posted by Anna Fleet on January 17th, 2011
I was pleasantly surprised by this blog from Fast Company that focused on a study from the Political Economy Research Institute that showed biking is cleaner, more efficient, and creates twice the city jobs that auto-based infrastructure projects do.
The study, Estimating the Employment Impacts of Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Road Infrastructure, revealed that biking and walking city planning projects (such as the infrastructure planning and construction associated with building cycling lanes and pedestrian sidewalks) require more engineers on the job compared to road construction. The result: they create more jobs overall!
How great is a world where we get sustainable design, healthier citizens and more jobs? I say we’re pretty lucky!
Tags: bike lane design, cycling infrastructure, design thinking, fast company, green design, sustainable design
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posted by Anna Fleet on December 17th, 2010
As small business owners, and on the flip side as consumers, you’ve probably heard or had a situation where you or one of your customers tell you they feel like there’s nobody listening to their needs—or even worse—their complaints about bad customer service. As good companies, with good services, you would probably do you best to rectify the situation for fear of tarnishing your reputation and before word-of-mouth gets out.
Lo and behold Gripe (a service available for iPhone, iPod and Android smartphones, and via Twitter, Facebook and regular old email) that uses word-of-mouth to get consumer complaints heard and resolved quickly by business owners and mangers.
If a customer has a complaint, all they do is log onto their chosen social network or use their mobile phone to display a “Gripe” to the company’s manager or owner. The key is that the “Gripe” will also be shared amongst all of their contacts so their issue gets spread through some pretty strong word-of-mouth. Now if that’s not motivation to fix a customer issue; I don’t know what is? And get this; if the customer happens to be a person who can’t stomach uncomfortable confrontations, “Gripe” will notify the business via email about the bad experience.
The flip side to all of this complaining is that if your “Gripe” is taken care of in a satisfying and professional manner, the customer can then give positive feedback, or a “Cheer”, for a job well done or a great experience.
Tags: customer satisfaction tips, design thinking, gripe app, gripe or cheer, social media, solve real world problems, word of mouth marketing
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posted by Anna Fleet on December 9th, 2010
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo Da Vinci once used this statement to describe ideal art and design in his time, but what about today? Is the same true for the products we design in 2010?
Customer Loyalty and e-Marketing product manager, Eugene Schoen wanted to find out. So he performed a study around simple innovations and customer loyalty—does one spur the other?
Take the Apple iPad as an example. The user-friendly device does makes browsing the web, checking email, managing calendars, and accessing social networks a simple, and all from a single app-based, touchscreen device. Apple, and many of it’s loyal customers would claim, the iPad improves users’ quality of life. It’s true that my husband can shop online, pay his bills, book a flight, and stay in touch through social networks from this one device!
So, now that you have the scenario, in your opinion, do simple products make our lives easier ? And do they create consumer loyalty?
Tags: Apple ipad, Apple iphone, creating brand loyalty, creating customer loyalty, design thinking, product development tips, simple innovations
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posted by John Short on November 1st, 2010
Sustainable Waterloo was founded in 2008. It’s mission: to help guide Waterloo Region towards a more environmentally sustainable future. Always provocative and inspiring, Sustainable Waterloo will be hosting their next event, Educational Forum: Leaders in Sustainability on Tuesday, November 23, 2010 from 7:30 am to 9:30 am at The Waterloo Inn, located at 475 King Street North, Waterloo, Ontario.
The forum is set to feature InterfaceFLOR®, a global flooring manufacturer recognized as a leader in sustainability, design, production and sales of environmentally responsible carpeting. Checking out the InterfaceFLOR website for more info on their products.
When I checked out the site I was particularly interested in the various definitions of ’sustainability’ that they make mention of on their ‘What is Sustainability?’ page. Here are two that got my attention:
1. Historically, the ’seventh generation’ philosophy of the Native North
American Iroquois Confederacy mandated that tribal chiefs always consider the effects of their actions on descendants seven generations in the future.
2. Forum For the Future recently defined sustainable development as: “a dynamic process that enables all people to realize their potential and improve the quality of life in ways that simultaneously protect and enhance the Earth’s life support systems.”
Personally—and with the increasing concerns for the environment—I’m constantly reminded of my childhood camping days where my Scout Leader always instructed us to “always leave the camp site in better shape than when we arrived.” Good advice!
Tags: building sustainable future, design thinking, educational forum on sustainability, environmentally-friendly carpet, InterfaceFLOR, sustainable carpet, sustainable waterloo
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posted by Anna Fleet on October 29th, 2010
Check out this greenhubvideo to see how a Brantford, Ontario manufacturing company is giving a half-century-old factory a green overhaul.
Romco Industries, a company that builds everything from motors to hanger doors and pressure vessels to post-harvest equipment vacuum chambers, called in The Anavitas Group, which provides energy-efficient solutions to companies in Ontario, to determine if the building could be more energy efficient.
The good news is that Anavitas found many areas that could be greener—from the back door to the toilets to the building’s 5 HVAC systems for cooling and heating. The Anavitas Group determined that 2 HVAC would not only cut down cost and energy, but still cool and heat efficiently as well. Currently, The Anavitas Group is also collaborating with Romco on the engineering side—in efforts to help make Romco motors more efficient and green.
Tags: anavitas group energy solutions, design thinking, green innovation, romco green manufacturing, sustainable architecture, sustainable manufacturing
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posted by Anna Fleet on October 28th, 2010
Imagine a world where your leftovers are able to be composted into fuel to run your gas stove. Or, how about if the energy output from your washing machine, refrigerator and dryer could be transferred in a heat output to heat your home on a chilly night.
Individual needs served by shared home appliances—and better yet—resource savers that consumed only a fraction of the energy that today’s home appliances demand.
Well, we’re not that far from it, and Electrolux is helping to bring us closer with their Electrolux Design Lab, which draws thousands of industrial design students from all over the globe to present sustainable ideas for appliances of the future.
This global competition has been ongoing since the year 2003—and always with the same prerequisite: any idea considered, must adhere to sustainable principles. Winning students have a shot at an Electrolux internship, and Electrolux uses these concepts to innovate actual products.
Previous finalists in the Electrolux Design Lab competition have included:
1. A portable solar cooker charged by spray-on solar cells
2. A washing machine where natural soap nuts replace detergents
3. A crock-pot-style cooker that creates the night’s dinner from genetically engineered packages
Just think of a future with completely sustainable homes—where each has a built in, integrated network that takes the waste from one product to energize the function of another.
Brilliant!
Tags: design thinking, electrolux appliances, green innovation, sustainable appliances, sustainable future, sustainable home design
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posted by Anna Fleet on August 3rd, 2010
Oded Ezer, a well-renowned typographic artist, lecturer and designer from Israel, looked to Skype for inspiration for his latest work, the Oded Ezer’s Face Type.
The artist was inspired to create this new project after he was exposed to the visual possibilities of the social network’s video conferencing. Ezer then approached individuals from different countries and asked them to each design one of the letters—making it what the artist calls “the embodiment of communal creativity facilitated by social media and social media networks.”
Once designed, each letter of the typeface was photographed along with its creator, using Skype’s application’s print screen function. The typeface was then showcased in the prestigious Print Magazine’s August 2010 issue, depicting the message, “Every improvement in communication makes the truth less visible”, and also featured in a poster that was part of the famous Krakow Jewish Festival in Poland, this past July.
Tags: communication design, design thinking, oded ezer, skype for social collaboration, social collaboration, social networking design, typographic artist
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posted by Anna Fleet on July 30th, 2010
Have you ever wondered how the world’s costs would stand on a graphic scale?
Well do I have a Friday treat in store for you!
I came across this short YouTube video this morning and, I don’t have to tell you, it really puts global cost in perspective. This one-minute video showcase, and in some cases contrasts, impacting global costs—including the Iraq War, Google’s market value, how much is spent on video games and illegal drugs annually, how much it would cost to save the Amazon Rainforest, eradicate AIDS and national debt in the UK, and even lists revenues of corporate giants like Bill Gates, Tesco and OPEC even comparing OPEC’s revenue in 2009 compared their miniscule climate change fund. And all of this is done on a stunning graphic level set to music.
So check out ‘Information is Beautiful’ and yes I know it’s promoting a book (by the same name) from David McCandless, but I think its bigger impact is the beautiful visualization of such a profound message. It really does put things into perspective before a long weekend. Enjoy!
Tags: david mccandless, design thinking, graphic design thinking, information is beautiful, information is beautiful video, youtube for viral marketing
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posted by Anna Fleet on July 28th, 2010
Last week I shared an article about how design thinking was used by a group of USU design students to solve a structural issue at the famed Great St. Bernard Hospice in Switzerland. Well, I can’t stop thinking about it…
So today, I’m giving you a little insight from Captain James T. Kirk. Why? Well, because, one, I’m a Trekie. And two, I’m drawn to this concept of design thinking because it challenges us to find alternative ways to solve problems—giving us more options to solve those problems with…
And this girl, she loves her options!
I was reminded of a phrase that James T. Kirk coined: the “third option”. If I recall correctly, this means innovating and creating new ideas and new technology, not just out of self interest, but also for the common good. Now, to me, that sounds a lot more appealing compared to being stuck with two undesireable choices. Maybe, just maybe, I’m on to something here…
The obvious three steps involved in problem solving are:
1. Firstly, step back from the immediate problem and take a look at the bigger picture. After all, the problem itself is usually ingrained in the larger system, so finding a solution is best approached by first understanding the larger whole.
2. Next, to understand the whole situation you’ll need to call on folks with different expertise—designers, artists, MBAs, technologists, sociologists, communications, etc. Regardless, they all add value because they approach the problem from different angles, with different backgrounds, and with different skill sets.
3. Lastly, get a fresh perspective on the situation. Breakthroughs in any field—medicine, technology, art—hardly ever occur if never approached with fresh perspective. And lack of fresh insight is responsible for many companies getting stuck in a rut (e.g., old patterns and politics). After working at the same company and in the same position for many years, we all come to accept certain patterns as part of our environment. However, newbies on the scene, tend to question everything—especially the obvious—because an outsider has permission to ask “stupid questions” that veterans don’t feel comfortable asking.
That’s when the magic starts to happen. Am I right?
Tags: design thinking, design thinking for small business, glimmer book, james t. kirk, new ways of problem solving, new ways of thinking, star trek, warren berger
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One Calendar with Social Networking Powers
