Design Isn't Dead. Design's Gatekeepers May Be Dying.

"In future there will be no more designers. The designers of the future will be the personal coach, the gym trainer, the diet consultant." ~Philipe Stark

Think about it. We're living in an age where people now have direct access to brands. Starbucks wants our ideas—Southwest Airlines talks to me on Twitter, the role of the modern day brand steward may be a little different today compared to 10 years ago. The meaning of a brand hasn't changed. The way we interact with them has.

So I have to wonder how different this all is for the design community, if you can call it that. Just as brands have their gatekeepers—the same people who told us that Diet Coke was meant to be enjoyed, not mixed with candy for the purpose of making fountains—the design world also has gatekeepers. Or you could call them guardians, hight priests, guru's, icons—take your pick. Indeed Philipe is probably one of them. Design's gatekeepers guarded the secret sauce to what they deemed was "good design". They were quick to point out that not everybody recognized what it was. Some, like Stark brought "design" to the masses, not unlike Prometheus bringing us fire in ancient times. Some brands, like Target helped broaden the appeal of "designer things"—creating a mainstream demand for pretty and stylish things.

Now lots of people can design—and design means a lot of different things to different people (IE, I don't equate design with pretty). But the tools are out there. The techniques are easy to look up. Some have gotten pretty good at design—creating the social platforms that many of us use daily to watch videos, stream content, distribute presentations, share contacts and build personal brands. Scion's automobiles are made to be customized. Actually, were they designed that way? Or was it Scion owners who created a culture out of sheet metal and fiberglass? Apple can't really control the design and development of both native and Web based iPhone applications—even though they give it a good shot. And directors can't control how people choose to watch their movies no matter how much they may disagree with it.

No, design isn't dead, especially the really good design that adds value to our lives. But the notion of design's gatekeepers may need some additional thought as more of us begin to act like "professionals" and take on the sacred role of design. Where once we had Steve Jobs to tell us what design should be—we now have each other to look to as well. It's not a substitute—it's an addendum. For some of us, that's a welcome evolution. For others—it's like having unwanted guests crash your party. Which will it be for you?

vía Logic+Emotion

Sustainable Towers in Malaysia by Studio Nicoletti Associati

Malaysia is no stranger to iconic buildings. Two of the tallest buildings in the world, the Petronas Twin Towers, are located in Kuala Lumpur, the country’s capital. So it comes as no surprise to us that a stunning new residential development is planned for the Putrajaya waterfront known as Precinct 4, just 30km south of Kuala Lumpur. The design, however, is a refreshing and original with unique, marine-inspired structures - which also draw from traditional Islamic designs - arranged in a permeable, radiating block of bioclimatic architecture.

(more…)

vía Inhabitat

VISUALIZE THE WIND: With wind-powered LED light Firewinder

This might not be the most practical outdoor light in the world, but what the Firewinder lacks in pedestrian utility it makes up for in sheer engaging awesomeness. Transforming wind into light, the Firewinder is a hanging, wind-powered LED light that can be powered by the smallest breeze. Unlike most wind turbines that spin vertically, the Firewinder spins in a horizontal direction, illuminating its LEDs in a spiraling helix of light. The coolest thing about the Firewinder is that it doesn’t just run on or off, but instead is visibly reactive to subtle changes in the environment. How bright the LEDs glow corresponds directly to how fast the turbine spins, enabling observers to visualize the power of wind.

(more…)

vía Inhabitat

Nihon Uni shirts resist stabbing, make you feel like a superhero

Mind you, this isn't the first time we've seen garb constructed to withstand vicious knife fights, and apparently a few Japanese streets are becoming just as frightening as some in London. Reportedly created to provide protection against stabbers following an "increasing number of malicious crimes that have victimized children and late-night convenience store clerks," Nihon Uni has developed a t-shirt crafted from "ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene fiber." Aside from rendering blades useless, the material is also completely machine washable and lightweight; still, the fabric can be penetrated by "sharp points," so it's up to you to steer clear of rooftop archers. Nevertheless, long-sleeved versions can be had this June for ¥22,000 ($221) to ¥59,000 ($593), while the way less protective short-sleeved variety will run you between ¥19,000 ($191) and ¥52,000 ($522).

[Via Slashgear]

Here's The Future of Advertising. Now Go Do it.

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Kieran Timberlake + Living Homes= LBS

Treehugger readers may recall the Loblolly House by Kieran Timberlake, to which we have devoted much space, including What Makes a Building Green?, Loblolly House: Pictures at Last and more. I consider it to be one of the most innovative and important houses of this century. Readers may also recall LivingHomes, with the first LEED Platinum prefab from developer Steve Glenn. As a cured architect and developer, I could only dream of what the result might be if one mixed the talents and innovations of architects like Kieran Timb...

vía TreeHugger

A wonderful example of a disruptive business model

Here's a great example of a low-end disruptive business model: Psychotherapy for All

The more I work on the creation of disruptive business models, the more I'm convinced that there's almost always room for a disruptive model. One just needs to start with human needs and look hard, work hard for it. The design process needs constraints. A lack of viable solution spaces is more a reflection of poor innovation process than a statement of fact; it is a lack of generative contraints which leads to dead ends.

I can think of no better design constraint for the genesis of disruptive business models than trying to serve the needs of people living on a few dollars a day. What, for example, might happen to pace of innovation in our US healthcare system if we were to take notes on disruptions such as this one, or from the Aravind Eye Care System?

vía metacool

Convergence + The Digital Agency

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Bio-electronic implant seeks to restore partial sight

We've seen initiatives all over the globe created in an attempt to beat blindness, but researchers based at MIT are feeling fairly confident that their development is within a few years of being able to "restore partial sight to people who have slowly gone blind because of degenerative diseases of the retina." The bio-electronic implant, which is about the size of a pencil eraser, would actually sit behind the retina at the back of the eyeball, and images would be transmitted to the brain "via a connector the width of a human hair." As it stands, an FDA grant application is already in the works, and the scientists are hoping to have it implanted in an animal as early as this summer. Still, the solution only works for folks who "were once able to see and have partially intact optic nerve cells" -- those who were blind from birth or suffer from glaucoma are unfortunately ineligible for the procedure.

vía Engadget

Less is More: 300 Square Foot Apartment

This unit gives new meaning to the term "Bed and Breakfast"- You just slide out of bed onto the breakfast table. It is in a 300 SF Maff B&B in the Hague, designed by Queeste Architecten and photographed by Teun van den Dries, via ::Dezeen....

vía TreeHugger

A wonderful example of a disruptive business model

Here's a great example of a low-end disruptive business model: Psychotherapy for All

The more I work on the creation of disruptive business models, the more I'm convinced that there's almost always room for a disruptive model. One just needs to start with human needs and look hard, work hard for it. The design process needs constraints. A lack of viable solution spaces is more a reflection of poor innovation process than a statement of fact; it is a lack of generative contraints which leads to dead ends.

I can think of no better design constraint for the genesis of disruptive business models than trying to serve the needs of people living on a few dollars a day. What, for example, might happen to pace of innovation in our US healthcare system if we were to take notes on disruptions such as this one, or from the Aravind Eye Care System?

vía metacool

From 1984, 4 predictions about the future (3 of them correct)

n this 1984 talk, Nicholas Negroponte foreshadows CD-ROMs, web interfaces, service kiosks, the touchscreen interface of the iPhone, and his own One Laptop per Child project. Oh, and there's also a fascinating project called Lip Service, which is, um, sti

vía TED Talks de contact@ted.com (Michael Glass) el 10/03/08

Business Needs Design, Now!

A presentation of the Design Thinking 2007 conference.

Via Poetpainter

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Time Capsule: everything you wanted to know

So we spent the weekend playing with Time Capsule and we've discovered some interesting answers to all your questions, as well as a few accompanying annoyances. Our main takeaway? It's a solid product, but you shouldn't expect it to do anything more than back up your files -- and Apple really needs to step up and enable general NAS support for Time Machine. Read on!

Continue reading Time Capsule: everything you wanted to know

vía Engadget

Yves Béhar's Kada Multi-Functional Flat-Pack Stool and Table

Yves Béhar, the industrial super-designer with the One Laptop Per Child and LEAF LED light for Herman Miller to his credit (among many others), has definitely been following his own advice. When he was featured in Fast Company's Design Issue, he said, "Design is not a short-term fix. It's a long-term engagement that requires you to think about how design affects everything that touche...

vía TreeHugger

Innovation

"1. Old-school design methods are failing. The pace of change among consumers and competitors has grown so fast that using a conventional process to hatch a marketing campaign, a Web site, or a new product virtually dooms it to being obsolete by the time it’s complete.

2. Innovation is the new currency. The days of a whopping marketing budget or a pretty design equaling success are over, as Blendtec has so well proved. If you’re not creating something that’s genuinely new—as well as useful and delightful—you are screwed.

3. Everyone is a creative. Your next-door neighbor can make a YouTube video or design a MySpace page that sits on an equal media playing field with anything we produce here at Avenue A | Razorfish.

4. Narrative is the experience. As the Web becomes the preferred destination for brand exploration, digital experiences must become richer, deeper, and more able to tell compelling stories. If your brand experience depends entirely on pages and clicks, it’s time to wonder, “What is my story?”

From Avenue A / Razorfish, Digital Outlook Report 2008 (Download full report here)

M-Hotel By Tim Pyne

We are longtime fans of UK architect Tim Pyne, one of the prefab pioneers with his lovely M-House. Now he has gone multi-unit with his M-Hotel proposal. The 500 square foot units plug into a steel frame "a bit like Corb did at the Unite" - I think it looks more like my Kenner Girder and Panel building set. ...

vía TreeHugger