Ever been somewhere and wanted to take a break, but there was no great place to sit?  Designer Oliver Show decided to create a simple way to put seating into public areas, using yellow drainage pipes that are found sound the city of Hamburg.  The pipes are flexible, cheap, and weather resistant.  The design is simple – find a spot and wrap it in the pipe material.

The result is a bright yellow solution to making benches, recliners, and loungers in any urban location.  The pipes can be wrapped around a bridge trussel, bike rack, or safety rail, and quickly create a place for you to sit.  I haven’t read anything about how comfortable the seats are, but in the pictures the seats look pretty good.

Show, who studied architecture, won a HFBK Leinemann Foundation for the Education and the Arts award for his seating idea.The series is called “Street Furniture,” and you can see a video about the construction online, or see more pictures on the Architizer website.

Image source:
Street Furniture – featured on the Architizer website

Links:

Video about the construction online

Street Furniture – featured on the Architizer website.

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We’ve all seen flowers and heard of the “he loves me, he loves me not,” method of pulling off flower petals to predict if someone loves you.  Fong Qi Wei, takes the removal of petals to a new level in his series of photographs of deconstructed flowers.

Wei is a conceptual fine art photographer who is based in Singapore, who views role of artist is to be a communicator what he calls an authentic message.  He writes on his site, “I try to engage my audience by providing a new perspective on familiar subjects or themes. Through my art, I hope to introduce my point of view to my viewer and engage them beyond aesthetics. I wish to provoke them to think further about the familiar and ordinary.”

His series called Exploded flowers presents the beauty and design of flowers by taking flowers and presented them in a manner similar to a dissection.  Each piece is separated and presented next to the other parts. The results is images that show the radial symmetry of flowers, and presents the moment of time in which a flower is still alive and in bloom.

He writes about the series, “… what is interesting to me is how much more expanded some flowers can get when they are disassembled – the relative surface area to size of a rose is so much greater compared to a larger flower like the sunflower.”   The series has been featured in publications that include The Boston Globe and My Modern Met, and can be seen on his website fqwimages.com.

Image Source:
http://fqwimages.com/2011/08/exploded-flowers-3/

Links:

http://fqwimages.com/2011/08/exploded-flowers-3/

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Food trucks have been on the rise lately, but in Asheville, NC there is a café that takes food on wheels to a new level.  Double D’s, a coffee shop located in downtown Asheville, is located inside of a bright red double decker bus.  It is parked on downtown Biltmore Ave., and has been in operation for over twelve years from the same location.

The bus is a 1963 Lodekka model double decker bus came from Bristol, England where it was a public transportation vehicle in the 1960’s and 70’s. It somehow ended up in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1970’s and was as a “party bus.”   The bus ended in Ashville in 1999, and has been a coffee shop every since.

Entering Double D’ s, you duck your head to get under the spiral stairs that go to the second floor.  The café is on the first floor, and has a tin roof ceiling and red chairs. Coffee, espresso, and local bakery are for sale, and the chai tea that I had there was good.

On the second floor of the bus, there are reupholstered bus seats with tables that are painted or have mosaic tiles on them.  The atmosphere is funky and upbeat, and when I was there, people would greet each other and talk when drinking coffee up there.    Double D’s has an outside courtyard with tables, and the sometimes have live performances outside.

More history and information about the menu and barristas can be seen on their website, and you of course can stop by and ask questions at 41 Biltmore Ave. in downtown Asheville.

Image Source:
Kristen Baumlier
Links:

http://doubledscoffee.com/

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Whenever I am looking for interesting things on the web, I will check out what events or workshops the creative group Pixelache are having in Helsinki, Finland.  I checked their site yesterday, and saw that there was a speaker/ potluck event called Living in a Gift Economy with Tomi Astikainin, who is a writer and advocate of the creative commons and unrestricted knowledge who has been living without money for over 3 years.

Since 2010, Astikainen has been living a moneyless lifestyle, and has been traveling around talking about the gift economy.  The idea of a gift economy is based on the idea of community, sharing, and paying things forward.  At the core of this is the idea of helping others without asking for anything in return.  Astikainen writes on his site, “On a personal level it’s fairly simple: let others know what you need and contribute what you can, by doing what you love to do. When you help others, don’t ask for anything in return. When offered money ask them to pay it forward, i.e. help someone else!”

On his website, you can read some the answers to questions that he is frequently asked.  When asked about why he lives without money he writes, “Money had its place and time in the history of human race but now it’s an obsolete institution that does more harm than good. Because there’s always more debt than money in the monetary system, it creates a profit motive on all levels of society. That profit motive pushes us to dire competition with each other, feeds dishonest behavior, increases fear and decreases trust between people. I didn’t want to have anything to do with a system like that anymore. I wasn’t content just to survive; I wanted to live and enjoy life, to see if I could learn to trust other people again, depend on them and lead a fulfilling life.

When asked about food and how he eats he responds, “ People that you meet on the road are by and large very generous and giving. I eat when people offer me food. Sometimes I ask for leftovers from restaurants or just grab whatever is left on the table. When there is a possibility to use a kitchen I go dumpster-diving. Half of the food produced globally ends up thrown away.

Astikainen has written several books that are all available for free as a download on his site.  I downloaded his book called Sunhitcher, which is described as “a story of Remmus Reverof, a guy who embarks on a hitchhiking journey completely without money. It’s about finding love within you, in your relationships and in life in general.”

To download Astikainen’s books, read more of his FAQs, or learn more about living in a gift economy, you can check out his website.

Image Source:
http://www.tomiastikainen.com/
http://moneyless.info/
Links:

http://www.tomiastikainen.com/

http://moneyless.info/

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I recently was able to check out Jimmy Kuehnle’s piece, Inflatable Wonderland Labyrinth of Joy at the Sculpture Center in Cleveland, OH.  Jimmy is an artist known for making inflatable wearable forms that he wears in public spaces, and I was interested to see what inflatable setup he had created for the Sculpture Center show.

When you find the space, which is in the Euclid Avenue Gallery, you are greeted by a sign that has both a warnings and welcome tone.  “Beware of claustrophia.  Watch your step.  No horseplay.  This product was made in a factory containing nylon.  Have a great time.”  I read this as “Have fun but not too much.  This might be a tight and difficult space to get through.  If you have a problem with nylon, do not enter.  But maybe you should try it.”

Past the sign, the space is completely filled with an inflatable brightly colored “bouncy house” style structure that is made of what looks like puffy marshmallow cube shapes.  You hear the loud noise of a blower, and if you dare – you can enter into a single crack between two of the cubes, to enter the work.

I pushed my way in, and found myself surrounded by color, the sound of a blower, and fabric that was quite some work to move to get through. As I continued to push my way through yellow, blue, and pink structures I became focused on finding the walls, and getting to the other side.  The space was a bit tight at times, and the structure is not polite to let you by – you have to push.

I got through the piece, and reached the front of the gallery. I took a break, and pushed my way through again, this time going on the outer edge near the walls, which was harder to get through.

The piece is an interesting investigation of interaction, space, and perception.   The scale, color, and labyrinth of shapes provide an interesting experience that when I think back – I mostly remember the bright color of the fabric, since at times that was all that I could see.

You can read more about his work, and also what he is up to this Winter at Spaces Gallery in the Spaces World Artist Program on his blog and website.

Links:

http://www.sculpturecenter.org/

http://www.jimmykuehnle.com/

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I recently watched a TED talk by Hans Rosling, who is a professor of global health at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.  His current work focuses on dispelling common myths about the developing world, which he says is no longer worlds away from the West. His work indicates that the majority of the Third World is on the same trajectory toward health and prosperity.

The way that he presents this – with unique data and a visual interest, makes the observations and trends “come to life.”  Data and statistics of social and economic trends creates an interesting picture and predictions and trends come to life in flowing curves, moving bubbles, and playful color.

The material presented is drawn often from data from the United Nations, and is illustrated by visualization software that he developed in his nonprofit company, Gapfinder.  World health, population, energy, and war come up in his presentation.

You can check out his talk on TED talks, and the software is free and can be used with any data at Gapminder.org.

Image Source:
http://www.ted.com – Hans Rosling Talk
http://www.gapminder.org/

Links:

http://www.ted.com – Hans Rosling Talk 

http://www.gapminder.org/

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A couple of years ago I attended a conference at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA and saw a presentation by Mariana Amatullo, who founded the college’s initiative called Designmatters.  Designmatters is a professional partnership program, where research collaborations, communication campaigns, exhibitions, and publications are created in order to contribute to creating solutions to critical problems.  Some past projects have partnered with the American Red Cross, the City of Lost Angeles, FEMA, the Department of Public Information at the United Nations and other groups.

One project that was done this past summer was called Goodwill: Upcycle lifestyle.  The goal of the project was to create a visual and tactile experience for shoppers at Goodwill retail stores that was reflective of Goodwill’s reuse and repurpose model.  Students were assigned to use recycled materials such as wood, computer parts, textiles and other industrial items found in Goodwill’s stores, recycling, salvage and processing areas.

Another aspect of the project was to develop ways to leverage Goodwill’s community-strengthening programs. The organization not only provides training and employment services to empower individuals with barriers, but Goodwill’s stores, donation processing centers and donation sites also serve as training grounds to provide supportive work experience and on-the-job training.

Over a period of three months, students worked in the areas of re-branding, upcycling, budgeting, and repurposing materials in order to support Goodwill’s mission.

Some of the outcomes of the project included:

- transforming the store’s existing fixture system with solutions ranging from rolled-up t-shirts arranged on a wall in pixel art-like patterns to seating created out of jeans and woven inner tubes.

- Creating  large billowing ribbons of upcycled materials (home-made paper, used VHS movie boxes and t-shirts) that would direct customers within the store, but extend the experience to the stores window displays and into the parking lot.

- Creating modular and mobile do-it-yourself workshops that take place both within stores and that can also extend the Goodwill experience beyond the store to parking lots throughout Orange County.

-Creating a style guide for store themes which would embrace both upcycling and the local culture of individual stores. Some of this rebranding included  themes related to Orange County culture including “SoCal Summer,” nautical and rockabilly designs.

- Redesigning the spatial experience for Goodwill of Orange County’s retail stores, with a focus on social responsibility, environmental awareness and making a positive impact on the community.

- exploring the concept of Goodwill teaming up with another well-known brand (in the case of the final presentation, apparel company Vans).  The idea involved creating exclusive events, pop-up stores and limited edition merchandise to create buzz for both Goodwill and their collaborators.

Currently the Modular (do-it yourself) Workshop Stations are bing built so that they  can be implemented later this year by Goodwill of Orange County.

Pictures from the project can be seen the Designmatters website.  Goodwill plans to try out more of the ideas this year – so if you are in Orange County, get ready for Goodwill to have a new look and feel.

Image Source:
www.designmattersatartcenter.org- Goodwill: Upcycle Lifestytle Project

Links:

www.designmattersatartcenter.org- Goodwill: Upcycle Lifestytle Project

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This November I learned that Cleveland Magazine had chosen me as a recipient of the Most Interesting People in Cleveland Award.  I was interviewed by Kim Schneider, who writes about food for the magazine and also is the features editor.

At the award reception,I got to meet some interesting people who also received the reward this year (and also got to eat some really great cupcakes and french fries.)

The article is in the current magazine, and also can be seen online on their website.

Thanks Cleveland Magazine for giving me this award!

Image Source:
Cleveland Magazine – Most Interesting People  Award 2013

Links:

Cleveland Magazine – Most Interesting People  Award 2013

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A few weeks ago I attended a workshop by SRI International called the Five Disciplines of Innovation.  SRI International is one of the world’s largest and most successful research institutes. The computer mouse, the first internet transmission, and the HDTV standard are all innovations that came from SRI.

SRI was founded by Stanford University to support economic development and innovation in Silicon Valley, back when the local area had more fruit orchards than tech companies.  Since its beginning, SRI has earned over 1000 patents for various inventions.

Around 2200 people work at SRI, and the goal is to make major contributions to society.  SRI today has various locations around the world, and has various research groups that focus on topics that are defined as “important” instead of just interesting.

This idea of defining what is important instead of just interesting, which SRI calls “value creation,” is key to their mission.  Part of their approach is to spend time developing a “value proposition,” which is a unique approach to developing pitches and proposals which is unique.   The approach is called “NABC,” which stands for asking and answering questions about the need, approach, benefits for cost, and competition related to the innovative idea.

In the workshop, we learned about how in most pitches and presentations, people tend to focus primarily on the approach, talking about how something is going to be done.  SRI’s approach emphasizes focusing on the need first, and making sure that you present this first, and that it is quality information.  Really examining the need of an idea is helpful for you to examine your idea, and your presentation will be stronger to others.  Part of developing need research is researching the user/customer which might include interviews, literally following your customer around for a couple of days, doing market research, etc. At SRI, a team member might fly to Japan for a few days in order to observe customer behavior, or do in-person interviews.

Part of SRI’s approach is to work on a value proposition, pitch it to others, get input and then reworking it.  At the workshop, we learned that it is not possible to get a pitch down right away and at SRI, it is not uncommon to revise a value proposition up to 40 times!

Our pre-work for the workshop was to prepare a one-minute pitch of a project or idea talking about need, approach, benefits per cost and competition. We presented these pitches at the beginning of the workshop.  Most of us took more than 2 minutes (even up to 4) to present.  In the workshop we broke up into groups, and then did team work creating fuller value propositions for someone’s project or idea.

The teams did presentations twice, and each group reworked the value proposition twice during the two days.  It became clear that the more that research about need was done, the better a case could be made for supporting an idea or project.  We also learned that many innovative ideas start out as one form, but end up being something used for something completely different.

A common problem at companies and institutions is that there is no language and framework to evaluate and give input on ideas and pitches. SRI developed a dynamic and useful way for presentations and input, called “Value Creation Forums.”  These are forums when individuals or a team give a presentation of an idea using the NABC format, and then get input.  Key to this is having people at various areas and levels of the company being part of the process.  The presentations are a continuous process.  A presentation might be given to various groups over and over, refining or changing it each time.

Some rules and roles are created for the forums, and there is a facilitator who keeps the presenters and critiques directed.

Some of the rules used in a Value Creation forum include:

1. Before the presentation, some colored hats are given out to people.  We had 2 green hats – and people with the green hats were to give input on what was working and successful in the pitch.
2. Two red hats were given out, the individuals wearing the red hats were to give feedback on what could be improved, what might be missing, added, etc.
3. Two white hats were given out – and these were to be individuals role-playing and trying to see the presentation as the decision maker or person who would fund or make the final decision to implement the idea.
4. Two pairs of pink glasses (without lenses) were give to 2 people.  People with these were to be the customer or user.
5. The facilitator makes sure that everyone knows their roles, and keeps time for the presentation.  Two people take notes for the presenter/team.
6. The presenter presents and everyone claps at the end of the presentation.
7. The feedback is given by the green hats first, red hats second, white hats third, and pink glasses last.
8. After this – anyone can give comments and feedback.  All feedback is to be constructive criticism, and not in the You should, or I think.. point of view.
9. After each presentation, the hats and glasses are passed on – so that everyone gets a chance playing various roles.

In the workshop I was in, there were various professors and staff from Case Western Reserve University from various fields that included nursing, engineering, English, Biology, and other areas.  Through the format of the forums, everyone was able to have a common language for giving input, and also as a group it was fun and dynamic.

During the workshop, we created teams and each team worked on developing one idea that was presented at the beginning of the workshop.  There were two value creation forums done, and it was interesting to see how the presentation improved and communicated better going through the two value creation forums.

I am currently reading the Innovation: The Five Disciplines for Creating What Customers Want book written by Dr. Carlson and by Dr. Bill Wilmot.   I also plan to participate and facilitate some Value Creation Forums with individuals from the workshop in Winter 2013.

I also have priced out the red, green, and white hats – so I can get these in the near future and do Value Creation forums in my classes and community.

Image Source:
Five Disciplines of Innovation Workshop by SRI International, at Case Western Reserve University

Links:

 Innovation: The Five Disciplines for Creating What Customers Want book

http://www.sri.com/

Interview with SRI International President – SFGate

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This year is the first  Thanksgiving Food Font challenge.

Make a Thanksgiving alphabet, submit the pictures to the Food Font site, and we will send you a Food Font sticker.  Your alphabet  will be edited and loaded into the Food Font tool which will launch in early Winter 2013.

You can print the alphabet checklists, then sit down at the Thanksgiving table or work in the kitchen.  Do it with your family – or by yourself.  Directions, an alphabet checklist, and other information are on the  Make a Food Font Alphabet page on the Food Font project  site.  You do not need a lot of supplies – just some white plates or a white surface to work on, a digital camera, and some food.  Why not play and write with food? (and then eat it!)

For more information or if you have questions – send them to info [at} foodfont [dot] com – or use the contact form on the site.

Good luck, have fun, and try not to eat too much.

Take the challenge and make a Thanksgiving food alphabet!

Links:

Food Font – Make a Food Alphabet Page 

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