Adam Greenfield
Encyclopedia
Adam Greenfield is an American
writer and designer, and is the founder and managing director of urban-systems design practice Urbanscale, based in New York. From 2008 to 2010 he was Nokia
's head of design direction for user interface and services. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
in 1968.
in 1989, earning a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Cultural Studies. In 1995, he enlisted in the United States Army
's reserve component Special Operations Command
as a Psychological Operations specialist, holding MOS
37F and eventually achieving the grade of Sergeant
.
office of Razorfish, where he was head of the information architecture department.
He co-taught a class in the 2006 and 2007 academic years called Urban Computing at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program with Kevin Slavin of New York design practice area/code.
Greenfield had earlier proposed an "open-source constitution for post-national states" called the Minimal Compact, although he appears to have done little work on this project in recent years. He is also credited with having coined the word "moblog" to describe the practice of publishing to the World Wide Web
from mobile devices, and having organised a conference devoted to discussing this practice in Tokyo in mid-2003.
He is generally considered to be a thought leader in the information architecture and user experience
professions. Greenfield maintains a personal Web site called Speedbird. In 2010 he founded an urban-systems design practice in New York, Urbanscale, which specialises in "design for networked cities and citizens."
(ISBN 0-321-38401-6), which has been called "groundbreaking" by Bruce Sterling
: "One puts it down with a strange conviction that web-designers have transcended geekdom and achieved Zen soulfulness."
In 2007, he co-authored the book Urban Computing and its Discontents (ISBN 978-0-9800994-0-9), which was an overview of informatics for urban environments.
He is in the process of writing his second book, the upcoming "The City Is Here For You To Use: Urban form and experience in the age of ubiquitous computing," expected in late 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer and designer, and is the founder and managing director of urban-systems design practice Urbanscale, based in New York. From 2008 to 2010 he was Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
's head of design direction for user interface and services. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in 1968.
Early life
Greenfield graduated from New York UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in 1989, earning a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in Cultural Studies. In 1995, he enlisted in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
's reserve component Special Operations Command
United States Army Special Operations Command
The United States Army Special Operations Command is the command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Forces...
as a Psychological Operations specialist, holding MOS
Military Occupational Specialty
A United States military occupation code, or a Military Occupational Specialty code , is a nine character code used in the United States Army and United States Marines to identify a specific job. In the U.S. Air Force, a system of Air Force Specialty Codes is used...
37F and eventually achieving the grade of Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
.
Career
After leaving the Army, Greenfield took up work in the then-nascent field of information architecture for the World Wide Web, holding a succession of prominent positions culminating in employment at the TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
office of Razorfish, where he was head of the information architecture department.
He co-taught a class in the 2006 and 2007 academic years called Urban Computing at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program with Kevin Slavin of New York design practice area/code.
Greenfield had earlier proposed an "open-source constitution for post-national states" called the Minimal Compact, although he appears to have done little work on this project in recent years. He is also credited with having coined the word "moblog" to describe the practice of publishing to the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
from mobile devices, and having organised a conference devoted to discussing this practice in Tokyo in mid-2003.
He is generally considered to be a thought leader in the information architecture and user experience
User experience
User experience is the way a person feels about using a product, system or service. User experience highlights the experiential, affective, meaningful and valuable aspects of human-computer interaction and product ownership, but it also includes a person’s perceptions of the practical aspects such...
professions. Greenfield maintains a personal Web site called Speedbird. In 2010 he founded an urban-systems design practice in New York, Urbanscale, which specialises in "design for networked cities and citizens."
Publications
Greenfield is best known for his 2006 book Everyware: The dawning age of ubiquitous computingUbiquitous computing
Ubiquitous computing is a post-desktop model of human-computer interaction in which information processing has been thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities. In the course of ordinary activities, someone "using" ubiquitous computing engages many computational devices and systems...
(ISBN 0-321-38401-6), which has been called "groundbreaking" by Bruce Sterling
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
: "One puts it down with a strange conviction that web-designers have transcended geekdom and achieved Zen soulfulness."
In 2007, he co-authored the book Urban Computing and its Discontents (ISBN 978-0-9800994-0-9), which was an overview of informatics for urban environments.
He is in the process of writing his second book, the upcoming "The City Is Here For You To Use: Urban form and experience in the age of ubiquitous computing," expected in late 2011.
External links
- Urbanscale
- Lift Asia talk on "The long here, the big now"
- http://www.v-2.org/displayArticle.php?article_num=1037, "IA or not IA," Greenfield's farewell to information architecture
- Discussion with Adam Greenfield on The WELL
- Minimal Compact on archive.org
- Video of a Greenfield presentation in Tokyo, via Boing Boing
- proposed ethical guidelines for developers of ubiquitous-computing environments
- Podcast interview on Talk News India where Greenfield talks about his book "Everyware: The Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing"
- "Urban Computing and its Discontents", a freely downloadable pamphlet co-authored with Mark Shepard