Does iteration = innovation?

Back in mid-September, I had the privilege of moderating a panel discussion during the IDC Design Symposium, which had been exploring topics loosely grouped under the banner “The Value of Design Thinking.” Earlier panels unpacked Empathy and Invention, good precursors to mine, where for a couple of hours I spoke with Gregory Neely, principal, Forge…

November 29, 2018

Samsung Experience Store, CF Eaton Centre, Quadrangle Architects, Toronto

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Get My Attention

These days, everyone wants an experience and in theory are willing to pay for it. So naturally retailers are anxious to tap into that, and think “experiential retail” is the way to provide something different so that a customer wants to come into a store. It goes back to the logic that if that customer…

October 10, 2018

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Seen It All

Awards programs in the A+D industry (of which, let’s admit it, there are many) typically utilize the skills and perspectives of trained professionals working in the field to serve as judges. This process has obvious merit: it’s their livelihood to know good from bad. Awards programs in the A+D industry are plentiful, but the ICFF Editors' Awards always stand…

July 25, 2018

access, Humber College, universal design

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Invest in Access

As April wrapped up, so too did the academic year, and I had the honour of being asked by Humber College’s Bachelor of Interior Design program to speak to fourth year students during their thesis show. Issues of inclusivity were dominant themes in the projects on display by the students, and so naturally the conversation…

May 25, 2018

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Fast Forward

Right out of the gate, Idris Mootee was confident what he was about to say would not endear him many friends. In fact, he was sure many on Facebook would probably unfriend him. Speaking on a panel at Business of Design Week last December, Mootee, CEO and co-founder of Idea Couture and author of five…

March 23, 2018

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The Only Constant

Things change. We all know that. Sometime for the better, sometimes for the worse, sometimes for both at the same time: it can be hard to discern which at first. Let me give you two very recent examples. First, Toronto appeared on a list created by CNN called “Seven design-savvy cities to watch in 2018” (and…

February 13, 2018

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Choose Values

While I don’t typically do this, as this issue was coming together I came across a blog post that was so apropos I thought I should share it. It’s by Blake Zalcberg, president of OFM, an office and school furniture manufacturer headquartered in North Carolina. Here’s what he says. “A large-sized company recently asked me to help them pick some trendy…

November 22, 2017

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Get Well Soon(er)

Healthcare is everywhere lately, no doubt fueled by the insanity going on south of the border. While “We the North” can rest a little more comfortably in a long-established, saner healthcare system, that doesn’t mean everything is running on all cylinders. Even in Canada, there are disconnects everywhere: from the science to the policy to…

May 31, 2017

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Brand loyalty

To a large degree, what makes Burdifilek so successful in designing retail spaces (and therefore in such demand) is their ability to let the client’s brand, which typically means its products, do the talking. Not some misguided attempt to turn a retail space into a theme park of attention-grabbing gimmicks and cutesy “experience” generators in…

March 29, 2017

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Show Me What You’ve Got

We welcome your feedback. Send us your comments, questions or concerns to [email protected] Like you, there are many aspects of 2016 that I would rather forget, and also a lot of fallout I am not looking forward to dealing with (you probably know what I’m referring to). But at the same time, there was a lot…

February 21, 2017