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China Economics Trend Watching

Architecture & Urban Planning in China: Urbanization to drive growth

China’s urbanization will provide “sustainable investment” and become a key factor in bolstering the country’s growth during the coming five years […]

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China Design Trend Watching

“Ancient Chinese Art” from The New York Times’ Video Library

Maxwell Hearn, the new head of Asian Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, demonstrates the ancient art of understanding and appreciating Chinese scroll paintings […]

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Design Information Technology Innovation Software

Watch “A Rare Look at Pixar Studios” video at NYTimes

Melena Ryzik gets a rare behind-the-scenes look at the Pixar Studios complex in California.

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Innovation Trend Watching

Watch Oliver Sacks’ “What hallucination reveals about our minds” talk at TED

Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks brings our attention to Charles Bonnet syndrome — when visually impaired people experience lucid hallucinations. He describes the experiences of his patients in heartwarming detail and walks us through the biology of this under-reported phenomenon […]

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Design Information Technology Innovation Software Trend Watching

Watch “3-D Printing Is Spurring a Manufacturing Revolution” video from NYTimes.com

A wealth of design software programs, from free applications to the more sophisticated offerings of companies including Alibre and Autodesk, allows a person to concoct a product at home, then send the design to a company like Shapeways, which will print it and mail it back […]

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Consumer Behavior Design Economics Innovation Trend Watching

Watch Malcolm Gladwell’s “Spaghetti Sauce” talk on TED

Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell gets inside the food industry’s pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce — and makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness […]

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Design Information Technology Innovation Trend Watching

Watch Christopher Fahey’s “The Human Interface (or:Why Products are People too)” talk at IxDA | Interaction ‘10 Conference

We can no longer ask users to think like machines just to be able to use software. This talk explores diverse areas of non-digital human experience – including language and theater, neurology and sociology – in order to frame and showcase some of the most exciting current and emerging user experience design practices, both on the web and in other media such as video games and the arts. The objective is quite simply to inspire designers to humanize their interfaces […]

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Design Innovation

Watch Paola Antonelli’s “Talk to Me” talk at IxDA | Interaction ‘10 Conference

Whether openly and actively, or in subtle, subliminal ways, things talk to us, and designers write the initial script that will let us develop and improvise the dialogue […]

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Design Information Technology Innovation

Watch Liz Danzico’s “Notes on Improvisation and Design” talk at IxDA | Interaction ‘10 Conference

Drawing on improvised models from urban planning to jazz, Liz Danzico investigates improvisation at work and illustrate directions interactions designers might take in understanding how frameworks take hold […]

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China Design Innovation Readings Trend Watching

[EVENT] IxDA Shanghai presents “An evening of conversation about Design, Interaction, Work and Life” with Marc Rettig: May 25th, 2010, 6:30PM

In the midst of a global conversation about change, many designers are pondering their own impact in the world. How does our experience in software interfaces, web sites, and physical products prepare us to address the profound issues humanity is facing? These issues involve many complex systems, systems too big to fit into the scope of any single company or institution. Design methods are potent at large scale and scope, but what does it take to be effective as a practitioner, as a team, as a company? What is it like to actually achieve a meaningful, sustainable, positive difference in life? In this evening of conversation, Marc Rettig will moderate a few discussions about the fundamentals of design work, and the need for designers everywhere to be working to have impact beyond making money for their employers […]