Design in the Moment

Guests: Mike Davis, Founder of The DAVIS Experience and Howell Malham. Howell sits in for Jim Jacoby as we talk to Mike. Mike started architecture early and by the age of 20, had completed a 30,000 square foot retail complex. He’s been living that life ever since. He started his own practice in 1991 and in 2001, acquired a former employer. That company is now the leading Architecture and Interior Design firm in the Southwestern United States. To date, the firm has completed over 75,000,000 square feet of projects valued at over $20,000,000,000. We chat with him about his journey as well as:

Fast Comapny’s Top 50,  Helmet Modeled After Skin, Hubless Wheel, Clothes Washer for Developing Countries,  Yeasayer Album: Odd Blood,  An Umbrella Bar,  Stacked House, The Davis Experience

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Guest: Mark Bittman has been writing and speaking about food for 30 years and is one of the leading voices in trying to change the way amercica eats. His books, “Food Matters”, “How to Cook Everything” and “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” have broken new ground and won several awards. Mark also hosts the series’ “Bittman Takes on America’s Chefs” and “The Best Recipes in the World”, as well as co-starring with Gwyneth Paltrow and Mario Batali on “Spain: On the Road Again”. You can also catch him twice a month on NBC’s “Today show”. We chat with him about the future of food, how it all effects our health, his upcoming book and also:

Italy’s Sustainable Food Store, Food as Vacation, Designed Restaurants, London’s Street Food, Safer Indoor Stove, Is Eating the New Smoking?

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Guest: Andrew Mason, the Founder of Groupon.com. Andrew’s company, Groupon is a shopping site that has all the best local stuff to see, do and eat. With more than two million subscribers nationwide, Groupon has saved its customers more than $70 million. Andrew has been recognized as an authority in the emerging field of social commerce and has earned industry accolades including a spot on Crain’s Chicago Business’ “40 Under 40” list. Today we talk to Andrew about various new business relationship models as well as how he came up with Groupon:

Bizarre Bedfellows, Musicians’ New Business Model, Connecting Nonprofits with Designers, Threadless T-Shirt Company, Living Off of Groupons,

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Today we decided to discuss something that crosses everyone’s mind from time to time… money. Listen as we talk about how some people are trying to get it, how you can possibly lose it, and a couple things you could spend it on.

Person to Person Lending, Twitter Tweeting Ads, Generation of Entrepreneurs, Update on Tipjoy, Companies Bending the Truth, Contagious Magazine, The iPad, Mini Countryman,

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Guest: Howard Tullman, the Founder of Flashpoint Academy. Howard is an education and information technology entrepreneur.  While he was President of Kendall College, Howard moved the college from Evanston to downtown, raised $60 million, and moved the entire school into a state-of-the-art facility which can accommodate thousands of students. He has also been CEO of an internet design company (worlwide xceed group), an internet music company (tunes.com) and a computer games company (imagination pilots). Howard is currently leading Flashpoint Academy, a new 2 year digital media college in the Loop. Flashpoint teaches filmmaking/broadcast, computer game development, recording arts, and visual effects/animation. Listen as we talk to him about his experiences as well as:

The AP Moller School,  School Funding Cut, Art High School in Philly, Art School Moved Out of DC,

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Guest: Mindy Budgor, the first woman Maasai warrior. Mindy, dubbed Tause Punda or Peacock Donkey, became the first woman to complete the rites of Maasai warrior training last summer. She has a professional background in entrepreneurship and marketing and is documenting her incredible adventure in her first book GOAT HEAD SOUP.  Listen as we hear about her adventure as well as thoughts on:

Technology making donating easier, Thandi Wine, An Update on the Daily Talk, Toms shoes,  Bike Culture in Denmark,

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Today we take some time to discuss a couple topics that have slipped by in the last couple weeks. We talk about the changing attitudes of business, a city of mystery, great music and end with a culinary note. Agree? Disagree? Let us know what you think.

Saatchi CEO- This article led us to talk about how financial stress is effecting business. When you have to start letting people go, you reshape their lives. And that can be kind of intimidating. It’s important during this time, to treat people (employees, customers and all society) with respect and care. We’re coming into an age where more people follow a higher purpose. Money isn’t the sole focus of businesses anymore. Leaders guide and inspire. They have an obligation to promote creativity instead of fear.

MIT’s Legatum Center- This article spurs us to talk a little more in depth about the shift in focus. Recently, people have been having a much harder time getting money from banks to start a business. This program helps to start connecting some of the ideas with the capitol and advice they need. It promotes the rise of new ideas, which will in turn start to stimulate economy. It shows, again, that when we all start working together for the greater good, we really can create change.

Air Powered Motorcycle- We think motorcycles in general are pretty neat. They’re the closest thing to make you feel like you’re flying. This air powered one is really interesting. even if we’re not quite sure how it works yet. The use of an air tank makes is almost like scuba diving on wheels, above ground. Hopefully this kind of green thinking will start to influence other motorcycle companies as well. We’ll keep an eye on where this goes.

Marfa, TX- Marfa is an interesting little town. There’s not a whole lot there. It was discovered by Hollywood as a prime filming location. Since then, it swings between being super busy during filming and being abandoned. Very few people actually live in Marfa. And most visitors seem to be drawn by its emptiness and absurdity. It’s a tiny piece of humanity in the middle of nowhere. To further punctuate this, Prada has built a fully stocked store/ art piece here. It’s a complete store, but you can’t buy anything. Creating this isolated bit of preciousness speaks to the brand’s ability to explore and become a little vulnerable.

It Might Get Loud- This movie is a collection of interviews and collaborative experiences of Jack White, Jimmy Page and The Edge. One of the things that struck us while viewing  this movie, is how articulate they each are. They speak animatedly about their roots and the music they love. It’s pretty cool how the magic of music can transport people. These very distinct creative personalities have a little trouble relating to each other at times, but are definitely in awe of one another. They appreciate each others differences and learn from them. We loved watching each one play guitar with such different creative processes.

Save Food from the Fridge- This is such a beautiful and interesting idea. It’s a wooden rack system outside the refrigerator that keeps food at its freshest. They store certain foods together that help preserve each other. the aesthetics drew us, but we also like how it promotes your connection with the food. We would love to see how this kind of thinking could be used at grocery stores, such as whole foods.

Historical Food Tour of Paris- In the Napoleonic time, when France was wealthy, Grimod wrote a guide to the local restaurants. This article retraces those steps, looking for any places that might be the same or similar. This journey reminds us of how much dining influences life. The act of sharing food and new experiences creates a connection and helps the mind start to free up. This is part of the reason that companies take clients out to eat. Or why creative teams brainstorm over dinner. Taking that a bit further, the act of actually cooking the food becomes an exercise of creation. making something new from many parts.

Let us know what you think of these designing moments.

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Guest: PJ Loughran, the founder of Kerosene Creative Services. PJ has 15 years of experience across a wide range of creative disciplines. Along with toiling away in the interactive world, PJ has built a career as a professional illustrator. He has created more than 2000 illustrations for clients including Sports Illustrated, GQ, Rolling Stone, Nike, Harper Collins, Burton Snowboards and a cover for Time Magazine. PJ is also an accomplished saxophonist, singer and composer.  Since 2001, he has performed for audiences across the country including opening spots for R.E.M., Maroon 5, REO Speedwagon and others. Listen as we chat with him about media, entertainment, marketing and education.

Flixster buys Rotten Tomatoes, Media Spending Changes, FreeAllMusic.com, Apple buys Lala, Mini’s Big Boxes, Papergirl Art Project,

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Hello and happy holidays! We hope everyone had an excellent year. We are excited to be closing out our first year of podcasting in a brand new studio. Going forward we will be recording in the beautiful Shirk Studios at 700 N. Green St. Today we are doing our end of the year review and touching back on some of our more memorable discussions.

Take a listen to some of our highlights-

How we began and how it’s effected us- We started to take a new view about how to be more human.

Veneering ideas and businesses versus being holistic- We can’t just wallpaper a room. We have to fix the insides. We have to push back a little when clients want to do the short term fixes and help them create the richer experience.

The economy- How do we take the lessons were learning now and hold on to them? We have to stand up for our point of view even when things begin to change.

Car Talk: Tata Nano, Mini Cooper…- Cars tend to be a good metaphor for design and design reality.

Music: Beatles, Regina Spektor, Polly Scattergood, Allan Tousaint…- Music is another good metaphor for the conversation of creativity and pushing boundaries.

Travel- Spain, NY, Germany, New Orleans, Italy, France, Sweden…- Traveling gives you a new perspective as you experience the unique textures of each place.

The Age of the Unthinkable by Joshua Ramo- This book creates a sense of out of control-ness, but gives us insights on how this connectedness can not only be understood, but also be influenced.

Great Guests- Gabe Bridger, Chas Hermann, Chris Bernard, Rich Letchinger, Howard Ecker, Brian Timpone, Barry Krause, Tom Stat, Howard Behar- We realized that another voice in the conversation would bring new insights and that everyone has something to share. Our guests have been wonderful and we loved having each one of them.

Our favorite piece of the year would have to be the Daily Talk, chalkboard newspaper. Its simplicity and humanness impacts the society around him. Sometimes the non-digital route is the most effective.

This year has taught us that just having the conversation is important. Smart people don’t have all the answers, but just talking about these things and how they influence us as people can start to open minds to new possibilities.

Thank you for joining us this year and we hope to see you next year!

Let us know what you think about these designing moments.

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Guest: Howard Behar, former president of Starbucks. Now retired, he continues to serve as an advisor and coach with Starbucks. He shared his leadership principles in a book called “It’s Not About the Coffee”. Listen now as he imparts additional insights on coffee, Oprah, and design out of reach. Plus:

37 Signals; Oprah’s Leadership Brand; Brasimba Beer; Book Review: Earth on Fire; Design Within Reach; Whole Foods

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