A lot of the usual suspects are still out there as trophy architects, but they’ve started to tone down their output and seem to be thinking about the bigger picture. Good urban planning now holds center stage rather than pure spectacle.

It’s an interesting question: Can open innovation help with this mess? Or maybe a better question to ask is, how could it hurt?

Pro bono designers + NYC = a great model for collaborative civic problem-solving around the country in days ahead. Read more about desigNYC.

In his marshmallow-spaghetti building challenge, Tom Wujec of Autodesk sometimes pits MBA students against kindergartners—and guess who wins?

“Engineering,” “design,” “invention”—whatever we call it, we’re talking about teaching people the skills to confront a problem or challenge. Are schools doing a good enough job making sure all kids have these key skills?

I’m giving a presentation on GLIMMER at the Aldrich Museum in Ridgefield, CT, joined by renowned designer Alexander Isley, one of the Glimmerati in my book. Here are the details.

Here are some great quotes about the power of design from Paul Hughes, partner in Lava, a top design agency based in the Netherlands and just named European Design Agency of the Year.

At General Electric’s annual design council summit, held at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, many interesting things were shared, all showing how good design is making a difference.

Recently had a chance to read the useful and inspirational new book “Making Ideas Happen,” by Scott Belsky, the founder of the Behance Network. There are some interesting parallels to “Glimmer.”

Design Week has come and gone, but the era of Chair Worship seems to go on and on. Why is this?

This guest column, written by the Minneapolis-based designer Ed Reilly touches on a point raised in other articles on this site: that increasingly, design (including but not limited to product design) is becoming more important than advertising in shaping consumer perceptions and attitudes.

Recently we got a couple of comments in response to my Fuse speech post, saying in effect that Glimmer serves up an oversimplification of the complexities of design, and that devalues professional designers. Here’s my response.

An article/photo essay running on Wired.com features an assortment of designed objects from undergrad students at the California College of the Arts, each one addressing everyday problems involving health. The clever creations run the gamut from stress-relieving dolls to a drinking glass specially designed for someone who has MS.

I continue to keep tabs on all the designers featured in Glimmer, and it seems no one has been busier of late than Yves Béhar. In recent weeks, he has unveiled several new designs that are his attempts to reinvent everything from shoeboxes to kids’ eyeglasses to chandeliers.

The upward spiral of problem solving… The similarities between designers and small, furry creatures… Five secrets of innovative design… and other ideas from my recent speech at FUSE 2010.

The growing body of research on happiness shows a strong connection to the state of flow. Designers manage to combine “flow” with “meaningful activities,” leading to double-happiness.