Design in Business

PUMA: GM and Segway's Solution for Urban Transportation

Every year, more people worldwide flock to cities, where congestion and pollution are becoming intolerable. GM and Segway have teamed up to build what they believe is the solution: a two-seat, two-wheeled Segway with zero emissions.READ»

15 Japanese Designs That Could Go Global

Contemporary products from Japan's 30 distinct regions recently were on display in New York as a test to see which had the mojo to make it in the West. Most of these products had never been seen outside of Japan. But the ones that garnered the best audience reception are likely to eventually find themselves on a store shelf near you.READ»

Breaking Down Family Guy's Billions

Fox execs decline to put a hard figure on the value of the Family Guy Empire. But our calculations show MacFarlane's properties have generated almost $2 billion. No wonder he scored a record-setting contract.READ»

BMW Gina: Shape-Shifting Car

This car is like something out of a sci-fi flick: a BMW prototype with a flexible textile skin that reflects the carmaker's new design philosophy. READ»

• Intercell’s Needle-Free Vaccines
• Eight Concept Cars That'll Never See Production

How the Aeron Chair Inspired Burton

How the design of the iconic office chair inspired a breakthough snowboard binding from Burton Snowboards.READ»

Biomimicry: Design Inspirations from Nature

The inventor of Velcro ripped cockleburs from his dog's fur. Da Vinci and the Wright brothers studied birds in flight. And now a rising number of designers are looking to nature for inspiration. Companies as diverse as Boeing, Ford, General Electric, Herman Miller, HP, IBM, Kraft, Nike, and Patagonia are welcoming biologists to the design lab. Here's a sampling of Mother Nature at work.READ»

• 2008 Masters of Design
• Biomimicry: Nature-Inspired Designs
• The Vision of John Maeda
• The Port of Los Angeles is the Gateway to Ingenuity

The Vision of John Maeda

As the new president of the Rhode Island School of Design, John Maeda brings digital artistry -- and an obsession with business -- to an ultra-analog world. Here's a peek at his digital art and design.READ»

Li Edelkoort's Predictions for What's Not Hot

The age of the loft is over. "We want to have space, but we don't want it to be so open." The pumped-up look for guys is passé. "I saw a bill-board with David Beckham selling underwear. It looked so old. Men ...READ»

• Fashion Sorceress
• What's Hot

Chicago is the Creative Capital of ohe Universe. Discuss.

Skyscrapers, green roofs, and house music -- a very American metropolis. READ»

Are Those Rebate Checks Helping?

How one website tracks the impact of George Bush's stimulus package.READ»

Forces of Nature

Renzo Piano's California Academy of Sciences is a home for flora and fauna -- and a feat of engineering. READ»

Seven Concept Cars You Wish You Could Own

Concept cars are a great way to get people excited about a brand and its future offerings. Here's a look at the latest crop from the design labsREAD»

• 8 Concept Cars That'll Never See Production
• The Car that Parks Itself -- and Other Automotive Technology Breakthroughs

Products of Brand Mash-Ups

Lashing your brand to another may be the easiest -- and oddest -- way to create new products. Can you pick which items are real and which are fake?READ»

• 7 Fabulous Things You Probably Shouldn't Buy
• When Brand Extensions Go Bad

Green Fashion: Is It More Than Marketing Hype?

Green fashion is giving the fashion industry an eco-makeover. But is green its true color?READ»

• In Fashion, Green is the New Black
• How The Fashion Industry Is Greening Its Operation
• 9 Daring Ideas That Blend Fashion and Sustainability
• Green Fashion Goes Mainstream

How The Fashion Industry Is Greening Its Operation

While being eco-friendly has been in style the last few years, it’s questionable whether green will still be fashionable next season.READ»

• Green Fashion Goes Mainstream
• 9 Daring Ideas That Blend Fashion and Sustainability

Global City of the Year: London

Where one of every eight works in a creative industry.READ»

• 10 Things You Don't Know About London
• Fast Cities 2008

U.S. City of the Year: Chicago

Skyscrapers, green roofs, and house music -- a very American metropolis. READ»

• Five Things You Don't Know About Chicago
• Fast Cities 2008

The Power of the Prize

Lo and behold, contests actually work to spur innovation. So should we use them for everything?READ»

• Vision Quest: Contests Throughout History

Créme de la Curator

Le Meridien reinvents the art of the hotel experience.READ»

• How To Live Like A Billionaire
• Under The Sea

Hustle & Flow

Alaska Airlines' Airport of the Future makes quick work of getting passengers through check-in.READ»

Keeping it Cool

Mari Balestrazzi Vice President of Design Morgans Hotel Group Mari Balestrazzi, the former director of design at Aero Studios and St. Regis, now leads the design team at Morgans Hotel Group. "We're in growth mode, looking to ...READ»

• Designs on Success
• Homage to History
• A Club is Reborn
• Beyond Ballistic

Another Inconvenient Truth

The reason why companies greenwash their products.READ»

Can Green Homes be Mass Produced?

The Fast Interview: Architect Michelle Kaufmann on finding an alternative to endless subdivisions of McMansions.READ»

CSI: Construction

Buildings expert Joseph Lstiburek points out some of the key potential mistakes in the raising of MIT's Stata Center.READ»

Loco Motion

The creative crazies at Motion Theory turn the video world topsy-turvy.READ»