I think we didn’t.
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If some of you have other wishes for Christmas, please let us know.
A few days ago we got mentioned on one of my favorite blogs, which was a great experience and a great honour ofcourse. They mentioned us partly because we had some great links for resources other things going on right now in the crossfield of design and innovation.
We’d like to invite all of our readers to look behind the scenes and look at our links even before they make it to the blog, and that’s the reason why we have made a del.icio.us account where you can subscribe (via RSS) to our "linkblog". Basically del.icio.us is just a group bookmarks folder where all the CPH127 members can post to.
95 percent of the furniture in the MoMa’s new public spaces comes from Danish designers.
The point of the project
was to sponsor a platform of global quality on par with MoMA’s
standards, not a "Danish exhibition" but a design solution that
emphasizes comfort, functionality, and the highest aesthetics possible.
The museum’s trustees, who have been in charge of the selection, are
notably impressed that all the high quality furnishings required for
the modern exhibit halls and three restaurants was available from
Danish designers.
Did anyone say Space management?
Read more?
MoMA.org
Consulate General of Denmark - New York
Danish Design Project
In November I finished a Master in Management Development. During the education I learned a lot about Leadership vs. Management, Stability vs. Change, Systems vs. Human beings.
Some of the tools learned where very much about leading other people through change. Appreciative Inquiry as a principle was one of them.
Appreciative Inquiry is about the coevolutionary search for the best in people, their organizations, and the relevant world around them. In its broadest focus, it involves systematic discovery of what gives “life” to a living system when it is most alive, most effective, and most constructively capable in economic, ecological, and human terms. AI involves, in a central way, the art and practice of asking questions that strengthen a system’s capacity to apprehend, anticipate, and heighten positive potential.
I must admit that I was pretty amazed by the Better by Design conference. When it started I actually e-mailed my fellow CPH127 bloggers to let them know that this is a great event and Tom Peters will be making a great keynote on design and innovation. I was therefore very happy when the TP-folks decided to put up his slides for everyone, but I didn’t think they were enough for a blog post here, so I wanted to wait for a eyewitness review. Such review has now been made.
I must admit this was my favorite slide: “One Singaporean worker costs as much as …
3 … in Malaysia
8 … in Thailand
13 … in China
18 … in India.”
-Source: The Straits Times 08.18.03
But Tom Peters wasn’t the only one making a great keynote. President and CEO of IDEO, Tim Brown, was there to speak. And so was also BMW’s Design Guru Chuck Pelly.
If they make another conference next year, I’ll try to be there - it’s just that New Zealand is pretty far away from my little kingdom.
I read the speech that Dr. Stefano Marzano, CEO and Chief Creative Director at Philips Design held last November at the German Marketing Association Conference in Hamburg and it is quite interesting.
Stefano argues that defining design as something that has an attractive appearance, a corporate styling formula or something brought to market in cooperation with a so-called star-designer might very well "help provide differentiation for a while, but … is easily imitated and soon becomes a commodity."
He continues "to be the key success factor in business today design needs to be more than just styling. Ideally, design should be able to identify for companies what people value and want - and are prepared to pay a premium for - even down to the level of the individual consumer".
To some degree this is all said before. We hear this all the time from the design consultancy firms that wants to move up the value chain. Whats new to me is that it comes from a large cooperation.
In my own experience with large cooperations the responsibility and - not to forget - the budget for making sure the organization is market oriented and not technology oriented is typically placed in the marketing division. This tend to create a focus on demographics and numbers in general and not on the actual customer (i.e. down to the level of the individual consumer). From a methodical point of view I believe its not either or. Its not marketing methods or design methods, its when you use both you get the most accurate view of your playing field. Then you can start communicate with your customers and create and sustain a differentiation to the competition.
Anyway, its interesting to hear production companies (and not only consultancies) that has this view on design. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to hear him live soon.
I do not want to turn this blog into a promoter for danish design and products thereof. Believe on this, we need to make it to the international scene if we want to have any chance in writing related stuff on design and innovation.
But I just couldn’t help myself from posting this. A danish company, Aresa, is developing a special sort of plant that will be planted in African countries and other countries that is dealing with landmine problems. When the plant grows and then discovers explosives, it turns from green to red. This is a great way of using design to remove the millions of landmines out there.
An idea for Aresa: What about making a special kind of grass that turns red when it discovers oil in the dirt underneath? Would be a great way of discovering polution underneath your lawn!
The possibilities of this is endless.
I had a conversation with a former co-worker today, about the knowledge economy is moving towards being a creative and conceptual economy. He is, just like me, a traditional Silicon Valley Bubble kind-of-guy. No education really, a lot of experience and a whole lot of a good ideas. As I wrote about some time ago, I would although like to study (Is there a bachelors degree in Design and Innovation?) and get away from this, well, personal brand.
I told him this, and we then got onto how product development works in a typical internet firm. It’s the "Ready. Fire! Aim." model. At first you’ve got a great idea, you then work on it a little and do a prototype. You do a little more work on this and call it a beta version. You then upload it and people start using it. You then correct errors and sooner or later you’ve got some venture capital on your hands. He thought that this was what caused "The Bust" in late 2000, but I do not agree with him. People like us are maybe a litte hasty some times, but I think that’s a good thing! If everyone starts aiming before shooting, no good business ideas will make it out there in the conceptual age. We need to let go, forget about the boxes and have some trust in ourselves.
Bottom line is that there’s a lot of things to learn from the bust, but this is not one of them. Keep on shooting pals - we need a lot more good ideas and ventures out there to survive.
TODAY, MARKETING IS MORE THAN CREATING A SHINY CAMPAIGN FOR YOUR COMPANY, OR LABEL YOUR PRODUCTS “NEW AND IMPROVED”. FROM THE CARMAKER VOLKSWAGEN INTERESTING ASPECTS OF THE ART OF MARKETING CAN BE LEARNT.
Yesterday, I visited my local supermarket to buy some toothpaste. While staring at the shelves, it struck me that something so simple can get so complicated: as a modern consumer you’re confronted with multiple choices everyday – toothpaste included: You have toothpaste with a whitening effect, toothpaste for sensitive gums, toothpaste with herbs, toothpaste with two or three colours, toothpaste with enzymes and so on. Luckily, I live in Denmark, with a much more moderate assortment than in for example England or USA.
I see the increased variety of toothpastes as good metaphor for some of the challenges modern corporations faces today. An increased competition, often