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  • Workplace Design with an Eye Toward Idea Flow

    Now for a lesson in the importance of the 'form follows function' philosophy. As the head of Perkins+Will , Gina Berndt has been designing work environments for more than 30 years. Through those years of experience she says she has come to develop key insights into what makes a company tick. And she approaches office design with an eye toward playing to a company's inherent strengths. One key factor for any company's success is the flow of good ideas. In an article for Fast Company , Berndt shares some of her views of what makes for a healthy environment for idea generation and development. We are stuck by how much the tips listed below can double as tips for designing workspaces and designing organizational structures: 1. Engage different perspectives. 2. Provide an anchor. 3. Design for efficiency. 4. Support different working styles. 5. Adapt to technology. 6. Embrace shifting demographics. 7. Address wellness holistically. 8. Express your brand. Read 8 Keys To Creating An Office Where Ideas Flow here .

  • Helsinki Tops Monocle's 2011 Most Liveable City Index

    We woke up this morning to find out that Monocle has named Helsinki the winning city in its most liveable city index for 2011 . Being in Helsinki at the moment, this made perfect sense. As Finland spent the latter half of the 21st Century working to make the transition from a rural nation with an economy driven by timber and manufacturing to a more dynamic economy that placed value in innovation and design, Helsinki grew to become an important urban center. Today, Helsinki is a vibrant, highly efficient city. And Monocle's index ranking reflects the cultural wealth of the place, but it is also a result of the growth of small businesses, many that fall within the city's core design-driven creative economy. In an interview with Monocle, Helsinki's mayor, Jussi Pajunen , talks about how his country is building and growing at a time when others are cutting back. Take a listen, here . Also, take a look at Monocle's short video about Helsinki and why it was picked as the most liveable city. Click here .

  • Steven Johnson: Good Ideas Come from Cohesion of Smaller Ideas, and Take Time to Develop

    We are looking forward to the release of Steven Johnson 's new book, Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation , as we expect it to provide great insight for creative, entrepreneurial minds. And we know it will debunk the notion that great ideas are like magic, or come in, as Johnson says, "eureka moments." So it is a good thing we don't have to wait for the book to get some of Johnson's key thoughts on the subject. We have his recent Ted Talk , and also this narrated animation roadmap of the book's central thesis: (H/t: Brain Pickings via Rainey Tisdale )

  • What Fashion Teaches Us About Creativity as Driving Force for Innovation

    Johanna Blakley wants to challenge the notion that innovation depends on ownership--a basic premise behind copyright protection. Blakley, Deputy Director of the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California, spends a lot of her time looking at the intersections between entertainment and "political, communication, and social habits." And in researching the fashion world, she found a business sector that depends on innovation and creativity. And she says a major reason innovation and creativity are so important is because there is no copyright protection. Anybody can "steal" a design. To be clear, The Watch is not a particularly fashion-conscious environment, so we'll have to take Blakley's word on what is hot and inventive. But the notion that innovation does not depend on ownership is a provocative one, and timely in the digital age. Here's Blakley at a recent Ted talk :

  • Tom Wujec and 'The Marshmallow Problem'

    Curious about your workforce's ability to think and act creatively? Give them some dry spaghetti and see how high a structure they can build to support a single marshmallow. If they perform like teams of kindergarteners, then you're in luck. And if they act like recent business school graduates? Well, time to teach them the power of prototyping and action over organizing and talk. In this Ted talk , Tom Wujec -- Fellow at the design firm Autodesk and a proponent of iterative design--shares some of what he's learned from watching people struggle with the "marshmallow problem":

  • Genius Design: A Model For Others, or Uniquely Apple?

    Many people attribute Apple 's success over the last decade to the company's "Genius Design" approach. It is a model that many companies would like to emulate, but Nathan Shedroff --interactive media designer and co-founder of Vivid Studios--says only Apple can use "Genius Design," and the process wouldn't work for another company. Shedroff spoke as part of a panel on the importance of design to business success at Swissnex San Francisco . Here is an excerpt in which he discusses Apple and "Genius Design." Watch the full panel discussion at Fora.tv, here .

  • Fashion During Hard Times

    Millard Drexler , CEO of J. Crew , says if you are selling clothes in this economic climate, you first have to decide whether you are selling products as a commodity or as something more--"style, design," for example. If you are selling a commodity, price will dictate behavior. Consumer behavior in the fashion market, however, creativity comes into the equation. Drexler was part of a panel of leaders in the fashion industry who joined Charlie Rose to discuss, among other topics, how designers are responding to the economic downturn. Here's an excerpt: You can watch the full interview here .

  • IDEO CEO Tim Brown on Innovation through Designing Solutions

    Tim Brown is an industrial designer. He also happens to be president and CEO of IDEO , one of the leading "design and innovation" consultancy firms in the world. IDEO's approach is based on user-centered design, and it has become known as a leading innovator in large part because of its "design thinking." Tim Brown spoke at the Commonwealth Club , and he stressed that good innovators don't magically dream up ideas--they design solutions. As IDEO did for Shimano: The full program is worth your time, as Brown explains the whole design thinking process. You can watch it here .