The Overland Track in Tasmania consists of six days, 65 kilometers, fresh air, mountains, lakes, and heartland. What else could you want for a vacation away?
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Public Perception
Fear unsanitary public bathroom conditions no longer! RIBA recently engaged five architects to design a better public bathroom, like the one pictured here in a replica of Hercules' head.
Image Source: http://www.architecture.com
Private made public
A wildly successful program that not everyone qualifies for + a new way of getting your brand name out in the public eye = breaking through the clutter.
Image Source: www.fastcompany.com
Simply Aware
Raising awareness doesn't need to be complicated.
A rooftop hotel room
Trailer Park and posh hotel don't normally go in the same sentence together, but now they should. The Grand Daddy hotel in South Africa has taken seven old Airstream trailers and given them new life with dazzling interpretations on how life in an Airstream used to be. You'll find them on the roof of the hotel, complete with mailboxes, because when you check-in, you'll probably want to stay awhile.
Which one are you?
"...entrepreneurs are very good at pushing the company forward into new areas, and then you have managers, who are very good at managing the companies. They're two very different animals..." You can listen to the entire clip here.
A run for the money
700,000 titles, readable on many devices, and comparable in price: Barnes & Noble is taking on Amazon's Kindle with it's re-entry into the e-book market. They're partnering with Plastic Logic to sell an exclusive e-reader in the near future as well. This will mark B&N's second attempt at breaking into the market.
Image Source: www.bn.com
Adding Sound
Audi has always been a beautiful car maker, but it's also always competed for attention with their German rivals BMW and Mercedes Benz. Enter the launch of their piano. Teaming up with Bosendorfer, Audi has released a sleek, modern piano without compromising their legendary acoustics. Expanding their brand has never sounded so beautiful.
Image Source: http://www.boesendorfer.com/en/audi.html
THAT's recycled?
We've posted before of an imaginative way to reuse and recycle plastic water bottles (see post Reuse versus Recycle below)
but this is a new twist that we didn't think possible. Bikini's have
always been daring and attention grabbing--now they're being made out
of recycled materials, including plastic water bottles, bamboo, and
fishing nets. They're even affordable. Green is the new Black when it
comes to fashion.
Virginia's getting it right...
Building on previous executive orders to "green" the state of Virginia, now the order has been issued to eliminate using state funds for individual water bottles, encourage video conferencing and use of alternative fuel for traveling state employees, and required use of certified Virginia Green facilities for meetings attended by more than 50 people. If the state, with over 120,000 employees can do it, what's stopping private businesses?
Design Perspective
52 artists from all over the world submitted work as part of Europe by Design, all describing "Design as the expression of a cultural vision, a political vision, or a
simple unposed feeling... design and its diversity as a new way to
catch Europe".
Analagous Omnivores
You can either make the pitch for vegetarianism. Or simply harness the acceptability of one lifestyle change to promote another lifestyle change. The vegetarian movement harnesses the normalization in society of the Prius to make it's pitch....
Photo: The Frontier Project
Thoughtful Travels
Stemming from a history of promoting the arts in the Underground, the Tube line in London is about to start offering philosophical advice to make the journey more enjoyable. Gandhi anyone?
Image Source: Transport for London 2005
Make the "Right" Request
A recent study has shown that you're twice as likely to get what you ask for if you make the request into someone's right ear versus the left. People show favor to syllables that go in their right ear over their left because of the way our brains process verbal sounds. Lends credibility to sitting to someone's right--they're more likely to listen to you.
Image Source: http://www.kodillustrations.com.au
Retail Evolution
Private label product companies like Target have a new competitor to watch out for: Amazon. Moving past being a retailer of other company's goods, they started with the Kindle, and have moved onto items like yard tools, linens and furniture. If they succeed, it will show dynamic versatility of leadership in the giant retailer.
Image Source: Amazon.com Pinzon page
Under the Radar
Your co-worker is in back to back meetings all day but you have information they need for the last meeting of the day. You a) call anyways, knowing their phone will ring, b) send a text message that's limited to 160 characters, or c) slydial them and leave a voicemail they can check at their convenience.
Hint: it's option C.
Sharing the Road
"...There is only effective and non-effective communication." — Peter Bilak - Illegibility
Instead of waiting for costly new road pavings or marked bike routes, an L.A. based designer has proposed Better Bikeways, a system of effectively designed road signage that helps drivers be more aware of bikers, and encourages more commuters to bike instead of drive. Fast Company calls it a "Low Cost, High-Impact Solution" for an issue that all major metropolitan areas face.
Competitive Advantage
Competitor efforts make huge impact on your business, but that's not always a bad thing. Starbucks CEO Terry Davenport thinks that McDonald's recent advertising push for their new café drinks is educating the public about coffee drinks in a way Starbucks has never been able to.
Urban Gardening
Rather than using them for graffiti or stickers, an artist has started turning old, empty Leaflet boxes into flower pots. Nice touch on changing something old and ugly into new and pleasing...
Floating Economy
Infographics are becoming increasingly sophisticated way of conveying important and impactful information quickly, and GOOD Magazine does it brilliantly. Here, a bit of financial perspective...
Breaking Rank
Target Australia has banned the use of plastic bags in all of their stores, effectively saving 4 million bags from landfill, bushlands and waterways. WholeFoods has previously done this on the U.S. west coast. It's an encouraging sign that other major retailers might follow suit.
*Target Australia is 100% Australian owned and has no affiliation with Target Corporation US
[Public] House with a View
The City of Santa Monica has opened the first public beach house in the country, with activities ranging from a pool to volleyball, to beach rentals. Formerly actress Marion Davies estate, several partners collaborated to revitalize the property and make it a green facility, and is expected to win a LEED rating soon.
Image source: http://beachhouse.smgov.net/
Image source: http://beachhouse.smgov.net/
Simple but never boring
Partners Soren Rose Studios and Holmris Hansen A/S have created the MILK desk, designed to be simple but never boring, smart but not overly sophisticated. Our favorite part? The goldfish tank that fits neatly into the side to create a mediative treat.
Less meat, more veggies!
This week the Belgium city of Ghent will "go vegetarian" at least once a week in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and recognize the impact that livestock has on the environment. While the global problem is much more immense than can be tackled by one city alone, we applaud their effort!
Image Source: http://www.nytimes.com
Procrastinating: Good or Bad for You?
Thought provoking article on whether procrastinating helps or hurts you.
You could read this now. But 15-20 percent of you are going to read this later.
You could read this now. But 15-20 percent of you are going to read this later.
Image source: www.thecomedynet.com
The "Idea"
5 steps.
1: Gather 2: Digest 3: Put down 4: Eureka! moment
5: Put out for review/criticism/polishing.
Originally written over 50 years ago, A Technique for Producing Ideas
is as relevant today as it was then. Visually Appealing
As our society continues to balk at endless, boring PowerPoint decks, try this next time you have something important to present. Your audience will thank you, and you'll be the hero of the day.
Image created at Wordle.net
(Try your data as a word cloud to create more interesting visuals for your audience.)
conception poétique (poetic design)
With artsy hotels becoming the norm, the designers of the new Apostrophe Hotel in Paris have decided to swing the pendulum back the other way, choosing opulence over minimalism. Like all competitors seeking to break out of the "clutter" of their industry, they've achieved a seamless transition between words, and art.
Image source: http://apostrophe-hotel.com
Iconography gone wrong
Several companies are famous for how easy their iconic symbols and signs are to understand--Ikea comes to mind. Here though are some examples of poor design that only serves to confuse the public when not explained properly.
Image source: http://www.safenow.org/
Crystal Clear
A nod from The Frontier Project to The Meth Project, the Montana-based program tackling meth use head-on with waves of violently graphic print and video messages with a complementary Paint the State youth art program to aggressively influence teenagers never to try meth - not even once.
Read Fast Company's take on the project here.
Monks and Dogs
We were asked by a group today, "What's a good book to read on using body language to influence behavior?". Our response was, sadly, there's very little good published work on body language that's not trite or over-simplistic. Except... the dog training manual published by the Monks of New Skete.
Learn to use non-visual cues - add the book to your reading list, whether you have a dog or not.
Learn to use non-visual cues - add the book to your reading list, whether you have a dog or not.
How many earths does it take to sustain you?
First you figure out your global footprint. Then, you explore scenarios on how you could become more sustainably friendly towards the earth. Simple...right?
Image Source: http://www.ecofoot.org/
Hey, watch out!
In an attempt to lower the number of pedestrian fatalities, Jaguar has created the Pedestrian Deployable Bonnet System. Innovative idea, but what happened to watching where you're going?
Image Source: http://www.popsci.com
Image Source: http://www.popsci.com
Eat Your Food, Not Mine
Lunch thieves beware: Next time your co-workers forget their lunch, make sure yours is as unappealing as you can make it.
Image Source: http://www.thinkofthe.com
Saving the World, one Superhero child at a time
Like all Superhero's, this store in NYC has dual faces: selling superhero supplies, and saving kids from becoming super-villians by fostering creative writing talents.
image source: blog.atribecallednext.com
Reuse, not recycle
Maybe the estimated 33 billion plastic water bottles thrown away every year don't need to be recycled; maybe they can be re-used.
image source: Plastiki
Segway: Second Generation
Building off the wildly popular scooter, Segway has teamed with General Motors to create a concept car that runs on two wheels instead of four. But will it ever make it into production?
image source: General Motors Corp.
image source: General Motors Corp.
Since you started watching...
Thought provoking: A simulated map of life, death and the climate issues affecting us.
image source: http://www.breathingearth.net/
Where's the Kogi truck?
Most curbside food stands are stationary: this one isn't. Using Twitter and the Web to let it's fan know where it will be next, Kogi has sparked a revolution in the fast food industry.
