Monthly Review: December

Quieter & Shorter
December definitely felt quieter and shorter as far as work went by. I think I received my first AutoResponding ‘out of office email’ sometime around the 12th, soon after that productivity and collaborations seem to grind to a halt. So it was a good month to catch up on reading and subjects that had little to do with ongoing project work.

Design Thinking Goes Modern.
The Feb/Mar 2006 (?) issue of Dwell this month contained a little surprise. In this issue’s Conversation section was a feature of David Kelley and introduction of the concept of Design Thinking to Dwell’s Eichler-dwelling, Mies-loving, pre-fab building readers.

In the short interview with the IDEO / d. School founder, Kelley says,

“If you look at what the country’s flipped out about, especially if you talk to the businesspeople, it’s how the U.S. is going to maintain its economy. And the answer [is] that we need to get more innovative, we need to be the one coming up with new and different ideas.”

And I’m sitting flicking through a magazine which typically does little to make me think (other than like a consumer) and I find myself frowning and thinking that this isn’t that cool of a statement.

Stuck within the pages of a magazine with over 30 pages of advertising for new products, the word ‘innovation’ seems even more inextricably tied to ‘new product development’, which then bends the whole concept of design thinking as an answer to the question of “How do we come up with even more, new product ideas for people to consume?”. And then add to that the concept that its an ‘us versus them’ predicament, it doesn’t feel like ‘creativity’ isn’t a very useful long-term strategy for saving the US economy. I’d instead put my money on learning how to play well with others and designing an end to the mega-corporation for perhaps a steady future for the US. Additionally, ‘make less and fix more’ would be an equally decent thing to focus a future on.

I should mention that Kelley’s message of design thinking isn’t what I’ve twisted it to be above, but is essentially the idea, as he says it, that the design discipline could be the glue that will hold together many diverse and dispersed talents, helping companies ‘innovate’ and be creative.

But this piece in Dwell, as in other pieces last month continues to give weight, in my mind, that Innovation is a lightweight word that serves a great purpose for marketing and ‘getting in the door’ but is largely only understood in one frame of context - which is to make more stuff. Hopefully, we can broaden the discussion a little, and show examples of innovation in different circumstances and with just as creative results.

Innovation is Everywhere.
So being stuck here in the States, with minimal international exposure but for various online sources and my CPH127 daily fix, I find myself easily focused on the innovation created in big business here in the US. So it was a refreshing escape to watch a PBS program on Microcredit & the Future of Poverty, and see innovation, creativity and business thriving in the most unexpected places.

The Small Fortunes program essentially focused on the impact microcredit has had on the world through the stories of eleven micro-entrepreneurs. Institutions set up in the poorest parts of the world lend women (mostly) on average about $100, to set up their business. What was fantastic to see were two clear things that made their businesses stronger and more likely to succeed than you might initially expect:

1. Most examples shown were businesses that made products out of someone else’s waste. In one example, a woman made shopping bags out of discarded and empty cement bags.

2. The other key element, was that their business was for their children and to be able to provide for their families.

Sort of like the saying, “One man’s rubbish is another [wo]man’s treasure” these women find value in another business’s waste, helping not only to minimize the waste through recycling, but also to increase the life-cycle of some of the materials used in the original source’s business. The book, The Pirate Inside wants you to consider this brand challenging model as “insights of opportunity”, where it cites the example of Ingvar Kamprad, Founder of IKEA, who spots plucked chickens in a Chinese market and is inspired to use the disused feathers.

There’s a certain authenticity to these businesses profiled in the program I watched. From their entrepreneurial spirit, to the products made and sold and to the purpose and values of the businesses that keeps them going, which makes innovation in this context all the more appealing. For me, the concept of extremely poor, uneducated yet hardworking and adaptive women, making something useful out of waste, born out of the simple desire to simply provide for their families, is inspiring and refreshing.

Coudal Partners Hyperkit Veer Lightroom.
Talking of authenticity - I’ve been fixated by small creative groups that wear their personalities on their sleeves. Not like the all-white-wearing Karim Rashid but like a Coudal Partners outfit. And I’m not talking about the tongue-in-cheek-cool-factor type of personalities, but the authentic creative personality that is infectious and compelling. In an over crowded world of designers, now threatening to reach epidemic proportions, being different is as important to survival as it is to do good work. Coudal Partners, over the last five years have transformed themselves into cult leaders of creativity, product making and the obscure.

I’m not about to write yet-another profile of them, but feel compelled to keep them top-of-mind as the year completes and turns into a new version of itself. Other designers and creatives who easily promote their interests, ideas and concepts exist like Hyperkit in London, Veer in Canada and Lightroom in Atlanta. And through all their activities, self-promotion, marketing, design and community building, their tone, voice and message is genuinely authentic. Thus making it that much easier to find them attractive. More on this and those mentioned in the New Year.

The Address Book Desk
I have to drop this in, even if it is brief and out of place, but I found Timo Arnall’s Address Book Desk concept inspiring. As I read through his project description, of making an NFC prototype, I came to a similar conclusion he (led me to?) mentions, of the intersection of other objects and spaces like perhaps some of those found in Jane Fulton Suri’s Thoughtless Acts. Timo links to Jan Chipchase’s blog post, which asks Why do People Carry Mobile Phones? and positioned the Center of Gravity as the most likely place where you’re like to cluster and find the three most commonly carried objects by a person.

One day in the not-to-distant future, the key, money and your phone will be combined. Which will also bring about the disastrous future scenario of losing your key/phone/wallet all a little too soon for some.

Anyway - Timo’s work continues to be an interesting distraction for me, especially as he describes and displays it so simply and easily for people like me to understand.

New Beginnings More or Less.
So I refrained from making a list of 2005, or even reminiscing about the first time I got online some ten years ago, or making any predictions of 2006 - so far.

As I stepped out of the dwelling that hosted an annual Boxing Day party, the host said farewell to us, and commented on how he felt this year was special because so many people felt positive about the new year. This is true I think. As bleak as it must be for those still suffering from the displacement of past natural disasters in the East, South or U.S., or even those that still suffer bleak futures of poverty and disease, it feels that more people are interested in solving these problems, and more people have the energy to do so. So instead of ignoring or forgetting about these problems, people are making the small changes in the big systems that are contributing to making change in the world. This feels like a good thing for the beginning of 2006.

However, I fear it will be a bleak year for DRM, Advertising and Blogging. It will be bleak because it will all get worse. The noise will get out of control, the browser-wars have evolved into the Download-Wars, between proprietary systems to buy and watch/listen to your media. And advertising will try to morph itself to infect every content delivery stream possible. If not by inserting itself either through product placement, or in and around every content devliery-activity - it will simply go ahead and make its own content delivery channels, starting first with the mobile one.

So we’ll find the advertising message gets weaker, brands become meaningless and here in the U.S. we try to make and sell you even more stuff you don’t really need - but you really really want.

Two Thousand and Six Posts
The new image on the page, with a coincidental 2006 shows the state of the overload coming from online. Typically, I tend to spend a lot of time reading stuff online, in print and listening to podcasts and even people speaking. But with over a dozen magazine subscriptions, over 200 RSS subscriptions and a daily list of community websites to visit like archinect, CHP127, Design Observer, Speak Up, Typographica and so on - its becoming noisier and less clear.

This new year I plan to streamline the sources of my ‘info’ not just because every time I open up my news reader there are nearly a thousand new posts to flick through (or 2006 as illustrated above) - but because efficiency doing more with less are going to be the focus of my interests, as I start a new day job and have less time to waste. Again - I have a piece waiting to be completed and published shortly.

This wouldn’t be a monthly wrap if I didn’t mention at least one thing that alarmed me this month. I have to say it was probably visiting Macromedia’s web site and seeing the Adobe logo where the ‘M’ should have been and a “formerly macromedia” sat next to it.

I was equally alarmed to be reminded that the franchise Rocky is being resurrected by none other than Sly himself and you can keep up with the production on the film’s blog here. What’s next E.T. Returns? Read any one of the four hundred and thirty five comments on the blog to get a look into what the average Rocky fan thinks about this new production.

Two things not alarming but noteworthy, an early plug for The Good Night staring Martin Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Penelope Cruz and Danny DeVito, directed by Jake Paltrow and filmed in London and New York. Positioned as a Romantic Comedy - Martin Freeman was in the office, Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and had an unfortunately bare role in Love Actually. Next year, we’ll also see him in Anthony Minghella’s new picture, Breaking and Entering which is due to open in Feb, and Confetti which is due for limited US release in May.

The other quick mention is my friend and past colleague’s new book - a How-To on the Adobe Creative Suite #2. It might not be the most exciting title ever - but its an accomplishment and so far, a very useful education for me, helping me to squeeze out every drop of value of the software. As well as learn many more things I never knew possible about applications I’ve been using for over ten years. If you’re graphic or visual designer of some sort using the Adobe suite - then check out the book, and George also continues to write on his site The Creative Toolbox.

Thank you for sending me a copy George and congratulations for making it on Amazon.com.

2006-01-01 + plink