In 2000, the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum founded the National Design Awards program to celebrate contemporary American design and to increase national awareness of design through education and promotion of excellence and innovation. The Awards mark important accomplishments in a variety of categories, including architecture, landscape design, interior design, product design, fashion, communication design, and more.

Design USA: Contemporary Innovation commemorates the tenth anniversary of the National Design Awards and showcases the winners recognized during the first decade. In addition to honoring Lifetime Achievement and Design Mind winners, the exhibition is organized according to five themes that are fundamental to the various disciplines: CRAFT, EXPERIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, MATERIALS, and METHOD. The objects in the exhibition represent a particularly exciting period of American design that witnessed major shifts in the design profession: staggering advances in digital technology, new materials, and the advent of global partnerships. Through the five thematic lenses, Design USA demonstrates how these developments are reshaping our definition of design, focusing on American innovation and the directions in which design is headed as we move through the new century.

Learn more at http://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/Design-USA/

Of Bono, Sex, Style & Substance

A friend pointed me over to an article at The Huffington Post entitled What if Apple Designed Cars, inspired by an op-ed at the New York Times by Bono (yes, the lead singer from U2).

In the op-ed, Bono suggests 10 ideas for the next 10 years, one of which he calls the Return of the Automobile as a Sexual Object (I’d hate to be Bono’s therapist). All fun aside, Bono’s suggestion is interesting to contemplate from a design point of view because it contains a false assumption as well as a conflicted message:

That’s why the Obama administration — while it still holds the keys to the big automakers — ought to put some style fascists into the mix: the genius of Marc Newson … Steve Jobs and Jonny Ive from Apple … Frank Gehry, the architect, and Jeff Koons, the artist. Put the great industrial designers in the front seat, right along with sound financial stewardship … the greener, the cleaner, the meaner on fossil fuels, the sexier for me. Check out the Tesla or the Fisker Karma car, designed by the same team that gave the world the Aston Martin.

Bono’s key premise seems to be that the auto makers suffer because the cars they are producing aren’t somehow ‘sexy’ enough, as if to say that a few changes in the stylistic decisions made by auto manufacturers would cure what ails them. Granted, Bono does hint at the shift toward ‘greener’ cars (which I’ll point to later) but the examples he provides are of cars costing more than some homes. The theme of ‘sex’ is the foundation upon which Bono’s other comments are built, suggestive of the fact that if properly aroused, customers would respond purely on emotion alone. This line of thinking in my opinion is overly simplistic and ignorant of the socioeconomic context within which said ‘sex’ takes place.

The fact of the matter is that there is nothing more off-putting to ‘sex’ than worries related to long-term safety, security and finances. In other words, it’s hard to be sexually aroused when you’re in the middle of a world gone awry.

So the argument that despite the 10% unemployment, this hot, sexy $140,000 car is going to make you sign on the dotted line is a fantasy of those who are disconnected from the real world.

The funny thing is that Bono hints at a better way to position his argument when he says, “the greener, the cleaner, the meaner on fossil fuels, the sexier for me,” but he somehow doesn’t separate the old notions of sexy from this new reality because he calls on heavy hitting architects like Frank Gehry and industrial designers like Apple’s Ive to lead this effort, insinuating that a hard hitting focus on aesthetics is the key to increasing automobile sales.

It seems that at least subconsciously, Bono is hinting at the the fact that our definition of ‘sexy’ is shifting away from style (purely aesthetic considerations) and becoming more ‘aroused’ by matters of substance (meaner on fossil fuels, for example), or that matters of substance are becoming as important as matters of style as they relate to ‘arousal’ within customers.

I don’t think that today’s customers are the customers of the 1940s — we are more educated and have access to more information than we had 70 years ago. We don’t fall for the same old line. We are much more demanding and not as turned on by sex the way previous generations might have been.

Today’s customer is way too sophisticated to fall for sex alone when style is positioned as the primary means to arousal. Today, substance (socioeconomic considerations like affordability and impact on the environment) is as powerful a driver of customer arousal as style. This is not to say that style is not important, but that it is part of a bigger picture that must be considered when attempting to compete in the ever evolving and complex marketplace.

10 Rules for Surviving the Post-Picket Fence Economy

I originally posted the following 10 rules on my Twitter stream. Enjoy:

1. Live within your means. Sounds simple enough, but don’t adopt a lifestyle you can’t support w/the CASH you bring in. Think about it.


2. Do not use credit. Plain and simple — you don’t need it. The bank is not your friend…they aren’t trying to help you. Stay away from it.


3. Use cash or debit cards. Debit cards have cute little VISA or MASTERCARD logos on them and work just fine. No interest — it’s your money.


4. Take RESPONSIBILITY over your financial life. Balance your account. Don’t OVERDRAFT — don’t let the banks profit off you. Play smart.


5. Stay strong & resist temptation. Don’t worry about what the neighbors drive or what cell phone they have. [ Minimize human contact. ;) ]


6. Do not fall for myths. Yes, the ‘narrative’ you see on TV and what you think you’re supposed 2 do are myths. Create your own wholesome 1.


7. Recognize the TRAP of the material world. We are born w/nothing & we die w/nothing. What we accumulate in our time here is not SPIRIT.


8. Recite the mantra: Debt = Slavery. Don’t turn into a debt slave. See the banks for what they are….master’a’callin’


9. Associate Success with Freedom. Freedom 2 spend money? No. Freedom 2 not be locked down for 30 years or in debt 2 dishonest corporations.


10. Search for meaning in life beyond the acquisition of money, power, material goods or status. Discover unconditional love. Be at peace.

Steve Jobs: CEO of the Decade

Fortune Magazine just named Steve Jobs CEO of the Decade for his impact on computing, movies, music and cell phones. What the article doesn’t do, however, is get to the heart of what sets Steve Jobs apart from his peers: Holistic Thinking.

Yet for all his hanging out with copywriters and industrial designers and musicians — and despite his anticorporate attire — make no mistake: Jobs is all about business. He may not pay attention to customer research, but he works slavishly to make products customers will buy.

He’s a visionary, but he’s grounded in reality too, closely monitoring Apple’s various operational and market metrics. He isn’t motivated by money, says friend Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500). Rather, Jobs is understandably driven by a visceral ardor for Apple, his first love (to which he returned after being spurned — proof that you can go home again) and the vehicle through which he can be both an arbiter of cool and a force for changing the world.

Few corporate CEOs see the world as anything other than a giant piggy bank to smash for their own short-term enjoyment. Steve Jobs is no saint, but he is unique in that he sees the world as one in which he, his shareholders and his customers all have a stake. Steve Jobs’ desire to change the world may come from a selfish place that seeks to impose his vision of the world onto others, but his vision is one in which others are benefiting by his actions rather than suffering as a result of them. This is a key difference between Steve Jobs and most other CEOs.

Steve Jobs is innovative because he wants to positively impact the lives of his customers. He aims to profit as a result of improving people’s experiences with the brands he oversees. He understands the concept of karma — he’s traveled to India as a seeker of spiritual enlightenment, after all. He’s a bohemian executive — a rarity on Wall Street, and a shame at that.

Wealth can be extracted or it can be nurtured. There are many who extract, yet few who nurture. Holistic thinking draws upon the nurturing force that respects the interconnectedness of things while striving to profit and build wealth in a sustainable manner.

Neither Steve Jobs nor Apple are perfect — there is no such thing as perfect, but there sure is such a thing as far from perfect, and much of corporate America can be said to be very far from perfect. Steve Jobs stands out not because he is perfect, but because his approach resonates much more with our conception of what a CEO ought to embody as an iconic representation of the vision behind a brand.

The fact that so few corporations stand for anything in this world makes it all the more reason Apple and Steve Jobs get (and deserve) so much attention. If you want to change the world, you first have to stand for something genuine that isn’t just about you. And if you don’t want to change the world, please resign from your leadership position.

What do designers have in common with chefs, composers, poets, architects, florists, dancers, martial artists, yoga practitioners, painters, novelists, sculptors and all manner of others involved in the arts (aside from the fact that one can say they are all involved in the arts)?

Designers, like their brethren in the arts, rely on an intuitive process of holistic thinking (combining learned, observed & empathetic intelligence) in coming to terms with an understanding of the world in which they live, their role in it and how what they do impacts it. This type of thinking is essential to the long-term sustainability of the human experience.

The ‘designers’ of the Enron business plan can be called ‘designers’ — absolutely. The thought process they embarked on in order to come up with innovative ideas that would rock the markets were indeed — innovative. In fact, one could argue that the designers of the Enron catastrophe were engaged in design thinking, for at the time, Enron was considered a model in innovation and corporate success — before their ultimate demise. What the Enron thinkers lacked was a larger sense of their role in the world, for had they contemplated the end game of their shenanigans, they would have surely seen the writing on the wall way before they crashed into it.

I once proudly proclaimed that Design Thinking is Dead (I still believe in Design Orientation) but this time I mean it. There is nothing wrong with the way designers think, but the way they think (I’m calling it Holistic Thinking) isn’t a practice that’s exclusive to designers — this is my key point. Yes, designers are special as are all others in the arts, but we have to be careful about how we position and project the words and phrases we use in order to communicate important messages to others.

The meme design thinking, I’m afraid, attempts to package, brand and trademark everything that is amazing about the arts (including the practitioners thereof) into one convenient yet dishonest label.

Most importantly, Holistic Thinking can be learned by those outside of the arts through carefully structured and managed interactions between interdisciplinary teams of professionals — from the business world as well as from the arts.

Here’s to more Holistic Thinking — here’s to a sustainable future.

Postmodernist Origami
The More of Less : Beauty From One Fold

Joshua Retterer & Deanna Denk recently made me aware of the upcoming PBS documentary, Between The Folds, set to air on December 22, 2009.

The above clip from the documentary is a beautiful example of the power of simplicity derived from creative experimentation; conveyed in an elegant manner.

What I really like about it is that it started with an inquisitive question that did not go ignored. All good design starts this way.

Typophile Film Festival 5 Opening Titles

Handcrafted with love by BYU design students and faculty, for the 5th Typophile Film Festival. A visual typographic feast about the five senses, and how they contribute to and enhance our creativity. Everything in the film is real—no CG effects!

Shot with a RED One, a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, a Canon EOS 40D, and a Nikon D80.
Stop motion created with Dragon Stop Motion.

More information about the video here.

Detailed article highlighting the process here.

Thanks to @BBQJunkie for the heads up.

Honda’s Practical Concept

For the first time, I am witness to a concept car that is forward thinking enough to be labeled ‘concept’ yet practical enough to be relevant for today’s needs.

My favorite feature has to be the solar panel roof. Needless to say, designers have been thinking along this direction for years, but somewhere up the management food chain (closer to the boardroom than not), decisions have been made to totally ignore vehicles such as this. I hope the trend changes sooner than later and we finally go from concept to production.

Thanks to tmblg, +KN & Autoblog.

Full disclosure — the word Green as used in the title is meant to symbolize the literal use of the color green as used to connect talk of sustainability with the environmental movement. In addition, the use of the word Green in the title is meant to symbolize the color of money which some perceive as a means of monetizing on a trend — both of these symbols limit the higher potential of sustainability in my opinion.

Below is a compilation of a series of Tweets posted on the evening of the 6th:

The fortune 500 CEO attitude re: sustainability = “If it can’t make me $ I don’t wanna hear about it…” — wrong attitude entirely.

Inherent in the very word “sustainability” = “survivability” — if you’re not going to survive, what good are you with a few $ now? The notion of holistic thinking, I’m afraid, is entirely lost on the generation that still clings to power in the boardrooms.

Short term return on investment is … simply … not … sustainable. Sustainability isn’t about putting a green sticker on a product & getting away w/charging more for it. Sustainability is a way of thinking about the long-term viability of a business & its impact on society as well as the overall resources its operations impact. Sustainability and design go hand in hand — good design is sustainable.

@mvellandi @raymondpirouz indeed. One of my fav sustainable aspects is usability because if UX and functionality is difficult, item/process won’t last.

Absolutely — in this respect, sustainability as a concept is about a ‘frame of mind’ or ‘strategic approach’ rather than the symbolic representation implied by — say — the use of the color green (not that I have anything against it) because it limits thinking around the topic and restricts it to material selection and environmental protection (again, not that I mind) because there is more [than color] to ‘sustainability’ as a concept.

Is Google News Engaged in Perception Management?

I’ve always been puzzled by the way Google News juxtaposes headlines and story summaries from one article with an image from another article. The above featured story on Iran’s centrifuges juxtaposed against the image of a missile launch got me thinking about the message Google News may be communicating (either intentionally or unintentionally — i.e. Iran is developing nuclear technology specifically for use in warheads?!) to those who may not be sophisticated enough to realize that the image doesn’t necessarily go with the headline and/or story summary.

Perception management is a term originated by the U. S. military. The U. S. Department of Defense (DOD) gives this definition:

Actions to convey and/or deny selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, and objective reasoning as well as to intelligence systems and leaders at all levels to influence official estimates, ultimately resulting in foreign behaviors and official actions favorable to the originator’s objectives. In various ways, perception management combines truth projection, operations security, cover and deception, and psychological operations.

For what it’s worth, the headline and story summary in the above image point here:

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-06-voa55.cfm

The image of the missile launch points here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6860892.ece