"Innovation is Dead"?

According to Bruce Nussbaum on Core77. "Innovation" died in 2008, killed off by overuse, misuse, narrowness, incrementalism and failure to evolve. It was done in by CEOs, consultants, marketeers, advertisers and business journalists who degraded and devalued the idea by conflating it with change, technology, design, globalization, trendiness, and anything "new." It was done it by an obsession with measurement, metrics and math and a demand for predictability in an unpredictable world. The concept was also done in, strangely enough, by a male-dominated economic leadership that rejected the extraordinary progress in "uncertainty planning and strategy" being done at key schools of design that could have given new life to "innovation. To them, "design" is something their wives do with curtains, not a methodology or philosophy to deal with life in constant beta--life in 2009.
Considering how much Bruce himself has been trumpeting the word this seems like an odd proclamation to me. Maybe he feels only he can spot real innovation. Or, maybe he is going to unveil a new word in 2010? He is probably correct but even more impressive is his use of "conflating", now that is innovation.

BMW

It looks cool but is BMW actually going to manufacture and market something interesting or are they going to continue to use all of their creativity and skill on making one-off show cars for the cover of popular science?

More Zak Smith

Karl's new kitchen

Karl is a home improvement juggernaut. Check out the latest.

More Zak Smith

Painting by Zak Smith

Interesting

Cool idea, but why didn't they design the legs of the chair to go with the peacock folds?

Oblagon Christmas

I know that a lot of people get Syd Mead's Holiday card. Still, it is really a thrill to see every year.

Zoe Saldana

I saw Avatar on Christmas Day. Yes, the theater was crowded but it was worth it and both Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana did a good job. Most of the special effects were terrific and the ships were downright awesome. The six legged horses were a little heavy-handed and the dog/hyena night creatures were just plain bad but the rest of the visuals and the solid story more than made up for it.

Merry Christmas

Christmas gift idea #10 (late)

Although the flow of the book is a little confusing in that it makes the four primary figures become a jumble at times, it is still very interesting.

christmas gift idea #9

"Eames inspired" serving tray available for a bloated price on Hivemodern.com

christmas gift idea #8

The womb chair. If you have a huge christmas budget this would make anyone happy.

christmas gift idea #7

According to Unicahome, "Provence is an exquisite series of crystal glassware from one of italy's finest glass producers, ichendorf. a collision of art and useful object, provence brings creativity and style to the table. the diagonally cut line of the parison facilitates tasting so function and design work in complete harmony. It is not for me, but it is interesting.

christmas gift idea #6

All of the lego sets are great but the star wars ones are excellent.

Christmas gift idea #5

The 2010 collectors calendar by lavazza. I think that you have to be in Europe and be a big distributor to get one but this makes a great gift...assuming that you can actually find one.

2010 Lavazza does it again

Christmas gift idea #4

Anything from Zutano but especially the blanket outfit sets. The materials are as good as the patterns and they are well constructed.

More papier mache

This is kind of like what we were trying to make out of pulp as a line of dorm furniture. I think that it would be even more successful if they integrated a bit of storage too...rather than having it be hollow.

Christmas gift idea #3

This is the desk set by Amy Butler. You can order it from her website. www.amybutlerdesign.com This is part of the desktop collection.

cool menorah

This menorah is available at Unicahome and can be configured in a linear undulating path or a bunch of other variations.

christmas gift idea #2

They are a little crafty but I think that the hand painted paper ornaments are great looking on the tree. The look is different than glass because there is less reflection. Crate and Barrel sells a couple of sets and they last for ever. You can also make your own pretty easily...wrapping paper from target and ornament balls from any craft store works well.

Christmas gift idea #1

If you know someone that is really into chocolate here are chocolate fondue sets for each place setting. Available at all modern.com. That glow in the middle is coming from the votive. Nice find david!

MoMA Bamboo

This espresso set looks great and the presentation is cool but these cups are unpleasant to drink out of and are a bit prone to dribbling.

PMS 389

This is almost the the high visibility yellow-green color of the fire trucks in parts of New Jersey. The form is cool but the process description is what really makes it unique, interesting and also a little puzziling. "Mi is fabricated from a completely recyclable thermoplastic, derived as a byproduct of natural gas processing"

concept sketch page

I like the composition and style of this concept sketch page by May Wilson. The choice of color for the linework is interesting the the range of forms and colors used holds the page together nicely while still keeping your eye moving around the page. The rest of May's work in on display on Core77.

Thanksgiving charity

The boys helped assemble and hand out baskets this year for Thanksgiving.

Gerhard Richter

I think that this would look great in the studio.

Tom Nozkowski

A painting by Tom Nozkowski.

Ares Rocket logo

I think Ares is the rocket that is the planned vehicle for getting people to Mars. It recently won Time magazine's invention of the year. I thought for sure that it would be something in the medical field this year. This basic technology seems kind of old to be getting invention of the year in 2009, but there must be some under-pinning that I am missing. I read on the alcoa website that the use of aluminum played a critical role in making this possible.

Saturday Morning Cartoon Zombies

Another Michael Palmer

This one might get a little too flat and folky but I think the controlled palette and geometric competition make it engaging.

Hotel Limes in Brisbane

The cartoony silhoutte reminds me of the fiberglass chairs in the lower level of Grand Central Station but the rough stitched pattern is really unique. I saw this looking at the hotel Limes website which is list on the design hotels website. They call the chair "Big Moma".

Ian and Porky

Designers Accord

Fast Company just went live with a really kind and well-written article on the Preserve tableware line. Here is the link: http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/alissa-walker/designerati/preserve-everyday-tableware and an excerpt from the interview "We were able to find a shape that was less manufactured-looking, organic, softer, and approachable." To give a tactile cue that these plates should get extra attention, Evo created a lip that lowers down from the rim, giving users a special place for their hands to land on the pieces."

Another Michael Palmer

Michael Palmer

I like the view point that Michael Palmer paints from and his use of linework. This painting is called Jerktown.

Pod Office

Cool find David. According to their website: A place dedicated to work. The garden based POD is of the highest quality design and provides a work environment that is separate from the disruptions of home life.

Alcoa house

Interesting take on the house of the future from Alcoa. I think that this was done in the 60's but it is still standing. Very cool kitchen. The color combinations with the light wood are great...reminds me of what is going on with the contemporary melamine and bamboo combos.

Christmas comes early

From Unicahome: "Eva Zeisel is considered one of the world's most influential industrial designers. born in budapest, hungary in 1906, her extensive body of work, incorporating a natural and organic approach to modernism, ranges from ceramic and glass objects to furniture and home accessories. new for 2009, these three mouth-blown glass ornaments were designed exclusively for moma by eva zeisel with olivia barry. boxed. " It might just be too early for Christmas decorations or these might just be a little forced, over-worked and heavy-handed. They seem to me to be trying too hard for MoMa.

Big Screen DS

Everything is dropping hard on the DOW right now but with the rumors of a larger screened Nintendo DS debuting before the end of the year it might be a good time to get a few shares of NTDOY. Even without a huge share value surge at the very least the dividends are quite nice. By the way, I do not think it will look anything like this. This is just two iphones photoshopped onto each other...I think.

Rachell Sumpter

I think that I really like this...the colors are engaging and the composition interesting. I am not sure that 14X11 is big enough though. I think that Rachel should work a bit bigger. Still it is a compelling piece that you have to look at close up in order to appreciate.

controller

We are working on a game controller project and in the process I came across this. It seems like it would be great for gamers that are also very good at texting. I believe that this particular one is for Xbox.

DiTullo Automotive

Impressively, in the middle of everything else Mike has going on he has broken into Automotive Design too. I know that he has been working towards getting an automotive piece into production on-the-side for a little while now. Congratulations Mike.

bookshelf

Apple

Nice power button...not sure about the magic mouse.

HTC

Although the angle is just a slight change it seems appropriate and I bet it is more pleasant to use. The finish also looks interesting. I read something on gadget about it being teflon coated? Sounds interesting.

interior

The flocked steering wheel is a little weird.

LFS

Check out the concept section on the Lexus website. Along with the interesting looking new hybrids some of the concepts are really nice evolutions of current form and detail trends.

Preserve

We are really happy with the way that this came out. The subtly form break and the struggle over finding the exact right detailing and material thickness was worth it.