January 2012
19 posts
3 tags
Teachers leave those kids alone! →
Fabulous article on how some innovative thinkers are disrupting and challenging the teacher pupil model of education.
From Google’s Think Quarterly SPEED issue.
Inspiring and thought-provoking. Makes me want to go back to school and see how the kids are doing it.
Ann
“Suppose Winston Churchill had said ‘we owe a lot to the RAF’ instead...”
– Bill Bernbach
3 tags
“…. what Schön called ‘reflection in action’ -
He discovered that the...”
– Paul Feldwick via David Warren’s blog
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“1. Entrepeneurs routinely see opportunities where everyone else sees problems.
...”
– Economist article reviewing World Changers, a book on Entrepeneurs and what makes them tick.
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Gender Rules! →
Via Jamie Elwes - bloody brilliant and thought-provoking site that looks at print ads and how they relate to gender, and the various roles male and female play.
A fab source of images too.
Ann
“Nudge that over three clicks. Now back one. Back one more. And, one more. Great.”
– A reblog from Fucking Creatives
2 tags
Every detail has to be perfect →
The fabulous Mr Chow. Pretty full on. This world famous restauranteur shares a day in his life. You’ll get a glimpse of what has made him so successful - his tenacious obsessive perfectionism and fierce self-belief.
An inspiring reminder to make sure that whatever you make, you’ve made a conscious choice to compromise or not on every detail and angle.
Ann
3 tags
The power of vulnerability →
A TED talk worth listening to all the way through. Some truly deep and mind-opening insights from a qualitative research professor who spent a decade digging into what makes people tick.
Thanks Suzy
Ann
2 tags
Meet on the fly →
Another smart idea for an airline.
KLM is working with Facebook so that customers can book a seat on a flight next to someone based on their social media profile.
Hmm, in practice that might be a bit creepy, but a lovely creative leap nonetheless.
Ann
1 tag
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“Good design is great for productivity.
Through witnessing all of the elaborate...”
– Behance’s Action Plan method
1 tag
The 'oh shit' series →
By Safwat Saleem
Ann
1 tag
“Order, variety, contrast, symmetry, tension, balance, scale, texture, space,...”
– designer Paul Rand
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Fast Company's Co.Create Nation →
“Once upon a time, entertainment and advertising were two separate lands. Each land was dynamic, and cool, in its own way, but their denizens rarely commingled. In yet another land, the geeks of technology toiled in isolation on tasks both obscure and unfriendly. And then the winds of innovation blew through. Everything changed …
Fast Company launched this website at the end of 2011 -...
“There are so many possibilities. No matter how perfectly you do something, it...”
– designer Paul Rand
3 tags
Unilever VIP on Facebook →
Unilever are using FB quite formally - click through or search for Unilever VIP page in Facebook to see what they’re doing.
Unilever VIP is a platform for gathering consumers’ input and ideas for Unilever products and rewarding their contributions…
Ann
4 tags
Money →
The Guardian invited writers and artists to redesign bank notes. Click to see the designs.
An interesting assumption-busting exercise - what else could one practise it on?
Ann
PS.
December 2011
19 posts
3 tags
Form + content fused →
From Wieden + Kennedy’s design studio blog.
A short animated video interview with design great Paul Rand.
“Don’t try to be original just try to be good.”
Ann
4 tags
“Ed Catmull, president of Pixar (a company that knows a thing or two about...”
– Pixar
I agree. Good creative facilitation is key to driving decent collaboration between specialists and input from across the board, whilst helps avoid the ‘death by committee’ trap. Also, having a basic idea development process to guide the group helps too. It allows specialists and...
“There’re big events and small events.
At the end of life sometimes they...”
– Meryl Streep, Iron Lady interview Film 4
6 tags
P&G's leadership model
P&G CEO Robert McDonald’s ten principles that make up the values-based leadership model he says influences him most:
1. Living a life driven by purpose is more meaningful and rewarding than meandering through life without direction.
2. Companies must do well to do good and must do good to do well.
3. Everyone wants to succeed, and success is contagious.
4. Putting people in the right...
2 tags
“1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel...”
– Eight rules from Kurt Vonnegut, one of the 20th century’s most influential storytellers
As published in Mindshare’s Original Thinking Matters
well-heeled →
Spotted by Jono
“Let the idea breathe first before getting into the nitty gritty detail and...”
– Dallia Hussein
“Strategy is sacrifice”
– Jeremy Hill
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A mobile mobile →
Impressive play and resulting output from people at play at work at Lbi.
Ann
“The food industry is not run by foodies … it’s run by engineers and...”
– Loyd Grossman
3 tags
One site One song Many people →
Two similar ideas … both are versions of what has become a relatively classic interactive idea formula.
1. Starbucks Love Project - Visitors to the Starbucks Love Project site watched a live satellite feed of over 156 countries uniting to sing “All You Need Is Love” at exactly the same time. People could then upload a video of their own performance to the map and watch thousands of...
“Only lift one foot off the ground at a time”
– Jeremy Hill’s dad
“Don’t do something someone else can do better”
– Loyd Grossman
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An equation for trust
Trust = Reliability + credibility + intimacy, divided by the diminishing factor of Self-orientation (ie level of self-interest)
Posited by Nicola Davies, Planner at Cake, at the Campaign War of Words yesterday.
Ann
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I wish this was ... →
Reminds me a little of the Bubble Project.
A nice exercise to do in one’s mind for a bit of escapism.
Be careful of what you wish for!
Ann
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True Grit →
I think this is true - success is as much about grit as talent.
Click through to measure your grit factor.
Thanks Natalie.
Ann
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Toyota's Ideas for Good →
Remember the ‘agencies should have an API’ article?
This is a good example of a brand and a business applying this principle to showcase their latest technologies and do good - Toyota have made their technology and automotive innovations available to use for non-automotive ideas and solutions.
What assets does your client or your own business have that could help create new...
November 2011
15 posts
1 tag
21 types of fun - what's yours? →
Look past the ‘fun at work’ thing which some might find irritating.
I think he has some useful points to help us find more sweet spots at work.
Ann
3 tags
Reward unfit gamers virtually for physical... →
I like the reversal of this idea. Is it a sign of the times?
Virtual rewards awards for physical activity … it’s usually the other way around.
Ann
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Chance favours the connected mind →
This has been around for a while… and some of you will have read Steven Johnson’s Where Good Ideas Come From book.
But I thought worth sharing nonetheless
Ann
“Jimmy Stewart said he stopped making movies because he didn’t like the way...”
– Mr Tom Waits
2 tags
Project planning →
Four principles for good project planning and troubleshooting.
Ann
3 tags
Velokhaya or Bicycle Home →
Another ThingKing project…necessity is the mother of invention. The resourcefulness is beautiful.
ThingKing have turned several Safmarine seafaring containers into a community club house and BMX sport centre.
Reminds me to look harder at what a client, a brand or us as an agency have already and make the most of it.
Ann
5 tags
The Impossible Brief Project →
Israel and Palestine exchange blood banks….wow
Thanks Mr M.
Ann
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You saw it here first →
thanks Mr T!
Ann
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Opening up agencies with an API →
Neil’s got some good points here.
Ann
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What matters from McKinsey →
A new output from McKinsey - What Matters - a collection of essays from the world’s best thinkers themed around topics such as social innovation.
Definitely useful food for thought.
Also, worth noting how McKinsey work hard to retain and evolve their thought leadership position.
I like the fact that they are probably ploughing some of their marketing budget into providing a useful service...
The confused mind says no
by Dr. Chris Witt
If you want people’s cooperation - if you want them to say yes - you need to make them understand what you want them to do and how it affects them. Being clear won’t always win people’s hearts and minds. It may actually galvanize people’s resistance, but it gives you the best chance for winning them over. When you confuse people, you lose all hope of...
“While creation demands the disruption of order, order always precedes invention”
– Adam Gopnik article about Ferran Adria’s new cookbook