Stefan Sagmeister: The power of time off

I've always thought that it's important to make time for things other than work and that taking time out (that could be 5 minutes to 5 months?) from projects and then coming back to them can be very beneficial. Sitting at a desk, starring at a computer screen doesn't particularly help generate ideas or solve problems. While at Uni I often found that the moment I left the studio was when ideas started to fill my head. Also, I think having separated work time and 'play' time actually makes me work more effectively and efficiently. I think it's important to see and experience many different things in order to inform and inspire me, so in some ways activities other than work are equally as important.

I often use this blog to keep track of ideas, thoughts and interesting things I've found while I was actually looking for something else (usually related to the work I should in fact be doing!) But I feel it's important to keep a record of these other, un-related to work, interests and thoughts because they can help provide information for future work and ideas.

This TED video talks about how Stefan Sagmeister makes everyone in his studio take a year long sabbatical every 7 years and the benefits to his employees of this. Ultimately he describes how happy employees are productive employees!

TV = generally quite shit

BUT yesterday caught Kevin McCloud's 'Slumming It' on Channel 4. A really fascinating program about life in the slums in India, where even though there are many bad things about living there, such as poor sanitation, the developed world can actually learn a lot about the way they live and how their communities operate. For example, they manage to recycle a very impressive 80% of the waste they produce compared to about 20% in the UK (although you will see their motivations for doing it are very different). Definitely recommend watching it, a very eye opening program.

Watch on 4oD here.

ICON 064 | October 2008 > Don't worry about oil running out

Read the article

Brian Dettmer: Book Autopsies

http://centripetalnotion.com/2007/09/13/13:26:26/

Erik Nitsche

http://www.iconofgraphics.com/Erik-Nitsche/

Music and life

Been thinking about -

Downshifting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downshifting

I feel I already live my life, almost, in this way but I didn't realise there was a term for it! After reading about it and learning more I've found out other ways to make more efforts to downshift and been thinking maybe I should implement them into how I live.

NEWS - GeoVation

Just after new year I entered the GeoVation challenge organised by Ordnance Survey. The brief was to explore innovative ways to use geographical information.

My Idea -

Who used to live in your house? How has your community changed over the years? What was it like to live in your town during the war? What do you think of the area where you live?

Oral history is the recording, preservation and interpretation of historical information, based on the personal experiences and opinions of the speaker.

This 'Mapping Oral History' venture would be an innovative, interactive, website that utilises digital mapping, such as google maps or similar, where users can tag locations and leave recorded (preferably as audio but written if not possible) messages / memories / stories about that area.

It is intended that this website would allow people to give a personal view of the places they have lived and been, building both a current and historical perspective, that can be preserved and then heard by other people and future generations.

Concept image below. Click to see it big.

NEWS - Citizens Advice Bureau project round up

Just before Christmas I finished an eight week research project for the Citizens Advice Bureaux based down in Surrey. I was asked by them to investigate and devise ways that they could diversify their service in order to reach more people within the community but at the same time generate extra income from this to enable the charity to become more financially stable.

I really enjoyed this project. It gave me the chance to use my skills that I have developed as a product designer but apply them to a completely new situation. I went through the same process that I normally would when designing a product but instead of having a tangible outcome I designed services and strategies. I'm really keen to do more work like this, especially in multidisciplinary groups, where people bring their skills together to solve problems out of their normal area of work. I believe it is defiantly a beneficial way of working.

While I was at the CAB I took in an incredible amount of information and learnt so much. It was all really interesting. I also came to realise that the Citizens Advice Bureau is a really under-valued and under-appreciated charity. The volunteers who work there put in a great deal of free time, effort and hard work to give help and advice to anyone who asks for it, no matter who they are and what their situation is. The volunteers contribution to the CAB is estimated to be worth around £730,000 per annum in Waverley alone. (Waverley consists of Farnham, Godalming, Haslemere and Cranleigh - towns within Surrey).

CAB 1980's styleee. The CAB celebrated it's 70th anniversary during 2009.

Visited: Wellcome Collection

This was quite a while ago now but I went to the Wellcome Collection, in Euston, to see their new exhibition on identity. It profiled the lives of nine different people in different rooms within their gallery space. I found it really interesting especially as it coincided with a time that I was thinking about identity quite a lot - How I see myself compared with how other people see me, How I think I look in my head compared with how I actually look, How I see other people and how these views are built etc.

I didn't really like how they had built the exhibition. The rooms that they had made looked a bit un-finished and didn't really look right in the space but the actual exhibition was really good and I would recommend it. More information here.

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While I was there I also went to one of the Wellcome Collection 'packed lunch' talks with Rachel Armstrong - a synthetic biologist working at the Bartlett School of Architecture. Her talk was about connecting the natural world with the built environment to create 'living materials' that can grow themselves and may even be a solution to climate change. She also talked quite a bit about people from diverse and different working backgrounds coming together to collaborate on projects and solve problems. For example although she is a biologist she works with architecture students and is also involved with performance art, which I thought was really interesting.

It was a really fascinating talk but unfortunately because it was only about 45 minutes long there wasn't really the chance for her to discuss the issues in detail. But there are some of her talks on TED.com (she is a TED fellow) which I've been watching to find out more-

Listen to a podcast of the actual Packed Lunch talk by Rachel Armstrong here.

Farnham charity shops are ace.

Sewing table and dial telephone £15 each

"at age 32 (in 1929) Buckminster Fuller chose to embark on an experiment to find what a single individual could contribute to changing the world and benefiting all humanity"

Looks like silly putty

Sugru is a simple silicone substance that makes it easy to alter, add to and repair stuff. Invented by RCA graduate Jane ní Dhulchaointigh, the material allows people to “hack” design. Pretty Exciting.

Read more at IconEye

I should be sleeping.

I wish I was, but I can't. I've managed to really mess up my sleep patterns from too many late nights over the holiday season.

Looking downtown from 3rd and 35th, New York

'Here and There' for BERG by James King