Duncan Stephen

Article — 1 November 2018 — 466 words

So it happened — Flickr has got rid of almost-unlimited storage

This week, Flickr announced that free accounts will be limited to only 1,000 photos. It’s another warning that we can’t rely on externally-run content silos.

Article — 1 November 2018 — 453 words

Autumn dip

Personal

Over the past few years I have noticed that I always have a distinct dip in the autumn. I feel more tired, I feel less happy, and I think less clearly.

Article — 30 October 2018 — 314 words

13 years too late, the BBC’s classical music back catalogue is being made available

Media — Music — Technology

Once in a while, when listening to music on shuffle, a Beethoven symphony plays. The MP3 files came from the BBC. It was an experiment never to be repeated.

Article — 23 October 2018 — 447 words

URLs aren’t good enough

Technology — User experience — Web

I am a web enthusiast, but I think we need to find a better way to navigate the web than URLs.

Article — 14 October 2018 — 854 words

How Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman has supported my career

Economics — Social science — User experience

Last week I attended the Public Sector Design Community Meet-up. Attendees were invited to share a book, podcast or talk that has influenced or supported their career.

Article — 8 October 2018 — 434 words

The danger of relying on natural talent

Music — Social science

Believing you are naturally talented at something may in fact be detrimental to your development.

Article — 4 October 2018 — 1,312 words

Visiting V&A Dundee — Dundee dares to dream

Architecture — Culture

I had read some fairly mixed reviews about V&A Dundee — both the building and the exhibitions. So I had prepared myself to keep my excitement in order. In the end, I was largely delighted by both the building and the exhibitions.

Article — 20 September 2018 — 527 words

The problem with trusting experience over expertise (a story about design thinking, astronauts, Formula 1 pundits and Brexit)

Architecture — Human-centred approaches — Media — Politics

The media — and society in general — has gradually drifted away from listening to expert figures, in favour of practitioners. But it is leaving us less enlightened.

Article — 10 September 2018 — 419 words

I smashed my expectations at Pedal for Scotland 2018

Personal

Yesterday was Pedal for Scotland, the annual cycle from Glasgow to Edinburgh. It’s the second time I have taken part, my first being last year. But I was concerned that I wouldn’t be prepared enough for the 45 mile cycle.

Article — 28 July 2018 — 1,473 words

Letterboxing in Lundy — how not to get bored on a tiny island

Personal — Travel

This time last year, Alex and I went on holiday to Lundy. The island was best known to me as one of those mysterious locations of the shipping forecast. Somewhere between the Irish Sea and Fastnet, wherever that is.

Article — 24 July 2018 — 879 words