posted by Anna Fleet on December 3rd, 2010
Yay, it’s Friday. TGIF everyone! And on Friday’s maybe I’m a little more reflective than I typically am. But this film from renowned design thinker and typography artist, Stefan Sagmeister’s, got me thinking about how keeping my own list about the “things I have learned in my life so far” could get my own creative juices going.
Yes, I know, I’m a writer, so keeping a diary is not a foreign concept to me. I’d actually been writing something called “morning pages” for the last few years. The idea is as soon as you wake up to just get your initial thoughts down on paper, with no concern for spelling, grammar, editing, or censoring your thoughts. The reason being to get out any baggage ideas and move past them to be more creative and productive in your day. Sadly, recently I’ve let my diary-keeping lag.
That’s why I thought we could all use some inspiration from today’s post, featuring this one minute video clip is about the importance of keeping a diary in order to support creativity and personal development, and it’s just visually stunning (it was shot in just one day in an abandoned historic Tang Dynasty park in Singapore).
Take a look, and let me know if you find keeping a diary useful to your own personal growth…
Tags: design thinker, keeping a diary supports personal growth, new york, sagmeister inc, stefan sagmeister, things I've learned in my life so far, typography artist
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posted by Anna Fleet on December 1st, 2010
Nike’s Environmental Apparel Design Tool is finally ready to score your product innovations. Nike put seven years and $6 million into the development of their Web-based portal, which scores a product’s environmental when designers input the following types of data:
1. Fabric types
2. Percentage of recycled material
3. Garment treatments (e.g., garment dyes, chemical washes and finishes)
The Environmental Apparel keeps designers in check, scoring product ideas based on a 70-point scale—70 being the highest sustainable score and less than 30 meaning that the design needs improvement in the environmentally-friendliness area. The Environmental Apparel tool also goes one step further—providing designers with alternative choices that can help their product be more eco-friendly.
The Environmental Apparel tool was developed with inspiration from Nike’s Considered Index, which is a tool that the company’s own internal design team uses to create innovative products—such as the 2010 World Cup soccer uniforms—made from 100-percent recycled polyester.
“This [Environmental Apparel] tool makes it simple for designers to make the most sustainable choices…at the start of the product creation process,” Hannah Jones, Nike’s vice president of Sustainable Innovation.”
Tags: nike 2010 world cup soccer uniforms, nike considered index, nike design thinking, nike environmental apparel tool, nike social branding platform, nike sustainable design
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posted by Anna Fleet on November 23rd, 2010
If the city you live in has a reliable transit system that people use, you should consider yourself lucky and your city environmentally friendly. However, Warsaw Poland has decided to revamp their metro system in 2012, when they’re set to introduce their Inspiro subway cars—which are almost 98% recyclable!
BMW and Siemens created the new, fuel-efficient subway cars, and they have numerous user-friendly and environmental pluses, such as:
1. Wide, comfortable interiors
2. Extra-spacious entrances to accommodate extra passenger flow
3. Large, bright system maps displays
4. Calming lighting
5. Bright handholds shaped like tree branches as a symbol of eco-friendliness
6. Aluminum cars for light, reduced fuel consumption
7. Weight-optimized chassis
8. Approximately 98% of the parts are recyclable
Tags: 98 percent recyclable subway cars, BMW eco subway cars, green deisgn thinking, inspiro subway cars, poland recyclable subway cars, siemens green subway system, sustainable communities, warsaw poland subway system
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posted by Anna Fleet on November 18th, 2010
My post on The World in Words a few weeks back, featured the world laid out on a traditional map template—but in words. How cool is that?
However, it brings to mind a good question. Why are foldable, paper maps so hard to use? I mean how many times have you struggled with a map—either on vacation or while driving? You either end up putting a big “tourist” bulls eye or you risk a car accident, as you were wrestle with a city map to figure out where, exactly, you are.
Well, map2™ has solved common map frustrations with their “zoomable” printed map. Suddenly the unnecessary unfolding and fighting with large city maps is a thing of the past.
Check out the 23-second video demo to see how map2 lets you simply zoom in any city area by unfolding a single map portion—to reveal a smaller scale map of that area, enlarged for a detailed view and easy navigation.
It just goes to show what happens when design thinking is used to solve a common problem concerning a traditional product.
Tags: design thinking for business success, design thinking for small business, design thinking problem-solving, design thinking tips, map2, the power of design thinking, the world in words
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posted by Anna Fleet on November 16th, 2010
As a relitively youthful person who is used to typing at a computer all day, I sometimes take my agilty for granted. Take, for instance, an elderly woman trying to change the channel with her TV remote, or worse, trying to play a DVD. Those remote buttons can be pretty small and hard to press. Well, RCA designs graduate, Tom Stables, thinks of these things often. So he designed a remote interface that can help elderly users interact with every day products, like the television or DVD player, with a lot less frustration and stress.
Check out Jane VS The Remote to see how Stables’ research of human interaction with every day items, like remote controls, led to design thinking and a very practical, and in Jane’s case, welcome innovation.
Tags: design thinking for small business, design thinking product innovation, design thinking strategy, human interaction with commercial products, Jane VS the Remotes, RCA, Tom Stables
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posted by Anna Fleet on November 12th, 2010
The Museum of Art and Design in New York is renowned for its provocative and inspiring exhibits.
YAY, it’s Friday! And that means it’s time for some awesome and inspiring visual designs. So today I’m treating you to some images from a stunning show from New York’s Museum of Arts & Design called, “Slash: Paper Under the Knife”, which ran until this past April, 2010.
This exhibit was focused on paper as a medium and was made up completely of paper art, featuring dozens of installations from approximately 50 contemporary artists—including the piece I’ve posted to the left from artist Mia Pearlman, entitled, Eddy.
Check out the many ways the artists cut, tore, burned, shredded and manipulated paper on FastCompany.com.
Tags: art exhibit, contemporary art, design thinking art, fast company, museum of art and design, new york, slash: paper under the knife, visual art
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posted by Anna Fleet on November 10th, 2010
I’m a writer so, understandably, I think about words a whole lot. Words get me excited, they’re touching, and if you use the right word, at just the right time, you can memorialize a moment for forever. I know, I’m a bit of a word dork. You should see me get into a game of Scrabble.
So you can imagine my excitement when my colleague James showed me this artistic rendition from Dirk Schächter, entitled The World in Words. Now that’s what I’m talking about!
The World in Words (check it out above) is a stunning, colorful typographic map, created using Helvetica Neue font. Schächter carefully positioned each letter to achieve an authentic likeness of a conventional world map—only using words!
Check out more pictures and read the full story on The World in Words. And thanks to artist Dirk Schächter—you made my day!
Tags: design thinking innovation, design with words, Dirk Schächter, the world in words, type font design, typography artist, typography meets geography, typomaps
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posted by Anna Fleet on November 9th, 2010
So you’re driving down the highway, you’re taking in the lovely scenery. Oh wait, there’s a billboard for coffee, another for Jimmy’s Garage, another for a back bacon burger deluxe…and there’s one advertising nothing! You do a double take, yep, that billboard is advertising absolutely NOTHING!
Well this experience isn’t’ far from the truth for drivers crossing the U.S.-Canadian border at Blaine, Washington over to Vancouver, BC. Check it out for yourself; I’ve included a picture up above. You can also check out more pictures of the art installation on the Co.Design website.
The US federal government recently funded a provocative new sculpture called Non-Sign II—and it’s a large billboard advertising clean air instead of your usual lineup of real car tires, fast food, and coffee shops.
Non-Sign II was commissioned from Seattle art and architectural firm Lead Pencil Studio. Daniel Mihalyo from Led Pencil explains the premise behind Non-Sign II, “Borrowing the effectiveness of billboards to redirect attention away from the landscape… this permanently open aperture…frames nothing more than a clear view of the changing atmospheric conditions beyond.”
So what do you think the US federal government is saying about advertising with their erecting of Non-Sign II?
Tags: billboard advertising nothing, blaine, design thinking advertising, led pencil studios, non sign II billboard, the power of design thinking, us federal government billboard, washington
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posted by Anna Fleet on November 5th, 2010
I like to treat myself, and you, to a little guilty pleasure on Fridays. Sure, I always make sure it’s design related—but I think we all deserve a little bit of delicious, inspiring, sexy, and jaw-dropping visual gifts for a week well done.
Well this Friday a delicacy in the form of this video from award-winning cosmetics designer and celebrity of the fragrance world, Marc Rosen, fell into my lap. And it’s particularly product design related as Rosen talks about how many of his iconic perfume bottles have been inspired by most elegant and intricate pieces of jewelry, handbags and even architecture—that have impacted him in real life.
Rosen says, “I find my inspiration everywhere. I can look at a lamp and think, ‘Oh, my God, that will be a great perfume bottle.’ I can look up at a skyscraper and think, ‘My God that would be a fantastic lipstick case…If you’re a designer your antennae are open to everything like radar for ideas and you don’t even realize something’s affecting you.”
Just check out his video on Finding Inspiration, and listen to how he designed a perfume bottle for Ellen Tracy based entirely on a handbag that his mother had when he was 12-years old. This just goes to show that the best designers are the ones that get out and experience the world, and use those experiences—be they cars, fashion, furniture, food, art, wine, travel and even personal and past experiences—to make better designs.
Indulgent and educational—now that’s a great Friday!
Tags: design thinking for small business, design thinking inspiration, marc rosen, perfume designer, product design for small business, product design inspiration, product design tips
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posted by Anna Fleet on November 4th, 2010
In this world of over-consumers, I think it’s safe to say that sometimes “less is more”. And I was so happy to get my hands on this video footage from a traveling exhibition, also aptly entitled, “Less is More”, that celebrates the work of renowned industrial product designer Dieter Rams, just to prove my point. Because let’s face it, Rams has been saying it for years.
The video was shot on the exhibit’s stop at the Design Museum London, England, where the museum’s Director, Deyan Sudjic, and Public Program Director, Michael Czerwinski, talk about their admiration of Ram’s simple designs and what makes them still relevant today—even though they were designed in the 1950s and 60s.
It seems that Rams’ 10 Principals of “good design” are still strictly observed by many designers today, and here they are…
Good design:
1. is innovative
2. makes a product useful
3. is aesthetic
4. makes a product understandable
5. is unobtrusive
6. is honest
7. is long-lasting
8. is thorough down to the last detail
9. is environmentally friendly
10. is as little design as possible
The exhibit, Less is More, has traveled to Osaka Japan, Fuchu Tokyo, London England and, recently, to Frankfurt, Germany.
Tags: 10 principals of good design, braun, design thinking for small business, design thinking strategy, dieter rams, less is more design, less is more exhibit, simple product design
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One Calendar with Social Networking Powers
