Fire, Agriculture, Design: How Human Creativity Built Society A new TV series flips the paradigm for art as an accessory to culture, proving that our need to create is actually what drives society's success.
Mon Feb 1, 2010
Apple may change the world… again. In a few days or weeks, according to rumors (http://gizmodo.com/5434566/the-exhaustive-guide-to-apple-tablet-rumors), Apple will introduce a new device to the market. Apparently it’s a Tablet device, with either 7” or 10” display. With much commotion in the tech blogsphere, the ‘iSlate’ (as was suggested) is discussed as if it is a fact of life. However one crucial detail is not clear – will this be a Cellular device like the iPhone or just another WiFi device like the iPod Touch.
Posted Tue Dec 29, 2009
Dear Gadget Reviewers: You Don't Understand Beauty An entirely new industry of quasi-professional reviewers has grown out of the Internet. None of these reviewers understand design.
Posted Fri Nov 13, 2009
Looking at the Micro vs. the Macro in Design For designers today, it's the little things that matter. The really, really little things.
Posted Tue Nov 3, 2009
"Shop Class as Soulcraft": A Book That Revels in Alternative Thinking for Designers A new book that talks about the intellectualism of craftsmanship offers some insight into how designers solve problems.
Posted Wed Oct 21, 2009
Body Computing Is a Glimmer of Hope in the Health-Care Chasm A Los Angeles conference shows how advancing technology aided by designers can help both doctors and patients.
Posted Wed Oct 14, 2009
In Defense of Slapping a Robot By inflicting pain on entities with artificial intelligence we enable them to become truly intelligent.
Posted Thu Oct 1, 2009
How Should We Define "Design"? When everything from solutions for social problems to smart business plans are getting heralded as design solutions, where do we draw the line?
Posted Wed Sep 2, 2009
Design Studios vs. Large Design Agencies: The Changing Landscape of the Design Industry The design world is no longer dominated by large design agencies of 100, 200, or even 500 employees. We are now witnessing studios with 10, 20, or 30 people consistently delivering top quality design and in a very different way.
Posted Fri Aug 14, 2009
And the Award for the Most Ridiculously Unnecessary Packaging Goes To... When Gadi Amit ordered a 124mm-long electronic pen online, he received a heck of a lot more than he bargained for.
Posted Fri Aug 14, 2009
Five Truths About Design Awards The industrial design awards season has ended. A look back on what exactly winning--or losing--means to designers.
Posted Tue Aug 4, 2009
Are You Building a Consumer-Facing Company? Managing design in a corporate environment can be a challenging and sometimes frustrating experience. But a few recent events in my professional life have caused me to look at the whole issue from a more philosophical angle.
Posted Tue Jul 14, 2009
Was Einstein a Designer? Relatively, No.
In his recent post, "Design is Too Important to be Left to Thinkers," Robert Brunner made a good point about how every Tom, Dick, corporate strategist, and engineer is now calling himself a "design thinker." This issue needs a deeper look.
Posted Mon Jun 22, 2009
Know Thy Partner: Three Client Types and How to Work With Them
One of the most important things to figure out at the start of a design project is what kind of client you're working with. It can also be one of the most difficult things to discern if you're working with a client for the first time. The issue is not at the interpersonal level--some people are good at what they do, some bad, some are professional and some not. Products, on the other hand, are successful because of coordinated teamwork on all levels--where every person contributes to the overall product quality.
Posted Mon Jun 22, 2009
Pimp My Molar! Print My Book! Two 20-Year Technology "Overnight Successes," Finally Available
A few days ago, between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., I spent a wonderful hour. I had my tooth #29 (second bicuspid) drilled, halved and capped, then got stuck in traffic for an hour listening to the radio.
Posted Mon Jun 1, 2009
Where Have All the Colors Gone? Or, Why We're Now Living in a Spineless, Black and White World.
Ever wondered why the only colors many industries now offer you are black, white, silver, or gray? I love colors and it strikes me as odd how colors have been tuned out of so many products.
While some colors are seasonal and faddish, others are perennials; a good color may last centuries, even if its use is up some decades, and down others. Colors capture our cultural subconscious and stay there for a long time. But somehow we're now in a boring, monochromatic world.
Posted Tue May 26, 2009
Performance Anxiety: Gadi Amit on the Last Manly Job on Earth
A few months ago my younger daughter turned six. Attempting to make myself useful before the birthday party, I was hanging a large piñata, when my better-half approached me and whispered provocatively: "Man, please follow me to my office."
Instant cold sweat. When I get such invitation from a beautiful woman, I get serious performance anxiety and I know why: I'm going to be asked to perform the last manly job.
Posted Wed May 20, 2009
Carbon Credits Miss the Point
It may not be a popular thing to say, but all the feel-good talk about carbon emission policies may be obscuring a bigger and more important problem: Our society's long-entrenched habit of rampant over- consumption. When we focus on carbon-emissions, are we postponing a change in consumer behavior that could be more beneficial over a long time?
Without weighing in on the global warming debate about the actual amount of man-made climate change, it is clear today that:
Posted Wed Apr 29, 2009
