An App that is Changing Behavior for Safe Sex

The Sex Profile from ESTER on Vimeo.

Amazing Idea........how can we change similar behaviors towards Smoking, Drinking, Wearing seatbelts, Using low beam at night.


Neeraj 

Upcoming Documentary on Design Thinking

Hey everybody
check out the trailer of Design & Thinking .....an upcoming documentary on Design Thinking.
Its still in the making & the unit is looking for donations to complete this project. Help them if you can..........http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1472557232/design-and-thinking-a-documentary


here's the trailer




Neeraj

Future of Design & Design thinking

Hey everybody
chk out this video of Tim Brown discussing Future of design & design thinking with Bruce Nussbaum. Interesting points there (particularly from 42 min).

Neeraj
video source : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D18Jyl-aWIY

Airports for Frequent flyers

hey Everybody

Recently got shifted to new city.
Also Recently saw the amazing Up in the Air movie.

While I was at the Airport, I wondered how would people who fly atleast 150 days or more in a year (in the movie the character played by George Clooney spend most of the year flying) would feel everytime they visit airports.
What is an Airport to them - a pit stop to relax & rewind or an unnecessary & tiring stopover? How can the experience of airport be defined by them.
Do they look forward to visit the same airport multiple times in a year?.........How can airports be designed to provide new experiences to frequent travelers visiting same airport multiple times in a year?
Do these guys value time & speed to leisure & experience?........
Can there be quick airports with entry into airport & boarding into plane in 15 min flat & with no shop/food courts - taking inspiration from low cost airlines model.

just some thoughts
Neeraj

picture source: http://tinyurl.com/34r2g8b

Rethinking Waste Management

http://tinyurl.com/25amwxf

Hi Everybody
Not been writing actively for a while. Need to read more i guess.....


Recently a business channel had a program on waste & waste management activities in India. The program was quite informative & it showcased activities being undertaken to manage various types of waste by government & private players.
It also highlighted how a urgent attention is needed by both government & private players to manage & recycle waste.


The program got me thinking.
Is managing & recycling waste, only way to solve the problem.
How about before managing & recycling, let's step back & look at why do we have waste in the first place, its proper disposal & collection activities.


Government & Private players, no doubt should make efforts to manage & recycle waste but i think this problem should also be looked at from the front end :


Why have waste - I want to understand - Why waste is waste - is it because it has lost its economic value or life.
Is there a way to develop items (bottles, bags, packaging, material, etc) which can be used again or have multiple uses......to extend their life.........with one usage motive complete they can transform into another.
Is their a business opportunity to use waste/unused products.........
-- Can a business be created which uses scrap or waste material so that these items are used again. Check out Delhi based Green the Gap (http://greenthegap.com) which utilizes cartons, leather, etc to create beautiful lifestyle products as well as generate employment locally.
--Can there be ebay kind of platform for swapping old & unused items with a charitable angle to it so that people feel good when they donate/give away their old & unused items.
-- Can there be a business which actually takes your old & unused items & provides you with incentives on new ones. Check out Future Group's effort on swapping old items with new http://www.hindustantimes.com/Big-Bazaar-s-offer-to-swap-old-goods-for-new/Article1-59460.aspx
-- What's the diff between people who take care of environment & those who not. Can companies appreciate their effort. How about making them role models.


Managing Disposal - Without proper segregation from the customer end what happens is that huge time is wasted in waste segregation of diff type later.
What measures can be taken to instill a behavior of proper segregation right at the customer/home end so that it reduces unnecessary effort by government personnel.
Can we make sorting & segregation fun. have a look at the following video from the Fun Theory & check out their effort to make returning plastic bottle a fun experience.





Apart from ongoing government efforts, I think the problem of waste management should also be dealt with instilling a proper behavior among individuals to minimize their wastage, proper segregation & having products which have multiple usages. Lots more can be done & i think this problem should be seen as an opportunity for business & government.

Neeraj
Video Source - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSiHjMU-MUo
Photo source - http://tinyurl.com/25amwxf

Inception

Hey everyone

Recently saw Inception. A must watch.
It got me thinking.
From where ideas come from?
What is Inspiration?
How to alter/influence others?

Do catch the movie. Great one


Also  noticed that film is difficult to understand & require repetitive viewing.  Is that by coincidence or by Design? 
A strategy to ensure repetitive viewing by having difficult to understand concept. 
Give it a thought. 
 

Neeraj

Photo Source: http://thezaz.nationallampoon.com/files/2010/05/inception-poster.jpeg

Changing role of Design professionals

Hey Everybody
Loved this talk by Don Norman. He Hints a lot of things on how the role of Design professionals/ Design agencies will be changing in the coming years.



Don Norman at IIT Design Research Conference 2010 from IIT Institute of Design on Vimeo.




Neeraj
Video Source : http://vimeo.com/12022651

Design & Innovation resources- April 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2f8f6ao

Hey Everybody........
Here are some articles that I found interesting in the month of April.


1. An Article about GO JIYO (India's first 3D virtual reality world by Godrej). Check Article
2. Economist came out with a special report on innovation in emerging markets. Check Article
3. Accenture's group COO talks about key issues companies are facing post recession, growth opportunities for businesses in emerging markets and how business of consulting is changing. Check Article
4. Check out this amazing article by IIMB faculty about competition. Check Article
5. Check out Ideaken.......(Inspired from Innocentive?). Link
6. Check out the great talk by Prof. Anil Gupta (Honey Bee Network) at TED India. Link



Was wondering what type of Design & Business Model will be needed for these grassroot innovations inorder to make them commercially successful.


7. Micromax has become India's 3rd largest mobile phone vendor. check out its story & what approach they undertook to compete. Check Article'
8. Blackberry is facing intense competition from other Smart phones. Check out how they plan to compete. Check Article
9. Check out how IBM's virtual supercomputer is tapping unused processors of half a million people like you & me for scientific research. Check Article
10. Is Innovation Overrated. Is Imitation better for fast paced & successful growth. Check out an article on Imitation economy. Check Article
11. Check out a product design company with a different approach & business model. Check Article
12. Great Article on How Designers Think.......Check Article
13. Is Geo Location the next big thing in social media. Check Article
14. Talking about Geo Location.....Here's an article discussing whether opportunities & relevance that Foursquare offers for Business. Check Article
15. Will Smart Lenses be the Bluetooth headsets for future? Check out
16. How to Design for China. Jan Chipchase & Mark Rolston of Frog Design discusses. Check Article
17. Post It turns 30. Check Article


Thanks
Neeraj

Design & Innovation resources- March 2010

Hey Everybody
Here are some of the links I found both Interesting & Useful being posted in the month of March. I have divided them into the categories of Innovation & Design Thinking, Basics, Reframing/Rethinking, Competition & Resources.


Innovation & Design Thinking

1. Check out the Ten Innovations that will Transform Medicine in an article on HBR (Check Link)
2. Jocelyn Bailey posted 4 visions on the world tomorrow & how to shape your company around them (Check Link)
3. Here is the list of 15 design tips you can learn from Apple (Check Link) Nice read.
4. Learn about how mobile phones are transforming economy, society & lives of people in Africa (Check Link)
5. Jane Fulton Suri of Ideo authored an interesting paper titled - Informing Our Intuition: Design Research for Radical Innovation. (Check Link)
6. Paula Thornton takes a critical look at the books by Tim Brown & Roger Martin. Check the review. (Check Link)
7. Now, What do U.S. President Jack Kennedy, snowboarder Shaun White, and Indian tycoon Ratan Tata have in common? Check out the article by Vijay Govindarajan on BusinessWeek (Check Link)
8. What does it takes to come out with a winning mobile phone. Check out as Izwan Ismail talks to Nokia designers & finds out. (Check Link)
9. Do Improv comedians make the best design thinkers. One professors beleives so. Check it out. (Check link)
10. How banks can do better. Here is a post by Ideo's Ryan Jacoby. (Check Link)
11. Learn how to get noticed in a crowded market in this FastCompany Article. (Check link)
12. Bhagwan Chowdhry's FAB Campaign Aims to Put $100 in Bank Account for Every Baby. Learn How. (Check Link)
13. How Web 2.0 might foster & enable an Innovation revolution. Check it out. (Check Link)
14. Roger Martin and Jennifer Riel wrote about the decline of Miramax films & what we can learn. (Check Link)
15. Materials driving product Innovation in 2010. (check link)

Basics
1. Paul Thurston & Nick Marsh posted a brief guide to Service Design. (Check Link)
2. I found a special report by MIT Sloan on Design Thinking which includes couple of articles. (Check Link)
3. Although it has been posted in Oct 08, still like this video of Roger Martin explaining what is Design Thinking & Integrative Thinking. (Check Link)
4. Thinking & doing Ethnography in Service Design. (Check Link)
5. Here's ten steps of becoming the designer you want to be. (Check Link)

Reframing/ Rethinking
1. Check out the article on Redesigning the Concept and Role of the Automobile. (Check Link)
2. Check out the article by Dr. Jay Parkinson on How to redesign healthcare. (Check Link)
3. Rethinking washing machine. (Check link)
4. Rethinking the C-Suite. (Check Link)


Competition
1. IIT- Kanpur is holding the NEXT50 Innovation Challenge. (Check Link)

Resources
1. Lots of papers from the DMI conference 2008 - Design thinking : New Challenges for Designers, managers & organisations. (Check Link)
2. Check out the 10 essential design tools for Social Media pros (Check Link)
3. A dedicated channel on service design on Guardian. (Check Link)
4. Free Design eBooks. (Check Link)
5. Love This talk by Gary Vaynerchuk. (Check Link)
6. Check out the cool Infographics. (Check Link)
7. Experientia Design is on Vimeo. check out their channel. (Check Link)


Thanks
Neeraj

Picture Source: Check Link

Who cares about Brands?

ideas-innovation.blogspot.com/

Have a look at above video posted by Trendwatching.com (part of their latest breifing) showcasing what do people think of Brands.

Does brands mean anything to consumers.........

What approach brands should follow to stay relevant.

Thanks

Neeraj

Video Source : Trendwatching.com

Design & Innovation Resources

Hey Everybody

A lot has been going lately in the design thinking & Innovation fields.

Following are the sources which I found to be extremely useful.

Don Norman's post questioning the importance & relevance of design research for breakthrough Innovation has caused quite a spur.

Here is the link to Don Norman's Article (Check here)

Some replies to Don Norman can be read at

1. Adam Richardso (Check here)

2. Bruce Nussbaum's reply (Check here)

In addition there were very interesting articles explaining design thinking & its role.

1. Check this amazing post by Brian Collins explaining the role of a design through a tale of a donkey & a banjo (Check here)

2. Venessa Miemis wrote about what is design thinking. check her article here (Check here)

3. Bruce MacGregor (managing partner IDEO) wrote an amazing article on how does design thinking give companies a competitive advantage? (Check here)

4. Darrel Rhea at Cheskin wrote about the Backlash - Designers vs Design thinking (Check here)

5. Tim Brown talked about Why we all need Design thinking in an interview with Forbes Magazine (Check here)

6. AIGA posted videos from The AIGA Design Conference 2009. (Check here)

7. Business week listed best design/Innovation books of 2009. (Check here)

Apart from these there were couple of Interesting posts & articles highlighting trends & events going on.

1. JWT Intelligence posted a list of 100 things to watch in 2010 (Check here)

2. Interesting talk by Kiran Bir Sethi on Ted about the Riverside School in India explaining how the school is teaching kids to believe in themselves & take initiative.(Check here)

3. CES just got over. Here is a link highlighting some of the main features at this year's CES (Check here)

Neeraj

Photo source : JWT 100 things to watch in 2010 (link)

What's common between Aravind Eye Care & Rocket Singh movie

Hi there everybody...

Now what is common between Aravind Eye Care & a new Hindi feature film Rocket Singh.

I recently saw the talk of Thulasiraj Ravilla from Aravind & also happen to catch Rocket Singh.

Happen to notice things which were very similar in both of them.

Here are the common points :

• Having a Sense of Purpose
• Being User Centric
• Having a Passion to excel
• Persistence to face challenges & Innovate
• Challenging the current industry mindset

I believe both of these are unique case studies in Design Thinking. Below is the talk Thulasiraj Ravilla from Aravind eye care recently being posted on TED. For Rocket Singh you can catch the movie at a theatre near you.

Thanks

Neeraj

Video source: http://www.ted.com/talks/thulasiraj_ravilla_how_low_cost_eye_care_can_be_world_class.html

Photo source: http://images.google.co.in

Opportunity amidst underperformers

ideas-innovation.blogspot.com/

"Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful."—Warren Buffett

I guess the quote by the great man says it all. Mtv & Ipod, both were born during recessions. What is it that make some people view a difficult situation as an opportunity while to others it’s a dead end. We all have heard of the glass half full & half empty expression signifying optimism to some while others being pessimist by it.

So where am I heading:

Check this out. If you look at it, the general tendency of most business channels, newspapers, magazines is to discuss sectors & companies which are growing & promise to offer better returns. In short, such sectors/ companies offer returns which can be reaped.

Hang on…. but what about the companies which are in declining sectors & are being looked as unattractive. Do they offer any opportunity.

Let s take an example of Circus Du Soleil. In a time when the circus industry was being looked as an unattractive industry with a wide variety of alternative entertainment options (TV, playstation, multiplexes) available, Circus Du Soleil re-wrote the rules of the game. Inshort it made circus cool again.

So whats the point.

I think Industries/sectors/companies which are not performing well or are being written off offer a greater incentive & opportunity to Innovate & re write the rules. I think the problem is not that people don’t need goods & services of companies which are not doing well but in most case it’s the conflict in the alignment of whats the company is offering & what people wants. Through Integrative & Design thinking one can relook the value that is being desired & what the company can offer & thus think of models which satisfy human needs &rewrite the rules.

Thanks

Neeraj

PhotoSource: http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/Enlargement.aspx?id=42-20908001&caller=search