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 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 October 14th, 2010
Here at MFX Partners we are huge fans of the work that Project H does around the world. And even though I don’t normally tell you guys to read a book in this blog, I do feel it’s my duty as a design thinker to spread the word about efforts to better the world through sustainable design.
Emily Pilloton, the founder and executive director of Project H, was recently awarded a $15,000 Adobe Foundation grant to support work on her new book Design Revolution: 100 Projects That Empower People, a book that focuses on the firm’s projects dealing with important issues—such as water, global health and education.
Check out this video where Pilloton gives a sample of the projects in the book and talks about how “Design is traditionally oriented at a luxury market, but [she] believes that design, at its core, [should be] about solving problems with positive social and environmental impact.”
In the video, Pilloton also discusses two world-changing projects from Project H. First is the Hippo Roller, a water transportation device invented 15 years prior and only produced and distributed in South Africa, that allows efficient water transport so residents only have to go to a water source twice daily to collect 24-leters of water.
The second project is a math playground called the ‘Learning Landscape’. Project H developed the ‘Learning Landscape’ for a school in Uganda, but “Math was an interesting design problem because it’s universal and can be taught the same way globally,” says Pilloton. “We [where challenged] to look at education as an experience not an object. [The outcome was a landscape] made of reclaimed tires buried in the ground…and it teaches match problems from 2+2 up to algebra.and we realized it’s universal potential…and the project has since spread to North Carolina and the Dominican Republic, because it’s easily constructed in any part of the world.”
Check out the entire video (it’s worth watching) to see how Project H designs tools—or, in other words, something that can empower and enable someone to do something more efficiently—NOT objects.
Tags: design revolution: 100 projects that empower people, design thinking process, emily pilloton, project h design thinking, sustainable cultures, the power of design thinking
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posted by Anna Fleet on October 12th, 2010
Smell that? At first you might mistake it for the smell of a sweet baked blueberry or peach pie wafting its way through the Greensboro air. However PieLab, the makeshift, brick café situated on Main Street in Alabama’s Black Belt, is serving up more than just pie a la mode to the surrounding 2,700-person cotton-producing community. In this area where about one-third of the residents live in poverty, PieLab aspires to make life better with “Pie & Conversation, Optimism & Design” (as the billowing flag out front promises).
Founded by the Project M design collective and created as part of their “design for good” movement, creator John Bielenberg says that PieLab “functions as a kind of incubator, where young designers are invited to two-week programs [in Greensboro] to generate solutions to social problems and enhance public life.”
So along with a hearty slice, the designers chowing down here are baking up ideas that, they hope, will improve life and create a sustainable community in Greensboro. Their most successful initiative to date was the Buy-a-Meter—which helped raise money to hook up area residents with running water.
Read the full article from the New York Times and discover how PieLab is helping to sweeten the design thinking process—by solving social and economic issues in poverty-stricken areas across the United States.
Tags: creating sustainable community, design thinking and poverty, design thinking strategy, John bielenberg project m, pielab greensboro, project m design collective, the power of design thinking
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posted by Anna Fleet on October 8th, 2010
Get a load of the offices at Etsy—the online community that connects people who make things with people who want to buy those things. Etsy has authentically built a reputation around their mantra “Buy, Sell and Live Handmade”.
And I was tickled patchwork (ha, ha, like my crafty reference?) when my coworker, Lesley, posted this great interview with Randy J Hunt and Dave Brown of Etsy’s design team—along with these eclectic images of their offices.
Wow, life at Etsy sure looks fun—those lamps, those curtains, and I wonder what goes on in that phone booth?
But, my larger point is: what impressed me most about Etsy’s offices was beyond their vintage and home-crafted furniture and decoration—it was the fact that all of it was purchased directly from Etsy artists!
What a great example of a company remaining 100% true to their brand. The office celebrates the actual artists who make Etsy successful. Brilliant! I can’t even imagine entering Etsy’s offices without asking about the pieces surrounding me.
Congrats to Etsy for creating a community that’s 100% true to their brand and connected to their cause.
Tags: design thinking for small business, etsy brand authentic, etsy design thinking, etsy sustainable community, the power of design thinking
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posted by Anna Fleet on October 5th, 2010
This inspiring short video explores the creation and building of a totally sustainable shelter, one that is part of the actual environment it inhabits in Mudgee, Australia.
Rob Brown of Casey Brown Architecture commissioned this architectural design project, and narrates the film. Brown founded Casey Brown along with partner Caroline Casey. The firm’s primary mission is to building contemporary and sustainable architecture through organic understanding and sensible building—so structures not only relate to the surrounding environment—no, they become part of that environment.
The inspiration behind this uniquely sustainable tower’s creation and construction was based on the concept of a “permanent tent”—a beautiful combination of raw natural materials and elements taken from nature, and a complete reflection of it’s surrounding environment—it’s completely sustainable in the harsh wind, rain and sun of this area.
Tags: casey brown architecture, design thinking architecture, sustainable design, sustainable shelter in austrailia, the power of design thinking
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posted by Anna Fleet on September 24th, 2010
More and more, business owners are scrambling for innovative ways and ideas to improve business success. Well, Little Retail has done some of the work for you. Watch their helpful and fun “little” video to see the top 5 engaging ideas to help your retail business. You’ll notice that these suggestions fit nicely into our Design Thinking methodology because they focus on engaging your employees—and most importantly, customers!
So in David Letterman fashion…here are five easy and engaging ideas for retail businesses:
5. Feature products your employees love and products they believe in.
4. Merchandise with your brand in mind—promoting your brand ethos
3. Simplify your marketing message.
2. Use color in bold ways = high impact at a low cost and get noticed.
…and drum roll please…
1. It’s all about the customer. Allow them to relax and explore, let them create their own experience, and give them reason to stay and come back (creating brand loyalty).
Tags: customer engagement, design thinking engagement, design thinking methodology, retail employee engagement, the power of design thinking
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posted by Anna Fleet on September 22nd, 2010
Nicolas Roope, the co-founder of the unconventional English electronics company Hulger, said, “It’s [ironic] that the light bulb, an object so synonymous with ideas, is almost entirely absent of imagination.”
Isn’t this the truth? And what’s more, how can those low energy light bulbs—you know, the spiral-shaped ones created to preserve energy—look so contrived and, well, ugly?
I guess Roope felt the same because he got Hulger straight on it. The company collaborated with designer Sam Wilkinson to create the “world’s first designer low-energy light bulb”, the Plumen.
Now the Plumen, was only released recently (on September 9, 2010) in the UK and Europe so don’t get too excited just yet (but it is rumored to be coming to the North America soon). The Plumen design is pure elegance—two intertwined fluorescent tubes—that use 80 percent less energy than your typical incandescent light bulb. And better yet, Hulger claims one Plumen bulb will last you eight years.
Gorgeous, energy-efficient and robust…an ingenious combination suited to the symbolism of imagination. Bravo! And remember to turn the lights off when you leave the room.
Tags: design thinking strategy, earth-friendly design, energy-efficient design, hulger electronics, plumen light bulb, the power of design thinking
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posted by Anna Fleet on September 16th, 2010
I was just blown away by this stunning short film, Making Future Magic, after a colleague at work sent it my way (by the way, thanks James).
As a writer I find it fairly easy to describe things. However, after viewing this film I was left speechless. The film itself was created by Creative Communications Agency, Dentsu London, in partnership with BERG Design Consultancy. To the best of my technical comprehension, the film uses photographic and animation techniques to give movement to 3-dimensional typography using an iPad.
I was most struck by the contrast of the “iPad magic” over the various surfaces—especially the water and dark backgrounds in the garden scenes…but that’s enough from me…WATCH IT!
And, for a full technical description of what you just watched go to the Dentsu London blog.
Tags: 3-D animation, 3-dimensional animation, ipad Making future magic, making future magic BERG, making future magic Dentsu London, the power of design thinking, three-D animation
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posted by Anna Fleet on September 7th, 2010
Have you ever heard of an environmentally friendly high rise? Me neither, in fact, when I see a new multi-story building going up in Kitchener-Waterloo, I sadly think of all the green that will be annihilated to accommodate the new concrete giant.
However, German architects Sauerbruch Hutton, a firm known for their eco-friendly projects, have shown us the future of mixing Mother Nature with high-rise construction with their innovative computerized facade.
The IEEE Spectrum firm’s KfW Bankengruppe office building, in Frankfurt, has the world’s first “pressure ring” facade. According to Peter Fairley of IEEE Spectrum, it’s a “sensor-controlled ventilators on the outer skin open and close throughout the day in response to temperature, wind direction and speed…throwing a ring of positive pressure around the building. That air is drawn into offices through floor vents and windows along an inner facade workers control; then, it’s exhausted into the building core. So a system of natural ventilation eliminates the need for AC and heat in the fall and spring. And in extreme weather, when you need an artificial bump, the pressure balance won’t throw your heating and cooling systems out of whack.”
The new high-tech, eco-friendly skin is expected to help the building consume a third of the energy that a typical American office building would consume.
Tags: design thinking strategy, eco-friendly design, green architecture, high-tech facade building, ieee spectrum, Kfw Bankengruppe germany, sauerbruch hutton, the power of design thinking
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One Calendar with Social Networking Powers
