Stanford D. School - An Introduction

/

Design is all the rage in the startup world.  No longer just the purview of the UI and marketing teams, now companies are taking a design-based approach to just about everything.  Apps and codebases can be designed, but so can human resource departments and quality assurance procedures.  It’s a powerful philosophy, and now the smartypants factory known as Stanford University has a whole program dedicated to training the next generation of innovators.

Where was this stuff when I was in college?  Recent classes include “Improv and Design,” “Storytelling and Visual Comms” and “Creative Gym: A Design Thinking Skills Studio.”  D.School’s philosophy is to bring together people from different disciplines and collaborate on problem solving using human values as a centerpiece.  Their website’s predictably well designed, and best of all, you don’t need to be a grad student to learn some of the basic methodology they use. 

via wiredinsider.tumblr.com

 

/ /
, ,

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

Schooling Increases Your IQ Year by Year

/
School not only gives students specific skills, it also increases their intelligence. One year of formal schooling between age 10 and 20 raises an individual's IQ score by 2.9 to 3.5 points, on average, say Torberg Falch of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Sofia Sandgren Massih of Uppsala University in Sweden. So 4 to 5 additional years of schooling increases IQ scores by about one standard deviation, a sizable effect, the authors say.
  Source: The Effect of Education on Cognitive Ability
via The Daily Stat

 

/ /

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

What Are You Curious About? Discovery Channel Launches Curiosity

/

Premiering this Sunday, August 7th at 8pm, Discovery Channel launches the ambitious series Curiosity with a companion website at Curiosity.com. 

Curiosity asks and answers the most fundamental questions facing the world today. Each episode of Curiosity will focus on a single enduring question in science, technology, and society. As is always the case, one single question cascades into several more, making each episode of Curiosity a rich and textured experience. From the micro to the macro, we tackle provocative and insightful questions.

Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue? Questioned how we age? Asked what makes us truly happy? More than just a landmark television series, Curiosity is an adventure of discovery, an expedition to uncover the truths behind life's most challenging questions.

I have high hopes for the series, it has the potential to be another great source of creative thinking fuel. If the following teaser clips are an indication of what is to come we should all tune in to the series and join the conversation on the website. 

 







/ /
, , , , , , , , ,

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

"Paul Rand: A Designer's Words" Hard to find book now free

/

Highly prolific design writer Steven Heller shares a gem for free via his The Daily Heller newsletter. 

On April 3, 1998 the School of Visual Arts held a Paul Rand Symposium in New York City. To commemorate the event Nathan Garland, Georgette Ballance and I edited a keepsake titled "Paul Rand: A Designer's Words," a collection of many Rand quotes from various sources. It was printed by Rand's favorite printer, Mossberg & Co., typeset by his favorite typesetters, PDR (A Division of AGT), and produced with his favorite paper, Mohawk Superfine. Nathan Garland's design was true to Rand's typographic aesthetic.

Only 500 copies of the keepsake were printed, given free to the symposium participants and sold through Emigre, among other limited venues (only a few rarities remain). Now, I would like to make it available to all via PDF. If you would like to download go here.

This is a must-have for anyone interested in design. Visit Paul-Rand.com to view his timeless work. 

Help support the blog by purchasing books by Steven Heller (of which there are many, it feels like he is releasing a new book every week.) 

/ /
,

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

New iPad App Teaches Typography

/

Typography Insight is an accessible, affordable iPad app (just $1.99) that sprang from Dong Yoon Park’s master’s thesis.

While at Parsons, Park says he realized that it was difficult for students in introductory typography classes to see the subtle differences between historically important typefaces, especially when viewed on paper.

Park’s app, Typography Insight, makes it easier to see and compare these detailed shapes. The iPad’s interactive nature even lets you manipulate the typefaces.

For a deep dive into Park’s ideas, read his master’s thesis in PDF form.

via creativepro.com

This is a brilliant execution of a simple idea, how to teach typography. His thesis is interesting.

For further study “The Elements of Typographic Style” by Robert Bringhurst is a must-read.

/ /
, ,

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.