Category Archives: city life

Not Two: Stillness and Digital Life at a Korean Monastery

Posted on January 11, 2012 by AXM

Pico Iyer has a lovely article out in the latest New York Times focusing on "The Joy of Quiet". It’s a great read and has a few lovely gems: In barely one generation we’ve moved from exulting in the time-saving devices that have so expanded our lives to trying to get away from them — [...]

Why I Love ArtsTech, or, the World Needs More Villages

Posted on October 25, 2011 by AXM

There’s a very nice piece out in this past Sunday’s New York Times about the Arts, Culture and Technology Meetup (aka ArtsTech). Here’s what writer Jennifer Preston had to say: Unlike some people who never step outside of their online Twitter streams, members of this group use the micro-blogging service to help them follow each [...]

Greetings from Gwangju, Korea

Posted on August 19, 2011 by AXM

Despite being only about 1000 kilometers (~600 miles) by the way the crow flies, the journey from Beijing, China to Gwangju, Korea requires nearly a 12 hour odyssey. Early wake-up in Beijing, cab ride in the morning sun to Beijing Capital International Airport, land in Seoul Gimpo International Airport (lovely, by the way–much faster and [...]

Two Days in Seoul

Posted on July 4, 2011 by AXM

Two days in Seoul last week, packed with meetings, meetings and… did I mention meetings? My first time in Korea but not my last. Got me thinking about the different modes of experiencing a city. On one extreme is being born and raised and knowing it like a local. On the other extreme? A rushed, [...]

The Enduring Value of Soho

Posted on June 3, 2011 by AXM

A sign outside Jianwai SOHO, a home office complex in Beijing’s Central Business District. The enduring real estate value of the word “Soho” is amazing to me. It apparently started as a hunting cry that became associated with a fashionable part of London. Then New York sprouted SoHo, of course, which has arguably outshone its [...]

One of the best Twitter exchanges I’ve seen in a while

Posted on May 31, 2011 by AXM

Tricia Wang’s terrific exploration of the instant photo phenomenon (suishoupai/随手拍) on Weibo has gotten me thinking about unexpected uses of social media and the way we take ownership of a medium beyond its original intent. Here’s one of those beautiful exchanges that shows what happens when you combine a real-time social space like Twitter, a [...]

Rosary Designs

Posted on April 29, 2011 by AXM

Something I rarely see discussed in the design world is the role of new design in religion. How have Filipinos, quite often devout Catholics, adapted to the needs of modern life? Here are two examples: a stainless steel rosary to handle scooter riding through Manila streets, and a single-strand, single-decade design to be carried in [...]

Tools of the Trade

Posted on April 29, 2011 by AXM

Tools of the trade at a local barber’s in Manila: an electric razor and a phone. The latter has replaced the owner’s landline phone to manage business, socialize, pass the time.

24 Hour Books

Posted on March 30, 2011 by AXM

In a city abundant in mobile phones and Kindles, here’s a 24-hour self-service library, just outside the main Shanghai Library. Got me thinking about how to improve literacy, how to encourage literacy, how to get people to the library. In New York and Los Angeles, library hours were regularly a challenge: I’d have to rush [...]

Wifi Station

Posted on March 30, 2011 by AXM

I like it when one design affects another: here, a phone booth in Shanghai repurposed as a Wifi station.

hello!
welcome to

An Xiao Studio

the virtual studio of
an xiao mina

i am a
design strategist
and researcher

i build communities
and empower individuals
through technology