Archives: July 2007

Another Anomaly

Posted by: Helen Walters on July 31, Categories: Advertising

Just off the phone from Duncan Bird, a former ad guy in London who's now also the former VP of Futures of Sony BMG. He's in the process of moving...

Social Networks -- or the "Informal Organization" -- at Work

Posted by: Reena Jana on July 31, Categories: Social Networking

There's so much buzz about social networks of the online kind -- MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn. But what about old fashioned human-to-human, face-to-face "social networks," and how we use them in...

India’s “Second Tier” Cities: Where Innovation is Happening

Posted by: Reena Jana on July 27, Categories: Innovation

Two days in a row this week, I coincidentally found myself in conversations on innovation in India’s second-tier cities. These areas are quickly attracting forward-thinking businesses and are home to...

The Manufactured Landscapes of Ed Burtynsky

Posted by: Helen Walters on July 25, Categories: Design, Sustainability

Tanggu Port, Tianjin, 2005. Click on images to enlarge. Manufactured Landscapes is a film I caught by chance in NYC the other day. I hadn't heard much about it...

Using Biometrics to Measure Ads in Video Games: What Works, What Doesn’t

Posted by: Reena Jana on July 24, Categories: Game Design

The effective design of in-game ads – billboards, product placements (like the Nike shoes, seen above), or scoreboards sponsored by car companies within popular video games – is again...

International Design Excellence Awards

Posted by: Helen Walters on July 23, Categories: Design

Forgive the self-indulgent post -- and the radio silence of late -- but we've been working like demons, putting together the IDEA 2007 package. It's live and online so I...

A Tool for Businesses Seeking Sleek, Chic Offices

Posted by: Reena Jana on July 19, Categories: Architecture

Imaginative interior architecture can play a huge role in terms of fostering collaboration and creative thinking -- and can help define a company’s culture. Think of the Googleplex in Mountain...

One Small Step for Woman

Posted by: Helen Walters on July 17, Categories: Design

Space ladies have had a bad rap recently (yes, I'm looking at you, Lisa Nowak), but this space lady is looking to change the conversation. Dava Newman is professor...

The Skinny on the New "Skins" Shoes

Posted by: Reena Jana on July 12, Categories: Design

I recently tried out a pair of the new Skins shoes, what promise to be chic and inventive products. They've gotten a lot of advance raves in design publications such...

The wonderful, subversive world of animation

Posted by: Helen Walters on July 11, Categories: Design

Animation has been an explosive business in recent times. Last year, Disney forked out $7.5 billion for industry poster child Pixar, the studio behind the likes of Toy Story, Finding...

Intelligent Textiles

Posted by: Helen Walters on July 09, Categories: Design

There's a lot of interesting work happening in the materials arena. A while back, we wrote an article about d3o, a young British company which designed a material which is...

The AIGA: Moving into China, Social Networking, Business Strategy

Posted by: Reena Jana on July 09, Categories: Design

I recently went to a lunch hosted by Richard Grefé, the executive director of the AIGA (the acronym stands for the American Institute of Graphic Arts; today, the 93-year-old organization...

Mixing Biz with Tech: Profitable Management Mash-Ups

Posted by: Reena Jana on July 05, Categories: Innovation

Companies can move beyond simply being innovative and toward becoming more agile, resilient, and profitable by creating a management mash-up of their business and technology teams.

It's all about Nokia

Posted by: Helen Walters on July 03, Categories: Innovation

Sometimes companies, themes or trends just keep assaulting your radar. Today it's the turn of Nokia, which for no particular reason is turning up everywhere I look. Piers Fawkes of...

Robot Zoo

Posted by: Helen Walters on July 02, Categories: Design

I confess. I'm a bit squeamish. I haven't eaten meat for hundreds of years and if a mosquito comes into my bedroom I try to strike a deal whereby I...