One of the doctors behind Hello Health has a really illuminating blog post announcing the service and explaining why something like this hasn’t happened before now.

Who they’re targeting:

Our market is the 47 million people in America without health insurance; the other millions of Americans who are underinsured; and the 40 million Americans over the next four years who will have high deductible health insurance plans.

…If you cannot afford the ridiculously expensive insurance premiums in your local area, we provide the next best thing — your own personal accessible doctor who you can communicate with however you’d like who treats your medical conditions at a reasonable price, and who helps you spend your money wisely. We are not a replacement for insurance. We, at hello health, are simply your best healthcare resource for the vast majority of people who do not get hit by a bus in a given year. We save you money.

It costs $35 per month. Office visits are $100 to $200, short emails with doctors are free. Available only in north Brooklyn right now.

I’ve seen dozens of sites like this over the years and my reaction is always the same: after the initial luls die down, I can’t help but wonder if the joke’s on me, the Professional Web Designer. These sites satisfy a need.

But if the milk jug is any indication, some of the changes will take getting used to on the part of consumers. Many spill milk when first using the new jugs.

“When we brought in the new milk, we were asking for feedback,” said Heather Mayo, vice president for merchandising at Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart. “And they’re saying, ‘Why’s it in a square jug? Why’s it different? I want the same milk. What happened to my old milk?’ ”

Mary Tilton tried to educate the public a few days ago as she stood at a Sam’s Club in North Canton, about 50 miles south of Cleveland, luring shoppers with chocolate chip cookies and milk as she showed them how to pour from the new jugs.

“Just tilt it slowly and pour slowly,” Ms. Tilton said to passing customers as she talked about the jugs’ environmental benefits and cost savings. Instead of picking up the jug, as most people tend to do, she kept it on a table and gently tipped it toward a cup.

Will consumers learn how to pour “correctly” with the new milk jugs or will popular demand force Wal-Mart to go return to traditional milk containers? My guess is that the new jugs are here to stay, spills and all. Unwieldy product design typically doesn’t deter people from purchasing basic commodities (well… salad dressing, at least).

That said, what a strange mix of brilliant business-centered design and poor consumer-centered design! Someone obviously did their homework on the milk supply chain and discovered keys to making the whole process cheaper and more efficient for everyone involved. However, the lack of consumer research into something as basic as “is the jug easy to pour?” is hard to forgive.

View images of the new milk jug here and here.

Postscript: if you know who designed the new jug, post it in the comments!

“The past” is filled with far more examples of products, innovative thinking, and success stories based on activity-centered research, magic, genius design, and just plain luck than UCD can claim even on its best day.

What’s cheap and easy is the idea that we can dissect a chef’s work and call it a recipe. That we can simply analyze genius and come out with a one-size-fits-all plan for success.

—Robert Hoekman, Jr.

Ouch. Definitely a hit to the old UCD ego, but I couldn’t agree more.

I was struck by how unaware most people are of some of the most popular internet sites and services. Look for the giant ? symbol:

• Wordpress
• TechCrunch
• Flickr
• Gawker

It’s a great reminder to any web designer that you are not the user, meaning the patterns, conventions, and brands we’re most familiar with online are still foreign to many people, your users included.

(Thanks to Scott for the tip.)

On imagining Steve Ballmer embracing Firefox 3:

But it’s also a nice little “thought exercise.” It is impossible to imagine Ballmer acting with this kind of initiative, imaginative or vision. (I’m not suggesting that what Briggs proposes is a good idea. Only that it is hard to imagine Ballmer ever acting with this scale and dynamism.) It is impossible to imagine Ballmer advocating a position that would make consumers “the big winners.”

That Microsoft bull in the china shop (This Blog Sits at the)

I remember reading about Apple engaging in a similar process before they opened their first brick and mortar Apple store. I like competitive analyses that go outside the domain for inspiration:

The airline studied theme parks, hospitals, and retailers to see how they handled similar situations. Then, the team built mock-ups in a warehouse using cardboard boxes for podiums, kiosks, and belts in order to find ways to increase efficiency.

Alaska Airlines saves millions by rethinking check-in flow (37signals, makers of Packcamp)

Our minds are quick to convert new optical experiences into familiar stories, favored viewpoints, comforting metaphors. No wonder, for how else can we manage optical data flows of 10 MB per second without familiar categories for filing, without the rage for wanting to conclude?

An excerpt called "See Now… Words Later," from the Edward Tufte’s upcoming Seeing Around. Here’s a related link to Tufte’s sculptural work.

A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction

But unless the building is oriented toward the outside, which surrounds it, as carefully and positively as toward its inside, the space around the building will be useless and blank—with the direct effect, in the long run, that the building will be socially isolated, because you have to cross a no-man’s land to get to it.

Look, for example, at this machine age slab of steel and glass. You cannot approach it anywhere except at its entrance—because the space around it is not made for people.

I couldn’t help but think of the “Skip Intro” splash page as the realization of a building’s edge on the web.

You can check out more of Maggie’s letterpress work on her blog and at her Etsy store.

Change you better believe in.

Thanks for the link, Maggie!

To the Letter Born - Campaign Stops - 2008 Elections - Opinion - New York Times Blog