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RKS Design

Remembering C.K. Prahalad

The author of "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" who passed away earlier in the month was influential in transforming Ravi Sawhney's design practice.READ»

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Extreme Makeover, Weiner Edition: RKS Redesigns the Deadly Hot Dog

Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics called for the redesign of hot dogs. Never ones to resist a challenge, or the chance to play with their food, RKS carved out a little time to reinvent the wiener.READ»

The KOR ONE Bottle Changes Behavior by Beautifying Water

How to get consumers to swear off disposable plastic water bottles? Turn a reusable vessel into something irresistible.READ»

Coca-Cola's New Video Proves Brand Happiness Can Be Viral

The new "Happiness Machine" video made by Coke is a model for how brands can create that moment of delight with their consumers.READ»

New Models for Engaging Consumers: A Report from Opportunity Green

Shifting the consumer paradigm to sustainable products, processes, and experiences has to begin with a fundamental shift in the way we think, the way we do business, and the way we all live our lives.READ»

Teaching Moments: A New Era for Design Education

Design educators are reinventing the industry from the inside out as employers are less interested in students' ability to sketch, and more interested in their ability to think and communicate strategically. READ»

A Better Way to Health Care Reform: Is There a Designer in the House?

A "dream team" of designers could improve America's ailing system by focusing on health care as a series of meaningful, user-centered experiences.READ»

Broken Guitar Has United Playing the Blues to the Tune of $180 Million

When the airlines smashed a songwriter's guitar and refused to reimburse him, he got even by going viral.READ»

Why Designers Need to Focus on Focus Groups

The design team can play an important role in research and focus group testing.READ»

Over-Innovation: A Cautionary Tale

The difference between simple and elegant can mean the difference between success and failure for your brand.READ»

Roadmap for Recovery: Five Ways to Come Out on Top

In my last post, I shared five short-term strategies for surviving the downturn by using design thinking as a roadmap to connect your business with consumers. Once you've weathered the worst of the economic storms, it's time to ...READ»

Roadmap for Recovery: Five Ways to Help Your Company Survive Now

History has shown that hard times can provide as much opportunity as pitfalls. Want proof? Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, and Xerox are just three innovation-driven companies that were founded during the Great Depression. More recently, ...READ»

Designing From the First-Person Perspective

In professional industrial design, designs aren't really for the designers. They aren't even for the clients. They're for the end-users. I believe we get the best results when we "design from the first-person perspective" and really ...READ»

Change-Agent Designs: They Inspire You to Do the Right Thing

While designs are often the result of great inspiration, I'm even more interested in designs that themselves inspire. I'm a great believer in design's power to effect positive change in the world. Understandably, the first job ...READ»

iPhone Apps and the Making of the 99 Cent Hero

A couple of weeks ago, the billionth iPhone app was downloaded from the App Store. Not bad for only nine months. How are iPhone apps related to heroes? I believe that a key to truly successful design is creating products that ...READ»

The Web Design That Changed the World

I like to explore design's reach into unexpected places. Today, I'd like to focus on design in politics… specifically, how, by creating emotional connection, the Web site my.barackobama.com (commonly known as MyBO) ...READ»

Design's Reach: Let's Begin a Dialogue

Design. Everyone seems to know about it. Some discredit it as superficial, while others crave it as a lifestyle. Business can be perplexed by it or harness its power. Not even designers can agree on its meaning. It's no wonder ...READ»

Welcoming Guest Blogger Ravi Sawhney: His Water Bottle Makes Me Feel Cool

I am not a slave to design. I have an embarrassingly low tech cell phone. Carry a functional, non-designer handbag. Do not wear cool, Kazuo Kawasaki glasses. But I'm in love with my cleverly-designed water bottle. It's the envy of ...READ»