The Creative Process Is Just A Matter of Time

Check out this preview of an interesting video I discovered on the Ideas & Art Frequency. So, tell me, what do you do to come up with a good idea?

Objectified - Worth Pocketing This Film

"Bad design is where the customer thinks it’s their fault that something doesn’t work. So if you can’t make your GPS device work in your car — I mean, there should be a riot because they’re so poorly designed! Instead, the user thinks, ‘Oh, I’m not very smart, I can’t make this GPS thing work.’ People should demand more from the things they own, they need to demand that things work." - David Kelly, IDEO

"Objectified", a documentary from filmmaker Gary Hustwit, about our complex relationship with manufactured objects is now available on DVD, Blu Ray, and for download on iTunes. But it is also available through one of the most innovative delivery mechanisms for commercialized digital media that I have seen, the Limited Edition USB drive. I can't wait to see how the packaging contributes to my experience of enjoying this film again, but I guess I'll have to, since the site tells me "please note that shipping times can be between 1 and 4 weeks, depending on how far you are from New York City." I guess I'm likely to be 4 weeks far, up here in the Emerald City...

Check out the film trailer and read some other great quotes from a sample of the innovative minds explored within this entertaining documentary about consumers and our interactions with the products we love and hate.

Update on Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 12:20PM by Gearhead Gal

And try the test over here to see what iconic object best describes your personality. Apparently, I'm retro-chic:

Update on Sunday, November 29, 2009 at 10:52PM by Gearhead Gal

To close this loop, I want to share with you what an amazing product the limited edition USB stick turned out to be. The package comes with a beautiful letterpress set of 5X7 inch-ish cards describing the design process. They are on beautiful thick card stock, and beg to be framed. The USB stick is so innovative it took me several minutes to imagine it could fit into a standard USB slot since the form factor looks more like an SD memory card than USB thumbdrive. My iMac instantly recoginized the drive and the movie played seamlessly using my Apple DVD player. It's a beautiful thing...

What is Design Thinking? 10 Ideas to Consider

What is Design Thinking? 10 Ideas to Consider Browsing on the Design Thinking Exchange, I found a list of 7 explanations of Design Thinking. I took the liberty of adjusting them with my editorial red marker (shown in CAPS for visual speed in identifying my own thoughts). I also added 3 more for an even 10. Please get out your best copy editing tools, and comment or re-word my "clarifications" below. I'll follow up with a post amending these with your best ideas. Design Thinking...

Click to read more ...

Business Week's Review - Why Design Thinking Matters

Thanks to @matthewemay for bringing this to our attention.  Business Week posted a pre-sales driving review of Roger Martin's soon to be published book. You can be sure it will be added to our Kindle list, but will it make my Favorite Reads box?

You Have Two Brains

My mother always told me I'd never make a living as an artist. I know she wasn't criticizing my talent, as much as my ability to live comfortably through selling art.  The creative itch is one I continuously try to scratch, even though I've moved from a career in the visual arts to one in technology product development.

Sketching is an activity we most typically associate with artists. Most of us believe artists have a more developed "right brain" that lets them visualize things better and improves their ability to illustrate those thoughts through better control of their hand-eye coordination.

"You have two brains: a left and a right. Modern brain scientists now know that your left brain is your verbal and rational brain; it thinks serially and reduces its thoughts to numbers, letters and words… Your right brain is your nonverbal and intuitive brain; it thinks in patterns, or pictures, composed of ‘whole things,’ and does not comprehend reductions, either numbers, letters, or words."

From The Fabric of Mind, by the eminent scientist and neurosurgeon, Richard Bergland. Viking Penguin, Inc., New York 1985

However, an enduring work by Dr. Betty Edwards, a professor at Cal State, has proven that it is possible to re-train your brain. Drawing On The Right Side Of Your Brain, which has been in print since 1979, aims to teach the average person how to see things differently, and visualize and process information you see.

Click here to see how a re-trained brain can help create deisgn thinkers of business leaders.