The good folks over at Winding Road have posted an incredible set of their 25 favorite images from the last year. Even better, they’ve provided a wallpaper-size version of each photo so that you can enjoy them from the comfort and privacy of your very own LCD.
Doesn’t the photo above of DED Jr’s ’62 fuelie Corvette just knock your hat in the creek?
photo credit: James P. Morse
Last week I found myself answering some routine questions around the usual "why Silicon Valley and not [insert locale here]?"
And I gave all the usual answers: great universities, great people who come and stick around, high housing prices that make one desperate to build equity, cluster effects, and a positive (or vicious, depending on how you look at it) cycle feeding all of the above.
But I neglected to mention San Francisco. Shame on me. Yes, I think San Francisco, with all of its entrenched looniness and bohemian iconoclasm, is like a little innovation gallbladder injecting creative bile down into the capitalist digestive tract that is Silicon Valley. Call it trickle down innovation, or a spark plug effect, but I truly believe that all the free thinking (and doing — lots of doing) up there makes a difference down here in the ‘burbs.
In case you doubt me, please turn your gaze to Exhibit A:
7TH ANNUAL’BYOBW‘
BIG WHEEL RACE
FREE OUTDOOR EVENT
EASTER SUNDAY, APRIL 8th 2007
4 PM
TOP OF LOMBARD ST, SF
BIG PEOPLE ON KID’S TOYS
NO RUBBER WHEELS
HAND-MADE PRIZES
FUN!
Why settle for beautiful when you could be interesting instead?
That’s what jolie-laide will do for you.
April 2 means that metacool is now three years old! Thank you for all your attention, ideas, conversation, help, and interest. Let’s see where we are on April 2, 2010!
Gnarly!
photo credit: the.voyager
Ever wonder what tumblehome is? Ever wonder why you’ve never wondered what tumblehome is?
The New York Times is running a nice interactive graphic which shows and defines the terms which form the basis of an auto designer’s aesthetic vocabulary. Strictly speaking, since there’s no designer speaking here, this isn’t exactly a Director’s Commentary; it’s more like a commentary on commentaries.
Zero tumblehome? A Land Rover. Massive tumblehome? A Pagani Zonda (whose factory is a great place to visit, by the way).
And the car in the NYT’s diagram? A Saturn Aura, proof of the resurgence of their brand. Good stuff.
Seth nails it: Zero is the new black
Learning how to develop and market offerings for this world view is, in my humble opinion, the most important business challenge facing any organization today.
Here’s a nice medley of Ferrari Formula 1 Cars through the decades, thanks to the marketing communications folks at Shell. Lots of nice touches, from including a front-engine Ferrari race car (that’s the first one), to the use of period-correct large-window full-face helmets for the racer from the 70’s, to the exquisite V12 & V8 soundtracks, well done. Bravo.
It does feel like a bit of an homage to the Honda Impossible Dreams commercial, which benefits from tighter editing, a humorous plot line, and a wonderful soundtrack. Not trying to be overly critical here, just calling it like I see it. While the Honda commercial evokes a strong emotional reaction, the Shell ad leaves one feeling a bit flat in comparison. Nothing wrong with it, but if brands are all about how they make you feel, then a commercial which is all about building meaning should fire on all emotional cylinders, as it were. A reminder of how great reflective design is so hard to do.
Okay, excuse me while I go listen to those V12’s on overrun once again… Forza Ferrari!
Many thanks to Doug from out in metacoolland for pointing this video out to me.
26march update: here’s a link to a Quicktime version of the Ferrari-Shell ad, much higher quality
My IDEO colleague Ryan Jacoby and I recently published a piece in the Design Management Review titled Innovation, Growth, and Getting to Where You Want to Go.
Please give it a read and let me know what you think, or leave a comment below.
Wow! Look at all this innovative stuff my friends are up to. This is all so fun, I’ve gotta share it with you:
How cool is it to live in a time where everyone can have a website to show what they’re up to? Life is good.
We live in a wonderful age where digital controls add another layer of life and complexity of behavior to analog devices such as the Renault Formula 1 motor above being played like a choir using a computer to control the rpms (the fun starts with 32 seconds left in the video).
Why must things sound boring or terrible? Why not design them to sound the way they would sound if you stopped and thought about the right sound for the occasion? You know that ominous landing gear whine and clunk you hear right after take off in a jet liner? Why not make that sound confidence-inspiring? Everything can be designed, and to deliver a total experience, probably should be.
Above is a tasty brew I stumbled upon in the course of some world travels. Fermented brew plus Kona coffee. Who knew? It tastes pretty good, actually… like good coffee. Iced coffee, that is.
You can either invent something new to the world (hard to do), or you can borrow liberally to build a better mousetrap (easier to do). Taking an ingredient out of its original context is a good way to innovate, and it can result in some potent outcomes:
That’s a very short list — thousands of innovative products have come about from taking two known but separate ingredients and kapow! slam! zoom! putting them together in a way that creates value. Slamming, smashing things together comes from making cross-industry connections. And in an interesting way, it’s a good strategy for reducing risk. While unknown in the context of your competitive environment, something like yield management science or Cash or a big car motor is something already tested and proven and evolved by others. So you’re less likely to end up with arrows in your back.
Who wants more risk than necessary, anyhow? Mix it up.