Articles in big picture
Just sharing a recent article I did for the Campaign for Black Male Achievement, part of the Open Society Foundations. Kanye West recently threw out some questions and challenges around design, and I analyze them.
http://blog.soros.org/2012/03/what-we-can-learn-from-kanyes-twitter-rant/
I’m pleased to announce that a major international book publisher has purchased the worldwide rights to my next book, A More Beautiful Question: An Inquiry into the Value of Inquiry. The book was recently bought …
Recently there was an inspiring front-page story in the NY Times about the hope that good design can bring to a blighted area like the South Bronx. In new architect critic Michael Kimmelman’s “In a …
I was at the post office today and saw a great poster for the new "Pioneers of American Industrial Design" sheet of Forever stamps. Apparently the U.S. Postal Service commissioned Smithsonian Cooper Hewett Museum to …
One of the themes in Glimmer is how "everyone's a designer" these days. And if you go look at the website Quirky.com you'll see that notion in action, with more than 100 product ideas a …
It's not every day I'm called sparky, so I thought I'd share the below brief review of GLIMMER, triggered by the publication of the paperback version of the book in Europe by Random House.
Random House …
Here is the second article in my innovation series for Fast Company's design blog, which they titled "Big Innovations Question the Status Quo. How Do You Ask the Right Questions?" People have been leaving some …
One of the Glimmerati I talk about in Glimmer is Shigeru Ban, the world-renowned architect famous for taking inexpensive materials like paper and quickly constructing inexpensive dwellings out of them. Ban's structures have been used …
Could a fearsome underwater creature hold the key to preventing deadly infections in humans? Everyone from medical technologists to swimsuit designers are scrutinizing sharks for design ideas.
“To Innovate, You Need the Courage to Step Backward.” The biggest ideas come only after you question why you’re trying to innovate in the first place.
Smart Design recently hosted an IDSA/NYC-sponsored conversation with Richard Saul Wurman at Smart's New York headquarters. Wurman gave a great talk there, which brings to mind an exceptional interview he gave me at his mansion …
More and more these days, our personal digital devices are melding with our tastes and desires—our very minds. We are in love with these products, and that’s by design.
I blogged about Hans Rosling and his amazing visualizations last year. Now he's back with "200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes" in an even more stunning "real space" presentation.
Interesting recent item in The Washington Post by Blake Gopnik titled "Facebook's Popularity Doesn't Seem to Mesh With Its Bland Design." The article explores at length why Facebook looks the way it does, and how …
As crowdsourcing becomes a more viable way to get design input, it’s also becoming a lightning rod for controversy. Poll: “Is it good business for companies to use crowd-sourced design?”



