Clifford Geertz and the "thick description"

Another nice article by Jon Freach at Frog Design in the Atlantic:

http://m.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/07/what-designers-can-learn-from-a-pioneering-anthropologist/241333/

Sometime in the mid-90s, when I was learning how to use research in the design process, a mentor of mine, Rick Robinson, would hold book reviews on Fridays at e-Lab, one of the first ethnographic research consultancies that helped design firms, advertising agencies, and corporations understand their users and customers. During one of those late afternoon sessions, he introduced Clifford Geertz's book The Interpretation of Cultures and spoke about the role and importance that a "thick description" plays when describing our experiences in the field.