You may or may not know this: Art has its foundations in utility. Great works of earlier centuries were never meant to hang in museums and adorn private collections any more than elegant Egyptian hieroglyphics were meant to simply beautify crypts, wooden totem poles to garnish the forest, or coarse images of the hunter’s kill to decorate the walls of ...

Lots of bad stuff happening in China right now. So let’s talk about some good stuff. Like the design coming out of Shanghai. Innovation, no matter where it occurs, always begins with a burning question (or questions), centered around “Is there a better way?” Artist-turned-designer Lu Kun has almost single-handedly put Shanghai on the international fashion map by pursuing three ...

In the race to create a sustainable world, designers will be key players. I’ve always been a big design fan and I salute the new sense of purpose now apparent in every aspect of this industry. It’s becoming more experimental, more challenging, more ethical, and more exciting without losing its core functions – to stimulate ideas, change behavior, and offer ...

THE POINT: Leading electronics companies can lead a movement to future-proof their businesses by innovating updatable products that encourage customer loyalty, sustainability and pragmatic fun. Creating Consumer Electronics 2.0 It’s easy to blame tighter purse strings for falling electronics sales figures. But it’s not just lack of money that’s keeping customers away; it’s fear of instant obsolescence. Today’s consumer consideration ...

Here is an interesting and funny video from Ted with David Carson speaking about the importance of graphic design and intuition: During his presentation, David Carson uses a great quote on intuition: “The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes ...

Here is another video from Tim Brown of IDEO, this one is “Innovation Through Design Thinking” from a visit to MIT (skip ahead three minutes if you’re pressed for time): According to IDEO, Design Thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation. This video highlights how companies use design thinking in their businesses, from Motorola thinking about strategy to P&G thinking ...

I came across this great video from Tim Brown of IDEO about creativity and play that I thought I would share with you: It is interesting as you watch the video to think about what narrowing behaviors you’ve taken on as an adult, and to think about how you might step outside them to achieve greater creativity. As I was ...