One of my teachers had a story about his local BicycleRepairMan, who had a sign in his shop:(see also AlarmBellPhrases, in fact see the whole goddamn c2 wiki)
CouldYouJust .... costs 40 Kroner
If there's one thing every junior consultant needs to have injected into their head with a heavy duty 2500 RPM DeWalt Drill, it's this: Customers Don't Know What They Want. Stop Expecting Customers to Know What They Want. It's just never going to happen. Get over it.(scroll all the way down and click the 'Discuss' link)
Instead, assume that you're going to have to build something anyway, and the customer is going to have to like it, but they're going to be a little bit surprised. YOU have to do the research. YOU have to figure out a design that solves the problem that the customer has in a pleasing way.
Tech
Social, Shopping, Visual, Business, Storage, Product Management, Web, MacOS, Open, RSS, AI, Crowdsourcing, Wearables, Hardware, s60, Net, a11y, Data, Audio, Android, WRX, Energy, Medical, Web analytics, Collaboration, Security, Javascript, Development, OS, Mobile, PIM, barcamp, Automobile
Other
Politik, Transportation, Berlin, Minnesota, Toys, Surfing, California, Video, NYC, Clothes, Sports, CrowdFlower, Agriculture, Law, Personal care, Geography, Life hacks, San Francisco, History, Bicycling, Food & Drink, Activism, Boston, Housing, Feminism, Quizzes, Friday, Travel, L.A., Games, Podcasts, Statistics
Music
Boston, Booking, Lyrics, Musicians, Business, Videos, Reviews, Hip-hop, House, Making, Mp3s, L.A., Mixes, Shopping, Good tracks, History, Events, Labels, Streams, Mailing lists
People
Vocations, Working with, Stories, Weblogs, Buddhism, ADD, Meditation, Subcultures, Friends, Family, Heroes, Languages, Life hacks, Enemies, Gossip, Exercise, Me, MOTAS, Health
Arts
Literature, Comix, Humor, iPad bait, Sculpture, Desktop wallpaper bait, Events, Animation, Burning Man, Spoken Word, Poetry, Rhetoric, Outlets, Movies, Visual
Commerce
International Development, Shopping, Macroeconomics, Microfinance, Management consulting, IP Law, Personal services, Taxes, Marketing and CRM, Insurance, Personal finance, Investing, Real Estate, Web, Non-profit
Design
Tools, User experience, Data visualization, Cool, Furniture, Algorithmic, Type, Web, Process, IA, Presentations, Architecture
Science
Psychology, Cognition, Networks, Environment, Statistics and Data, Zoology, Physics
Travel
Vagabond '08, Kenya, Uganda, Kingdom of Siam