CATALYST

Blue State Digital

February 8, 2010 · Leave a Comment

How a small Internet Start-up affected ‘Change’ and created a successful business

Mybarackobama.com, the site designed by Blue State Digital that changed how elections are won.

by Adam Zoltowski

Blue State Digital (BSD) is a striking example of a company that uses a holistic approach to design to create sustainable competitive advantage. The company was founded in 2004, after the defeat of John Kerry in the Presidential elections. The web team of the Democratic National Committee formed BSD to provide online strategies for political candidates, Keep reading →

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Interaction Design · Policy/Politics · Strategic Design · Strategy
Tagged: , , ,

Nurture by Steelcase

February 4, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Redesigning the Healthcare Industry One Waiting Room at a Time

By Holly Burns

nurture

  1. to feed and protect
  2. to support and encourage, as during the period of training or development; foster
  3. to bring up; train; educate Keep reading →

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Branding · Environmental Sustainability · Industrial Design · Interior Design · Strategic Design
Tagged: , , , ,

Three Hundred and Sixty Degrees of Cadillac

February 1, 2010 · Leave a Comment

General Motors makes a bold step and puts a designer at the helm of its luxury brand. But, what does that mean?

By Howard Allen

Automotive designer Bryan Nesbitt recently filled the General Manager position at Cadillac. Does that sound as unusual to you as it does to me? That’s because it is quite uncommon for designers to move into top executive roles within the automotive industry. Keep reading →

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Design Management · Leadership · Management · Practice · Strategic Design · Strategy
Tagged: , , , , , ,

David Byrne and Creativity in Reverse

January 28, 2010 · 3 Comments

The Musician, Author and Designer shares his thoughts on the origins of Creativity

by Adam Zoltowski

David Byrne, the former lead singer of the Talking Heads, recently gave a lecture at the Bellhouse in Brooklyn concerning the origins of creativity and how context affects artistic creation. Using examples from throughout music history, Byrne made the argument that creativity is not shaped from something inside of us but is dictated by the space it will occupy once realized. He calls this method ‘creativity in reverse’. Keep reading →

→ 3 CommentsCategories: Inspiring Creativity · Strategic Design
Tagged: ,

The SEE Project

January 25, 2010 · 1 Comment

SEE launches its first Policy Booklet: Integrating Design Into Regional Innovation Policy

By Anna Whicher & Gisele Raulik-Murphy

With the conclusion of 2009, there are many exciting design policy developments at the three policy levels in Europe: the European Union, the Member States and Regions. In the coming months, the European Commission will be drafting a new innovation act in which design will be a key component. Keep reading →

→ 1 CommentCategories: Economic Sustainability · Global Factors · Policy/Politics · Social Sustainability · Strategy
Tagged: , , , ,

Resolving to Innovate

January 21, 2010 · 1 Comment

An exploration of five traits that differentiate successful innovators

By Erin Weber

January 2010 seems like a great time to set some professional goals, so when I finally got the chance to sit down with the December issue of Harvard Business Review, one article in particular grabbed my attention: The Innovator’s DNA. Keep reading →

→ 1 CommentCategories: Case Studies · Practice · Process · Strategy
Tagged: , , ,

Luxurious India

January 18, 2010 · 3 Comments

An exploration of the opportunities and challenges of the expansion of luxury goods into the Indian market

Image Courtesy: The DLF Emporio Website.
The DLF Emporio Mall in New Delhi, India that houses brands like Giorgio Armani, Salvatore Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Fendi, Dior, Just Cavali, Aigner, Tods, Tiffany’s, Burberry, Hugo Boss , JJ Valaya, Tarun Tahiliani , Manish Arora, Ranna Gill, Ashima & Leena, to name a few.

by Sapna Shah

A trip to Mumbai, India’s financial capital and glamour hub, leaves you reeling as you walk through the newly developed malls selling high-end luxury goods from brands like Louis Vuitton to Rolls Royce. The stark images of slum life shown in Slumdog Millionaire seem a distant reality as you come to terms with the emergence of the new Indian consumer market. Keep reading →

→ 3 CommentsCategories: Branding · Fashion · Global Factors · Strategy
Tagged: , , ,

Downscaling While Scaling Up

January 14, 2010 · Leave a Comment

An entrepreneur discusses the importance of improving processes

by Diane Ruengsorn

Scale. It’s a word that continues to come up in my discussions as I talk about our activities for 2010. There are a lot of exciting opportunities ahead this year for my company, Domestic Aesthetic, and much of it involves growth and expansion – most notably in regards to more stores and countries. Keep reading →

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Environmental Sustainability · Practice · Process · Strategy
Tagged: , , ,

The Femme Den

January 7, 2010 · 1 Comment

Why we should listen to the Super Women at SMART Design

The four women of the FemmeDen. Image courtesy of www.femmeden.com

By Holly Burns

Women are not inherently passive or peaceful. We’re not inherently anything but human. ~Robin Morgan

Four employees at SMART Design are designing for what women are – not what they’re assumed to be. Whitney Hopkins, Agnete Enga, Erica Eden and Yvonne Lin are members of an internal collective, the Femme Den, Keep reading →

→ 1 CommentCategories: Branding · Case Studies · Inspiring Creativity · Strategic Design · Strategy
Tagged: , , , ,

Cap & Trade

January 4, 2010 · Leave a Comment

An animated short story on the flaws of the Cap & Trade system.

by Erin Weber

Annie Leonard, the narrator of “The Story of Stuff,” is at it again. She teamed up with Free Range Graphics to produce a follow-up to her clever, animated short story about the consequences of consumption. This time, she is questioning the sustainability of the proposed Cap & Trade system. Keep reading →

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Economic Sustainability · Environmental Sustainability · Global Factors · Policy/Politics · Social Sustainability · Strategy · Triple Bottom Line (TBL)
Tagged: , , , , , ,