A few things we can learn from fashion & Victor Churchill
We can all learn a lot from Fashion. Fashion brands exist based on their ability to connect with consumers emotionally. Fashion has nothing to do with price and more about marketing than product, it has everything to do with the need to associate at an emotional level.
As the saying goes, people “do not buy the soda”, [...]
Create your own Infographic powered by Google.
The Google Public Data Explorer makes large datasets easy to explore, visualize and communicate. As the charts and maps animate over time, the changes in the world become easier to understand. You don’t have to be a data expert to navigate between different views, make your own comparisons, and share your findings.
The tool helps visualize data [...]
What are people really buying online?
What people buy online differs substantially from what they buy in-store. According to a study by the US Census Bureau, the bulk of sales are still in-store. There are, however, several categories in which online sales dominate each product marketplace. These include: books and magazines, clothing, and electronics. Below, Permuto have broken down the sales [...]
From the Bull:: On Being unreasonable
Being unreasonable…
A small number of people have suggested to me that I have made a career out of being contrary and at times unreasonable. This always makes me smile and nowadays I accept it as a compliment. Like a friend once told me, “you don’t get a nickname like The Bull from baking scones on [...]
Sony Music deliver a blow to CDs
Sony Music delivered a knockout blow to CDs, announcing recently that on May 1, it will cease sending promo CDs to critics and journalists, and instead only provide them with digital previews. Sony is the second-largest music company in the world, and the first major label to do digital-only promotions–hopefully it’s not the last.
This is [...]
FROM THE BULL:: Innovate or Perish
Recently I had the great pleasure of participating in an Innovation Forum (IF) in Melbourne hosted by the charming and charismatic Ben Rennie of Uncluttered White Spaces. It was a brilliant evening with a great panel, an engaged audience and some lively discussions.
Innovation is a curious term that means different things to different people. My [...]
A pop up bar made from 420 IKEA boxes
Reverting back to the word of innovation. The Bull often refers to innovation as a new way of viewing something that either exists or does not. Surely this errs-towards an innovative way to use Ikea tubs. Instead of dumping old storage boxes, why not give them a second life as alcohol-slinging pop-up shops? Designers Diogo [...]
IF Melbourne in review:: “Nostalgia, denial & arrogance” – Ben Crowe @ IF 2010
uncluttered white spaces hosted our second Innovation forum (IF Melbourne) on Tuesday night at Denmark House Melbourne.
The night turned out one of the most influential panels and guests list I have been involved in with some amazing contributions across the floor. IF exisits to bring together like minded innovators and thought leaders to share ideas [...]
Information is Beautiful:: Does the BBC give good value for money?
Last week, the BBC cuts made all the headlines: it is closing two radio stations, capping spending on sports events, and slashing other costs. All to generate extra revenue for programming.
David McCandles has covered this in an Infogrpah reviewing the BBC budgets.
As ever, it’s a little hard to understand all the abstract figures from the BBC [...]
Adidas + Augmented Reality & a few Stormtroopers.
Taking on the now industry standard concept in the games field of augmented reality, adidas has created a virtual 3-D world that can be accessed using a future line of five men’s sneakers. Users need to visit the adidas site and hold up their sneaker to their webcam; the show will feature a code implanted [...]
A reader puts in a request for honest plain english.
I am in the process of travelling from Sydney to Perth of a business trip. Majority of my time has been spent reading business mags and newspaper.
In reading the long list of earnings announcements, I’d like to make a minor change . To make a translation of a sentence I read a number of times [...]
Rick Klotz on the world’s got problems.
As a continuation on our series tracking the devlopments at Freshjive (or formerly known as) in relation to the recent name changes, we found this short documentary intruiging, controversial with plenty of room for interpretation.
If we can take 1 insight from Rick’s approach, it is certainly that he is prepared to put it out there [...]
What Personality Traits Do Designers Share?
Ignoring the details and the, illegible pie chart at the bottom. Lets zoom in on the two clearest trends: 85% of respondents were “intuiting” types, while 69% were “judging.” By itself that’s not particularly useful. But those two personality traits offer a good insight into what “design thinking” might actually consist of.
According to the test, [...]
From the Bull:: What happens when you give more than you take?
Recently, I was chatting with a great friend of mine who runs his own successful business. He’s a fantastic guy who is loved by everyone. His network of friends, business contacts and acquaintances is huge. He is smart, pragmatic and has the best “bull-sh*t detector” on the planet. He can be gruff at times and [...]
From the Bull:: The ultimate feedback question.
Remember the old staff suggestion boxes? Staff were encouraged to submit ideas, suggestions, criticisms etc via a suggestion box which once every week or so a manager would open and review. If their suggestion was controversial or personal they could submit it anonymously. In the bad old days this was sometimes the only voice that [...]
Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize wish:: Teach every child about food
Have you ever been so moved by a speech that it change the very foundations of your life? I have. The majority of the speeches that moved me to create changes in my life were delivered by TED.
Last week, they did it again. After awarding Jamie Oliver with the TED Prize for 2009, in his [...]
Think Thursday: Business Evolution & Leadership
EVENT: THINK THURSDAYS
WHERE: DENMARK HOUSE – Melbourne
GUEST SPEAKER: BEN RENNIE
WHEN: MARCH 4, 2010.
Denmark House hosts Think Thursdays each month. The social events are open for all to attend (members as well as non-members), allowing guests the opportunity to experience the unique designer interior of the Denmark House venue.
Denmark House encourages you to “open your [...]
I’m Here: a Spike Jonze love story
Spike Jonze’s releases his first love story which premieres as part of the first-ever Opening Night’s Shorts Program at the Sundance Film Festival. I’m Here is a 30-minute love story about the relationship between two robots living in L.A. Andrew Garfield and Sienna Guillory are in the lead roles, and the soundtrack includes original music [...]
A few facts about plastic bottles and the resistance.
Seth Godin has been talking a lot lately about the Lizard brain. The conversation in your head that tells you no, don’t do it. In a recent interview with white spaces, he made an interesting comment. When he hears the lizard in his head (the resistance), he takes that as a signal to forge ahead [...]
Google launches Buzz: Real time feeds for Gmail.
Google, like someone arriving late to a party already drunk and boisterous but with a lot of party favors, is trying to grab some of that Web2.0 social glimmer by polishing up Gmail with Google Buzz. The app, which is integrated into Gmail, includes the best features of Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and other well-known social [...]