I guess so – take a look on this very interesting issue from Fast Company. But nether the less, it’s well done PR from the guys at IDEO.
I won’t complain – The issue is highly relevant and I agree very much with most of the IDEO approach.
But then again – It isn’t all about IDEO, isn’t it? Who are the stars of tomorrow?
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I usually accuse BusinessWeek of the same thing - articles like this one - http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_20/b3883001_mz001.htm - point to IDEO as really the only practitioner of this work - the power of that PR machine really depresses me sometimes
It’s not IDEO PR, what are you talking about? IDEO gets actually pretty little ink in this issue, other than a short contribution by Tim Brown. If anything, Proctor and Gamble are the main topics of the issue.
IDEO’s managed to get whole magazines devoted to them in the past–Business Week in particular–but it’s far from the case here.
Andrew;
Maybe your right – but what strikes me at the most is that it’s almost and always only IDEO who got the possibility to speak out.
How do you see that?
All the best
Hans Henrik
Coincidently, I just finished this latest issue and was going to write about a couple of items in my blog (I still will). Oddly, I recall only one mention of IDEO and while I am not trained in design by any means, and thereby maybe not as attuned to IDEO references or implications, I would not have said this was an “IDEO” issue.
I would (and will) whole heartedly say this is a “design” issue. I do think design has a signficant role for the future. Maybe it should have had greater recognition in the past, but you know, we can’t change the past, we can only influence the future. Go design!
While i feel it wasn’t as much of an IDEO issue as the BusinessWeek previously was, i still walked away from the Fast Company feeling a bit queesy with the power of IDEO, and ex-IDEO folks, and the P&G article while not directly about IDEO certainly had a lot of IDEO references within it… (i.e. the times P&G marketers and designers were sent to bootcamp chaos over at IDEO?)
But love/hate IDEO, they are paving the way into the minds of the corporate world, and while for designers they may be coming on a bit strong… SOMEONE’s got to do it… make usability - human factors oriented design strategies known…. valued… basic knowledge?
For some newer multi-disciplinary background newbies liike myself, i’m glad they are helping the Big Boys make jobs for us… and it ought to be a matter of time before more companies get some of the spotlight?
I have to agree with Andrew: IDEO just happens to be in the first linked article, but the rest involve Whirlpool, Bruce Mau, the Brand Integration Group at Ogilvy & Mather, and many others.
I think the bigger story is about a business magazine talking about the value of design and getting it right (as far as I could tell). Which is basically what Steve pointed out.