Topic: Banana Republic Inc.

Advertisers in Issue 32

4imprint.com www.4imprint.com/fc AB Watley www.abwatley.com Agilent HP www.agilent.com Agillion.com www.agillion.com Altoids www.altoids.com American Power Conversion www.apcc.com America's Job Bank www.ajb.org Andersen ...READ»

Advertisers in Issue 33

3M Post-it Easel www.3m.com/post-it AB Watley www.abwatley.com Acura www.acura.com Agilent Technologies www.agilent.com Agillion www.agillion.com Alitalia www.alitaliausa.com Alliance Capital www.alliancecapital.com American Power ...READ»

Advertisers in Issue 45

Interact with the companies whose products and services are advertised in Fast Company.READ»

Advertisers in Issue 39

Interact with the companies whose products and services are advertised in Fast Company.READ»

Advertisers in Issue 44

Interact with the companies whose products and services are advertised in Fast Company.READ»

Welcoming Guest Blogger Mark Dziersk: "Creativity Plus Risk Gets You the Grade"

One of the biggest complaints designers in consumer product companies have is that their organization's engineers just don't ‘get' design. That, they would argue, is why so many products--especially in consumer electronics--are so ...READ»

How We Sell

If shopping is the great American indoor sport, why isn't it more fun? Why isn't it easier? Why isn't it better? Paco Underhill, founder of Envirosell Inc., decodes the secrets of retail design to explain the rules behind how we shop.READ»

They Look

See for yourself! ? Before: Corporate everypeople. ? After: Whoa! Forget the dizzying ups and downs of the market. Try keeping up with trends in business attire. The fashion pendulum has swung from Gordon Gekko's sleek power ...READ»

Fully Vested

Fishing-vest-as-business-accessory?READ»

Nine Ways to Fix a Broken Brand

The marketing excesses of the past few years left broken pieces scattered across the branding landscape. As a result, many companies are left with bogged-down, boring -- even dying and dead -- brands. Now take a look at your brand: Do you know what's broken? Do you know how to fix it?READ»

50 Ways to Green Your Business

Half-a-hundred options for cleaning up your business, from the universal (catch that rainwater!) to the specific (lose the plastic bowls!). Mix, match--join in.READ»

Miami Design District founder Craig Robins' take on the nabe

Robins dishes on the District's many charmsREAD»

The Myth of the Rational Buyer: How Too Much Thinking Can Hurt Your Brand

What if something you thought you knew to be true, turned out to be exactly the opposite? What if an approach you imagined was working for you was actually working against you? Imagine if it were true, for example, that almost ...READ»

• Design's Boom-and-Bust Cycle: Ten Years In, Ten to Go
• Ten Things to Demand From Design Thinkers
• Welcoming Guest Blogger Mark Dziersk: "Creativity Plus Risk Gets You the Grade"

Why Design Still Has Such Limited Corporate Impact--and What to Do About It

Despite the best efforts of the design community to the contrary, design is still struggling to influence companies in meaningful ways. The fault lies mostly within the design profession itself, which is unable to supply leadership ...READ»

• Six Ways to Avoid Landing in the Product Failure Bin
• The Myth of the Rational Buyer: How Too Much Thinking Can Hurt Your Brand
• Design's Boom-and-Bust Cycle: Ten Years In, Ten to Go

People of Plenty

The American dream says that anyone can be rich. But the real question is, Are you keeping up with the Joneses?READ»

Luxury's Long Tail

Thanks largely to the deluxe-uccinos at Starbucks and the Michael Graves teapot at Target, it's now an article of faith that luxury is within reach of nearly every man, woman and child. But it also raises an enduring question: When a ...READ»

Project Dysfunction

As much as I detest reality TV, I have to admit that "Project Greenlight" became a guilty pleasure. The HBO series chronicled the making of an independent film by first-time filmmakers chosen by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Although ...READ»

Design's Boom-and-Bust Cycle: Ten Years In, Ten to Go

The topic of design has generated a lot of buzz lately--so much, in fact, that some suggest that the renewed interest in all things creative is a passing fad. Not exactly. If we let history be our guide, we'll see that there's a ...READ»

• Ten Things to Demand From Design Thinkers

Six Ways to Avoid Landing in the Product Failure Bin

A decade ago the ability to generate ideas for businesses was a terrific and unique offering, and often a good business. Many companies and consultants were conducting workshops aimed at coming up hundreds of ideas, and ...READ»

• The Myth of the Rational Buyer: How Too Much Thinking Can Hurt Your Brand
• Design's Boom-and-Bust Cycle: Ten Years In, Ten to Go
• Ten Things to Demand From Design Thinkers

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

Consistency and the Customer Experience

I just made a lunch run, and while the experience wasn't as distracting or dismaying as Alison's experience with Starbucks in November, I'm thinking as I eat my sandwich. How consistent should customer service and experience be with ...READ»

Gold Standard

The Mitchell Gold Co. is bringing overdue change to an out-of-touch industry: home furniture. But unlike so many other mavericks, its primary competitive weapon isn't the Internet. Instead, the company is deploying a smart sense of design.READ»

Digital Matters -- Issue 45

"Customers expect more than a coupon from P G."READ»

Between the Lines

The stories behind this issue's stories.READ»

What the world needs now is ... Soft Capitalism

While meandering around the Murray Hill district of Manhattan,  I was stopped dead by an intriguing sign: "Sal Anthony, famous Italian chef, has gone raw!" An Italian Chef going raw? Is that like a Chanel shopper going ...READ»