Point of View
Stefanie Norvaisas, director of design strategy & research + principal, and Jarod Beukelman, industrial designer, have just returned from research and conceptualization efforts in Finland. And while their work kept them on the road and in meetings most of the time, Helsinki brought the exhibit to our staff, and every traveler, as they arrived at the the Helsinki Airport. That’s the venue for a unique exhibition experience.
Helsinki has been awarded the title of World Design Capital 2012 (WDC) by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). WDC 2012 gives Helsinki the opportunity to showcase their design achievements and spotlight their efforts to energize and revitalize their city.
As the organizers explain, the exhibition transforms the space from airport to “art port.” The first exhibition entitled, “Sit Down and Seize The Moment,” features the work of 15 Finnish designers. Travelers are invited to sit for a quiet moment (aided by noise reducing ear protection) and record their unique thoughts on the experience. We invite you to do the same!
Picture March in Wisconsin, and you’re unlikely to think of warm summer days. But, like so many places across the country, that’s exactly what we’re experiencing this year. And, this weekend, Jesse, Justen, Kevin W and Kent took advantage of the spring-like weather by taking to the mountain biking trails a little early. The group explored CamRock Park in Cambridge, Wisconsin riding hills, trails and apparently logs.
Our project work continues as our teams are now in Europe conducting research that will influence our client’s design and business strategies.
Today, Marlisa Kopenski, director of business strategy, and Lucas McCann, senior design strategist, are taking a moment to share an image of what turned their heads. Marlisa explains, “Our project has us in Ghent, Belgium and our hotel is very close to the Design Museum. We had to do a double take when we saw the sign for it—it looked eerily familiar. Kudos to Lucas for recognizing the Design Concepts [logo] fonts.
Last week, Marlisa wrapped up project work in London with Design Concepts’ industrial designer and project team member Jarod Beukelman. Although their projects kept them extremely busy, troupers that they are, they made the time to submit a Design Double Take of what they saw outside their hotel. It’s a scene worthy of any nineteenth-century British novel – I’m guessing the Bronte sisters can’t be more than 50 feet away.
Our user experience teams continue their travels around the world. In between meetings and interviews, they’ve been challenged to find time to capture snapshots of the head-turning images they’ve seen along the way.
Today’s Design Double Take comes from the team of Sherry Eckholm, senior industrial designer + studio lead, and Dan Sarbacker, design strategist, as they continue their journey moving from Korea to Taiwan.
In Taipei, Sherry met school children excited to meet and greet our team at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
From the street looking up at the Taipei 101 building – 1,474 ft from the ground to the rooftop.
From up above looking down at Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung at night where scooters rule the road.
My locale is not nearly as exotic as the locations where my co-workers have been posting from, but I’ve spent the last couple of days in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida with my brilliant colleague, Stef Norvaisas. We were helping STARLIMS – a leading laboratory software information systems company – by facilitating some customer brainstorming sessions at their national sale conference. We wanted to help STARLIMS use their customers to help envision the future of mobile computing and how it would change their industries. It ended up being a very fun and provocative couple of sessions!
Anyway, I took a few moments between sessions to wander among the mega yachts tied up on the piers by the hotel. The name of this one caught my eye. “Outta Touch”.. Really? Really?? In today’s “Occupy Wall Street” age do you really want to name your luxury yacht “Outta Touch?” Don’t these people have “people” that keep them from making these types of mistakes? Do you think they don’t get the irony or perhaps they just don’t care?
Clearly we’re in rarified water here.
Later on in the evening our waiter pointed out Steven Spielberg’s Mega Yacht – the Seven Seas – (apparently it’s the most expensive private yacht on the planet) moored across from the restaurant. I wouldn’t have believed it had it not been for the magic of Google. Yep. In Ft. Lauderdale of all places. Here it is (pictures from Google – it was dark but, yes, it is as freakishly huge as it appears in these pictures).
http://spielbergfanclub.com/2011/07/check-out-spielbergs-200-million-yacht-seven-seas/
But it was really this yacht (below) that caught my eye!
Believe it or not, so far as the REALLY big yachts go around here, in terms of size this one is sort of.. umm, uh… pedestrian. It looks like this would fit on the back of the Seven Seas. Sideways. Ok, maybe not.
I liked the lines of this boat, but what really stood out though was the color – flat, gunmetal gray. The picture’s not the best, but the effect was pretty impressive and attention grabbing. Now, flat colors are all the rage on custom cars but on your zillion dollar luxury yacht? That takes some guts. I’m not really a big powerboat aficionado but in a sea (literally) of white with the occasional blue, this boat looked particularly noticeable – in a good way.
My hat’s off the to the designer with the courage to propose taking a different approach and perhaps even the owner for taking a bit of a risk on his or her multi-million dollar toy. Good for you. Not that I can relate, mind you. You’re still outta touch!
