Over her 10 years as vice president of design at 555 International, Karen Herold has produced interiors for nightclubs in Las Vegas for Playboy and N9NE as well as retail...
I'm in Vancouver for Design Week, an event organized by Icograda, the International Council of Graphic Design Associations. The theme of the event is "Design Currency"; the challenge for participants...
I'm a big fan of what can happen when worlds collide, always enjoying the effect of bringing together people with diverse experiences, knowledge and skills. This afternoon, I headed to...
Interface designer and anthropologist Jan Chipchase (that's him in the background, taking the picture) has made a name for himself and collected quite a following as a result of his...
Recently, a two-page article in the Times of London caught my eye. Not because its thesis was staggeringly original, but rather because it made my blood boil. Here's the gist:...
I'm sitting on a stool watching an info-video at the Dairy Management booth at the Worldwide Food Expo in Chicago. The stool, designed by Bruce Mau Design, is a bright...
National Design Week is in full swing here in New York, culminating in a swanky gala dinner on Thursday night to celebrate this year's National Design Award winners. One of...
We're all about home offices this week. Jay Greene wrote about his recent experience setting up shop at home and I put together a slideshow on the Art of the...
I've been in Miami for the past few days, checking out the IDSA conference and, last night, handing out the gold gongs in the International Design Excellence Awards. I also...
In the last week, both Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo announced new PCs that featured eye-catching elements that could possibly make design fans rethink the nerdy PC image exemplified in those ubiquitous...
This morning, I spoke to Yusuf Muhammed who, along with Paul Thomas, just scooped the £10,000 James Dyson Award, named after and sponsored by the vacuum cleaner innovator. Their winning...
After 50 years of using Futura, Ikea is switching to the ubiquitous typeface Verdana. The Ikea catalogue is the third most printed book in the world, behind the Bible and...
Here in Manhattan, temperatures have finally reached the million degree mark (approx). It leads to some interesting summer fashions, as employees attempt to be comfortable yet decent and tourists attempt...
There's been quite a flurry of excitement in the online media-sphere of late, after entrepreneur, CEO, some time journalist (and BusinessWeek columnist) Jason Calacanis published The Case Against Apple—in Five...
Some images are coming out of Starbucks' new "Not-A-Starbucks" Seattle store. Dubbed 15th Avenue E Coffee and Tea, the shop is an effort to blend with the local neighborhood. It...
Smart Design is a consultancy that's helped design the OXO Good Grips line of kitchen tools, the popular Flip digital camcorder, and the Fusion dashboard for Ford. Last week, we...
Jonathan Ive isn't prone to making wild proclamations about design, his boss, Steve Jobs, or Apple, the company at which he's led the design team since 1996. Indeed, he's not...
Coca-Cola's (KO) Director of Industrial Design Vince Voron just finished up his talk with Sapient’s Director of Program Management Michael Leonard at the Forrester’s Customer Experience Forum in New York....
The Generation by Knoll chair, which will debut at the NeoCon World’s Trade Fair in Chicago in mid-June, is as comfortable an office seat as it is eye-catching. I’ve been...
Last week, I sat down with notorious designer, Philippe Starck to talk about his work, philosophy, creative process and more. As you'll hear, it was a fairly free-wheeling conversation, but...
This weekend saw the International Contemporary Furniture Fair roll into New York City, along with satellite shows that were held all over the city. As you might expect, it...
When you think of 3d printing, images of scientists or industrial designers fabricating prototypes probably come to mind. But starting today, the process is getting the fine arts treatment. The...
"I know your system was a success because nobody mentioned it." So spoke a happy client to David Gibson, a New York designer who just put together a book on...
Ever wonder who created the sharp titles for Mad Men, and how to hire them to create a cool commercial for your company? Have you looked at GE's web site,...
I recently sat down with Philippe Starck, one of the world's most well-known designers, to talk about the connection between design--so often misunderstood as mere cosmetic flourish--and innovation. He was...
Last week, I had the opportunity to speak with MINI Design Chief Gert Hildebrand. The fiercely individualistic brand of tiny autos is poised to take advantage of higher fuel costs...
CES may have arrived this year with barely a whimper, especially given the dire state of the consumer electronics industry. But, Plantronics Inc. and its consumer audio division, Altec Lansing,...
The trailer for Objectified, an independent documentary about industrial design, is finally available (watch below). The film, which should be released this year, explores the relationships between consumers, mass products,...
Caught this video via @jerrymichalski and Jane McGonigal (@avantgame) on Twitter, and felt the need to share it here. These "wingsuits" are astonishing. These "birdmen" are pushing materials and design...
If you're gearing up for holiday -- or business -- air travel, you must be dreading the airport chaos of going through security screening lines. There are a couple of...
Have you checked out the customization feature for the recently released Flip Mino video camcorder, available on the Flip's Web site? Basically, Pure Digital, the camera's maker, allows Flip buyers...
For my sins, I'm the author of not one, not two but three books on T-shirt graphics. What can I say? I enjoyed an extended adolescence. But you know when...
The word "design" is often understood within the context of "decoration," but once again, it's being used as a verb in relation to the current global economic turmoil. The cover...
Last night, I attended the annual Visionaries auction and awards ceremony hosted by the Museum of Art and Design here in New York, and sat among some of the most...
Last night saw the swank event for the National Design Awards, in which our own Bruce Nussbaum was a finalist for the Design Mind title. Winners included Google, for corporate...
I recently met with Diane Hoskins, executive director of New York-based architecture and design firm Gensler, whose clients include McDonald’s, Hewlett-Packard, and 3M, and she previewed Gensler’s new U.S. Workplace...
Today's the day... JetBlue's swanky new JFK terminal opens for business. Back in August, contributing writer Ernest Beck took a hard hat tour of the location, and as you can...
Just back from the Cooper-Hewitt, where Bruce Nussbaum was moderating a conversation between three innovation/design bigwigs: Bob Greenberg, founder of R/GA, Marissa Mayer of Google and Citi chief innovation officer,...
News of Radiohead's three million sales of its pay-what-you-like-and-download release, In Rainbows, reminds me that I've been meaning to write up the latest from Stanley Donwood. He's the artist...
Hamid Akhavan, head of mobile communications, innovation and product development for Deutsche Telekom -- and the man in charge of T-Mobile International for most of Europe -- is coming to...
Given the chaos that has assailed the world's markets this week, it might seem a little crass to mention $300 trash cans. But the Danish firm Vipp held a swanky...
Tonight at 7pm at the New York runway presentation of fashion designer Vivienne Tam’s Spring 2009 clothing line, many of the models will strut down the catwalk carrying tiny Hewlett-Packard...
So Google just launched the beta version of its open-source Web browser, Chrome. The search behemoth also made available the back story of the browser's design, available in a graphic-novel...
As the U.S. Midwest grapples with devastating floods (not to mention floods this week in India that stranded thousands and killed nearly 40 people), and a day after a federal...
Today I spoke with Jim Keane, president of the Steelcase group, about two new chairs (see them later in this post) designed for better office collaborations. "Collaboration is a hot...
Last week I got to hear the newish director of IDSA, Frank Tyneski, talk to a load of students about the power of design. He was really, really good and...
A while ago, my colleague Aili McConnon wrote a sweet piece about the man behind the Google Doodle, the guy who customizes the look of the search engine's logo on...
Plenty of folks at ICFF were looking for distribution deals. This caught my eye: a Lego-inspired candle set from former RCA student, Hyock Kwon. If you look carefully, you can...
The International Contemporary Furniture Fair juggernaut swept through the city at the weekend. Perhaps the best thing about ICFF is that it's not just the official event at the Javits...
In the name of featuring something which on the face of it looks like a purely artistic experiment, but bearing in mind the lessons learned from Bill Buxton, here's Delicate...
When I was in London recently, I popped in to see David Tonge and Nicole Hodgkinson of the design firm, the-division, who have a small studio near Tower Bridge. I've...
I'm a big fan of the work of designer Branko Lukic. Having spent many years at consultancies such as Frog and IDEO, he branched out in 2006 to found his...
I was in London last week, and attended a breakfast meeting at the Design Council, the UK's "national strategic body for design", which is funded by the government and which...
Finally got a chance to visit the new show, "Design and the Elastic Mind", at the Museum of Modern Art here in New York. Bruce and Reena both loved it,...
If you find yourself at a loose end on the west coast at the beginning of next month, then you might want to look up one of these free panel...
I've just started maternity leave -- as my husband and I have been working on an ambitious design project of our own and are about to see it "launch." I'll...
Many of those I have talked to at conferences recently definitely feel badly about the environmental effect of flying all over the place to the next can't-miss event. It really...
So dissing the MacBook Air is now old-ish news, as critics have voiced their concerns with the laptop and its missing features. But...it's a wonderful device to use. (Yes, I...
My colleague, Catherine Holahan, already referred to the insane amount of information that welcomed arrivals at this year's SXSW conference. Now I don't know about Catherine, but here's what I...
Interesting presentation at SXSW from Michael Lopp, senior engineering manager at Apple, who tried to assess how Apple "gets" design when so many other companies try and fail. After describing...
This requires a hacked iPhone, but the arrival of the iAno (I guess its creator, one MysteryAardvark, decided that dropping the 'p' was the way to go, naming wise) is...
This film by British director Johnny Hardstaff, represented over in London by Ridley Scott's commercial production company, RSA Films, does a nice job of promoting the power of effective...
Whatever you think of his politics, you can't deny that Barack Obama's got a way with words. His speech after Super (duper) Tuesday was full of aphorisms and inspirational phrases....
Just posted a mega-package on Green Design, which has been both a positive and slightly disheartening place to keep my brain for the past few weeks. Jessie Scanlon's written a...
With today's news of Macy's slashing jobs and looking to "localize" their stores, coupled with recent news of Sears looking to clean-up and revamp its stores, I can't help but...
Here's a rather lovely tale of a personal art project taking on a life of its own and becoming a mini social phenomenon. It's the kind of thing that could...
I've been thinking this for some time, and since the iPhone update, the time has come to call it. It's hard to see from the illustrations at right (and...
With an official recession looming, what types of innovative products and services will attract consumers? Will they gravitate more toward free, online apps such as Google Documents rather than buy...
Have you been coveting the supermodel-slim MacBook Air since it was unveiled yesterday? Totally gorgeous, right? At one point yesterday afternoon, I visited the Apple Store online to see if...
I'm sure I had a similar reaction to most people when I heard about the new leopardskin Taser zapper/MP3 player: really? REALLY? Add to that a shudder of horror at...
The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas still has a couple of days to go. Sure, many breakthrough designs make their debuts at this extravaganza of tech. But others, while...
Today the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing single-family homes actually rose in November--by 0.4 percent. Okay, so this doesn't really change the bigger picture of the...
Recent events in Pakistan bring to mind how we can possibly use innovative new technologies to better protect public figures at risk of assassination, kidnapping, or other dangerous threats. I'm...
The jury for next year's IDEA competition (which we feature each year in BusinessWeek) has been announced. Alistair Hamilton is chair this year. His background in mobile (at Symbol, Motorola...
With all the talk about the rise of web-based computing -- applications such as Google Documents, etc. -- what does this mean for PC design? Will product designers and engineers...
Holiday windows are always a wonder to behold, not to mention a nightmare to negotiate, what with the hordes of tourists with noses pressed up to them. Over in London,...
Last week, Google announced on its corporate blog that the search giant was building knol, a rival to Wikipedia. While most coverage talked about the differences and similarities of the...
I've been so embarrassingly AWOL of late I hardly know what to say. I could go on about how we've been swamped with Special Reports (please look at our Auto...
Alright, so the art department can't take the credit for the illustrations themselves. That goes to the two artists in question (Hendrik Drescher, below -- Tim Hussey after the jump)....
Weird. This story in the UK's Guardian caught my eye. A team of engineers in Japan has developed a system whereby a car becomes the bow to a road's violin....
So my colleague Arik Hesseldahl won't buy an iPhone. And I really didn't mean to. But Apple got me. Quite despite my better judgment (while Arik's cross about third party...
On Wednesday, big-box retailer Target will begin running ads about the world’s first “model-less” fashion show in New York on November 6 and 7, featuring a holographic illusion of three-dimensional,...
Sorry I fell off the planet. Went to San Francisco for the amazing World Design Congress and have been running to catch up ever since. I seem to have missed...
Design firms such as Seattle's Teague, which works with Boeing, Microsoft, and Nike among other corporations, are increasingly encouraging employees to hatch product ideas without a client. While I'm not...
I find D-I-Y such a very bewitching ethos. Punks, for instance, were completely fabulous to me (generally terrifying, too, but always looked at with wide-eyed awe). The extraordinary explosion of...
It’s the second annual official Design Week in New York, coinciding with the National Design Awards given by the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum , and sponsored by Target. Of interest...
Today, Nike unveiled a new style of retail experience that suggests that both virtual and real worlds are colliding and that the boundaries between consumers and designers are blurring fast....
When we were putting together our annual Cutting Edge Designers series for BusinessWeek.com -- which also appears in condensed form in the current issue of IN: Inside Innovation within BusinessWeek...
Ok, not the latest version of the AT&T.; But our new Innovation & Design writer, Matt Vella, just put together an analysis of the latest branding venture from AT&T; as...
Firstly. Sorry for the past week's radio silence. Secondly. Yes, thank you for asking, I had a lovely vacation. My travels took me back to the north of England, and...
This morning I popped by Bryant Park to catch the runway show of BCBG Max Azria, part of the bi-annual Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week line-up. Why this show? The company, which...
In anticipation of New York's Fashion Week (September 5 - 12), I've been thinking a lot about the issue of intellectual property laws that can potentially protect the original work...
Fashion Week is coming up in New York, from September 5 - 12th (I'll be attending; stay tuned for reports). Although nothing compares with the spectacle of watching a runway...
Chronicle Books will soon publish the U.S. version of onehundredat360˚: Graphic Design's New Global Generation, by Michael Dorrian and Liz Farrelly, this fall. I've been flipping through an advance copy...
Digital water isn't a new concept, but this new project, due for completion in June 2008, pushes the limits of what is possible -- and uses the technology on...
I completely fell in love with these two pieces of work a while back. They were on show at a trendy event in Manhattan and somehow inspired even the...
Tanggu Port, Tianjin, 2005. Click on images to enlarge. Manufactured Landscapes is a film I caught by chance in NYC the other day. I hadn't heard much about it...
Forgive the self-indulgent post -- and the radio silence of late -- but we've been working like demons, putting together the IDEA 2007 package. It's live and online so I...
Space ladies have had a bad rap recently (yes, I'm looking at you, Lisa Nowak), but this space lady is looking to change the conversation. Dava Newman is professor...
I recently tried out a pair of the new Skins shoes, what promise to be chic and inventive products. They've gotten a lot of advance raves in design publications such...
Animation has been an explosive business in recent times. Last year, Disney forked out $7.5 billion for industry poster child Pixar, the studio behind the likes of Toy Story, Finding...
There's a lot of interesting work happening in the materials arena. A while back, we wrote an article about d3o, a young British company which designed a material which is...
I recently went to a lunch hosted by Richard Grefé, the executive director of the AIGA (the acronym stands for the American Institute of Graphic Arts; today, the 93-year-old organization...
I confess. I'm a bit squeamish. I haven't eaten meat for hundreds of years and if a mosquito comes into my bedroom I try to strike a deal whereby I...
Summer's here, and though it's super sweltery in New York, and my family is reporting being nearly under water in the north of England, thoughts are turning to being outside....
As the buzz continues to build, this turns up in my email inbox. It's the odds from bookie Web site BetUS.com regarding the iPhone. I know, I know, gambling's no...
So asks Gene Pressman, former co-CEO and Creative Director of Barneys in his new book, Chasing Cool. The book's subtitle is "standing out in today's cluttered marketplace" and it's full...
If you can't make it to MOMA to see the Richard Serra show (and frankly, even if you can), you should still check out the online installation
You may have noticed my recent radio silence. I've just returned from a camping trip in Santa Cruz
ReacTable -- an interactive interface for creating music.
New Olympic Games branding from Wolff Olins
Can't Apple design a way to stop me breaking their headphones?
How much can or should designers try to control an experience, and how much should be left to interpretation?
This iPod is so absurd that it is seemingly making fun of itself. And that's fashionable.
Chair made from recycled plastic bottles
Yves Béhar's talk from last week's New Yorker Conference.
Writing from the road... the Strategy Conference at IIT in Chicago
What comes next? The Bloomberg Businessweek Innovation and Design blog chronicles new tools for creativity and collaboration, innovation case studies in both the corporate and social sectors, and the new ideas that have the power to change the way things have always been done.
