Probably the best speech on creativity I’ve seen

The idea that collaborative thinking, or ‘Groupthink’, as the right way to solve problems creatively is misguided. According to author Susan Cain in the New York Times, it is often solitary thinking that leads to the biggest creative breakthroughs. She mentions Steve Wozniak who invented the first Apple computer and said in his memoir: “Most [...]

from the New York Times 9th annual year in ideas For dairy farmers, whether to name their cows may seem like a matter of taste. But it might not be. It could be a business decision. A study of several hundred British dairies published in the journal Anthrozoös in March compared responses to a survey [...]

What’s the secret weapon that will give a business an unfair advantage over its competitors? No, we’re not talking industrial espionage or insider trading. We are referring to creativity.  Here are 6 tips for how to make your business more creative. (there are many more in our book!) 1. Celebrate mistakes. It’s okay to fail. [...]

Foursquaropoly. This is an interesting idea. Make your own city a virtual Monopoly board where you can buy the buildings and play against other players. Watch this video to see the concept.

Philippe Starck is a French product designer who has designed everything from toothbrushes to hotel interiors and is now creative director of interior design company Yoo. His simple, iconic and often startling designs entered the mass market when in 2002 he created a number of beautifully designed, but inexpensive, products for Target stores. Starck writes [...]

MIT researchers are developing a microchip that could help blind people regain partial eyesight. Though it won’t completely restore normal vision, it will enable a blind person to recognize faces and navigate a room without assistance. The chip, which is encased in titanium to prevent water damage, will be implanted onto a patient’s eyeball. The [...]

We held a launch event at the head offices of Live Nation on Thursday night, featuring an interview with Live Nation, Mike Rapino, a Q&A session with co-authors Dave and Mark and a great improvised musical performance by Mr. Stewart and violinist Anne-Marie Calhoun. The LA Times was there to cover the event and this [...]

Looks like a regular business card but when you break of ac couple of pieces it becomes a USB flash drive. Job seeker Ramiro Pareja Veredas, a telecommunications engineer from Spain, created this PCB business card to set himself apart from other job seekers  and it houses his resume, cover letter, portfolio, etc. From Gamma [...]

Nicely designed quotes about creativity from great thinkers (the usual suspects) by Shirley-Ann Dick. I like how she says on her website, bolded and highlighted: CONTRARY TO WHAT YOU MAY HAVE READ ON THE INTERNET, THESE ARE NOT FOR SALE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.  IT IS A PRIVATE PROJECT.

Director Michel Gondry always has wonderful ideas for his films. This is mesmerizing.

I have two decades of experience creating and crafting brand positionings and strategies that have benefited numerous companies, both small and large, from established multinationals to startups. I use a straightforward approach (see my section on brand strategies) that starts with an understanding of the market, the company and the consumers and ends with a [...]

This new phone from Nokia charges through body heat. What if charging your cell phone was as easy as sticking it in your pocket for a few hours? That’s the premise of the Nokia E-Cu concept phone, developed by British designer Patrick Hyland. Hyland’s Nokia E-Cu (E for environment, Cu for Copper) phone features a copper [...]

A cool steampunk desktop computer design from here.

A very innovative use of the iPad to create light shows. It’s a great demo of ad agency Dentsu London’s mission: “Making Future Magic.” More details on the project and some other inspiring ideas here.