, I thought it was just the typical urban park with some modern design aspects created by some students. However, upon closer inspection, I found that part of the design plan is to use shipping containers as retail space. […]

A couple of days ago, BBC posted an article revealing how gameplay contributes to feelings of aggression. The University of Oxford conducted a study that examined how other factors apart from content may impact players’ aggressiveness. In the study, participants felt aggressive when it was difficult to master the game-play. Regardless of whether the game […]

It’s human nature for us to remember events or things that stand out from the norm. Think of the pyramids in Egypt or the Google Glass. They are different, because they don’t fit within the typical realm of design possibilities in their respective design categories. The pyramids of Egypt were unlike the typical graves of […]

RAD LAB: Urban Park in Downtown San Diego This came across my Facebook page, and at first, I thought it was just the typical urban park with some modern design aspects created by some students. However, upon closer inspection, I found that part of the design plan is to use shipping containers as retail space. […]

Hooray! There are many exciting things happening at Local Narratives, and we can’t wait to tell you all about it. First, as you can tell if you’re reading this on our website, we have a new look (and a new logo)! The original layout was a bit a text heavy, so we’ve changed it to […]

UserTesting, UserZoom, Usabilla, and many other tools out there offer tools for UX researchers and designers to conduct remote UX testing. When we work with our clients and they want to use these tools to run a project, they always ask us for our recommendations on how to structure a survey or a navigation test. […]

You’re a researcher, and you know all these theories ranging from Foucault to Box. You know how to talk shop with your colleagues. When you talk, a string of esoteric words just roll smoothly off of your tongue. For those in your field, they nod approvingly, drinking every single word that you have to say. […]

A couple of days ago, BBC posted an article revealing how gameplay contributes to feelings of aggression. The University of Oxford conducted a study that examined how other factors apart from content may impact players’ aggressiveness. In the study, participants felt aggressive when it was difficult to master the game-play. Regardless of whether the game […]

Back in January, a reader has requested for me to give an update on the shuttle bus issue in San Francisco. Due to having just returned from a trip and my intention to ramp up on a new study, I had to put the update on hold. In January, companies like Google and Apple decided […]

Ah, the new year always compels people to make resolutions, and it is well known that one of the most common resolutions Americans have is to lose weight and/or get fit for the year. Like many others out there, I too aspire to be healthier this year by exercising more and eating healthier meals. As […]

Narrative building is not just for bards, writers, and other creative professionals. It is part of our everyday lives. Our actions and our words are our life stories. Today, I want to deconstruct this idea of the narrative, because it is far too common for people to move on after they’ve grasped the theme of […]

Traditionally, cities are complex physical and social structures that attract high concentration of development. It is a place where various resources can be found in close proximity to each other. Such density of people and resources encourages new networks and ideas to be formed, which makes a city a fertile ground for innovation. For this reason, […]

Ethnography: a research process that holistically examines a cultural phenomenon. Recently, I had a conversation with a senior user experience researcher at a tech company in the Bay Area. We discussed my research experience and how my anthropological background has influenced my work outside academia. This researcher then recounted the work she has done. Based […]

(Hello, world. This is the first post on Local Narratives. I’ve contemplated for some time on what I should discuss in my first post. After some thoughtful weeks, I arrived at the concept of operationalism and considered it to be a very suitable starting point. I have not written in a while, so I am […]

I had never appreciated The Maury Povich Show (Maury for short) until recently in these past few years. For me, Maury was a show of poor taste where people are paid to get on a talk show to air their dirty laundry to the public. Infidelity, sex secrets, out of control children…Maury purposely creates controversy […]

Narrative building is not just for bards, writers, and other creative professionals. It is part of our everyday lives. Our actions and our words are our life stories. Today, I want to deconstruct this idea of the narrative, because it is far too common for people to move on after they’ve grasped the theme of […]

(Hello, world. This is the first post on Local Narratives. I’ve contemplated for some time on what I should discuss in my first post. After some thoughtful weeks, I arrived at the concept of operationalism and considered it to be a very suitable starting point. I have not written in a while, so I am […]

UserTesting, UserZoom, Usabilla, and many other tools out there offer tools for UX researchers and designers to conduct remote UX testing. When we work with our clients and they want to use these tools to run a project, they always ask us for our recommendations on how to structure a survey or a navigation test. […]

UserTesting, UserZoom, Usabilla, and many other tools out there offer tools for UX researchers and designers to conduct remote UX testing. When we work with our clients and they want to use these tools to run a project, they always ask us for our recommendations on how to structure a survey or a navigation test. […]

You’re a researcher, and you know all these theories ranging from Foucault to Box. You know how to talk shop with your colleagues. When you talk, a string of esoteric words just roll smoothly off of your tongue. For those in your field, they nod approvingly, drinking every single word that you have to say. […]

A couple of days ago, BBC posted an article revealing how gameplay contributes to feelings of aggression. The University of Oxford conducted a study that examined how other factors apart from content may impact players’ aggressiveness. In the study, participants felt aggressive when it was difficult to master the game-play. Regardless of whether the game […]

Hooray! There are many exciting things happening at Local Narratives, and we can’t wait to tell you all about it. First, as you can tell if you’re reading this on our website, we have a new look (and a new logo)! The original layout was a bit a text heavy, so we’ve changed it to […]

It’s human nature for us to remember events or things that stand out from the norm. Think of the pyramids in Egypt or the Google Glass. They are different, because they don’t fit within the typical realm of design possibilities in their respective design categories. The pyramids of Egypt were unlike the typical graves of […]

Back in January, a reader has requested for me to give an update on the shuttle bus issue in San Francisco. Due to having just returned from a trip and my intention to ramp up on a new study, I had to put the update on hold. In January, companies like Google and Apple decided […]

Ah, the new year always compels people to make resolutions, and it is well known that one of the most common resolutions Americans have is to lose weight and/or get fit for the year. Like many others out there, I too aspire to be healthier this year by exercising more and eating healthier meals. As […]

I had never appreciated The Maury Povich Show (Maury for short) until recently in these past few years. For me, Maury was a show of poor taste where people are paid to get on a talk show to air their dirty laundry to the public. Infidelity, sex secrets, out of control children…Maury purposely creates controversy […]

Narrative building is not just for bards, writers, and other creative professionals. It is part of our everyday lives. Our actions and our words are our life stories. Today, I want to deconstruct this idea of the narrative, because it is far too common for people to move on after they’ve grasped the theme of […]

Traditionally, cities are complex physical and social structures that attract high concentration of development. It is a place where various resources can be found in close proximity to each other. Such density of people and resources encourages new networks and ideas to be formed, which makes a city a fertile ground for innovation. For this reason, […]

RAD LAB: Urban Park in Downtown San Diego This came across my Facebook page, and at first, I thought it was just the typical urban park with some modern design aspects created by some students. However, upon closer inspection, I found that part of the design plan is to use shipping containers as retail space. […]

Ethnography: a research process that holistically examines a cultural phenomenon. Recently, I had a conversation with a senior user experience researcher at a tech company in the Bay Area. We discussed my research experience and how my anthropological background has influenced my work outside academia. This researcher then recounted the work she has done. Based […]

(Hello, world. This is the first post on Local Narratives. I’ve contemplated for some time on what I should discuss in my first post. After some thoughtful weeks, I arrived at the concept of operationalism and considered it to be a very suitable starting point. I have not written in a while, so I am […]