Category Archives: Innovation

Design Revolution Road Show Recap

Mar 04
10
Posted by Susan Isaacs

Sure this past Saturday morning was cold and windy, but that was not enough to slow down Project H’s Design Revolution Road Show which cruised into town for the day.

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Vintage Airstream that housed the exhibit. Talk about shiny!

I had the pleasure of spending the day with the inspiring folks at the helm: Emily Pilloton, Founder and Executive Director of Project H, along with Matt Miller, Project Architect - two super smart people, who aren’t just talking about making the world a better place…they’re doing something about it.

I won’t rehash previous posts (you can read them here and here).

Not long ago, Emily wrote the book Design Revolution - 100 Products That Empower People and the Road Show is essentially her book tour. The book is a mind-blowing encyclopedia of phenomenal products that are changing our world.

The exhibit was a sampling of around 40 of those products including:
. The LifeStraw a portable water filtration device.
. GROW a new approach to solar and wind power.
. The Hippo Roller a water transportation barrel that rolls along the ground, with a handle attached to the axis of the barrel.
. The SpiderBoot footwear for landmine detection teams
. Adaptive Eyewear inexpensive self-adjustable eye glasses (ONE OF MY FAVS!)
. HYmini renewable power for your gadgets
…and on and on.

(FYI - the book is currently out of stock after sales shot through the roof thanks to Emily’s appearance on The Colbert Report. The link I’ve provided is to another amazing organization called Better World Books a “for-profit social enterprise that collects used books and sells them online to raise money for literacy initiatives worldwide”. I recommend buying your copy from them.)

Early in the afternoon the gathering crowd moved into the Trustees Theater for the presentation. Emily and Matt gave a bit of background on themselves and how they transitioned from commercial design to humanitarian design. I especially liked hearing about her moment of absolute clarity, which came after a 3 hour long meeting to determine the perfect doorknob shape for a retailer’s revamped stores! Ouch.

Then they talked about two projects they’d done in Bertie County, NC a poor, rural, racially polarized county where they’d first created Learning Landscape math playgrounds and then computer labs.

Next they talked about The Designer’s Toolkit a free tool to help designers interested in designing for the greater good. You can download it here.

And last but not least, in case weren’t convinced that they truly believed what they were advocating, they announced that at the end of the Road Show they would be relocating to Bertie County to work in the school system, teaching design principles and implementation (via english, math, art and shop) to kids who are poor and desperately in need of a broader world view. WOW!

I’m thrilled that Emily, Matt and their newly adopted dog Junebug decided to make Savannah a stop on their cross country tour. I hope that all the designers, professors and students who came out were as inspired as I was.

Thanks guys!! We wish you safe travels for the rest of the Road Show and all the best in your new endeavor in NC.

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Here’s the book.

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SinkPositive: one of the products featured in the exhibit - replaces your toilet tank lid. Fresh water to the sink, grey water into the bowl.

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Waiting patiently to see the exhibit.

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Inside for the lecture.

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I did mention it was cold, right?

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Categories: Design Thinking, Events, Innovation, Inspiration, Savannah, Sustainability
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Design Revolution Road Show coming to Savannah!

Feb 16
10
Posted by Susan Isaacs

Mark your calendars! The Design Revolution Road Show will be making a stop in Savannah!

Saturday, February 27th
Trustees Theater, 216 E. Broughton St
Exhibition Opens 10:30am - 4pm
Presentation 2:30pm

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I am so excited to attend this traveling exhibit and lecture, a initiative of Project H Design, a non-profit organization leveraging the power of design to change the world.

I came across Project H a while back when Emily, the founder was raising funds for a project called the Hippo Roller, a device that enabled villagers in Africa to make fewer trips for water (essentially a big drum with a snap-on steel handle that allows it to be rolled like a big wheel…users could transport enough water for a family for 5 days in 1 trip!). By reducing the pressing need to go to the river every day, more time was available for education and work. I grew up in the Caribbean where it was not uncommon to see people carrying water over long distances and the simple brilliance of these drums really inspired me. You can read our recap of the experience with that project here.

Since then Project H has really come into its own, and along the way has received great press from everyone from the NY Times to Fast Company. Their advisory board includes impressive folks like Ric Grefé, AIGA President (and awesome guy!), and Amy Novogratz, TED Prize Director.

Project H continues to lead creatives interested in “Product design initiatives for Humanity, Habitats, Health, and Happiness”, the organization’s tag line. Emily was on the Colbert Report recently to talk about their work.

The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Emily Pilloton
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Skate Expectations

I hope you’ll come out on the 27th to meet Emily and see the fascinating work being done by designers motivated to use their talents to make our world a better place.

Until then, you can help Project H win $50K from the Pepsi Refresh Project. They’re currently in 15th place! Voting ends on February 28th and you can vote everyday!
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Categories: Design Thinking, Events, Innovation, Inspiration, Savannah, Sustainability
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Kickstarter - A New Way To Fund Ideas and Endeavors

Nov 12
09
Posted by Susan Isaacs

kickstarter

There’s a common theme that seems to apply to more than one conversation we’re having around the office of late: community funded projects. You’ll be hearing quite a bit about this from us in the coming weeks.*

Right now though, I thought I’d share a recent discovery, Kickstarter.

I love the way they introduce themselves:

We believe that…

* A good idea, communicated well, can spread fast and wide.
* A large group of people can be a tremendous source of money and encouragement.

Simply put, Kickstarter is a way for creatives to receive (online) community funding to execute their ideas.

It’s quite clever: a filmmaker, artist, musician, inventor, etc submits an idea along with a request for the amount of money they need to make their concept a reality. The online community is able to review these ideas and if so inclined can pledge money to help make them happen.

The creator is able to propose any type of reward system they’d like as a “thank you”. This could be as simple as access to ongoing project updates or something fancier like a T-shirt or an invitation to a party. Regardless, the creators retain full ownership of their ideas. No politics. No big investor demanding final sign-off on production.

But here’s the part that I really love. No-one’s credit card is charged up-front. ONLY if the total amount requested has been pledged within the specified time frame, is the money actually collected. Once the mark is hit all the cards are charged at once. This way a filmmaker is not obligated to make a $6000 independent short for $2000 if that’s all he was pledged. It’s an all or nothing scenario.

If you’ve got a brilliant idea and need a cash to give it wings, perhaps Kickstarter might be the place to go. They charge 5% of the pledge goal, so you’ll need to factor that into your budget.

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*Just a final note: we (Paragon) believe that many people doing a little can often have a much greater impact than a only a few people doing a lot. We’re putting this theory to the test with a new project, 2K Strong. We’re currently working on the site, but you can sign up for project updates now at www.2kstrong.org

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Categories: Art, Design Thinking, Innovation, User Interaction, social media
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TCCa Innovation Awards 09: a Biased and Brief Recap

Oct 23
09
Posted by Andrew Davies

So last night is still ringing in my ears, but in a good way. Not only does it warm the heart to see how the city I’ve chosen to call home awards and encourages innovation, but 2 of our friends, Music Intelligence and Structured Green won in their respective categories; Small Business and Sustainability. I’d say that was a good night. Much thanks goes out to Brynn, Fitz and advisory board for putting on another stellar ceremony. Congrats to all the winners and can’t wait till next year.

marquis

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Categories: Events, Greatness!, Innovation, Savannah
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SUAF: Event Pre-cap

May 05
09
Posted by Angel Ratcliffe

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

As a huge fan of the groups that will be performing in the Savannah Urban Arts Festival, I thought I’d give you a run-down of the festivities that I’m most looking forward to. A “pre-cap,” if you will.

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Categories: Advertising, Branding, Events, Greatness!, Innovation, Inspiration, Just for fun, Marketing, Pop culture, Savannah, Sustainability
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Getting Your Hands Dirty

Apr 28
09
Posted by Susan Isaacs

dirty-hands

For designers who spend much of their time working in virtual environments, the act of creating something real with your hands can also be a vital tool to help innovate.

I just read this interesting article which describes software giant Adobe’s daylong workshops in which their product designers are faced with creating motion games, using simple elements like plastic beads and tiny sensors. If you’re a creative person I think you’ll find this a good read. It’s nothing revolutionary, but sometimes we need a little reminder to revisit the simpler tools as a way to help conceptualize the next new thing. If the continuous improvements made to Adobe products are any indication, it’s an investment worth your while.

In the last few years, I’ve found myself appreciating the tangible things I can create with my hands. Simple things like growing herbs or baking bread are activities I find satisfying because I can dig in and get a little dirty…and have something to show for it at the end. At work, taking the time to sketch concepts, build mockups or diagram relationships has only ever helped the problem solving process further along, yet it’s tempting to leap-frog over that step and grab my mouse. The thing is, not only is getting your hands dirty a great tool for designing a solution, but it’s fun too…think of it as therapy at work.

This Friday SCAD is holding it’s annual Sand Arts Festival. If like me, you spend most of your time staring at a computer monitor, this could be a great opportunity to get in some creativity and the great outdoors. Let’s call it dirt therapy.

And on a final dirt related note, I recently I came across this TED presentation by Mike Rowe, host of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Chanel (a personal fav). While he starts out talking about the show, his ultimate point about the value of work is excellent.

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Categories: Design Thinking, Innovation
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An Innovation in Airport Security

Apr 10
09
Posted by Susan Isaacs

clear

Remember the days when flying was exciting, fun and an all-round awesome experience? I think we can all agree that ever since the introduction of the new airport security measures after 9/11, traveling has became an ordeal.

Today I discovered Clear, an innovative idea to make navigating airport security, hassle-free.

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Categories: Innovation
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