finding design frontiers: larry keeley at ocad

larry keeley, ceo of doblin, spoke earlier today at ocad, in a wonderful talk sponsored by torch partnership and the strategic innovation lab – the new incarnation of my alma mater the beal institute for strategic creativity. big thanks to the folks that hosted “the john cleese of innovation.” there were a few key ideas that really stood out for me in his talk.

the thesis of larry’s talk focused on a new emerging discipline of innovation, one that is still in its infancy and will eventually encapsulate the methods and rigour demonstrated in fully or semi-institutionalized disciplines such as medicine, law or business. at a time of great uncertainty, as the systems we have come to rely on for the exchange of economic, physical and political capital begin to erode globally, larry offers that innovation, far from dead, is thriving.

as is often the case in times of turmoil, people innovate when they need to think differently, act differently and make different things. they explore the boundaries of what is possible. however, larry asks “what if everything we thought we knew about innovation was wrong?” especially when we consider that most innovation posts a success rate of less than 4%, worldwide. he then gives the following example of how innovation commonly goes down in a company (which i’m sure will be a bit mucked up in my retelling, but the point will get across ;)

the executives of a major corporation realize that their earnings are tanking, and so product lines are trimmed, teams are reduced and gap analysis is conducted. and the gap analytics indicate that in order to close the gap between the economic projections and the actual company performance, one needs to innovate. so the sr execs comb through the company and pick the best and brightest, and get them all together in the board room. then comes the stirring speech, in which the selected team is inspired and charged to innovate with no margin for error, a super short timeline, no guidance, no resources, threat of termination upon failure and little in the way of exactly *what* they’re supposed to innovate towards. ambiguous expectations and concrete deliverables. however, there will be whiteboards and flipcharts to aid in generating ideas. this is akin to picking a bunch of random people and asking them to perform neurosurgery with a few exacto knives and some rubbing alcohol.

return to yyz

sacher torte & ruby port

back from vienna a week already, followed by days of unpacking the new house and wrapping up loose ends for work. it was an interesting trip, and an interesting conference.

while the content was good and engaging, i hate to say it but knowledge, creativity and transformations of societies was poorly organized and not very well thought out, which is a shame as it could have been so much better with just a bit of different effort, ironic given it’s name and mandate… a few things that bothered me…

panel locations weren’t advertised (even general street signage was lacking) and were spread across the city, there was little in the way of networking and meeting with your fellow attendees. and there wasn’t any wifi, which, isn’t so important in the long run.

but those were the little qualms. the biggest problem was that the organizers rescheduled the panel i was on about 6 days before the conference began. originally set to go on friday, we were moved to sunday, which meant that some people missed the panel as their flights were leaving sunday afternoon, or that they were rescheduled to present at 8am. yikes!

beyond that, the content was really really great. mark rectanus, from the university of iowa, spoke about the tensions between institutional knowledge and emergent knowledge (universities and wikipedia, for example), and ways to reconcile this through teaching, dialogue, active participation with one’s students, etc.

and tatjana chorney, from st mary’s in halifax, spoke about transformational teaching methods that also speak to mark’s themes – that while instructors still need to communicate a historical or contextual knowledge base in their curriculi, there’s also an increased need to facilitate and broker knowledge acquisition, insight and analysis as well – the skills and creative impetus to understand and act upon information.

my paper touched upon the underlying dynamics that aid in that facilitation – how groups form, how they trust and read each other so that knowledge can permeate throughout a community. three overlapping areas, and i’m honored that i was able to speak to theirs and the others work. well done, everyone!!

vienna itself is a lovely city – bourgeousie architecture and winding laneways, grand palaces and wiener wurstl stands everywhere. i completely fell in love with the food – especially apfelpunsch, and the people were kind and hospitable. looking forward to another trip in the future!

all this useless beauty

cali balles, photo

i came across this paper* while researching for my project and prepping for the last lecture of the year before presentations, and it really highlights some of the ideas i’ve spoken about previously as well as given articulate phrasing to some really interesting connections in the relationship between craft, design and digital technology. craft and design have had a schism since the industrial revolution, when, for all intents and purposes, design was born. greg calls design ‘creation for reproduction’ – making with the direct intention of replicating, and thus requiring systems and standards to ensure exactness throughout that reproductive process. and most digital technology reflects this, presenting us with clean and simple efficiencies of form but very little humanity. i think that craft, however, embodies a bit more of our humanity as the unique experience of making by hand can’t be replicated and our tools and processes do not become extensions of ourselves, but rather interfaces in an empathetic relationship with the materials, the ideas, the user and ourselves. and beauty.

jayne wallace and mike press (the latter of whom is speaking this week in halifax at nscad university’s neocraft conference- i SO WISH i was there) express their thoughts on the role of beauty in craft, it’s approximation in design and it’s role in creating better digital technologies.

1st part of the excerpts below (2nd to follow shortly)

Beauty, we argue, plays a vital role in humanising technology and ensuring its cultural relevance… Industrial design can
employ the illusion of beauty to temper the beast of technology by providing a veneer of desire, seduction and usability. But let us not confuse eternal beauty with the passionate but fast fading blooms of desire. We enjoy the delights of the G4 Powerbook as much as the next fashion-conscious academic, but only as a well designed one night stand at the orgiastic party of our consumer culture.

moar

stu-stu-studio

i’m super excited that prime gallery, canada’s oldest gallery for craft and the decorative arts, is now carrying my work. check it out! stop by if you’re in the neighbourhood – they carry some of canada’s most renowned artists and have a pretty awesome exhibition schedule. i’ll also be participating in a group show there running from 1-dec to 22-dec, called around the neck. :)

as well, in october i attended two workshops offered by interaccess electronics arts centre as part of their fall schedule. in terms of awesomeness, they were off the chart!!

intro to electronics was a 2-day weekend workshop that, true to its name, covered the basics of electronics, which is great for someone who only sort of understood how the toaster works – ohms and resistors, current, voltage, how breadboards work and how to make motors spin and LEDs blink. taught by rob cruickshank – an awesome guy with tons of knowledge!

intro to microcontrollers was also very cool – tom came to this one to, and learning how to make a series of LEDs blink like KITT with the arduino platform was enough to totally make our day! a fairly simple platform with tons of online resources, i like arduino because of its accessibility. i don’t know squat about programming or building chips/boards, and it’s sort of a tough thing to dabble in, but gord hicks rocked the workshop and i’ll be looking forward to many winter nights spent in the interaccess studio (available to all studio members 24/7), experimenting and making stuff.

they also have a really cool blog!

arts & crafts revisited

***update below***

a few weeks ago i gave a talk on the arts & crafts movement that emerged during the latter part of victorian britain, from roughly 1860 to 1900, and i was taken with the similarities between now and then, in relation to the changes and/or transformation our culture has undergone over the past twenty years or so; and i think i’m still in teacher-mode, so this is a bit of a long post. while the circumstances and contexts are very different, there are arguable parallels in the nature of how people responded. lately i find myself more and more fascinated by the past incidents of massive change, thinking about what insights into the future can be gained by looking back.

bit of history…. originating a few centuries prior with the printing press, the industrial revolution took hold in the early 1800′s with the advent of mechanized innovations in the textile industry, and the mechanization of labour quickly spread to other industries and spurred the production of goods towards extraordinary volumes, creating a greater need for regulated tradeways (rail, road, canal, etc) and urban development. mass production of goods was rampant, newly established factories hired workforces in the thousands, and a new middle class of entrepreneurs and nouveau riche emerged.

by mid-century, the industrial revolution was reaching the crest of its first wave, transforming every aspect of british culture while it gained strength as a global empire. it’s critical to remember that these changes were happening for the first time ever, accelerating human life into the modern age at a pace that barely allowed time to gain vantage on the present before hurtling into the future, all the while changing the expectations of what that future might hold.

more after the jump…

canadian digital information strategy

kudos to the peeps at civicaccess.ca for circulating this in their mailing list!

Arising from a 2006 National Summit on the future of digital content and the public/private infrastructures needed to support it, Library and Archives Canada has released the Canadian Digital Information Strategy for public commentary. The strategy is extremely interesting and full of insights regarding canada’s digital situation/future! Available for download here, they’re inviting comments and suggestions, please forward your thoughts* and engage in this debate! The resolutions generated here could have a HUGE impact on canada’s performance in r&d and innovation.

The Canadian Digital Information Strategy is currently issued in draft form for comment by any interested person or organization. Please note that comments are due by Nov 23, 2007.

Digital information and networked technologies are key drivers of economic growth and social well-being in the 21st century. It is clear that the nations that nurture their digital information assets and infrastructure will prosper; those that do not will fall behind. Canada must act quickly and decisively. We must ensure that the needs of all Canadians-private citizens, scientists, creators, industry, students, and workers-are met. We must also make certain that the fundamental values of our nation, such as bilingualism, multiculturalism, inclusiveness, and equity, are reflected in the digital realm. This can only be accomplished with a strategic approach; one that is highly coordinated and involves all of those engaged in the creation, preservation and dissemination of digital information.

* We welcome your comments on the Canadian Digital Information Strategy by Nov 23, 2007. Your feedback will be used to finalize the strategy.

To guide your response, we would ask you to consider the following questions:

1. Do you agree with the overall vision, scope and challenges outlined in the strategy?
2. Are the objectives and actions set out in Part II the right ones? Which do you view as the most important or pressing?
3. What do you consider to be the critical next steps to advance the strategy? What role can you or your community play?

Unless specified otherwise, we will assume that submissions to this consultation are not made in confidence and that we may reproduce and publish the submissions in whole or in part in any form.
By online form
By e-mail:
CDIS-SCIN@lac-bac.gc.ca
By post:
Canadian Digital Information Strategy
Library and Archives Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0N4
CANADA
By Fax:
(819) 934-5839

the luck of seven needs you

or rather it needs your $11.11.

and actually it’s noel hidalgo who needs your money. and you should give it to him.

noel left nyc on july 7 2007 to travel the seven continents for seven months, talking to people and “documenting free culture, social innovation and global change.” he’s been through europe, the north of africa, the middle east and is currently in delhi. this journey has been funded entirely by noel asking for donations of $11.11 from 700 people around the global. his adventures – in the form of microblogging, vcasts, photos and blogs – can be found here, here, here and here.

why should you donate? because i don’t know anyone else with the passion, brains and balls to take on such a journey. that’s the biggest reason. scott trudeau can provide you with a few others, but honestly, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to contribute to an amazing project. it’s crazy, mind you, but noel inspires and challenges us all to reconsider what kinds of change we’re capable of. dude. he rawks.

donate here

if you happen to be in seoul next month…

photo thomas purves

the wonderful people at LIFT are organizing a free event to take place sept 12, 2007 in seoul, korea (venue tbd). if you happen to be there, i strongly suggest to go – it will change you. and if korea is too far or too soon, LIFT08 happens in february. congrats to laurent, nicolas and team on the launch of LIFTlabs

Join us for a night in Seoul with Adam Greenfield, Bruce Sterling and Korean architect Yoo Suk Yeon to discuss real and digital spaces.

Topic: Spaces: From Real to Digital. How technological developments in both the physical worlds and virtual environments are reshaping our buildings, our games, and soon our web browsers.

When: 12 September 2007 in Seoul, South Korea. The precise location will be announced later.

Speakers:
• Adam Greenfield will show us the opportunities and problems of living in a world where technologies pervaded the physical space.
• The upcoming hybridizations of the digital and the physical will be tackled by Bruce Sterling, who will also present what he, as a science-fiction writer and technology journalist expects.
• Korean architect Yoo Suk Yeon will then talk about the latest trends in architecture and how this hybridization is of importance.
• Virtual spaces and usage of massive multi-player platforms would also be addressed by a fourth speaker coming from the video gaming industry.

Registration: the event will be free but registration is required. To register, email your name to info@liftconference.com (a better system is coming soon).

the re-emergence of the guild, pt one

over the past while i’ve been brushing up on my history of craft for a course i’m teaching in september, and i keep coming back to an idea that first emerged back in the winter. i’m glad it wasn’t lost, and regret that it’s only now i’m getting to it ‘cos i think it might be neat. i’d love to know what you think.

a broad swath of the tech-and-media-enabled communities that we see and participate in today demonstrate patterns that relate quite strongly to various guild systems of the past, collecting, controlling and propagating both codified and experiential knowledge to direct members and indirect affiliates.

more after the jump…

heatwave

it’s really hot. like +35 with the humidex. it’s making me sluggish and woozy to move betwixt the arctic climate at beal and the rainforest of my apartment (yeah, the east and west windows have a great crossbreeze on the third floor. SURE…:P ).

although a thunderstorm is currently on route (eta: 2hrs), the past few days have not been very conducive to my recent resolution to eat at least 80% of my meals from food that comes out of my kitchen, as a way to save a bit of cash and not get tempted by instant gratification delectables. so i’ve been pulling out the recipes that do not involve even making eye contact with the stove. or toaster. etc.

this was from monday, when i was in need of a super boost of energy from the weekend’s perpetual travel (friday pm to sunday am: tdot>nyc>nj>nyc>tdot. by bus/train. :\ ). super easy and extremely tasty. and i find that the kale has noticeable brain results (clarity and energy) immediately!

summer salad

• bunch of kale, washed and chopped, stems and ribs removed
• apple, cored and chopped
• can of beans (pigeon peas are my recent fave, tho romanos are also good. and use fresh if you’ve got ‘em)
• chopped walnuts (optional)

dressing

• extra virgin olive oil (preferably a fine finishing olive oil, infused with lemon or ginger. neat site)
• lemon juice
• mustard seed
• fig vinegar (or apple cider, white wine, etc)
• honey
• salt and pepper

add it all together and toss with dressing. enjoy!

i just learned how to make fresh goat’s milk cheese in an artisan cheese workshop – updates to follow soon!