Dubai. I have a strange fascination with Dubai, I would love to visit the city that seems to change substantially every few years. You live in a hot climate but like to ski – build ‘Ski Dubai’ If you like to go to Disney l [...]
Posted by: Matt SamyciaWood on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
Categories: Inspiration, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
As mentioned previously, Richard and I are co-hosting Likemind Vancouver, which has recently gotten the attention of the New York Times. So, if you’re interested in 45 minutes of coffee and casual conversation with likeminded creative [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Tuesday, October 28th, 2008
Categories: Events, Inspiration, Vancouver | No Comments »
Unconferences are becoming quite popular recently. Perhaps it's a reaction to these uncertain political, economical and environmental times, but I don't care—I like it. The idea of large, complicated and expensive conferences centred around an industry or topic has it's place, but I relish the idea of smaller gatherings of like-minded folks to discuss a variety of topics that affect them. And the notable lack of pressure to hand out business cards and endlessly network, seeking clients or employment is refreshing.
The evening was nearly flawless in its execution. Organized and calmly presented. The schedule was adhered to strictly and the presentations were divers, fresh and succinct. Having been disappointed with all but a few of the speakers at the recent Pecha Kucha event—some of the better ones actually in the audience last night—I found the key strength of Interesting Vancouver was the quality of the presentations themselves. Clearly the organizer, Brett MacFarlane, put a great deal of time and thought into inviting just the right mix of topics and speakers, includeing James Chutter , Darren Barefoot, Dave Ng, Tom Williams and Irwin Oostindie among others.
Presentations alternated from quick three minute overviews to longer twenty minute diatribes on topics such as eating local food, the challenges of living abroad, the impact of art & design on culture, and how we can all find meaning in our lives by supporting various charities. Some speakers addressed precisely how interesting Vancouver is directly, with explorations of the efforts being made to build community and gathering spaces, how BC is a world leader in addressing climate change, and the variety of museums in the area. Every single speaker seemed hand selected and were clearly well prepared and well rehearsed for the evening. The final presentation of the night was by new Vancouverite and 2nd Globe artist David Young, who ended with a sobering look at moments of genius and accomplishment throughout history that occured in cities much smaller and less developed than Vancouver, challenging the audience to consider "Why not us?", suggesting that Vancouver may indeed by the "next great place."
Another key factor for me last night was the combination of the high calibre of attendees combined with the casual, comfortable feeling in the room. Hosted at The Vancouver Rowing Club, with its spectacular views of the Vancouver skyline, the event had a casual, town hall feel. People from all walks—though admittedly skewed toward the geek "wonk" crowd—sipped beers and munched apples compliments of the organizers. Apples and beer? Try it for yourself, it's a delicious combo.
The night ended as it had begun: enjoying good conversations over drinks with likeminded friends, only this time they were coffees with cake—to help shake off the multiple beers imbibed earlier. I'm looking forward to next year's edition of Interesting Vancouver and recommend you attend, although I hope it doesn't grow much larger due its success this year, and suggest you think up a more clever drinking game than we did. Ouch.
[post_title] => Unconferences: Very Interesting Indeed
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I consider myself lucky to one of the lucky few able to get a ticket to last night’s sold out inaugural Interesting Vancouver conference with some friends. Oops, I meant to say “unconference.” It was the third local event [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Saturday, October 25th, 2008
Categories: Events, Inspiration, Vancouver | No Comments »
Just a little teaser: we took down the old logo on the front door the other day. Hint: if the suspense is killing you and you can’t wait for the new website, or to get handed a new business card, do a drive by.
Posted by: Ben Garfinkel on Thursday, October 9th, 2008
Categories: Design, Industrial Brand, Inspiration | No Comments »
Here’s nothing more than geeky fun to inspire you today: singing Tesla coils!
Posted by: Mark Busse on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
Categories: Fun, Inspiration | No Comments »
It’s been almost a year since the first and only time I’ve been to La Habana, Cuba and since then the country has moved even further away from the isolationist history (imposed or voluntary) of the last 50 years towards globaliz [...]
Posted by: Steve Mynett on Friday, September 26th, 2008
Categories: Art, Inspiration, Photography, Travel | No Comments »
This post is for those of you who need a shot of inspiration. Pour yourself a tea in a quiet place (or put your headphones on), sit back and enjoy this wisdom that comes from a very special place. Randy Pausch was a popular professor of Com [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Friday, August 29th, 2008
Categories: Inspiration | No Comments »
I enjoy performance art as much as the next guy (fact: few people enjoy performance art), but this Brooklyn-based artist William Lamson should be recognized for creating the weirdest bit I’ve seen in a while using a mask of exploding [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Friday, August 22nd, 2008
Categories: Art, Inspiration | No Comments »
Through vérité footage and in-depth conversations, the film documents the creative processes of some of the world’s most influential designers, and looks at how the things they make impact our lives. What can we learn about who we are, and who we want to be, from the objects with which we surround ourselves?
The film is still in production and slated for an early 2009 release. If it's as well researched and produced as Helvetica was, it's destined to be another resounding success. I can't wait to see it.
[post_title] => Objectified: New Hustuit Design Documentary
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Let’s face it: Gary Hustuit’s documentary Helvetica was a runaway hit. I certainly didn’t expect so many designers and non-designers alike to get so goofy about a film about a typeface. Building on his success and reputati [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
Categories: Design, Film, Inspiration, Movie, News, We love | No Comments »
UPDATE: So far he’s raised just under $10,000 and has been featured in the National Post, The Huffington Post and The Metro. Throw in some interviews on CBC and CKNW and there’s quite a bit of support behind this initiative. If [...]
Posted by: Steve Mynett on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008
Categories: Inspiration, News, Sustainability | 1 Comment »
With categories like Designer, Programmer, Educator and Company of the year, I wonder how the nomination, selection and award process works. The explanation on the site leaves a bit to be desired, and upon drilling down to the personal site of one of the nominees (who has been recognized in 2008, 2006, 2005 and 2001) I found out that they were also on the judging committee in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Hmmm...conflict of interest?
Easy to bitch I know, the bottom line is that there's some high quality work being recognized worth of checking out.
[post_title] => Canadian New Media Awards
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The finalists for the Canadian New Media Awards have been announced and on the heels of Ben’s post on awards shows, I continue to have mixed feelings about awards shows. This one stands out from others because the awards go to the ind [...]
Posted by: Steve Mynett on Friday, July 25th, 2008
Categories: Awards, Inspiration | 1 Comment »
While I'll leave the note-taking to the super blogger Lauren, here is the agenda of the presentations:
8.30 Opening Remarks
PSFK founder Piers Fawkes welcomes the audience and introduces the agenda.
8.45 Trends-Should you care?
Ed Cotton (BSSP) explains why trends and inspiration matter - and how you can judge and use them.
9.15 San Francisco Snapshot
What makes the Bay Area tick? Colin Nagy (Attention) leads a discussion with passionate locals discuss what aspects of local culture inspire them the most. Panel includes Amit Gupta (Photojojo), Jeremy Townsend (Ghetto Gourmet), Kevin Allison (Financial Times) and Liz Dunn (funnyordie.com)
10.00 Shape The World
Chris Riley (Apple) explains how three Bay Area residents have shaped his world.
10.50 New Art
Since opening her online and offline art galleries, Jen Bekman (20×200) has witnessed (and encouraged) and new movement of artists, themes and styles. Bekman talks about the trends she sees in art and artists’ use of technology to connect with art-lovers and buyers.
11.20 Make It With Us
Ezra Cooperstein (Current TV) and Andrew Hoppin (NASA) describe how to shake up large bureaucratic industries (e.g.: aerospace and broadcast media) by turning customers into creators and collaborators.
12.00 Making Inspiration Matter
Gathering trends and ideas may be important but how do you take inspiration and create change? Gareth Kay (Modernista) leads a discussion with Eric Corey Freed (Organic Architect), Frank Striefler (Media Arts Lab) and Josh Morenstein (fuseprojects).
1.40 Thoughtful Change
Jean-Marie Shields (Starbucks) explains that the future will embrace brands that connect with consumers by converting ideas into Thoughtful Change.
2.10 Aligning Interests
When cynical people admit they’re idealistic you might be on to something; Publisher and Founding Editor Max Schorr shares his inspirations and learnings from the beginning of GOOD Magazine.
2.40 Look & Feel
Creative designer and inventor of Red, the award winning In Flight Entertainment system for Virgin America, speaks about innovation in the cabin worldwide.
3.40 Using It
How can companies and organizations leverage social media to enhance consumer dialog, evolve product offering and improve sales. Bootstrapping expert George Parker will lead a discussion with leading marketing innovators Adrian Ho (Zeus Jones), Mark Lewis (DDB), Lynn Casey (Team Noesis) and Rohit Bhargava (Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence).
4.20 When Words Are Not Enough
Using experience design to enhance communications: George Murphy (Modo-Group) and John Pollard (Microsoft) describe how environments and technology helped consumers connect with the brand.
4.50 Behave
Josh Handy & Nate Pence talk about how they design the method way, and how design and creative both mirror and shape the organization.
[post_title] => PSFK Conference: more than just trends
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Today I am in San Francisco at the PSFK Conference, billed as a day of trends, inspiration and creativity. So far I am enjoying the content and discussions so much that I am going to avoid trying to frantically keep up with notes, Twitter a [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Thursday, July 17th, 2008
Categories: Events, Inspiration, Learning, Trends | No Comments »
Apparently this has been going around for a little while, but the sheer effort, not to mention volume of paint, of this street art (I hesitate to call it grafitti) is impressive. Muto is “an ambiguous animation painted on public walls [...]
Posted by: Ben Garfinkel on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
Categories: Art, Inspiration, Pop Culture | No Comments »
As much as I love music, I rarely find that it transcends a simple performance to something a little more ethereal. Miles Davis is a musician I absolutely love and adore, but his music has always remained academic for me, always appealing t [...]
Posted by: Steve Mynett on Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
Categories: Inspiration, Music | No Comments »
There is one thing I know all designers love; freaking sexy business cards. Here’s a site that will definitely get you thinking about redesigning your own card or at least get you itching to do something.
Posted by: Steph Co on Friday, June 6th, 2008
Categories: Art, Branding, Design, Inspiration, We love | 1 Comment »
