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Most of the time creative competitions follow the typical blue sky approach to issuing a challenge; they don't tend to define parameters or any kind of real brief.

Creatives then have the huge task of narrowing their thinking down to something meaningful and strategic. You see this a lot with students with their challenges and projects, even at places that supposedly teach planning; the two disciplines sit at opposite end of the table and the strategists often have to force their way into the conversation.

Quite simply, a brief is not mandated and neither and the the creative work is rarely accountable.

Refreshingly, Steve Portigal, the king of design strategy, has made a move in the right direction.

Teaming up with Core 77 and 826 Valencia he's contributed a ton of research thinking to the challenge of imagining The Future of Reading. It's not simply a data dump, they've translated their findings into something close to a real brief with lots of juicy information to feast on.

BRIEF:

What will reading look in the future? Will we be using printed books, rectangular electronic devices, embedded technologies?This competition challenges designers to envision a rich future digital reading experience, based on a defined set of design research.

Recently, Portigal Consulting undertook an exploratory research project on reading, books, and digital reading devices, entitled Reading Ahead. Here's what they found:

• Books are more than just pages with words and pictures; they are imbued with personal history, future aspirations, and signifiers of identity
• The unabridged reading experience includes crucial events that take place before and after the elemental moments of eyes-looking-at-words
• Digital reading privileges access to content while neglecting other essential aspects of this complete reading experience
• There are opportunities to enhance digital reading by replicating, referencing, and replacing social (and other) aspects of traditional book reading

And here's what they suggest for your design explorations:

• Include the sensual
• Support the social side of reading
• Consider the varied modes and rituals of reading
• Develop an ecosystem

More info can be found here.



Posted by Ed Cotton Just to show that there are no limits in the current world of branding, Core 77, one of the kings of the design blog scene is launching its own bike.

Instead of doing the obvious and launching a publishing arm and producing books, Core 77 used its connections and understanding of the zeitgeist to produce a beautiful hand-crafted bicycle.



The bike can be seen up close and personal this Saturday afternoon (July 11th@3pm) in Apple's Soho, NYC store.


Posted by Ed Cotton It seems we are now at a  very interesting moment in the environmental movement meets green marketing, trend.

The cynics and skeptics are coming out of the woodwork and are ready to bash anyone who isn't thinking this thing through properly and merely trying to "Greenwash".

This isn't just coming from the expected sources.

This is from Core 77, yesterday.

"At first glance, Feel More Human seems to have everything for the conscious consumer with a modern design sense. The online store has an eco-friendly home and lifestyle section, with tables from Scrapile, sofas from Dutch designer Björn Mulder, and even a Buddha cat perch made from renewable bamboo plywood. There is a content section featuring interviews with inspiring eco-entrepreneurs, a classifieds area where visitors can buy or sell their pre-owned modern design goods, and the whole operation is powered by 100% wind energy.

Yet scratch beneath the surface and you'll find that even those with the greenest of intentions have a hard time making the most environmentally sound choices. Mixed in with all of the bamboo, reclaimed wood, and toxin free fabrics are not-so eco foams, lacquers, plywoods, and plastics, like the NotNeutral Melamine Snack Set for kids. How did a kid's dinnerware with melamine, a resin manufactured by mixing urea with formaldehyde, get onto a site devoted to sustainable lifestyles? Or chrome, a material known for emitting toxic elements into the air, land, and sea, which can be found in several items in the store, such as the Tokyo Shelving Unit or the Valis Chair. Jill Stalowicz, the company's founder, says, "smart design goes beyond aesthetics now, people are questioning how products are constructed."

The lesson here is that the practice of green is harder than the promise, and that Feel More Human might want to take a look at how all of its products are actually made."


Posted by Ed Cotton