The Smart Growth Manifesto - Umair Haque - HarvardBusiness.org
http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/haque/2009/01/davos_discussing_a_depression.html

1. Outcomes, not income. Dumb growth is about incomes - are we richer today than we were yesterday? Smart growth is about people, and how much better or worse off they are - not merely how much junk an economy can churn out. Smart growth measures people's outcomes - not just their incomes. Are people healthier, fitter, smarter, happier?

Outcomes, not income. Connections, not transactions. People, not product. Creativity, not productivity.

Interesting presentation at SXSW from Michael Lopp, senior engineering manager at Apple, who tried to assess how Apple can ‘get’ design when so many other companies try and fail. After describing Apple’s process of delivering consumers with a succession of presents (“really good ideas wrapped up in other really good ideas” — in other words, great software in fabulous hardware in beautiful packaging), he asked the question many have asked in their time: “How the f*ck do you do that?”

This is a terrific short video on hiring. Nelson explains how to see past the breadth of the resume to determine if someone is really going to make a difference for you. Found via <a href="http://www.kottke.org/">Kottke</a> and like him I especially liked the part about hiring interested vs. interesting people.

Depth, breath, (being interested rather than interesting), comms, collaboration (not just cooperation, which = not getting in each others way. Collaboration: interested in each other, bring separate depths to a given problem).

Pixar University's Randy Nelson explains what schools must do to prepare students for jobs in new media. Much of what he says applies to people working in other fields as well.

later

999 free business ideas for possible brainstorming, journaling, etc. Possible crew activities?

Ideas are a dime a dozen. The money is in the execution. Need proof? For Seth Godin's Alternative MBA program, this week the nine of us came up with 111 business ideas each. But ideas are only valuable when someone (like you) makes something happen. What follows are our 999 business ideas, free for the taking. 1. Prepackaged school supplies based on the lists from the school districts 2. Incubator site providing office space, hosting, etc. for startups that are seed funded. 3. In-grocery store prep service (buy vegetables first and drop them off to be chopped to your specs - pick them up on the way to checkout) 4. A website that you can submit your design and work with vendors to manufacture your own clothes line. 5. Online discount brokerage that has no closing hours and provides access to all exchanges throughout the world and handles currency and legal issues automatically.

website

Stuck for ideas? Here's 999 new ones: http://www.sixmonthmba.com/2009/02/999ideas.html

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, the graphic arts industry was populated by full-time illustrators, production assistants and compositors. With only composing sticks for laying out type, straight edges for defining grids, a human proofer to catch spelling mistakes and an arsenal of X-acto blades for making edits, these guys lived and breathed detail. Mistakes were costly. It was a trade position that required lengthy apprenticeship; job security depended on getting all of the little things right.

good article on the business qualities that make a great & successful web designer/developer

Good article on being a good designer

Great summary of a Web designer's job...

jim...sadly your blog is not on here....YET! although...i guess your blog isn't really geared towards writing...

Creative writing blogs.

Procrastinate Like Leonardo da Vinci

Academe is full of potential geniuses who have never done a single thing they wanted to do because there were too many things that needed to be done first: the research projects, conference papers, books and articles — not one of them freely chosen: merely means to some practical end, a career rather than a calling. And so we complete research projects that no longer interest us and write books that no one will read

Toast Messenger

play children psychology parenting science ; Free, imaginative play is crucial for normal social, emotional and cognitive development. It makes us better adjusted, smarter and less stressed. ; KEY CONCEPTS: Childhood play is crucial for social, emotional and cognitive development. Imaginative and rambunctious “free play,” as opposed to games or structured activities, is the most essential type. Kids and animals that do not play when they are young may grow into anxious, socially maladjusted adults.

Free, imaginative play is crucial for normal social, emotional and cognitive development. It makes us better adjusted, smarter and less stressed By Melinda Wenner

Free, imaginative play is crucial for normal social, emotional and cognitive development. It makes us better adjusted, smarter and less stressed.

PLAY

"Free, imaginative play is crucial for normal social, emotional and cognitive development. It makes us better adjusted, smarter and less stressed."

Ever feel like some days you can crank out amazing looking designs with little effort? Then on other days it feels like nothing is working, you’ve lost all your talent and you’ll never make another good design for the rest of your miserable life? Don’t panic – this is natural...

"We moved from thinking of ourselves as designers to thinking of ourselves as design thinkers. We have a methodology that enables us to come up with a solution that nobody has before." -- David Kelley

bio of IDEO's David Kelley. IDEO is a creative design and technology firm, an inspiration.

Ideo CEO David Kelley talks about evolving Ideo from a design firm to a "design thinking" firm.

Portfolio and blog of Andy Mangold

By this, I really mean two things: always be a beginner at something, and always be in love with what you are beginning.

a salient reminder: All of those

How to Keep Innovating - BusinessWeek

Always be bad at something you are passionate about.

Keeping innovative.

h was an Olympian. But on the other hand, some of my most valuable lessons were learned from a 14-year-old girl who, w

125-page transcript from a week-long 1978 story conference between Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Lawrence Kasdan, where they hashed out Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Monday, March 09, 2009 The “Raiders” Story Conference Hey, guys, you’re going to love this (and thanks, Viktor). There is a link now available to download the 125-page transcript (in the form of a .pdf document) of the original 1978 story conference between Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Lawrence Kasdan for a little film called Raiders of the Lost Ark.

JG: "Speaking of George Lucas, here’s an amazing find by Mystery Man on Film: a 125-page transcript from a week-long 1978 story conference between Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Lawrence Kasdan, where they hashed out Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Sure, there's a 125 page document on the interwebs now that transcribes the meetings that Spielberg, Lucas, and Lawrence Kasdan had to plan out Raiders of the Lost Ark, but even better is this post chock-full of analysis (with examples) of that document, finding principles of storytelling, screenwriting, and collaboration. "7) No idea is a bad idea when you’re brainstorming. These guys were all over the place with ideas and there’s nothing wrong with that. As I mentioned earlier, many of the ideas discussed, like the plane crash sequence and mine cart chase, were used in the second film. So what helped determine which sequence should be kept and thrown away? Redundancies in concept. You already had a chase scene here, so why have another one here? Let’s come up with something different. You know? That kind of thing."

"There is a 125-page transcript of the original 1978 story conference between Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Lawrence Kasdan for a little film called Raiders of the Lost Ark. There were about 10 Screenwriting Lessons I took away from this experience and thought they might be worth sharing."

"So then they go back to figure out when and how you can setup the snake joke in the opening sequence. A lot of screenwriting is backtracking, of setups and payoffs."

Man-oh-man, Spielberg and Lucas were idea machines. They could’ve sat there coming up with Indiana Smith ideas forever. There were enough ideas generated in these meetings for two films, which they actually used for two films. I must say, it’s rather unusual to have meetings with a producer and a director and be given so many ideas. Not that meetings with producers and directors wouldn’t have a lot of ideas but I’m not sure you would encounter such a volume as this. For screenwriters, it’s a goldmine. If you try to forget the finished film and put yourself into Kasdan’s shoes and you have all these ideas thrown at you, it can be a daunting task. What do you keep? What do you throw away? How do you make all this work?

[via Moltz]

nice funny photos

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes this ain't exactly right. Distance overlapping, positions, and timing can sometimes create a brand

At the risk of having you never come back to this site, I have compiled a list of 17 other sites to feed your creative appetite. Dozens more could have been

Probably the best of "list of" list I've seen a very long time.

Erik Johansson, a young talented artist from Sweden, creates remarkable images by digitally modifying photographs that he took himself.

Lego creativity is not limited to building bricks and stop motion movies, it extends even to advertising. As with plastic bricks, they can take the simplest concept and often make a powerful and witty statement. There approach is often minimal, a trait I like, as you will be able to see in the first few images below. There is no end to Lego creativity. (Were I could I have linked to the original source).

Lego creativity is not limited to building bricks and stop motion movies, it extends even to advertising. As with plastic bricks, they can take the simplest concept and often make a powerful and witty statement. There approach is often minimal, a trait I like, as you will be able to see in the first few images below. There is no end to Lego creativity.

Jacek Utko

Printed pages for your moleskine!!

Add pages to your moleskine... like fo' real y'all.

Writing is good for you!

J.K. Rowling: "I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea."

speech by JK Rowling to Harvard graduates passing out day quite inspiring

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.

fantastic speech i should watch every day

"So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life. -- You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default. " -- J. K. Rowling

a crowd sourcing site, in beta, which aims to answer tricky and interesting questions, so getting a feel for the view of the crowd. useful thing to try and do, very odd site design, unfriendly and unclear but arty!! not tried it but watch this space....

navigationing!

Herman Millers ThoughtPile application, bundling user generated ideas on new topics every day.

The underground world of “neuroenhancing” drugs.

The underground world of "neuroenhancing" drugs.

The underground world of "neuroenhancing" drugs Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

ms increasingly obvious that it will. Aided by a new generation of sophisticated startups, ever cheaper creative tools and

This several weeks old, but still of interest. If you're a designer or design you student you should definitely read it.

ing industries-the spoils g

something for nothing?

The Boston Globe

an interesting article about baby's brain

That's a neat way to use Flickr

10 Mistakes Logo Designers Can Make When Designing Logos - Free Logo Critiques

Many experts say that creativity is not necessarily something you have or don’t have, but that can be nurtured and developed. If you are searching for ways to feed your creativity, then take a look at these online tools. From tools that help you organize, plan, and brainstorm to tools that inspire through writing prompts and creative photos to tools that work to develop the creative mind, you will find plenty of inspiration in this list.

Misc tools for sparking creativity (mind maps, writing tools, etc.)

lego groups and models- who knew?

has also links for many good sites on right side

A lateral thinking process, brainstorming demands that people come up with ideas and thoughts that can seem shocking or crazy. By using these ideas as a starting point, you can then change and improve them into something useful and original. Below are the top 100 tools, tips, guides, and resources to help you think outside the box and maximize your ideas.

A lateral thinking process, brainstorming demands that people come up with ideas and thoughts that can seem shocking or crazy.

Brain research can help us craft spaces that relax, inspire, awaken, comfort, and heal. By Emily Anthes.

RT 새 단어 하나 배웠네~ :-) @pixpix The Calvin & Hobbes Super-Stupendous Guide to Design http://tinyurl.com/awxqjr [from http://twitter.com/enamu/statuses/1304734815]

The Calvin & Hobbes Super-Stupendous Guide to Design

Good to see I'm on the right track :-]

It has been two months since we hosted a great group of academics, entrepreneurs, educators, and administrators at our Union Square Sessions Event, Hacking Education. Fred posted his initial thoughts immediately after the event and in a great example of peer production, Alex Krupp curated the Twitter stream that captured the thoughts of folks inside and outside of the event. I finally found some quality time to spend with the transcript that is now online, and thought I would try to expand on Fred's initial thoughts and develop a couple of the key themes that came out of the conversation. Before diving in, however, I'd like to make a pitch for the transcript. It is not perfect (imagine trying to record 40 high powered people all talking at once), but it is readable and full of lots of insights. I would encourage anyone who is interested in the impact of technology on education to plow through it. I have tried to pull some of the highlights here, but there is no way that even this over

There was broad consensus that the internet is enabling substantial changes in the way we learn and teach. It has always been possible to learn outside of a school setting. The ubiquitous connectivity and very low cost of content production and distribution seems to enable the unbundling of key components of education.

Summary of a meeting on how technology could "reinvent" education. Topics include open courseware, game curriculum, reducing marginal cost of education to zero if viewed as an information good, etc. Tiny gem is Danah Boyd's comments which explain why the OLPC project has run into problems overseas.

a must read!

Most Creative People in Business

CreativePeople

The latest research suggests a more prosaic, democratic, even puritanical view of the world. The key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not a divine spark. It’s not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success, even in realms like chess. Instead, it’s deliberate practice. Top performers spend more hours (many more hours) rigorously practicing their craft.

Genius - The Modern View

IQ persistence and success

"The key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not a divine spark. It’s not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success, even in realms like chess. Instead, it’s deliberate practice. Top performers spend more hours (many more hours) rigorously practicing their craft."

I'm not much of a clock/watch guy, but these are really nice &gt; Extraordinary Clocks and Watches http://bit.ly/4ETDU [from http://twitter.com/bkuri/statuses/1876747741]

the only question is which tweet to pick!

Twitter

Love it

puts tweets on paper and mails them to you for free.

"this is our website."

Depois do criativo site da agência Modernista!, a agência BooneOakley lançou o seu site no YouTube. Se você gostou dos caras, acompanhe também o Twitter deles.

This is our website.

Amazing idea on how to represent yourself on the Internet.

youtube-videos as homepage/website - very cool

This is ad agency Boone Oakley's website. That's right, it's a YouTube video!

Designers, we have a problem. It seems we have forgotten how to be creative.

Difficile d'exposer une méthode pour être créatif et innovant, il s'agit de quelques trucs pour se re-oxygéner la tête avant de partir sur un nouveau webdesign.

great ideas from four of the best!

4 trabalhos de explodir cabeças com o CS4. Simplesmente FODA!!!!!

great manifesto for selling development projects and building an IT shop

Win without pitching

business innovation

AR Rahman ranked 47th !

The best blog post ever

Inspiration mashup engine to help you find inspiring images, quotes, songs and other design goodies.

web design tips

The 'Laws of Mind Mapping' were originally devised by Tony Buzan when he codified the use of imagery, colour and association and coined the phrase 'Mind Mapping'. In the intervening 30 plus years, there have been many variations on the original 'Mind Map® ' and the widespread usage of mapping software of various sorts, has dramatically changed what is possible. The summary below is based on Buzan's structure (details available in his many books) but we believe that whilst this structure is great for establishing well structured maps that can be used in many different ways, variations on these rules or 'laws' are often sensible and appropriate - as long as they are based on an understanding of why the laws exist and what they are trying to help the mind mapper to achieve.

The summary below is based on Buzan's structure (details available in his many books) but we believe that whilst this structure is great for establishing well structured maps that can be used in many different ways, variations on these rules or 'laws' are often sensible and appropriate - as long as they are based on an understanding of why the laws exist and what they are trying to help the mind mapper to achieve.

The 'Laws of Mind Mapping' were originally devised by Tony Buzan when he codified the use of imagery, colour and association and coined the phrase 'Mind Mapping'. In the intervening 30 plus years, there have been many variations on the original 'Mind Map® ' and the widespread usage of mapping software of various sorts, has dramatically changed what is possible.

Etoys is an educational tool for teaching children powerful ideas in compelling ways. Etoys is a media-rich authoring environment and visual programming system.

You can write a headline in an infinite number of ways. However, certain types of headlines have proven themselves repeatedly ...

The following 9 headline formulas are some of the easiest to write and the most powerful. When it comes time to write a headline, try one of these first. At the very least, this can give you a creative jumping off point to write a headline that works.

Oh this really helps my life

Blog to inspire

Creative and Unique Layouts

web sites creatives

What do people use to get the job done?

The Setup is a bunch of nerdy interviews What do people use to get the job done?

The Setup is a bunch of nerdy interviews. What do people use to get the job done?

VimeoVimeo is becoming one of the most popular video sites for users who want a place to present high quality, artistic videos. Its elegant interface and

More and more websites are coming online to give students the ability to unleash their creativity in new and innovative ways. From abstract art to pointillism, students now can click and draw their way into original works of art, and today’s freebie gives you a great list of places to begin.

Verschiedene Künstler zeigen ihren Arbeitsplatz

Super cool micro-site done in PV3D

I'm not staring into space, I'm trying to live a balanced life

Everyone who knows me needs to read this article

"Systems on the edge of chaos are said to be in a state of "self-organised criticality". These systems are right on the boundary between stable, orderly behaviour - such as a swinging pendulum - and the unpredictable world of chaos, as exemplified by turbulence... Brain scans used to map the connections between regions of the human brain discovered that they form a "small-world network" - exactly the right architecture to support self-organised criticality. Small-world networks lie somewhere between regular networks, where each node is connected to its nearest neighbours, and random networks, which have no regular structure but many long-distance connections between nodes at opposite sides of the network. Small-world networks take the most useful aspects of both systems. In places, the nodes have many connections with their neighbours, but the network also contains random and often long links between nodes that are very far away from one another. It's the perfect compromise."

Do ideas sometimes pop into your head from, it seems, nowhere? Yes, and it’s because your brain actually operates on the edge of chaos. In fact, your brain is like a pile of sand, but don't worry: that's why it has such remarkable powers

for Karl?

Welcome to the Awesome Foundation for Arts and Sciences We support people doing awesome things in the world. Every month we give out a grant. Information on how to submit follows. What is Awesome? Awesomeness is often overlooked by mainstream culture, which tends to rehash the same broadly appealing but mediocre creations. Thankfully, there is the web. Awesomeness is more the product of a creator’s passion than the prospect of audience or profit. Awesome creations are novel and non-obvious, evoking surprise and delight. Invariably, something about them perfectly reflects the essence of the medium, moment, or method of creation. Awesomeness challenges and inspires.

boston cambridge grants awesome idea foundation

Submit an awesome idea. If we pick it, we'll give you $1,000 in cash. Yup, $1,000. Cash. Maybe even in a brown paper bag. You'll also get access to coworking space at BetaHouse for the month of your grant. The only condition is that you be willing to tell us (and some of our friends) about what you did a month later. If we don't pick it, don't stress, we'll pick a new awesome idea next month.

With Photoshop, amazing results are possible for photo manipulations. In this post we'll feature 30 tutorials for creating your own photo manipulation. The tutorials shown here will teach a wide variety of techniques and will work towards end results of all kinds. Combine Photo Elements to Create a Surreal Photo Manipulation

30 Photo Manipulation Tutorials for Photoshop

Would you like to be more creative in your copy and blogging? It’s really not as hard or mysterious as you might think.

Awesome

copyblogger

Are willing to TEST new ideas and compete with others based on results. Isn’t that what they mean by the “market of ideas”? Isn’t that what business competition is about? If you’re afraid of being wrong or losing, your creativity will suffer.

Think of creativity as a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. To increase your creativity, you simply need to “act” like a creative person. Not surprisingly, people recognized as creative tend to share common traits.

Are you on Manager or Maker time?

"abstract thinking makes it easier for people to form surprising connections between seemingly unrelated concepts"

blah blah

http://www.whereiwrite.org/ write 2 writing 6 whereiwrite.org

Have you ever wondered where writers actually get to do their writing? Where I Write gives a fascinating glimpse into the creative spaces of professional writers with photos of their work areas.

Where Scifi authors write

Fantatsy and Science Fiction authors - creative spaces and photos of thier work areas

Where I Write: Fantasy & Science Fiction Authors In their creatvie spaces

An interesting project where they document where authors do their writing.

awesome

Maira Kalman: "Everything is invented. Language. Childhood Careers. Relationships. Religion. Philsophy. The Future. They are not there for the plucking."

It may be the economical slowdown, the climate change, or even a random boost of creativity, but the competition between graphic studios is huge right

Web Portfolios

Excellent Excellent Article.

ein without his pipe, George Burns without his cigar or Jackson Pollock without a cig

“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” - Albert Einstein

Over 300 Unique and Creative Google Logo Designs - Web Design - letscounthedays

Google logos

Google Logo

2006

구글의 로고 변천사

The Online Portfolio of Shay Howe

Sehr schöne Sammlung an allen Google Doodles von Beginn an

Most people do not really think about design and designers, let alone think of themselves as designers. But what, if anything, can regular people — teachers, students, business people of all types — learn from designers and from thinking like a designer? And what of more specialized professions? Can medical doctors, scientists, researchers, and engineers, and other specialists in technical fields benefit in anyway by learning how a graphic designer or interaction designer thinks? Is there something designers, either through their training or experience, know that we don't? I believe there is.

Can medical doctors, scientists, researchers, and engineers, and other specialists in technical fields benefit in anyway by learning how a graphic designer or interaction designer thinks? Is there something designers, either through their training or experience, know that we don't? I believe there is.

Most people do not really think about design and designers, let alone think of themselves as designers. But what, if anything, can regular people — teachers, students, business people of all types — learn from designers and from thinking like a designer? And what of more specialized professions? Can medical doctors, scientists, researchers, and engineers, and other specialists in technical fields benefit in anyway by learning how a graphic designer or interaction designer thinks? Is there something designers, either through their training or experience, know that we don't? Garr Reynolds believes there is.

Below are 10 things (plus a bonus tip) that I have learned over the years from designers, things that designers do or know that the rest of us can benefit from.

** Posted using Viigo: Mobile RSS, Sports, Current Events and more **

practical tips for writing when you think you can't really write

Dumb Little Man shares ideas to make the everyday person more productive in life. Expect to read tips on finance, saving money, business, and some DIY for the house.

You are not writing for Amazon, or to fit a staff proofreader’s vacation schedule. You are writing for readers. The world is already choking on half-considered, squeezed-out shit. There’s no need to add to the pile. If you want to be great, or at least to be better, start by breathing, taking breaks, and working intensely when the mood is on.

This is interesting, but it's easy to imagine people feeling tired most of the time and there fore always resting

Jeffrey Zeldman shares the simple secret to maintaining quality.

Great piece by Zeldman

"You are writing for readers, a duty as sacred, in its way, as parenting. If you don’t believe the previous sentence, if you think writing is mainly about getting paid, I’m sorry you wasted your time reading this page, and I hope you find another way to earn a living soon. The world is already choking on half-considered, squeezed-out shit. There’s no need to add to the pile. If you want to be great, or at least to be better, start by breathing, taking breaks, and working intensely when the mood is on."

"Write when inspired; rest when tired" –Jeffery Zeldman. Amen.

These are pretty cool.

Wonder if these wines are any good?

It’s difficult to talk about how to get started with a project without addressing why it can feel so difficult to get started in the first place. And, as I said in the talk, I think this often comes down to perceived barriers. Barriers to even the most modest kind of starting. Barriers that seem entirely real, external, and immovable...

Merlin Mann on how to get yourself on task with creative side projects and not rationalize against them using "Real-Life Obligations."

"It’s difficult to talk about how to get started with a project without addressing why it can feel so difficult to get started in the first place"

MaxFunCon: Merlin Mann on Doing Creative Work (via TSoYA) Here&#8217;s the audio from a short talk I presented a few weeks ago at Jesse Thorn&#8217;s awesome1 MaxFunCon in Lake Arrowhead, CA. The talk is subtitled, &#8220;With All Due Respect

by Merlin Mann

Great talk about overcoming creative barriers and getting stuff accomplished.

"Remember now, we’re not talking about finishing a project or even making something that you know will be the greatest thing ever made. Just starting. What’s the barrier for you?"

An excellent excellent podcast.

Incredible landing and distance.

Since the dawn of time, man has battled the forces of gravity. We've built gliders, wings and contraptions of all sorts. In the end, all it took was a simple giant water slide down the side of a mountain.

I don't think it's fake.

美しいロゴ60

instantShift

Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories -- and maybe, a way forward.

Twitter-runoutta.

"The Longest Poem in the World" is composed by aggregating real-time public twitter updates and selecting those that rhyme.

I love simple creativity. This has it in spades.

legjobb, legjobb

kul, but most of them ain't free

100 examples of how you can use mindmapping whether completely new to mind maps or a seasoned pro.

great photography project ideas

Creative Billboard Advertisement

cool ads.

Outdoors Interessantes!

Out dorr referência

Kanso - Simplicity or elimination of clutter. Enso Fukinsei - Asymmetry or irregularity. Shibui - Beautiful by being understated, or by being precisely what it was meant to be and not elaborated upon. Shizen - Naturalness. Absence of pretense or artificiality. Yugen - Suggestion, rather than revelation. Datsuzoku - Freedom from habit or formula. Seijaku - Tranquility. An energized calm, stillness, solitude.

Ambition makes determination, and then determination makes wealth.

This feels like it needs some more fleshing out.

good blog on determination. Indeed, if you want to create the most wealth, the way to do it is to focus more on their needs than your interests, and make up the difference with determination.

productivity insights

“In 18 months I’m going to start my own company,” the problem with that sentence is the 18 months. What you’re really saying is, “I’m afraid.”

Omia tuotteita konsultoinnin sijaan.

> We’ve had a lot of things not work, and that’s OK too. If it’s a good idea and it gets you excited, try it, and if it bursts into flames, that’s going to be exciting too. People always ask, “What is your greatest failure?” I always have the same answer – We’re working on it right now, it’s gonna be awesome!

Jim Coudal is a truly inspiring character. His company decided to shift from the standard model of selling their creative services to clients, to a model of creating products which they own and have full control over. And they’ve been very successful at it. Coudal Partners is proof that you can indeed create your own reality. (interview, article)

get out there.

Innovation: it's the ultimate source of advantage, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the economic ring. Innovation is what every organization should be ruthlessly pursuing, right? Wrong. I'd like to advance a hypothesis: awesomeness is the new innovation.

"Let's summarize. What is awesomeness? Awesomeness happens when thick — real, meaningful — value is created by people who love what they do, added to insanely great stuff, and multiplied by communities who are delighted and inspired because they are authentically better off. That's a better kind of innovation, built for 21st century economics. I've talked to many boardrooms about awesomeness. Beancounters feel challenged and threatened by it, because it feels fuzzy and imprecise. Yet, it's anything but. Gen M knows "awesomeness" when we see it — that's why its part of our vernacular. It's a precise concept, with meaning, depth, and resonance."

Let's face it. "Innovation" feels like a relic of the industrial era. And it just might be the case that instead of chasing innovation, we should be innovating innovation — that innovation needs innovation. Why? When we examine the economics of innovation, three reasons emerge.

By http://bit.ly/Tweets2Delicious

40 Breathtaking & Creative Logo Designs Just to Inspire

Leave it beh

"I've been having great success with a hybrid of the yellow legal pad and a printed presentation from Keynote (or Powerpoint). I use it during small meetings where more interactivity is useful, and where the group is too small for a laptop to be the best way to present slides (I think running a presentation says, "I talk, you listen...")"

Thinking of my almost unused Muji Chronotebook..

I love how Seth's brain works... while so many people are thinking of how complicated and hi tech they need to become in order to make points and get through to people, Seth works in the opposite direction in order to simplify things and challenge the status quo. I never would have thought of this had he not posted it.

That's a good idea! A new way to do presentations

Talks and keynotes

Alternative Ideas For Designing A Web Portfolio

Fantastic Ideas for your Web Portfolio!!

The basics for developing an Internet portfolio, do not differ from those we use for developing any website: accessibility, being user friendly, navigability, clarity, consistency, etc.; elements that are determinant for a bank as well as for a creative site.

An article discussing some of the concepts behind some alternative web portfolios and the ideas that one could expand on. A guest post by Fuel Your Creativity Espanol's Enrique Lite, translated by Javier Rivero.

out being sustained by people who cared about experimentation and exploration. Sometimes these people were relatives, but sometimes they were neighbors, teachers or other influential adults. A number of the innovative entrepreneurs also went to Montessori schools, where they learned to follow their curiosity. To paraphrase the famous Apple ad campaign, innovators not only learned early on to think different, they act different (and even talk different).

How Do Innovators Think? 5:21 PM Monday September 28, 2009 by Bronwyn Fryer Tags:Creativity, Innovation, Leadership What makes visionary entrepreneurs such as Apple's Steve Jobs, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Ebay's Pierre Omidyar and Meg Whitman, and P&G's A.G. Lafley tick? In a question-and-answer session with HBR contributing editor Bronwyn Fryer, Professors Jeff Dyer of Brigham Young University and Hal Gregersen of Insead explain how the "Innovators' DNA" works.This post is part of HarvardBusiness.org's Creativity at Work special package. Fryer: You conducted a six-year study surveying 3,000 creative executives and conducting an additional 500 individual interviews. During this study you found five "discovery skills" that distinguish them. What are these skills? Dyer: The first skill is what we call "associating." It's a cognitive skill that allows creative people to make connections across seemingly unrelated questions, problems, or ideas. The second skill is questioning - an abilit

THE LAST DAYS OF THE POLYMATH

People who know a lot about a lot have long been an exclusive club, but now they are an endangered species. Edward Carr tracks some down ... &nbsp;read&nbsp;more&nbsp;&raquo;

That is why modern institutions tend to exclude polymaths, he says. “It’s very hard to show yourself as a polymath in the current academic climate. If you’ve got someone interested in going across departments, spending part of the time in physics and part of the time elsewhere, their colleagues are going to kick them out. They’re not contributing fully to any single department. OK, every so often you’re going to get a huge benefit, but from day to day, where the universities are making appointments, they want the focus in one field.”

People who know a lot about a lot have long been an exclusive club, but now they are an endangered species.

“Nowadays people that are called polymaths are dabblers—are dabblers in many different areas,” he says. “I aspire to be an intellectual polygamist. And I deliberately use that metaphor to provoke with its sexual allusion and to point out the real difference to me between polygamy and promiscuity."

"People who know a lot about a lot have long been an exclusive club, but now they are an endangered species..."

“Writing Wednesdays” Future “Writing Wednesdays” articles will be inspired by quotes from The War of Art.

Nobody wants to read your shit. There’s a phenomenon in advertising called Client’s Disease. Every client is in love with his own product. The mistake he makes is believing that, because he loves it, everyone else will too. What’s your answer to that? 1) Reduce your message to its simplest, clearest, easiest-to-understand form. 2) Make it fun. Or sexy or interesting or informative. 3) Apply that to all forms of writing or art or commerce. You acquire that skill which is indispensable to all artists and entrepreneurs: the ability to switch back and forth in your imagination from your own point of view as writer/painter/seller to the point of view of your imagined reader/gallery-goer/customer.

Nobody wants to read your shit.

Kaizen (改善) means "improvement" — "kai" (改) means change/make better, and "zen" (善) means good — but as the term is used as a business process it more closely resembles in English “continuous improvement.” Kaizen is one of the keys to the steady improvement and innovation found at successful companies in Japan such as Toyota.

Great tips, along the line of "be interesting" from Russell Davies

"Though Kaizen is a tool used by corporations to achieve greater innovation, productivity, and general excellence, it’s also an approach, an approach that we can learn from and apply to our own lives as we strive for continuous improvement on a more personal level. We can call this “Personal Kaizen.” Others have applied the personal kaizen approach to personal efficiency or GTD. You too can take the spirit of kaizen and apply it to your own unique personal kaizen approach to improve — step-by-step, little-by-little — your design mindfulness, knowledge, and skill. "

// Inspiration. That strange thing that boosts our brains, lifts our spirits and seems to automagically conduct our hands on the drawing board. Or on the

this is good to hear.

When things don’t add up, the mind goes into high gear.

Studie: Absurditäten rütteln die Sinne wach.

This is really interesting.

-

60 verschillende logo sites.. waar de meest opvallende logo's verzameld worden!

coleccion de logos para inspiración

This is the ultimate logo inspiration post packed with 25 amazing logo collections. Many designers put together collections of their logo designs each year or a few times a year depending on how many they do as a way to showcase their work and inspir

To discover great hacks, we must always be searching for the true nature of our reality

An interesting perspective on hacking and systems, particularly relevant to the Saving Game

With just one coat, IdeaPaint turns any surface into a dry-erase board.

One fantastic product.

Nice.

Artopia is an interactive website that lets students learn more about and interact with different mediums of art virtually. “Students can closely examine important works of art and take part in activities that teach about styles, principles and processes of each art form. They can write about the artworks online, collect art cards in a virtual portfolio and view videos of professional artists at work. Teachers may exhibit their students’ artwork in a virtual gallery and both students and teachers can communicate with other artists in an online message board.” Artopia teaches students about dance, media arts, music, painting, sculpture, and theater. Artopia is a nice addition to any classroom. The site can be used to develop a greater appreciation for the arts. Artopia introduces students to important works of art and teaches them how to think about art. This site would be wonderful for working on critical thinking skills, creativity, and innovation.

On the educational website Artopia, students are active learners as they explore the theater, sculpture, dance, music, painting, and mass media. In each area, they meet artists, watch video clips, participate in interactive activities, and critique work

GREAT FOR DRAMA IDEAS

Artopia is a comprehensive Web-based arts experience designed for middle school students, covering the visual and performing arts. Students can closely examine important works of art and take part in activities that teach about styles, principles and processes of each art form. They can write about the artworks online, collect art cards in a virtual portfolio and view videos of professional artists at work. Teachers may exhibit their students’ artwork in a virtual gallery and both students and teachers can communicate with other artists in an online message board.

from iteach

que hacer y no hacer en diseño web

Will Fryer has a nice article on creating a podcast. It has instructions about submitting it to iTunes. Perhaps I can troubleshoot some problems I'm having lately.

I like seeing how other people do their craft.

How I create and publish podcasts

Wes Fryer's list of (nearly) all free software he uses to create podcasts.

The deliberate cultivation of individual creativity may end up being the most important social result of computer technology. Either that, or cottage programmers like myself will simply have more time to cultivate our gardens

You may have heard about me. In the computer business I'm known as the Oregon Hermit. According to rumor, I write personal computer programs in solitude, shunning food and sleep in endless fugues of work. I hang up on important callers in order to keep the next few programming ideas from evaporating, and I live on the end of a dirt road in the wilderness. I'm here to tell you these vicious rumors are true.

yed images and messages. In one of the sequences a cabin appeared on a hilltop, the door opened, then music played. It was designed to persuade a certain someone to visit me

digital storytelling resources

digital sorytelling resources

Brilliant list of resources about digital storytelling

500 Internal Server Error

How we, as creative people, can harness this understanding of the left and right brain to be more creative, as well as succeed in other work-related tasks.

The concept of the left and right brain only lately popped up in the late 1960's, but since has become a well-known part of human psychology. While we all

We don't need many cues to help us pretend. We'll find meaning in the noisiest noise - just give us a tiny signal and we'll come up with a message.

Russell Davies explains the power of play, not for our kids so much as for other adult, explicitly stating what many of us don't admit: we pretend an awful lot, especially in boring social situations, usually as a function of inattention, rather than directly interacting with a game. His analysis is fascinating, and his recommendations for recognizing and making our games of pretend valued parts of our lives comprise some of the best innovative, game-changing musing in the field of technology, entertainment, and design that I've come across yet.

"I think that's why we find Jason Bourne so resonant. It's easy pretending to be him. Because most of the time he's just commuting."

So in honor of Dan Kennedy, who sometimes styles himself as the “Professor of Harsh Reality,” I thought I’d talk today about some of the not-so-kumbaya aspects of social media marketing. Harsh Realities

So in honor of Dan Kennedy, who sometimes styles himself as the Professor of Harsh Reality, I thought Id talk today about some of the not-so-kumbaya aspects of social media marketing.

Good read for those considering using social media to market or those of us in the thick of it.

So in honor of Dan Kennedy, who sometimes styles himself as the “Professor of Harsh Reality,” I thought I’d talk today about some of the not-so-kumbaya aspects of social media marketing.

Fuel Your Creativity

creativity

i like it

http://is.gd/wTCo - F is for Fail, the design process alphabetised. (My favourite: D is for digression, doubt) [from http://twitter.com/burnettie/statuses/1705656684]

Create human figures using type. Quite depressing!

Hello friends! Here we are, with another wonderful collection of photography. This time we want to...

10 Amazing Free Fonts for Designers

"What the innovators have in common is that they can put together ideas and information in unique combinations that nobody else has quite put together before."

After a six-year study, researchers say they've found the five traits shared by all great innovators. Brilliant blue-sky thinking, they say, springs from acute observation and the active pursuit of new experiences -- and that's something anyone can learn to do. "Studies have shown that creativity is close to 80% learned and acquired," says one researcher. "We found that it's like exercising your muscles -- if you engage in the actions you build the skills."

"In an article published in December's Harvard Business Review the researchers identified five skills that separate the blue-sky innovators from the rest -- skills they labeled associating, questioning, observing, experimenting and discovering."

"The way they act is to observe actively, like an anthropologist, and they talk to incredibly diverse people with different world views, who can challenge their assumptions,"

Summary on a HBR December 2009 Article- 5 Keys to innovation, based on research HBS & Bringham Young 6 year study of 3K executives and 500 entrepreneurs: 1) Associating: The ability to connect seemingly unrelated questions, problems or ideas from different fields; 2) Questioning: Innovators constantly ask questions that challenge the common wisdom. They ask "why?", "why not?" and "what if?"; 3) Observing: Discovery-driven executives scrutinize common phenomena, particularly the behavior of potential customers; 4) Experimenting: Innovative entrepreneurs actively try out new ideas by creating prototypes and launching pilots; 5) Networking: innovators go out of their way to meet people with different ideas and perspectives

May 26, 2009 The Difference Between An Amateur, A Scientist, And A Genius

"An amateur is full of wonder and speculation, tinkering towards the truth but suffering from a lack of knowledge and idleness; he's not even sure if someone else has already made these discoveries. "Is this a worthwhile pursuit?" A scientist performs experiments to confirm or disprove a hypothesis, and in that way he grinds out the truth. A genius has three abilities, which are actually the union of amateur and scientist: 1. to know the state of the art, what is known and what is not known. 2. To be able to think "out of the box". 3. To be disciplined enough to concentrate on the tedium of a formal investigation of his wondrous speculations."

The old sayings "success is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration" or "90% of anything is just showing up" really speak not to the necessity of work, but to the point that most ideas are mediocre and it doesn't matter. Diligent application can make almost anything a success.

An amateur is full of wonder and speculation, tinkering towards the truth but suffering from a lack of knowledge and idleness; he's not even sure if someone else has already made these discoveries. "Is this a worthwhile pursuit?" A scientist performs experiments to confirm or disprove a hypothesis, and in that way he grinds out the truth. A genius has three abilities, which are actually the union of amateur and scientist: 1. to know the state of the art, what is known and what is not known. 2. To be able to think "out of the box". 3. To be disciplined enough to concentrate on the tedium of a formal investigation of his wondrous speculations.

http://tinyurl.com/mancyg

"A genius has three abilities, which are actually the union of amateur and scientist: 1. to know the state of the art, what is known and what is not known. 2. To be able to think "out of the box". 3. To be disciplined enough to concentrate on the tedium of a formal investigation of his wondrous speculations."

Reading: 10 Tips for Kicking Ass as a Freelance Writer | Copyblogger: http://bit.ly/Xk2Bc [from http://twitter.com/nickdaws/statuses/2666528238]

Some great quotes here.

that works is

Once again, The Times Magazine looks back on the past year from our favored perch: ideas. Like a magpie building its nest, we have hunted eclectically, though not without discrimination, for noteworthy notions of 2009 — the twigs and sticks and shiny paper scraps of human ingenuity, which, when collected and woven together, form a sort of cognitive shelter, in which the curious mind can incubate, hatch and feather. Unlike birds, we can also alphabetize. And so we hereby present, from A to Z, the most clever, important, silly and just plain weird innovations we carried back from all corners of the thinking world. To offer a nonalphabetical option for navigating the entries, this year we have attached tags to each item indicating subject matter. We hope you enjoy.

Die Ideen des Jahres 2009 aus den Bereichen, Kunst, Business, Kultur, Design, Gesundheit, Wissenschaft, Politik, Sport und Technologie, ausgesucht von der New York Times

30 way

Interessante Visitenkarten Desings

Not all business cards are boring pieces of paper. Some are awesomely creative, memorable and even intimidating.

Creativity, Innovation, Team Building, Leadership, Brainstorming, Idea Champions

Good Ideas to create a atmosphere for innovation

publicidad creativa

TUTORIALES de PHOTOSHOP Y OTROS

Light-Effects are a great way to create awesome and colorful images. Also it has become a trend mostly because of the work of guys such as James White and Chuck Anderson who I think are the Light-effects Masters. So in this post I will share with you some

Screw ups, disasters, misfires, flops. Why losing big can be a winning strategy.

"There are advantages to thinking on the margin. When we look at a problem from the outside, we’re more likely to notice what doesn’t work. Instead of suppressing the unexpected, shunting it aside with our 'Oh shit!' circuit and Delete key, we can take the mistake seriously. A new theory emerges from the ashes of our surprise."

"This is why other people are so helpful: They shock us out of our cognitive box."

Over the past few decades, psychologists have dismantled the myth of objectivity. The fact is, we carefully edit our reality, searching for evidence that confirms what we already believe. Although we pretend we’re empiricists — our views dictated by nothing but the facts — we’re actually blinkered, especially when it comes to information that contradicts our theories. The problem with science, then, isn’t that most experiments fail — it’s that most failures are ignored.

Article about the messiness of science, its failures and how an “in vivo” investigation that attempted to learn from the messiness of real experiments -

Great site on digital storytelling and how it relates to 21st century learning

article by Bernajean Porter

Research behind design

Provides examples that include 'Kingsdale School in London [which] was redesigned, with the help of psychologists, to promote social cohesion; the new structure also includes elements that foster alertness and creativity.'

How Room Designs Affect Your Work and Mood

ists are giving their hunches an empirical basis

When things don’t add up, the mind goes into high gear.

Blacketer sent this to me

Idéias para comercial Netlogos

58 of the World’s Greatest Offers — Copyblogger

David Dobbs tells us about a new theory in genetics called the orchid hypothesis that suggests that the genes that underlie some of the most troubling human behaviors -- violence, depression, anxiety -- can, in combination with the right environment, also be responsible for our best behaviors. Most of us have genes that make us as hardy as dandelions: able to take root and survive almost anywhere. A few of us, however, are more like the orchid: fragile and fickle, but capable of blooming spectacularly if given greenhouse care. So holds a provocative new theory of genetics, which asserts that the very genes that give us the most trouble as a species, causing behaviors that are self-destructive and antisocial, also underlie humankind's phenomenal adaptability and evolutionary success. With a bad environment and poor parenting, orchid children can end up depressed, drug-addicted, or in jail -- but with the right environment and good parenting, they can grow up to be society's most cr

People that are genetically prone to being at risk in poor environments are also more successful in good environments

found via kottke.org

"the very genes that give us the most trouble as a species also underlie humankind’s phenomenal adaptability and evolutionary success"

Most of us have genes that make us as hardy as dandelions: able to take root and survive almost anywhere. A few of us, however, are more like the orchid: fragile and fickle, but capable of blooming spectacularly if given greenhouse care. So holds a provocative new theory of genetics, which asserts that the very genes that give us the most trouble as a species, causing behaviors that are self-destructive and antisocial, also underlie humankind’s phenomenal adaptability and evolutionary success. With a bad environment and poor parenting, orchid children can end up depressed, drug-addicted, or in jail—but with the right environment and good parenting, they can grow up to be society’s most creative, successful, and happy people.

a bad environment and poor parenting vs the right environment and good parenting

“stress diathesis” or “genetic vulnerability” model Most of us have genes that make us as hardy as dandelions: able to take root and survive almost anywhere. A few of us, however, are more like the orchid: fragile and fickle, but capable of blooming spectacularly if given greenhouse care. So holds a provocative new theory of genetics, which asserts that the very genes that give us the most trouble as a species, causing behaviors that are self-destructive and antisocial, also underlie humankind’s phenomenal adaptability and evolutionary success. With a bad environment and poor parenting, orchid children can end up depressed, drug-addicted, or in jail—but with the right environment and good parenting, they can grow up to be society’s most creative, successful, and happy people. The Atlantic Online | December 2009 |

Interesting productivity trick. I think I'll try it out for awhile.

You know how important it is to boost your brain power. Increasingly, the world requires more smarts. If you can think fast, think well and remember things, you have an edge, whether it’s in the job market or just staying on top of your game. If you want to make your brain stronger and faster, though, you have to give it a good workout. Just like everything else, how you use your brain can make a big difference in the results you get. Here are 55 tips that can make your brain stronger and faster:

The 20 Best Logos from 2009

A little place on the Internet celebrating creativity and the everyday moments of inspiration that LEGO® enthusiasts call “CL!CK.” Come to inspire and be inspired.

Hofmann penned a never-before-disclosed letter in 2007 to Jobs at the behest of his friend Rick Doblin, who runs an organization dedicated to studying the medical and psychiatric benefits of psychedelic drugs.

Jobs, Hoffman, LSD

28 Jan 2010. "The iPad is an attractive, thoughtfully designed, deeply cynical thing. It is a digital consumption machine."

The thing that bothers me most about the iPad is this: if I had an iPad rather than a real computer as a kid, I’d never be a programmer today. I’d never have had the ability to run whatever stupid, potentially harmful, hugely educational programs I could download or write.

For years, me and thousands of other techies have been wondering what comes after the Personal Computer as we’ve known it. Yesterday, in Apple’s iPad, we caught a glimpse. If I had to pick one predominant emotion in reaction, it would be “disturbed”. The iPad is an attractive, thoughtfully designed, deeply cynical thing. It is a digital consumption machine. As Tim Bray and Peter Kirn have pointed out, it’s a device that does little to enable creativity. As just one component of several in a person’s digital life, perhaps that’s acceptable. It seems clear, though, that the ambitions for the iPad are far greater than being a full-color Kindle. The tragedy of the iPad is that it truly seems to offer a better model of computing for many people – perhaps the majority of people. Gone are the confusing concepts and metaphors of the last thirty years of computing. Gone is the ability to endlessly tweak and twiddle towards no particular gain. The iPad is simple, straightforward, maintenance-f

Older news, but I finally got around to reading it. Interesting piece on the importance of color.

In the latest and most authoritative study on color's cognitive effects, test subjects given attention-demanding tasks did best when primed with the color red. Asked to be creative, they responded best to blue.

teaching for creativity

Seth Godin's Pearls of Wisdom. We love lists and Seth's list is impossibly insightful. It must be read and spread.

A great, short list of useful thoughts and tips for anyone who wants to grow a business or gain momentum for their new idea.

Random rules for ideas worth spreading

Don't plan on appearing on a reality show as the best way to launch your idea

The field of web design is constantly changing and growing. Getting in a rut is often the result of not staying up to date with the latest trends and technologies in the industry. Even if we do stay up to date, many of us at one time or another feel anxious about whether we’re advancing. If you’re at a firm, you may be working towards a raise or promotion, or perhaps you’re thinking of jumping ship to a bigger and better company. For the freelancers out there, we of course determine our own destiny; but far too often our careers feel stagnant, too. This article goes over some ways to reignite your growth as a web designer.

How to Grow as a Web Designer | Webdesigner Depot - http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2010/02/how-to-grow-as-a-web-designer/

รักษาโลก โลกสีเขียว

"...thinking fast made participants feel more elated, creative and, to a lesser degree, energetic and powerful."

thinking and happiness. Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciam.com%2Farticle.cfm%3Fid%3Drapid-thinking-makes-people-happy

Rapid Thinking Makes People Happy

i love this.

JK Rowling

inspirational commencement speech

mmo game from the founders of Flickr

"...I decided to ask some of today’s most exciting artists and creators what they do when the ideas aren’t flowing. I left the question fairly open ended and asked, What do you do to inspire your creativity when you find yourself in a rut? As expected, I was presented with an array of strategies, ranging from listening to Boards of Canada in a forest alone, to cooking up a storm (recipe provided) and waiting for the mind to clear."

29 Semi-Productive Things I Do Online When I’m Trying to Avoid Real Work

You don’t always have to work hard to be productive.  Productivity can simply be the side effect of doing the right things. So here’s a ...

OPEN Forum by American Express OPEN | |

Something is elegant if it is two things at once: unusually simple and surprisingly powerful. One without the other leaves you short of elegant. And sometimes the “unusual simplicity” isn’t about what’s there, it’s about what isn’t. At first glance, elegant things seem to be missing something.

http://www.torstensson.com/weblog/2009/08/overnight-successes-rarely-are.html

title says it all

Il fondatore di Friendfeed parla delle prospettive del suo prodotto e della ricetta per un'applicazione di successo.

My expectation is that big success takes years, and there aren't many counter-examples (other than YouTube, and they didn't actually get to the point of making piles of money just yet). Facebook grew very fast, but it's almost 5 years old at this point. Larry and Sergey started working on Google in 1996 -- when I started there in 1999, few people had heard of it yet.

// We made a selection of inspiring interviews with outstanding personalities, must reads for every freelancer, designer, webpreneur, & co. There are

fractals

שחור ולבן בהמון וריציות יופי יופי

by Smashing Magazine

Imágenes fractales en blanco y negro

recombined brilliance

What else can you say to this but "It cannot be helped, it is as it should be, that the law is behind the times."

Oooh @merlinMann muchly likes ThruYou as well. Happy, happy. http://snipr.com/e5ovy [from http://twitter.com/NicMcPhee/statuses/1356134982]

So amazing, so illegal. What are we going to do with you, future? That&#8217;s my pal, Jonathan Coulton, remarking on the disruptively talented Kutiman, who has made an astounding series of YouTube video remixes that&#8217;s lighting up the web

At Mathalicious, our mission is to help transform the way math is taught by providing you with the best, most meaningful and most relevant math content available.  Our lessons are aligned to traditional state standards.  Unlike most math resources, though, our content emphasizes both conceptual understanding and real-world application.

website with links to myriad lesson plans to make math relevant

Answers the questions - "What does this mean?" and "when will I use this?"

Brendan Koerner argues that research shows that social media breaks actually boost the creativity and productivity of innovation-focused workers. He writes: "Twitter and Facebook give knowledge workers the chance to turn downtime into a game where creativity and insight are rewarded, if only with digital pats on the back."

RT @tcar Here's a great article to give your boss when they catch you slacking off on Twitter: http://bit.ly/amZ8qu

Contrary to recent research about social networks and efficiency, taking a break from work to read that tweet about Lady Gaga's lingerie might actually stoke creativity and enhance problem-solving skills.

Article discussing the value of "down time" in creativity, and extending the idea to Twitter, Facebook, etc.

When you are engaging with your network (online or offline) who you are AND the nature and level of conversations you have will influence your level of your engagement with the other person.

Activity is not productivity - we all know that. But why do we keep engaging in activities that are not productive? One answer: Simply because it is easy to engage in activities that are not productive. This is true especially when it comes to activities that are geared towards building engagement with the other person. Sometimes, it is easy to think you are engaged when you are not even on the other person's radar. Here is the basic rule: When you are engaging with your network (online or offline) who you are AND the nature and level of conversations you have will influence your level of your engagement with the other person. The diagram above shows ONE framework that explains this relationship. As you can see, the need for creativity goes up significantly when you need higher levels of engagement Here are the levels: A. Mindless Chatter: This is basically saying whatever comes to your mind and sometimes you might get a reply (the other person may also be bored, right?) and you might

When industry norms start to die, people panic. It's difficult to change when you think that you must change everything in order to succeed. Changing everything is too difficult. * Keep the machines in your factory, but change what they make. * Keep your customers, but change what you sell to them. * Keep your providers, but change the profit structure. * Keep your industry but change where the money comes from. * Keep your staff, but change what you do. * Keep your mission, but change your scale. * Keep your products, but change the way you market them. * Keep your customers, but change how much you sell each one. * Keep your technology, but use it to do something else. * Keep your reputation, but apply it to a different industry or problem.

Pivotal points for change - one thing at a time.

When industry norms start to die, people panic. It's difficult to change when you think that you must change everything in order to succeed. Changing everything is too difficult.

Pivots for change /Seth's Blog/ - When industry norms start to die, people panic. It's difficult to change ... http://tinyurl.com/bu4tdr [from http://twitter.com/jorgefsb/statuses/1315341354]

It's difficult to change when you think that you must change everything in order to succeed. Changing everything is too difficult.

Simple... use points from this Seth Godin blog to think about what to keep and what to change.

A few good ideas sprinkled in this article.

The key is closing the gap between theory and practice. Words are cheap. It's easy to wax poetic about "culture change." It's quite another thing to make it happen. Still, the effort is worth it.

I hear a lot of talk these days about how important it is for organizations to establish a culture of innovation. Yup. True. So what else is new? The key is closing the gap between theory and practice. Words are cheap. It's easy to wax poetic about "culture change." It's quite another thing to make it happen.

I hear a lot of talk these days about how important it is for organizations to establish a culture of innovation. Yup. True. So what else is new? The key is closing the gap between theory and practice. Words are cheap. It's easy to wax poetic about "culture change." It's quite another thing to make it happen. Still, the effort is worth it. And so, to help you on your way, here's Idea Champions' list of 50 things you can do to foster a culture of innovation.

Is your site suffering from Hyperdesign? Hyperdesign can be diagnosed by tale tell symptoms. Answer these following questions to find out if you and your site

Seth's Blog: Sprint!

« Learning all the time | Blog Home | Which parts are you skipping? »

Sprint! /Seth's Blog/ - The best way to overcome your fear of creativity, brainstorming, intelligent risk ... http://tinyurl.com/akjsof [from http://twitter.com/jorgefsb/statuses/1193019864]

seth godin

"Hurry, we need to write a new script for our commercial... we have fifteen minutes."

Sprinting can be helpful, but its not sustainable.

How to get a lot done (both in terms of quantity and quality) in a relative short amount of time. Not something you can do all the time, but a good idea to do periodically.

You can't sprint every day but it's probably a good idea to regularly.

Need a spark? http://bit.ly/LXa8j : Chase Jarvis has some solutions to 'Shake Your Tree'. Doesn't just apply to photography... – James Rickard (frodosghost) http://twitter.com/frodosghost/statuses/1781837328

't need sunshine

GOOD RESOLUTIONS

facebook connect, thefwa, social media facebook connects to the fwa

FWAのおめでたい的な

TED Talks Child prodigy Adora Svitak says the world needs "childish" thinking: bold ideas, wild creativity and especially optimism. Kids&#039; big dreams deserve high expectations, she says, starting with grownups&#039; willingness to learn from children as much as to teach.

Being childish...being normal. --- Irresponsibility and irrational thinking Ann Frank, Ruby, Charley Simpson 100,000 lbs on a bike. World needs kids thinking. Why not to do things....everything were free and Eutopia. You must dream first Kids push the boundaries of possibilities Kids don't think about limitations. Kids do a lot of learning from adults - students should teach the teachers. If you don't trust them you place restrictions on them. Regimes becomes oppressive when they become fearful of keeping control Adults underestimates kids abilities Wrote 300 short stories To show you truly care you listen. Imperative to create opportunities for children to blow you away. "You must lend an ear today, because we are the leaders of tomorrow."

Video I can use for DEP; What adults can learn from kids

TED Talks Child prodigy Adora Svitak says the world needs "childish" thinking: bold ideas, wild creativity and especially optimism. Kids' big dreams deserve high expectations, she says, starting with grownups' willingness to learn from children as much as to teach.

essay by Clive James

Are we able to think clearly when surrounded by mess because chaos is inherent in all our minds, even those of the great writers and thinkers?

momentum, projects for yourself

By http://bit.ly/Tweets2Delicious

The notion that you’re trying to control the process and prevent error screws things up. We all know the saying it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. And everyone knows that, but I Think there is a corollary: if everyone is trying to prevent error, it screws things up. It’s better to fix problems than to prevent them. And the natural tendency for managers is to try and prevent error and over plan things.

Must read! RT@amcafee: Cannot recommend highly enough this interview with Pixar's Ed Catmull: http://bit.ly/cYGtLY - (via @jmcaddell)

mindblowing interview with the CEO of pixar. all on leading a top-creative company and managing creavity.

Awesome insights. "The notion that you’re trying to control the process and prevent error screws things up. We all know the saying it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. And everyone knows that, but I Think there is a corollary: if everyone is trying to prevent error, it screws things up. It’s better to fix problems than to prevent them. And the natural tendency for managers is to try and prevent error and over plan things." "That fundamentally successful companies are unstable. And where we have to operate is in that unstable place. And the forces of conservatism which are very strong and they want to go to a safe place. I want to go to the same place for money, I want to go and be wild and creative, or I want to have enough time for this, and each one of those guys are pulling, and if any one of them wins, we lose. And i just want to stay right there in the middle."

Today, the meaning is the message. The "message" of the Internet's social revolution is more meaningful work, economics, politics, society, and organization.

More useful (albeit heavily sprinkled with marketing buzz words and phrases) on the best way of using social media as part of an organisation.

e paper variants going back to the 1800s that hide illustrations in the little curlicues of the margins. And there are new videogame versions like Mystery Case Files. For thousands of years, we've derived satisfaction from searching and uncovering—and we still do each time we turn up lost car keys.

brief description of the top addictive games and why there addictive.

Short takes on some addictive puzzle games.

on tetris: "A timeless classic. Fitting pieces together feeds the same pleasure center of the brain that gets off on packing a suitcase really well or squeezing all your groceries into a single bag."

My approach now is simple: take a look at the rules of the new ecosystem. Do they make sense? Is it possible they'll come to pass? If they do, what happens to you?

And that's where we get stuck. We get stuck because we believe that the rules of our ecosystem are permanent and transferable. In fact, they are almost always temporary and rarely transferable. My approach now is simple: take a look at the rules of the new ecosystem. Do they make sense? Is it possible they'll come to pass? If they do, what happens to you?

An interesting article highlighting the need to spark student interest in maths through the use of magic numbers, links to music and the creative arts and through an emphasis that, “A mathematician, like a painter or a poet, is a maker of patterns. If his patterns are more permanent than theirs, it is because they are made with ideas,” (cited du Sautoy, 2009). The article is a brilliant read for math teachers in the diverse classroom who need to understand that for some students, “the subject comes alive when they learn how mathematics is not an isolated subject, but runs seductively below the surface of many other subjects in the curriculum,” (du Sautoy, 2009). The article may be beneficial for those teachers aiming to engage the disengaged and may provide teachers with ideas for extension activities for gifted and talented students. Well worth a read for any teacher wanting to spice up their mathematics curriculum.

Guardian article written by Marcus du Sautoy 23/06/09 on livening up the maths curriculum with big, creative mathematical adventures. Links to gallery of useful archietectural photos. Recommended by CH. Links to other useful Guardian articles on maths by same author.

"I've never understood why education is so compartmentalised" - "... the maths we were doing in the classroom wasn't really what maths was about. It was something much more exciting, creative, imaginative. Those books provided me with a key to the secret garden of mathematics" - "In that garden I discovered that mathematics also has great stories. Unsolved mysteries like the enigma of prime numbers. Magical mathematical machines that could help you see in four dimensions. Mathematicians who had journeyed to infinity and beyond..." - lighting the fire, relating to the abstract

How do you spark off an interest in maths when the curriculum seems dreary? It's all about mystery, big stories and journeys to infinity and beyond, says Marcus du Sautoy

I've never understood why education is so compartmentalised. My son looks at his timetable: maths first lesson, history second lesson, music before lunch. The curriculum gives no hint at how integrated all these subjects are. To look at the historical evolution of mathematical ideas provides an invaluable perspective on why the mathematics was created in the first place.

great essay on encouraging a passion for math

Consider storing many of your ideas in XML form and exporting them as mindmaps

Thing is: if the amount of time you devote to lite correspondence with individual people exceeds the amount of time you spend on making things, then you may be in a different line of work than you’d originally thought you were. my sense is that western culture would be a damn sight poorer today if John Lennon had been forced to carry a goddamn BlackBerry.

What is it that you really do? What’s the last thing you made that really excited you? Where are you and your work in all that “communication?”

Part 2 of Merlin Mann's "Making Time to Make." Yeah, I've read it all kinds of out of order (3-1-2), but they're gems of writing and advice for personal productivity. The best part of this one? "The power of connecting with people in an authentic way (no, not in that cheesy, half-assed, internet “friends” way) falls apart at the point where its resource consumption curtails your ability to keep making new stuff. It’s a twisted paradox, for sure. But, in essence, it’d be a little like the Beatles skipping the writing and recording of Rubber Soul in order to catch up on 1964’s fan mail."

If you’re a publisher, journalist, author, blogger, musician, artist, designer, cartoonist, or any other sort of person whose job it is to connect with people by communicating ideas, it’s natural and wholesome for people who are interested in what you do (and many of whom are certainly makers-of-stuff in their own right) to develop a relationship with your work and to want a way to participate in it, add to it, and build upon it.

, it’d probably be a lot of fun for the makers to do. But, is this a sane, scalable, and sustainable way to do your work? I’d say no. No, it is not.

my sense is that western culture would be a damn sight poorer today if John Lennon had been forced to carry a goddamn BlackBerry.

wikiHow article about How to Be Creative.

What makes a good Creative Director

Attempting to make Denver suck less, Daily.

What makes a good creative director? Part 1 of 2.

And it’s great. It’s annoyingly terrific. You kick yourself and wonder why you didn’t think of it. You look at the CD with a new-found respect.

TED Talks In this poignant, funny follow-up to his fabled 2006 talk, Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning -- creating conditions where kids' natural talents can flourish.

Bring on the learning revolution! Ken Robinsons latest short video on TED.com. Should be seen by everyone in education.

"We can make a market or we can take share from a market."

That's the choice most of us make when we launch a product or service. We can make a market or we can take share from a market. "This is just like the Gillette razor, but cheaper." "This has a touch screen, too, but you can get it from Verizon." "I'm a shiatsu massage therapist, the only one on this block." Those are 'taking' statements. They break a larger market into smaller bits. Compare to: "This is a sugared cereal for adults." "Our software enables you to find data and trends that no one else can find." "By combining protein and chocolate, we've developed a new food that's both dessert and dinner." These are 'making' statements. Riskier, sure, but they stand for something, they don't just steal share. The Dummies guides made a market, the Idiot's guides took from that market. You need to be clear with yourself and your team about which one you're after, because they bring different costs, different benefits and different time frames.

That's the choice most of us make when we launch a product or service. We can make a market or we can take share from a market. "This is just like the Gillette razor, but cheaper." "This has a touch screen, too, but you can get it from Verizon." "I'm a shiatsu massage therapist, the only one on this block." Those are 'taking' statements. They break a larger market into smaller bits. Compare to: "This is a sugared cereal for adults." "Our software enables you to find data and trends that no one else can find." "By combining protein and chocolate, we've developed a new food that's both dessert and dinner." These are 'making' statements. Riskier, sure, but they stand for something, they don't just steal share. The Dummies guides made a market, the Idiot's guides took from that market. You need to be clear with yourself and your team about which one you're after, because they bring different costs, different benefits and different time frames.

making markets v. taking markets

Seth's Blog:

These are 'making' statements. Riskier, sure, but they stand for something, they don't just steal share. The Dummies guides made a market, the Idiot's guides took from that market.

10 design rules to keep in mind (1) Communicate — don't decorate. (2) Speak with a visual voice. (3) Use two typeface families maximum. OK, maybe three. (4) Pick colors on purpose. (5) If you can do it with less, then do it. (6) Negative space is magical — create it, don't just fill it up! (7) Treat the type as image, as though it's just as important. (8) Be universal; remember that it's not about you. (9) Be decisive. Do it on purpose — or don't do it at all. (10) Symmetry is the ultimate evil.

Sleeping on a problem really can help solve it, say scientists who found a dreamy nap boosts creative powers. They tested whether "incubating" a problem allowed a flash of insight, and found it did, especially when people entered a phase of sleep known as REM. [Excerpt, click on the link to read the rest of this article.]

Sleeping on a problem really can help solve it, say scientists who found a dreamy nap boosts creative powers. They tested whether "incubating" a problem allowed a flash of insight, and found it did, especially when people entered a phase of sleep known as REM. Volunteers who had entered REM or rapid eye movement sleep - when most dreams occur - were then better able to solve a new problem with lateral thinking.

We propose that REM sleep is important for assimilating new information into past experience to create a richer network of associations for future use. They tested whether "incubating" a problem allowed a flash of insight, and found it did, especially when people entered a phase of sleep called REM sleep.

The study at the University of California San Diego showed that the volunteers who entered REM during sleep improved their creative problem solving ability by almost 40%.

"We found that, for creative problems you've already been working on, the passage of time is enough to find solutions. "However for new problems, only REM sleep enhances creativity."

We need to question our design style sometimes, even if we end up in the same place that we started from. It’s a matter of taking something and turning it around so we can grasp what it is all about.

Treehouse by Tham & Videgard Hansson is Almost Invisible : TreeHugger - http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/02/swedish-mirrored-treehouse.php

Treehouse by Tham & Videgard Hansson is Almost Invisible : TreeHugger http://ow.ly/1TxNd

It is an old architectural trick used since the invention of mirrored glass: covering buildings with the reflective material and declaring that they blend in with the surroundings. Most architects use it to convince wary citizens that it is OK

invisible treehouse

We talk about play around here a lot. Remember that play was one of the six aptitudes needed to be successful in today's world featured in Dan Pink's A Whole New Mind. I often associate at least one aspect of play and playfulness with the old Buddhist idea of the beginner's mind (or child's mind). That is, in the child's mind there are infinite possibilities, but in our adult mind (one filled with habits and routines) there often seems to be few. One of TED's newest talks online is by Tim Brown the CEO of Ideo. In this wonderful short presentation Tim makes many salient points about the role of play, playfulness, and creativity and why they matter in our professional or academic lives. You may be a designer of consumer goods, or a medical doctor, or a researcher, or a teacher — every situation is different. But listen to what Tim Brown says and ask yourself how the idea of play might be introduced into your organization in a way that would benefit workers, patients, and students, not o

Play is good for you (and it's good for business)

Creativity is essentially a lonely art

Habit of Highly Creative People | Zen Habits

BBC News | Creativity is akin to insanity, say scientists who have been studying how the mind works.

Article on creativity and how the minds mimic schizophrenia. Interesting about education and the mind.

That thin line between genius and madness is now verified by science.

It's not really origami as such, some really creative ways to make cool stuff out of paper

The times when paper was considered to be the primary medium for artistic expression is long gone. Many writers and designers use digital media to improvise and...

Nice post on @smashingmag - The Beauty of Paper Art - http://bit.ly/boSk0B #art

it's almost like the idea of zen garden--each post has the same elements but uses different properties in the css file

The trend of creating unique designs for each post on a blog is growing.

This Book helps you to move into the Digital era of awesomeness. Download it for free: http://bit.ly/4R9rth

Oh My God What Happened and What Should I Do? a new #book about digital awesomeness http://bit.ly/cCGD2b

This post features over 30 iPad apps that I think designers, developers and creatives will find useful. You’ll find drawing, sketching and wireframing apps, note-taking apps, website editors, painting apps and publishing and analytics apps.

There's some goodies I love in there like Evernote. I haven't tried the external monitor one, but defintely sounds like my kind of trick.

Peter Bregman returns iPad for boredom, spending time w/8YO daughter, laughing, talking, letting minds just wander. http://bit.ly/c3FR6G

come on bro, contain yourself

Sappy with good points about getting away from being connected 100% of the time "Why I returned my iPad" from HBR: http://bit.ly/8WXvQH – Akash Pathak (apathak) http://twitter.com/apathak/statuses/16556395104

blog about boundary blurring!

Being bored is a precious thing, a state of mind we should pursue. Once boredom sets in, our minds begin to wander, looking for something exciting, something interesting to land on. And that's where creativity arises. My best ideas come to me when I am unproductive. When I am running but not listening to my iPod. When I am sitting, doing nothing, waiting for someone. When I am lying in bed as my mind wanders before falling to sleep. These "wasted" moments, moments not filled with anything in particular, are vital.

TED Talks As his career grew, David Byrne went from playing CBGB to Carnegie Hall. He asks: Does the venue make the music? From outdoor drumming to Wagnerian operas to arena rock, he explores how context has pushed musical innovation.

David Byrne: How architecture helped music evolve http://www.ted.com/talks/david_byrne_how_architecture_helped_music_evolve.html

moves head too rapidly

By http://bit.ly/Tweets2Delicious

Social Media Examiner

This made me wonder if story telling (or writing) is just helping others get as much out of your imagination as you do.

Our main leisure activity is, by a long shot, participating in experiences that we know are not real. When we are free to do whatever we want, we retreat to the imagination—to worlds created by others, as with books, movies, video games, and television (over four hours a day for the average American), or to worlds we ourselves create, as when daydreaming and fantasizing. The Chronicle Review - The Chronicle of Higher Education

"Beliefs are attitudes that we hold in response to how things are. Aliefs are more primitive. They are responses to how things seem. In the above example, people have beliefs that tell them they are safe, but they have aliefs that tell them they are in danger."

"First, fictional people tend to be wittier and more clever than friends and family, and their adventures are usually much more interesting. I have contact with the lives of people around me, but this is a small slice of humanity, and perhaps not the most interesting slice. My real world doesn't include an emotionally wounded cop tracking down a serial killer, a hooker with a heart of gold, or a wisecracking vampire. As best I know, none of my friends has killed his father and married his mother. But I can meet all of those people in imaginary worlds."

The Pleasures of Imagination - The Chronicle Review - The Chronicle of Higher Education http://goo.gl/c7t8 [from http://twitter.com/dcouturepdx/statuses/16164664745]

hasticity, which is the science of random chance, and they talked to someone who

There's whatever the story appears to be about—the financial crisis, evangelical Christianity, cryogenics—and then there's what it's actually about. And what it's actually about is, as often as not, wrongness.

Ira Glass on the narrative power of being wrong

Inspiring stuff...

On a daily basis, designers are challenged to constantly be inspired by the world around them. It’s hard to be on top of your game every day, and sometimes you’re just left completely and utterly uninspired. Thankfully, there are plenty of visual resources on the web where designers and creatives can turn for inspiration.

checking out: '10 Laws of Productivity' http://bit.ly/aExvGW (via @the99percent) #productivity

Johanna Blakley: Lessons from fashion's free culture http://bit.ly/cB8z8x

TED video

I like @fastcompany's Top 100 Creative People in Business list http://bit.ly/9pVauN, though I wish it was easier to navigate

business

It’s always so interesting when you go to a website you’ve been visiting for months or years to find they’ve been redesigned.

It’s always so interesting when you go to a website you’ve been visiting for months or years to find they’ve been redesigned. Some redesigns are immediately evocative of the old design, and can even leave you wondering if they have....

Web デザイン: もっと素敵に！リデザインしたサイトいろいろ

Awesome Recent Website Redesigns

Awesome recent website redesigns http://dld.bz/jyQK

En un interesantísimo artículo de Wired podemos ver como funciona Pixar y un resumen del largo proceso de varios años que ha llevado al estudio de animación a crear la tercera parte de la conocida película Toy Story.

Good read > The Creativity Crisis http://bit.ly/an2WvJ /RT @invisiblepilot

Back in 1958, Ted Schwarzrock was an 8-year-old third grader when he became one of the “Torrance kids,” a group of nearly 400 Minneapolis children who completed a series of creativity tasks newly designed by professor E. Paul Torrance. Schwarzrock still vividly remembers the moment when a psychologist handed him a fire truck and asked, “How could you improve this toy to make it better and more fun to play with?”

Important article detailing research that indicates that tests of creative performance by children, after rising steadily from the 1950s to 1990, have been dropping sharply since that point. Story attempts to discuss some of the reasons why, how educators (here and abroad) are attempting to inculcate innovative thinking and action in schoolchildren and what sorts of familial and societal conditions spark creativity.

"Newspaper reporters are taught to write fractal articles ... We should approach programming projects in the same way."

J'ai déjà reconnu la valeur de commencer par la fin. Voici qu'un gourou des startups, à l'instar des méthodes dites agiles, suggère de commencer par le milieu !