Influx Insights Tag Feed: design

the era of constant brand refreshment

Influx Insights — 2008-08-20T23:39:43Z

"They're accessing it everyday when they log on or are on the phone or on a weekend when they have to download an application. If you don't work with a brand and in essence, refresh the management of it continuously, then it starts to feel like it's an old brand."

Marc Shillum-Head of Brand Design-R/GA- from Creativity

Posted by Ed Cotton

can green new zealand export green?

Influx Insights — 2008-08-14T13:48:07Z

New Zealand is rapidly emerging as the the country that's doing most to brand itself "Green" and "Eco-Aware". The government has lots of smart policies, it promotes itself as a "pure" tourist destination, people seem to be moving there in droves to find the ecological lifestyle they desire, etc..

Then there's also the export business. Selling that New Zealand "purity" in packages to the rest of the world. I was thinking about this when our Media Director showed me a bottle of water she was drinking, Antipodes was its name. (see below).

While the design is stunning, it did raise a big question.

It struck me that New Zealand's green exporters have a massive challenge on their hands when they are trying to convince consumers that they are truly green, with the massive carbon footprints they generate with shipping and transportation.

Of course, according to its website, Antipodes appears to have anticipated the questions, but is far from transparent with its answers.

Clearly, there's a big communication challenge here and while striking design will win you lots of fans, you've got to have some decent answers to those relevant environmental questions, especially if you are using New Zealand as your "origin" to promote purity.

Posted by Ed Cotton

the future of the web experience

Influx Insights — 2008-08-05T04:55:00Z

Adaptive Path has been working on an interesting project with Mozilla to explore the future of the browser.

They made a film, shown below. to introduce the concept and show how users might access, share and collaborate with data found through their browser.

The concept demonstrates interesting ways to seamlessly integrate data elements into conversations, that previously would have involved many different steps.

It gives us a glimpse at the potential of a new internet future, which has massive implications for the way in which brands use the web and interact with their users.

Aurora (Part 1) from Adaptive Path on Vimeo.

Posted by Ed Cotton

barclays bank gets a redesign inspired by apple and the science museum

Influx Insights — 2008-06-30T01:49:57Z

Interesting article in the London Times about Barclays and its approach to branch re-design. It picks out Apple stores, The Science Museum and obviously, Tesco, as being inspirations for the project.

"At the beginning of last year, Ms Oppenheimer poached Helen Dodd, a retail design expert, from Tesco.

Ms Dodd, who has spent 20 years working out how to attract customers to shops and keep them there, trooped 250 Barclays customers and staff through the Northampton warehouse to test the new layout and technology.

Nothing was sacred, not even the good old British queue with the black tape barriers. The new Manchester branch is experimenting with a ying-yang-shaped queue, broken up by waist-height pillars housing computer games. The branch's space-age information desk is pure Apple store, while, according to Ms Dodd: “We're trialling a lot of different queueing methodologies - people do PhDs on this stuff.”

The childrens' play area is inspired by the Science Museum. There is no glass separating tellers from customers, to stop people from raising their voices, something that Ms Dodd believes makes banking more stressful.

Curves are used to make customers feel “warmer”, while the glass frontage will make women more inclined to enter. “At the moment, they don't feel welcomed into branches,” Ms Dodd said. Concierges, dressed in uniforms by the designer Jeff Banks, will issue customers with tickets telling them how long they must wait and even if they would be served more quickly if they went to another branch.

Getting the right doormat was key - customers like dry feet, so Ms Dodd found a mat that dried wet soles within four steps. The Manchester branch operates to the same timetable as other retailers, with late night and weekend opening."

Posted by Ed Cotton

threadless in inc magazine

Influx Insights — 2008-06-14T17:41:41Z

Great profile piece on Threadless, a 2.0 brand, in this month's Inc magazine.

"Nickell started talking about his company. Threadless, he explained, ran design competitions on an online social network. Members of the network submitted their ideas for T-shirts -- hundreds each week -- and then voted on which ones they liked best. Hundreds of thousands of people were using the site as a kind of community center, where they blogged, chatted about designs, socialized with their fellow enthusiasts -- and bought a ton of shirts at $15 each. Revenue was growing 500 percent a year, despite the fact that the company had never advertised, employed no professional designers, used no modeling agency or fashion photographers, had no sales force, and enjoyed no retail distribution. As result, costs were low, margins were above 30 percent, and -- because community members told them precisely which shirts to make -- every product eventually sold out. Nickell's company had never produced a flop."

Posted by Ed Cotton

influx interview-design series- stiven kerestegian- sustainable designer

Influx Insights — 2008-05-23T23:41:36Z

Stiven Kerestegian is a sustainable designer who lives in the South of Chile where he is involved in several projects most of them related to sustainable design. He's also a partner in a full service production and design studio in Santiago and a sustainable product company Essustainable.

1. Briefly describe your background?

My background is in industrial design but I have worked in almost every related field from hardware design for Microsoft to conceptual or "innovation" design for Kodak to brand, packaging and web UI design for startups. Today, the projects I take on are as diverse as the market but more and more, clients reach out to me because they have an interest in sustainable or "green" design.

2. Sustainable Design is a current buzzword, how do you interpret it?

The concept has been around for a while. Victor Papanek and Bucky Fuller were among the first to start pushing for more responsible solutions to our everyday needs not because they were hard core environmentalist but because they realized that sustainable design, or design that uses nature as the developmental model is far superior especially as you look at long term solutions. Today I consider sustainable design that which incorporates social and environmental aspects holistically into the design process. The inclusion of these variables triggers unforeseeable innovations and cost savings.

Two key things are happening today that have triggered the green or sustainability movement, corporations are seeing value in more sustainable approaches and informed consumers are demanding more responsible products

3. How difficult is it for designers to think about sustainability? How do they know their actions are going to produce positive results?

The difficult part is getting informed you know, not only being on top of all the latest materials and processes etc., but considering a products complete life cycle into your design process is an essential aspect of sustainable design so this means more research in related areas beyond just form, function and experience. The great part is that it brings much more meaning to what we do as designers because we can measure results beyond just financial success, we can see social and environmental contributions.

4. Shouldn't we be producing better products that last longer or even encourage people to get more use out of old things, rather than producing new stuff all the time?

Yes, having fewer but better things would help but the problem we have today is not just that we are making and using too many unnecessary products, it's that we are making and using them in ways that are destructive to us and our environment. I don't think we have to stop being consumers, we just need to implement more sustainable models like the service model. The fun part is that we as designers get to redesign everything, we get to re-think the way we do most things and this needs to happen now, in our generation.

5. Consumers are addicted to the shiny and new, it's part of the thrill of consumption. How could we encourage consumers to think about this and should we?

I think that slowly but surely we are all starting to realize that good design is inherently "sustainable" and corporations and consumers will evolve their understanding of what is good design and what is desirable. The only reason why we need to consume less is because most of our consumption is unhealthy but if we can design and manufacture healthy products that are beneficial to us and our environment, then there would be a reason to encourage consumption.

Posted by Ed Cotton

nike-entering a new era?

Influx Insights — 2008-05-15T16:43:27Z

Nike is a brand that was built on the back of raw emotion of sports, but is it about to change?

Are product performance and technological innovation going to be the drivers from now on?

Take a look at the amazing exhibition the brand is putting on in Beijing that celebrates the 100 most important innovations in the company's history.

In the past, the company has been reluctant to let technology dominate the story, but in this show, it's the star.

Perhaps, the brand feels it needs to demonstrate the substance that lies at the heart of the company and put fear into anyone, especially the smaller Chinese upstarts, that Nike's success isn't something that can be easily copied.

Posted by Ed Cotton

watch out, your green creds are coming under attack

Influx Insights — 2008-04-16T14:50:35Z

It seems we are now at a very interesting moment in the environmental movement meets green marketing, trend.

The cynics and skeptics are coming out of the woodwork and are ready to bash anyone who isn't thinking this thing through properly and merely trying to "Greenwash".

This isn't just coming from the expected sources.

This is from Core 77, yesterday.

"At first glance, Feel More Human seems to have everything for the conscious consumer with a modern design sense. The online store has an eco-friendly home and lifestyle section, with tables from Scrapile, sofas from Dutch designer Bj�rn Mulder, and even a Buddha cat perch made from renewable bamboo plywood. There is a content section featuring interviews with inspiring eco-entrepreneurs, a classifieds area where visitors can buy or sell their pre-owned modern design goods, and the whole operation is powered by 100% wind energy.

Yet scratch beneath the surface and you'll find that even those with the greenest of intentions have a hard time making the most environmentally sound choices. Mixed in with all of the bamboo, reclaimed wood, and toxin free fabrics are not-so eco foams, lacquers, plywoods, and plastics, like the NotNeutral Melamine Snack Set for kids. How did a kid's dinnerware with melamine, a resin manufactured by mixing urea with formaldehyde, get onto a site devoted to sustainable lifestyles? Or chrome, a material known for emitting toxic elements into the air, land, and sea, which can be found in several items in the store, such as the Tokyo Shelving Unit or the Valis Chair. Jill Stalowicz, the company's founder, says, "smart design goes beyond aesthetics now, people are questioning how products are constructed."

The lesson here is that the practice of green is harder than the promise, and that Feel More Human might want to take a look at how all of its products are actually made."

Posted by Ed Cotton

design and the elastic mind

Influx Insights — 2008-03-15T15:39:28Z

Core 77 has a great podcast on the new MOMA exhibition "Design and the Elastic Mind".

It features a few interviews from the opening night and a longer sit down discussion with famed curator Paola Antonelli.

The interview is Paola is especially good, as she talks about the idea behind the exhibit, the process of curating and highlights some of MOMA's future plans for bringing a Boeing 747 into the collection.

My big take-away from the broadcast is the emergence of two interesting forces that are now shaping contemporary design thinking.

1. The shift from the decorative to the serious- designers are no longer content creating beautiful objects- they want to have an impact. Design and the Elastic Mind is all about the intersection between science/technology and design.

2. The idea of "beta" is now present in the design world- work in progress is good and objects no longer need to be finished to be presented.

Posted by Ed Cotton

influx interview-designer series-verena dauerer-editor-pingmag japan

Influx Insights — 2008-02-06T04:17:15Z

Verena Dauerer is the only foreign journalist working at PingMag, the inspirational and influential Japanese art/culture/design website.

Here's an interview I did with her recently where we talked about PingMag, it's unique ownership, design and Japanese design.

1. Can you briefly describe your background and explain how you ended up at PingMag?

I've been working as a journalist for ten years now, the recent years I was freelancing in Berlin. Apart from that I have been doing production for short films for a while, briefly Lingo programming in the 90s, and eventually started giving lectures about VJ culture at design schools and festivals and organized a VJ festival with two friends there in 2006.

At one point, I got bored a bit of myself being in the city and decided to work abroad for a couple of months. I liked Ping, sent these lovely people an e-mail - and came to Japan to work as editor of PingMag in November 2006. Originally I wanted to stay for three months only, but they provided me with a contract and a working visa. Tempting! And I stayed...

2. Tell us a little about PingMag (its ownership, editorial policy, etc)?

In terms of our structure, we are 3 editors in total: My 2 lovely Japanese colleagues
care about the Japanese homepage, and I run the English site alone.

Each of us contributes with our own topics, and I handle most of the freelancers and possible pieces.

Regarding these: Anything can be interesting depending on the approach. I'd say our trait is being hysterically fond of anything that is special to us. There really are no limits, be it from the field of art, design, technology, architecture, fashion, crafts, etc. It doesn't even have to be Japan related, but it has to be done with a great love for detail.

Of course, each piece is decorated in the cheerful PingMag style since translation usually requires adaptation.

In terms of ownership, PingMag is part of Yes Communications!, our parent and run by our producer Tom Vincent. Financially we are in this very lucky and even rarer position that at the moment we are sponsored by a Japanese investment bank called RISA Partners. I know that this makes us kind of unique, as content wise we
are totally independent and far from being a corporate blog.

Also, we just got a little sister one month ago: PingMag MAKE is done by another colleague, a Japanese editor that reports once a week from regional Japan about traditional craftsmen, and small businesses.

3. What do you think is happening with the world of design? Are developed nations over-designed?

Over-designed? If the natural development of a civilization is its aesthetic refinement,
cutting back would be a step backwards or a possible indication of decay. There is no end to this refinement, as you can surely see in Japan... Provided that environmental factors are included.

4. How would you describe the current state of Japanese design and where do you believe it is heading?

Huh, I can maybe enlighten you with some aspects of its structure that might help you
understand its output: On one side, there are the star designers that design practically
everything from mobiles to furniture to any other gadget you can imagine with utmost
perfectionism.

Think of Naoto Fukasawa or Iwai Toshio (who just developed the Tenori-on.) As Sensei, they have an army of designers working for them - and this system is strictly hierarchical and as solid as the tough structure within the mainstream design establishment.

On the other side, design events like the annual DesignTide try since a couple of years to promote the young upcoming ones.

Then I have the feeling that some designers aren't interested at all in a wider exposure outside of Japan, others would like to but they don't speak any English.

Where it might all be heading could also depend on how far people keep perceiving the country as an isolated island and themselves as a closed community in the future.

5. What developments are important and interesting to look at in Japan- is tradition and history now more important that the thrill of the future?

I'm interested in Japanese society and its rapid (or not) changes.

So in this very special case, tradition is the overall tie that firmly grips everything quite rigidly.

Compared to Western countries this is a by far stronger driving force that keeps
preventing changes - of the attitude, of the approach to design, or work methods. And
since this applies to any nation with a long tradition, of course, everything is
connected with the past and will surely affect the future.

Every part of Japanese society is based on the collective and this hasn't changed a bit.

Combined with the way the corporations still work, their internal octopus-like structure that provides everything for their workers, this seems to be a kind of capitalism done the communist way.

And it works because of the concept of the collective. It's interesting to see what will happen in the next years, like how far will this be softened, and on the other side how far tradition could loosen its tight grip a bit.

6. Where do you find your inspiration?

I'm an info junkie thanks to rss feeds. The rest is journalistic handcraft:observing.

Posted by Ed Cotton

influx interview-designer series- steve portigal- design thinker

Influx Insights — 2008-02-04T16:48:35Z

Steve Portigal runs Portigal Consulting, a company that helps clients develop smarter thinking by bringing together user research, design and business strategy. I spent some time talking to Steve about his overlapping world of strategy and design.

Steve's client list includes the likes of Nestle, eBay, Palm, Berringer, General Electric and many others.

His other claim to fame is his creation of one of the first online communities (Undercover, a Rolling Stones fan group) in 1992, nurturing it from a time when the Internet was an underground academic technology through to today, as part of a global info-infrastructure.

1. Can you tell us briefly about your background and what you are up to these days?

I studied Computer Science because I liked the idea of making something- software- that had new functionality. But I soon realized that academically, Computer Science was extremely abstract and theoretical. Then I discovered Human-Computer Interaction, the part of Computer Science that dealt with people. After graduate school, I felt that the professional work of designing interfaces was too concerned with the details for my temperament. But that pointed the way to where my passion lies: starting with people, organizational behavior and culture, and asking the big-picture questions. For the past six years I've run Portigal Consulting, a boutique firm that's just outside of San Francisco. We like to say that we help organizations to discover and act on new insights about their customers and themselves.

2. What do you believe are the greatest challenges involved in inspiring great design?

Well, what makes something a great design? If I think about design as a total package- “an experience that addresses some functional and emotional need that also meets the business goals of the organization that created it (i.e., it's profitable, it's right for their brand, it helps them grow a category, etc.)- then to inspire the creators means we need to help them tell a new story. That takes facts, but it also takes emotion. The creators who we want to inspire are designers, but also marketers, managers, technologists, engineers, and every other part of the organization. Our challenge is often getting access to all those people and, once we have access, figuring out the best way to communicate to them so that they are engaged, and ultimately inspired.

3. What is it that makes a great design strategist?

A great design strategist may not see themselves as a design strategist. They're probably someone who has had a few different professional identities and gets excited by the spaces where disciplines, schools of thought, and methods overlap. They are curious and easily intrigued: they like to observe what's going on around them and they're good at listening to people. And they know how to use all this data to synthesize new patterns and communicate them clearly to a range of audiences. Charlie Stross, in the sci-fi book Accelerando, describes the profession of a "meme broker" and the intense amount of content they have to assimilate every day in order to do this. Bruce Sterling calls this activity "scanning“ looking at all the sources one can and constantly asking what does this mean for my clients. Being able to work through all those data sources and pull out the implications is crucial for design strategy.

4. As we become more cultural attuned to good design, does designing become easier?

I have an interaction designer friend who worked for Apple in the between-Jobs era (long before iMacs and iPods), and he used to tell me how challenging it was to be in his role at a company that had such a strong design culture, because everyone thought they were naturally a UI designer. It was a lot more challenging for him to get buy-in. If we generalize from that, more awareness of design may not make it easier.

Taking it one step further, the stuff designers are being asked to design is sometimes deep in uncharted waters. What kind of information designer figures out the dozen layers of text and graphics that get layered on top of Taiwanese television? Where do user interface designers pull from to create virtual world e-commerce? How does an 80-year old check their email on a mobile device? The shifts in what technology affords and what behaviors people are seeking that are definitely not making design any easier.

5. Do you believe research can play a role in helping designers, if so, what does the best research look like?

Absolutely. How else are you going to design for real people?

The best research brings to life the imperfect and messy stories of real people and presents generative frameworks that lead the way forward for new designs, products, services, features, communications, or whatever is needed.

6. Who are today's "thinkers" who are challenging designers to push boundaries?

I suspect that many designers are more influenced by the doers than the thinkers. That said, you've got some visionary people out there who do come up often in design circles: Bruce Sterling, John Thackara, Sir Ken Robinson, Roger Martin, Malcolm Gladwell, Edward Burtynsky, and John Maeda.

Posted by Ed Cotton

thinking about the electronics we consume

Influx Insights — 2008-01-13T18:02:40Z

The other day, Piers at PSFK posted an angry editorial about CES.

"Another year, another electronics and gadgets conference that is out of whack with modern concerns around sustainability and the planet. The C.E.S. is an arrogant refusal to admit to the problems the electronics industry has created in terms of material waste, poisonous polution, energy waste and over-consumption."

He is not alone, today's New York Times Magazine has a great piece by Jon Mooallem called "The Afterlife of Cellphones".

The piece explores the world of cellphone recycling and tries to understand why we need to constantly upgrade our phones. Reading the article forces you to think again about waste.

Jon concludes;

"Even the most idealistic visions of how e-waste should be recycled and reused take for granted that consumers and businesses will never reconsider why we are buying and discarding so many of those products, so quickly, in the first place. If the rush of castoffs isn’t likely to stop, we need to clear a proper path for it, considering all the inevitable compromises and costs along the way and delivering those products to as consequenceless a place as possible."

Most companies seem pre-occupied with creating "lust' for their objects that ensures continued market share and admiration.

While on the surface, this doesn't appear to be a responsible attitude, it reflects the realities of the marketplace.

Consumer electronics are the new fashion, so much so, that they are taking share from the fashion business and it's one of the reasons the US sports shoe business is so soft right now.

The presentation below is from the design team at Nokia and it does a fantastic job at explaining how the company creates lust objects. It's all insights and needs driven, but it does nothing to bring sustainability into the mix.

| View | Upload your own

This is a battle about hearts, minds and marketing.

With Macworld coming up this week, Apple and Steve Jobs are masters in the creation and marketing of lust objects, they do it so well.

Governments aren't going to force the issue, pressure groups like Greenpeace have limited voice, change is going to need to come from the market.

If companies want sustainability to be considered, they are going to need to do as good a job as Apple in making it sexy.

On the positive side, it appears to be easier than ever for new brands to enter the consumer electronics space, just look at flat panel TVs for that.

Could here will be a new electronics brand with real sustainability built into its DNA that emerges in the next couple of years?

Could, somewhat ironically, that brand come from China?

Posted by Ed Cotton

sometimes it's all about the execution

Influx Insights — 2008-01-11T16:16:24Z

When I first read about Pepsi's can design challenge, it seemed to me to be more of the same.

How many brands are have let consumers, artists and designers play with their pack design?

As a marketing concept it appears done to death.

The trouble with my cynicism, is that it takes no account for execution.

I was forced to reverse my thinking when I came across this can design.

It allows the artist to dominate the can, rather than the brand, which makes for a fantastic design.

The can's designer is JKaczmarek.

Will we ever see this can on grocery store shelves?

Posted by Ed Cotton

re-design netflix's envelope, or else

Influx Insights — 2007-12-07T15:08:43Z

Netflix has been hailed as one of the most innovative business ideas in recent history.

Much of its success has been down to the brilliant design of its envelope, a very simple, but important element that allows the business to function.

It now appears this envelope has been adding costs the United States Postal Service that it can no longer tolerate.

According to Engadget.

"Apparently, those buggers have cost the US Postal Service a staggering $41.9 million in additional labor costs over the past two years due to their "nonmachinable nature," and if things aren't changed, it could cost 'em another $61.5 million over the next couple years. In a letter from the Inspector General's office, Netflix is being, um, asked to rework its mailers or face a $0.17 surcharge per envelope, and if such a fee was tacked on, it would reportedly decrease the outfit's monthly operating income per paying subscriber by a whopping 67-percent. Not surprisingly, it sounds as if Netflix will bite the bullet and redesign the problematic mailer if the USPS is serious about the charges, so feel free to keep an eye out for a design change in the not-too-distant future."

Given that Netlfix offered a $1 million prize to anyone who could improve their recommendation algorithm, it's possible we could be about to see Netflix launch a design competition for its new envelope. That 67% decrease in operating income means the prize money is likely to look rather good.

Stay tuned.

Posted by Ed Cotton

spotted in the lower east side of new york

Influx Insights — 2007-11-22T23:18:56Z

Of course this is right on, but the definition of (what's BETTER?) obviously needs a few more store windows to define.

Spotted on a store window on the Lower-East side of NYC.

Posted by Ed Cotton

tokyo: design week and beyond

Influx Insights — 2007-11-15T22:08:28Z

One of our designers at BSSP, Vince Montelongo, just got back from Tokyo. He attended Design Week and took shots of other interesting stuff.

Here are his photos.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Posted by Ed Cotton

better for the environment- hummer or prius?

Influx Insights — 2007-10-31T14:41:12Z

Nathan Shedroff is a graduate of the Presidio School of Management's Sustainable MBA program.

He presented recently at the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design conference where he highlighted the problem with design and designers. His presentation highlights the massively complex challenge involved in creating products that are better for the planet, because the definition and proof of what constitutes "better" is hard to come by and hard work to generate. He does however suggest some solutions that designers should be taking and suggests that consumers may soon have the tools to understand if one product is truly "better" for the environment than another.

He uses the example of the Prius and the Hummer to illustrate his point.

The consumer is clearly looking for a simple solution and explanation to define what is better. They have no concept or understanding of "cradle to cradle" thinking and don't have the time to work it out for themselves. This makes it easy for brands to "sell" only part of the story and to convince the consumer that they're a better alternative.

Nathan suggests new ratings systems and evaluation tools might change this and make it tougher for brands to make claims they can't prove. However, these systems are currently in their infancy.

His complete presentation can be found here ::Nathan.com

Posted by Ed Cotton

if advertising equals myth, does design equal truth?

Influx Insights — 2007-09-09T20:01:16Z

"Design is so popular today mostly because business sees design as connecting it to the consumer populace in a deep, fundamental and honest way. An honest way. If you are in the myth-making business, you don’t need design. You need a great ad agency. But if you are in the authenticity and integrity business then you have to think design."

Bruce Nussbaum-Business Week- Speech given to the Royal College of Art- London

Posted by Ed Cotton

braun's design

Influx Insights — 2007-09-04T02:22:39Z

A film showing 50 years of design innovation from Braun of Germany.

If you watch carefully you will see where Apple got the calculator design for the iPhone from.

Posted by Ed Cotton

the mcdonald's america doesn't see

Influx Insights — 2007-08-26T23:36:03Z

This Sunday's New York Times had a good piece on how McDonald's is changing its image in Europe localizing menus, which it has done for years, but more recent efforts have been focused on store design. The article had a good slideshow, but I dug up some other examples, that show just how far the brand is pushing to be relevant in Europe. It's probably just a matter of time before some of these design initiatives come to the US.

McCafe in Germany

McDonald's in Germany

McDonald's Milan, Italy

Posted by Ed Cotton

the impending design backlash

Influx Insights — 2007-08-12T21:59:56Z

We've been here before, the moment when the design bubble bursts and with it the over-inflated egos and puffery.

The August edition of Icon Magazine covers the issue in some detail and includes a number of interesting manifestos from celebrated designers, including this one from Jasper Morrison.

"Design, which used to be almost unknown as a profession, has become a major source of pollution. Encouraged by glossy lifestyle magazines and marketing departments, it’s become a competition to make things as noticeable as possible by means of colour, shape and surprise. Its historic and idealistic purpose, to serve industry and the happy consuming masses at the same time, of conceiving things easier to make and better to live with, seems to have been side-tracked. The virus has already infected the everyday environment. The need for businesses to attract attention provides the perfect carrier for the disease.

Design makes things seem special, and who wants normal if they can have special? And that’s the problem.

What has grown naturally and unselfconsciously over the years cannot easily be replaced. Not that old things shouldn’t be replaced or that new things are bad, just that things that are designed to attract attention are usually unsatisfactory. There are better ways to design than putting a big effort into making something look special. Special is generally less useful than normal, and less rewarding in the long term. Special things demand attention for the wrong reasons, interrupting potentially good atmosphere with an awkward presence. Preserve Normal, resist Special!"

If the market slides, then design and advertising usually go with it and soon after that comes a moment when people start re-focusing their priorities on important things beyond the superficial. Are we at that moment? It's hard to say, but let's see what next week brings.

Icon certainly think it's time- and pick on Dubai, celebrity designers, designer furniture for children, $200,000 audio speakers, the demise of subcultures, fat design magazines (honest!), limited edition, etc...

Posted by Ed Cotton

creativity as a spectator sport

Influx Insights — 2007-07-25T15:32:17Z

A few years ago, the creative career path was characterized by a rigorous process that defined the creative journey; years spent at art school and toiling in a low paying job that could only be gained through access to the right people. Although its become something of a clich�, but the internet has leveled the playing field and spread creative talent far and wide with many of the protagonists being discovered through the well honed process of meritocracy that now rules the web.

What’s interesting is that the same people now want to take the battle onto a different stage, they aren’t content with the satisfaction of YouTube hits of winning Threadless designs, instead they seek the adulation of the crowd. No matter how many YouTube hits you get or t-shirts you sell, you might never here the ripple of applause that comes from your peers recognizing you.

The new movement is all about creativity as a spectator sport; events designed for creatives to battle each other and for legitimate winners to emerge from the process. It’s living proof that you can’t be anonymous and those real life peer connections are all important.

There are probably dozens of examples of these new contests, but I have a couple for starters.

Cut and Paste is a digital design tournament with DJs spinning sounds and graphic designer battles. It started in NYC in 2005 and this year it will host 17 different tournaments around the world.

Sketch 120 a live architectural sketch competition set up by the Architectual League of NYC. This event will take place this Saturday, July 28th at the Old American Can Factory in Brooklyn.

For photographers and other artists, there’s the Slideluckpotshow, an event that’s been running since 2004. It’s not a contest and more of a get together with food, five minute slide shows and conversation.

This is a manifestation of the desire for “real” in a world where you have thousands of virtual friends that you may have never met, there’s nothing can replace the potency of real human interaction and competition.

If anyone is doing anything like this with advertising or has plans to do so, please let Influx know. The live spectacle of teams wrestling real time over a tricky Tide brief would be something to behold.

Posted by Ed Cotton

is postopolis! a model for the next great marketing conference?

Influx Insights — 2007-05-29T14:27:48Z

If you are intersted in buildings, urban planning, landscape and design, Postopolis! could be the thing for you. It's a three day event curated by four bloggers- Bldgblog, City of Sound, Inhabitat and Subtopia. It's an ecletic event with lots of a great selection of interesting speakers and even a pecha kucha session.

Postopolist starts today at Storefront in NYC.

It looks intriguing and could be a new way to organize a conference. We like the idea that it's not a singular perspective.

If anyone interested in doing something like this in the marketing/branding space, we would be keen to participate.

tesla's new stores inspired by restaurants and apple

Influx Insights — 2007-05-03T13:23:22Z

Tesla, the electric car darling, is determined to re-engineer not just the concept and workings of the car, but also the buying experience.

They openly admit to modeling their new dealerships on Apple and Starbucks and good restaurants where you can see the chef working.

Here’s what they plan to do:

-    The overall concept is Tesla dealerships as VIP Lounges
-    The service area will be front and center, not out the back. Since the technology is clean, visitors will be able to see the techs working on the cars
-    Techs are company shareholders and are assigned by name to customers
-    Install comfortable lounge areas, with free Wi-Fi, coffee, snacks and flat screens
-    No salespeople, just assistants to help with information and assist the purchase, rather than “sell” it

Tesla's stores will open in Los Angeles and Bay Area stores in the fourth quarter, followed by New York, Chicago, and Miami in the first quarter of 2008.

However, the designers have yet to be chosen and the company is open to suggestions and ideas from customers and prospects.

There’s nothing extremely radical in this "brief". Most luxury dealerships are already doing most of this, the big difference is putting the tech/service center and the technicians front and center, this will create a new type of experience. Hopefully, the design companies pitching this project will come up with ideas that stretch the "brief" a little bit.

Something obvious Tesla has to do is to make sure these dealerships are the “greenest” they can possibly be, their customers will expect nothing less.

Via Autoblog

a steakhouse with a twist

Influx Insights — 2007-04-30T18:29:35Z

AvroKO are fast becoming the "environmental/spatial" designers of the moment. They launched their own restaurant, Public in 2004. Last year, they were hired by Smith and Wolensky to create a new concept; Quality Meats.

The space and design is a different take on the steakhouse, with its inspiration coming more from a butcher's shop, than a London gentleman's club. Meathooks as light fixtures is a nice touch.

Entrance

Own Brand Water

Graphic Identity

Photos: AvroKO

influx interview-staples

Influx Insights — 2007-04-18T16:59:54Z

The world of office supplies has seen very little in the way of design innovation, most of the products we buy, look and function the same way as they have done for 50 years of more.

The office supplies retailer, Staples has set out to developing a program to bring design innovation to its own brand of products.

Influx was keen to learn more, so we fired off some questions to the Staples team.

1. When did Staples design initiative start and what was the catalyst for it?

Over the last four years Staples has placed an increased emphasis on building the world's best office products brand. We have made investments in both internal and external resources to help launch higher quality, more innovative products. The catalyst for this investment was our customers telling us they want an easier shopping experience. Staples brand products are a big part of that experience because we offer them with quality equal to or better than the leading national brands at a better value.

2. What are some of the first products you've produced and what are the stories behind them?

We are always developing and launching new and innovative Staples brand exclusive products. Four recent products worth mentioning include:

*    Staples better binder - Built for life, the new binder design addresses a clear customer frustration - durability - and features an improved ring system with an easy open button design, reinforced yet flexible rubberized edges and spine, and an easy-insert spine label. The better binder's sleek design and great colors allow it to blend with any office, home or classroom environment.
*    The One-Touch line of staplers first launched a few years ago. This is the easiest stapler we've ever seen. Our customers can staple through 20 sheets of paper with push of one finger (we make a high capacity version that will go through 60 sheets).

*    MailMate Shredder - Staples discovered that most consumers open their mail in their kitchen, but there was not a shredder designed to fit seamlessly into the kitchen environment that could devour junk mail whole. With ID theft on the rise and the undeniable link between junk mail and ID theft, Staples designed the compact and attractive MailMate shredder.
*    The Staples Heavy Duty Micro Cut Ultra Quiet Shredder - Staples employees noticed that places like doctor's offices waited until after business hours to shred private and confidential documents because of the loud noise. Staples looked for a way to minimize the noise, which resulted in the launch of the Heavy Duty Micro Cut Ultra Quiet Shredder.

3. Who does the design work?

The design work is led primarily by our internal teams, but we start with our customer first. We spend time in their work settings (offices and home office environments) to understand what frustrations exist with existing products and how we can help make better products that solve those frustrations.

4. What do your suppliers feel about you taking the lead, is it shaking them up?

Innovation and high quality products are a top priority for our customers. We will always offer our customers a choice of brands, including our own. Our suppliers are generally supportive. Additionally, the innovation of Staples brand products has helped us secure distribution in several grocery store chains that hope Staples' unique product offerings will help them differentiate vs. the competition.

5. What other categories might Staples extend this initiative into?

We are actively looking at all product categories to see where there is an opportunity for us to make a difference. Supplies, technology and furniture continue to remain key categories for us.

6. How successful has it been and how are your customers reacting?

Consumer reaction has been tremendous. Staples brand products accounted for 20% of our revenue in 2006, up 11% from four year's ago. Our customer research shows that Staples leads the pack when it comes to innovation as we work to maintain our brand position as the world's best office products company.

maive disregard for convention- miranda july- web designer

Influx Insights — 2007-06-14T18:11:17Z

Miranda July is true renaissance women; an actress, musician filmmaker, artist and storyteller.

Miranda is best known for an independent film she wrote and directed, released in 2005, called “Me and You and Everyone I Know.”

She has now written a book of stories and is promoting it on a website she clearly designed herself in Flash. It looks as if she has never designed a website before and that’s the beauty of it.

Human, honest, funny, real and lacking any of the predictable conventions or rules, it makes for a refreshingly different experience.

Expect to see this style everywhere by December.