Innovation & Design

Strategy, creativity & research

Emerging Markets: Acumen's pioneering venture philanthropy fund in action

Plus slide show: Irrigation in India

Plus slide show: The Acumen Fellows

Will This Scan? The Herculean efforts to revive the bar code maker, Symbol

Bank of America: Inside the world's greenest office tower

Redesigning GE Healthcare: The equipment giant turns to students for inspiration

Plus slide show: Health-care of the Future

Bye-bye Windows. Hello, Sugar! The face of the $100 laptop is a revolution in interface design

Plus slide show: Negroponte's Sweet Brainstorm

The 'I' Word: The innovation backlash begins

  WIKINOMICS

The New Science of Sharing

Companies such as Novartis and Intel are at the forefront of Science 2.0 by encouraging open systems of collaboration

 

  VIEWPOINT

The Positive Spiral: Six Keys to Success

A B-school dean at a design conference finds that designers like Milton Glaser and CEOs such as Red Hat's Bob Young have much in common

 

  INSIGHT

Debate: Six Sigma vs. Innovation

The system for boosting quality may seem to run counter to disruptive change—but companies can have it both ways

 

  WONDERS OF THE WORLD > >

Airport Design Takes Off

With global terrorism, environmental concerns, and increasing numbers of passengers, airports must change to meet new needs

Slide Show: Airport Wonders of the World> >

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  FEATURED SPECIAL REPORT >>

The Business of Fashion

Slide Show Gucci Glamour Video Tech-Wear for the Office India: Bridging the Fashion Culture Gap Apparel company Murjani Group is leading the charge, bringing Western labels to Indian shoppers What Gap Needs to Do Now Experts weigh in with advice for the beleaguered chain High Style Goes High Tech Well-dressed consumers are snapping up stain-free, nonwrinkle suits and shirts Gucci's High Style—and Growing Revenues The luxury label has overcome sluggish sales and rebounded, thanks to savvy branding strategies Casual Male: Combining Fit and Fashion The company is looking to lure larger-sized men seeking stylish clothes across the price spectrum MORE SPECIAL REPORTS >

  ARCHITECTURE > >

Shanghai Rising

China struggles to build a livable city inside a world-class business capital
Slide Show: Shanghai's Small World of New Towns  > >

 

  AUTO DESIGN > >

GM's Design Drive Hits the Road

By refreshing its lineup with new interiors, the No. 1 carmaker aims to win over consumers with quality and fend off its rival for the top spot, Toyota
Slide Show: Reinventing the Steering Wheel  > >

 

  BRANDING > >

Nike's New Downmarket Strategy

Hoping to make good on its promise of growth, the company is launching Tailwind, a line of shoes for fashion- and value-conscious women

 

  GAME ROOM > >

China Gaming: Shanda's Back in the Action

The online-game producer is in the black again as its free-entry model, and sale of avatar accessories, clicks with young Chinese gamers
Slide Show: China's Coolest Online Games  > >

 

  NUSSBAUM ON DESIGN >>

Al Gore got an Oscar for An Inconvenient Truth and someone did some analysis of his carbon footprint and found it was pretty big.

-- Bruce Nussbaum

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  DESIGN SNAPSHOTS

SoftBowls

Philadelphia-based design studio Mio presents a design and eco-conscious solution for everyone's containment needs. SoftBowls are 100% molded wool bowls produced by one of the last remaining millineries in the US, hand-crafted by local workers.

 

+ recent snapshots SoftBowls nDoo Dell AIO Printers Verdi Modular Landscaping 8.4 PIO FGX football boot iPod Alarm Clock

  INNOVATION PODCAST

Fashionable Design

Hans-Dieter Futschik, director of passenger car design at Mercedes-Benz, discusses how and why the auto maker is paying attention to high fashion for design and branding inspiration

 

  DESIGN DIRECTORY

Innovation Careers Hundreds of job openings with design-driven companies.
Senior Design Engineer	Feb 14
Smart Design,  New York & San Francisco, New York
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How Symbol Got Its Mojo Back

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Forget Davos: I'm Booked Up For TED

The TED gathering—and impressive, eclectic brain trust—goes for the glitz

Hugging the Tree-Huggers

Why so many companies are suddenly linking up with eco groups. Hint: Smart business

The Face of the $100 Laptop

One Laptop per Child's breakthrough software replaces the standard PC look with a design for the networked age
Slide Show: Negroponte's Sweet Brainstorm

Museums: Teaching with Tech

Across the country, museums are tapping technology in hopes of revitalizing young people's interest in tech, science, and math
Slide Show: High-Tech Museums

Matching Sustainability with Profits

OnStar's navigation system and P&G's Swiffer are high-profile, profitable products in which green concerns were addressed via design

The Greatest Innovations of All Time

Larry Keeley of Doblin Inc. nominates the innovations that have most improved safety, living standards, and quality of life. His choices may surprise
Slide Show: History's Greatest Innovations

Indie Films Come to Handsets

The new frontier for up-and-coming moviemakers is how to adapt their storytelling to all those tiny screens

Sacred Tech

Former senior researcher at Xerox PARC, Ranjit Makkuni is using sophisticated technology to change how we interact with computers. In the process, he's taking traditional Indian beliefs back to the future

Why Advertisers Still Don't Get It

It's time to remember that advertising needs brands more than the brands need advertising. A good product creates its own relationships

Chipotle: Fast Food with 'Integrity'

Steve Ells, founder of the red-hot Mexican-food chain, on his aim to make the focused menu as all-natural as possible, and why it's worth the expense

India's Designs on Innovation

Compared with its Asian rivals, India has been slow to make design a priority. But a new national policy commits to doing business with style

Volkswagen Goes Cashmere

Forget logoed key chains and baseball caps. For its new Eos convertible, VW is launching a line of high-end lifestyle products
Slide Show: Products to Prove Driver Loyalty

The Innovation Backlash

A chorus of voices is calling for an end to the hype—and a focus on the fundamentals that drive real bottom-line-boosting innovation

Sushi Takes On the Burger

Asian fast-food chains are growing swiftly as health consciousness helps soy, sashimi and sukiyaki gain footing in mainstream food courts

India and China Wise Up to Innovation

Harold Sirkin of Boston Consulting says rapidly developing economies, once content to copy and improve, are institutionalizing new thinking

Taking an Idea, Making It Stick

A new book by a Stanford B-school professor and his brother, a corporate-education consultant, unravels the mystery of creating sticky ideas

Innovation and the Prosperity of Nations

At the recent Competitiveness Summit, the connections between business and innovation were made starkly clear

Tapping the Wisdom of the Crowd

While not a new phenomenon, crowdsourcing is really growing as a business trend. Here are five successful collaborative communities

The Future of Apple

With the iPhone, Apple TV, and a name change, Jobs & Co. are setting a new course for the outfit once known only for its computers
Slide Show: iPhone and Apple TV Unleashed

GE Goes Back to School for Innovation

Jeff Immelt told employees to "Go Big," so GE's health-care unit went to design school students for out-of-the-box ideas

Silverjet Enters Business-Class Warfare

The latest entrant in the trans-Atlantic, business-class-only market is betting on design and service to stand apart from a crowded field
Slide Show: Silverjet's High-Flying Style

How to Turn Money Into Innovation

The Global Innovation 1,000 survey shows which companies are just throwing money into R&D and which ones can boast about innovation

China's Innovation Barriers

Nandani Lynton of Thunderbird says the obstacles include a monolithic, hierarchical culture that frowns on boundary-breaking

Keeping America Competitive

A new report says the U.S. is holding its own in the global economic race. But it must take steps now to boost research and education

Down-to-Earth Spaceship Design

British design firm Seymourpowell came up with the concept interiors for Virgin Galactic's spaceship. Still, they say design isn't rocket science
Video Slide Show: 2009: A Space Odyssey
Slide Show: Seymourpowell's Design Fantasyland

HP Repackages the iPaq

Hewlett-Packard takes aim at the BlackBerry with its compact, super-versatile iPaq 500 series smartphone

Kodak Launches a Printer Offensive

CEO Antonio Perez wants to grab market share from Hewlett-Packard with less expensive ink and long-lasting color

Aloft on Airbus' Giant New A380

The megaplane won't enter service until October, but BusinessWeek's Carol Matlack was impressed by its quiet during a test flight for media

The Devil Dials Prada on LG's New Phone

Co-branded designer phones are the rage. The Korean outfit hopes the luxury fashion name will make a splash in the high-end handset arena
Slide Show: High-Fashion Mobile Phones

Riding Hip Jeans into New Luxury Markets

Denim used to be a way for high-end fashion designers to go mass, but a new generation of brands is using $150 jeans to launch upscale lifestyle brands

What the iPhone Will Cost to Make

We don't yet have a model to tear down, but iSuppli can make some educated guesses about its component suppliers and manufacturing costs
Slide Show: What Your Gadget Really Costs

Soled Separately

These new shoes come in two parts—one for style and one for structure

A Smaller, Sleeker Heart Pump

Less intrusive and better-designed devices are in the works—and analysts predict profits for the companies that make them

The Real Genius of Apple's iPhone

Word is the newly announced phone from Steve Jobs will transcend superficial design and deliver user-friendly function and limitless adaptability

The Edge of the Possible

A rapid-prototyping company asked four designers to each create an object that pushed its technology to the limits

The Revenge of the Generic

Copying Target's model, chains such as Office Max and Costco are developing more upscale, store-brand products—and customers are buying them
Slide Show: Private Labels with Big Appeal

OXO, Remade in Japan

The housewares maker made its name using Universal Design principles—but it found some of those didn't travel well when it looked East

Bang & Olufsen Makes the Call

B&O President Kim Gravesen talks about the company's decision to enter the cell-phone market with a $1,200 head-turner named "Serene"

Software That Will This Sentence Fix

Israel-based WhiteSmoke has devised a program that, by checking against a vast database, makes English text more fluent. Its top market? The U.S.

Making a Ruckus in the Music Business

An upstart run by a former Napster executive aims to change how people get songs online—and give Apple a run for its iTunes money

Retail's Next Wave: The Niche

Former Staples CEO and VC expert Tom Stemberg talks about why big chains are facing increasing competition from well-funded concept retailers

Voicemail Breaks Into Print

Hate listening to your messages? A new British service, SpinVox, takes your voicemail and sends it back to you in text

The Olympic Feats of Otl Aicher

Remembering the man who pioneered brands including Braun and Bulthaup

Velvet Revolution

Hotelier Ian Schrager atones for the chill of past projects with the Gramercy Park Hotel in Manhattan

The Forgotten Pioneer of Corporate Design

A new book celebrates the legacy of Eliot Noyes, whose work at IBM, Mobil Oil, and Westinghouse led the way for future designers
Slide Show: Eliot Noyes's Journey of Invention

Industrial Facility's Holistic Approach

The London firm isn't content with the designer-for-hire role. Instead, it aims to shape clients' business strategy as well as design
Slide Show: Icons of Design

Marc Newson and the Art of Design

The industrial designer, who has worked for Nike and Ford, is a hot prospect, selling his sensual furniture to a new breed of collector
Slide Show: Marc Newson's Novel Inventions

Thoughts of a Design Pioneer

In his new book, Designing Interactions, IDEO co-founder Bill Moggridge profiles the most influential designers in the history of Silicon Valley

Roofs Paved with Green

Pollutant-filtering plants embedded into paving stones are set to change the skyline in the Bronx

Green Tea

Eco Kettle promises a guilt-free, energy-efficient cup of tea. But is it worth the price tag?

A Somber Mood at Warmer Davos

Against a visible sign of global warming—the snowless Alps—the world's economic and business leaders discuss new plans for new problems

Beyond The Green Corporation

Imagine a world in which eco-friendly and socially responsible practices actually help a company's bottom line. It's closer than you think

Economy Begins With Eco

Working with stakeholders across the supply chain, GreenBlue offers industries practical, bankable, green solutions

Green: The Next Big Thing

The co-founder of Sun Microsystems discusses the end of the PC era, Microsoft's problems, and his ideal stock portfolio

A Curious Mind Wins Design Prize

Britain's prestigious Prince Philip Prize is awarded to upstart Thomas Heatherwick, whose unique international projects always amaze
Slide Show: Designs Fit for a Prince

The Design Industry's Oscars

The message of this year's Red Dot Communication Design Awards is: Keep it simple yet fun
Slide Show: Award-Winning Communication Design

The Best Product Design of 2006

Design teams from Asia nabbed a quarter of this year's gold awards, up from 8 percent in 2005. What's more, the bar of excellence is moving ever higher
Slide Show: 2006 Idea Awards