Design:
- How Google decides on whether or not to kill off one of their moonshot projects. This is something that first time startups and inventors should read and reflect on in particular as they tend to be more deeply attached to that first good idea, even when the signals (excessive costs, lukewarm user feedback) suggest killing the project may be the best bet. It doesn't mean you have to stop, it just means you ought to pick a different problem to solve.
- Nutrition labels are deeply flawed if the goal is to communicate the health benefits and risks embodied in a specific food product. The FDA is planning changes but they are far from revolutionary - not to mention the ongoing research suggesting that all calories are not created equal.
- Instagram is turning out to be a powerful tool for the often semi-anonymous artists like illustrators and tattoo artists rise above the fray and develop a following.
- Consumer goods startup Bevel continues to impress customers, investors and retail partners. It's a good reminder that even in our app-enabled, high tech obsessed world there are still huge business opportunities in simple products like razors. If you're in the business of "building a better mousetrap" there's a lot to be learned from watching the strategic and tactical moves Bevel makes as it grows.
Labor Pains:
- Companies are hiring data-scraping agencies to help them effectively spy on the private health issues of their workers - purportedly to nudge at-risk workers towards healthier behaviors, but then again giant corporations don't have a great track record for having the interests of front-line workers in mind. Hey, maybe this is a crazy idea, but we suggest paying your workers well enough that they can afford healthy foods and have some extra time & energy for exercise. As designers of products or business owners, we all have to be careful that the choices we make on behalf of others are not taking away their ability to make choices for themselves, whether we agree with them or not.
- When you don't let your low-wage workers take sick days without taking home less money, you end up with more outbreaks that hurt people and the bottom line. It's so simple, so obvious, and unfortunately it still bears repeating: treating your workers well pays off.
Engineering Communities:
- Red Lake Nation is making real strides towards energy independence thanks to big investments into solar power. We're excited about the potential for cheap, clean energy solutions to enable greater economic independence and allow for re-mapping of communities, by communities.
- Peter Merholz, Co-founder of Adaptive Path and former Director of Design @ Jawbone, says that differences across members of a design team makes teams stronger, allowing them to pull from disparate sources and experiences to synthesize new, innovative solution - so don't rule out potential hires or consultants simply because their style and methods differ from your own or your expectations.