Philippe Starck has a reality show about design called Design For Life on the BBC… but not just design, but more importantly design thinking, observation, understanding, and how design is almost more about everything outside of what most think of design.
Thus far, I’ve enjoyed the first episode and think it’ll be a great insight into what design really is… not just aesthetics or making cool objects, but understanding a story as a whole, a process, an eco-system and a rather complex element that is widely ignored.
“Practicing good nutrition keeps your mind sharp, your body fit, and your life long. The same could be said for consuming media. (Seriously, knowledge is power.) When you add it all up, the average American spends roughly nine hours a day glued to some kind of screen, and like your diet, quality is as important as quantity. Here are Wired‘s suggested servings for optimal media health.”
Thought: Whoever taught us wine taste better in a glass container over plastic, paper, or styrofoam container? Did we learn, or just observe and accept the norm? Do we drive our own opinions, or just accept the norm?
The TED conference has transformed dramatically over the years thanks to the launching of TEDtalks which I’ve posted on several times. This past year, TED launched another brilliant event called TEDx which allows individuals to host their own local unofficial TED like events. Since March 2009 several events have taken place around the world. How awesome!
A few weeks back, I attended the TEDxBoston event which I wanted to post about, but had no videos to share. As of today, TEDx videos from around the world can be viewed and shared on the TEDx YouTube Channel as well as play lists from each location like TEDxBoston. I’ll post the TEDxBoston videos after the jump, and make sure to watch the last video with our favorite Ben Zanders conducting the Youth Orchestra of Americas.
Awesome. If you can’t afford it go use it at the Apple store! Computers, Programs, the Internet, Cameras, etc! Nicholi created several Youtube Videos and probably all his graphics using equipment inside the store on 5th NYC. Nothing like a young entrepreneur figuring out how to get things done, now getting him spots on TV shows. Watch the video above… I love the public’s reaction in the background.
“This little dude Nicholi has shot dozens of lip sync videos at the 5th Avenue Apple Store. And why not? Plenty of desktops. Free wi-fi. Solid tech support.
These are the same reasons model and self-marketer Isobella Jade wrote her entire memoir in the SoHo Apple Store. (Sound uncomfortable? Consider that Hemingway also wrote while standing up.)”
I’m off to San Francisco for a Weekend Wedding, so I’m posting my weekend links a bit early. If ya’ll have any must see, eat, go to events in SF this week, please let me know.
“Bobby McFerrin, a master in the possibilities of the human vocal chords, recently demonstrated the common understanding of the pentatonic scale at this year’s World Science Festival. The playful and simple demonstration uses audience participation to recreate the scale even when it goes beyond the given instructions.”
Lemonade the movie:
“More than 70,000 advertising professionals have lost their jobs in this “Great Recession.” Lemonadeis about what happens when people who were once paid to be creative in advertising are forced to be creative with their own lives.”
Right after you watch Art&Copy covering the fun hectic creative work life in an advertising agency, it only seems fit to check out “Lemonade” which follows a few creatives who lose their jobs only to find spare time to chase after their dreams!
Can you get the best in both worlds? Yup… Guru graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister during TEDglobal 2009 encourages creatives to take 1 year sabbaticals every 7 years to recharge.
“He described a typical life timeline: The first 25 or so years are devoted to learning, the next 40 or so to working, and the final 25 to retirement.
Then he asked: Why not cut off 5 years from retirement and intersperse them into your working years?
So every seven years, Sagmeister closes his design shop, tells his clients he won’t be back for a year, and then goes off on a 365-day sabbatical.It sounds costly, I know. But he says the ideas he comes up with during the year “off” are often what provide the income for next seven years.” (daniel pink blog)
“ART & COPY is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (SURFWISE, SCRATCH, HYPE!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time — people who’ve profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising’s “creative revolution” of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in ART & COPY were responsible for “Just Do It,” “I Love NY,” “Where’s the Beef?,” “Got Milk,” “Think Different,” and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their ads are brought to light in this dynamic exploration of art, commerce, and human emotion.”
I blogged about another documentary called The Alchemists back in 2006 which links to the same production company behind Art&Copy… weird yah! . Anyways, great to see the film making its rounds even though the name changed I think. Check out if it’s screening near you here.
“In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won’t go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.”
Go watch the film, get everyone you know to see it, and don’t bring too much food into the movie while watching. Start buying from farmers markets, eat organic, get local schools to serve healthy meals, and have restaurants display nutritional facts. Food Inc will not scare you away from food, but it’ll influence your food buying decisions while giving you a better idea in how some foods are manufactured, treated, transported, and concealed.
Installation artist Alicia Martin sure has a thing for Streaming Books. This would have been a great PR piece for the Amazon Kindle! a little kindle at the end of the book rainbow…
Nikon just announced the worlds first Compact Portable Camera with an integrated projector capable in blasting an image on any surface 5-40 inches! The Nikon s1000pj 12.1 MegaPixel Camera is surprisingly thin at .9 inche and will cost roughly $700 $430 when it comes out this fall in Europe! and yes, it still has a 2.7 inch screen.
I’ve played with integrated portable projectors since 2002 during some projects but only now are they coming out in real products. This will surely disrupt the portable media industry, though I’ve grown keen on sharing small screens with people lately.
What will happen… Will projectors over rule touch screens or will projected touchscreens be next. Or maybe augmented data will be projected on people your taking pictures of (watch the TEDtalk on the “6th Sense” project shown this past February embedded after the jump). I do wonder if you can project onto something your about to take a picture of… fun times in creativity and augmented reality!
