Hasta La Ideas

Over the years, we’ve loved watching Remodelista grow from a small startup to the powerhouse it is today. And when we say “years,” we really don’t mean that as in “a long time,” as it seemed that they owned the internet in no time flat (landing Gwyneth Paltrow as a vocal early fan, and later a contributor, certainly didn’t hurt). Besides being web pals with them, we’ve checked in with their budding empire from time to time, with projects like their takeover of Design Within Reach and the launch of their terrific architect and designer directory. Today, however, was potentially some of the biggest news yet for the Remodelista brand. Announced just a few hours ago, San Francisco’s Say Media has acquired Remodelista. Say Media, as you might know, was born from a purchase and then a merger between VideoEgg and Six Apart last year, forming a sort of ad network, online media conglomerate, web-hosting company (here’s a nice overview by XConomy). As for what changes to expect from Remodelista itself, post-merger, it appears that nothing overly dramatic will be altered, at least immediately and judging from the press release, with the main focus on drawing more advertisers to the site and more revenue out from there. If anything, we’re sure once the acquisition checks clear, the site’s longtime editors might be found hunting for some new modern pieces to spruce up their already well-spruced digs.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

You know that weird feeling you get when you see an advertisement somewhere for something that’s “The Official…” product of some sports team, but it doesn’t seem even remotely connected to the game itself? We’re thinking something like, “Official Furnace and Air Conditioning Repair Contractors for the Milwaukee Brewers.” It’s fine to get your name connected to a team for promotional purposes, but to call something “Official” seems like a bit of a stretch. However, if sports teams can do it, why can’t everyone else? Enter Delta Airlines, who just this week became “The Official Airline of the Whitney Museum.” Sure, there are perks, with things like their frequent flyers now getting free admission, and we suppose the travel angle sorta makes some sense, but doesn’t it still feel a bit odd? What’s next? BMW becoming the “Official Car” of the Guggenheim? Oh, wait, forget we asked that. Let’s instead move on to the back-patting by the Whitney and Delta from the press release about all this officialness:

“Delta’s sponsorship of one of New York’s most renowned art institutions is a natural extension of our commitment to New York which already includes partnerships with preeminent organizations, institutions and professional sports teams,” said Gail Grimmett, Delta senior vice president – New York. “This sponsorship enables us to help bring the arts and culture of one of the city’s great museums to residents and art lovers alike, while also providing our customers with additional benefits.”

“We are thrilled that Delta has become the official airline of the Whitney,” said Adam D. Weinberg, the Whitney’s Alice Pratt Brown director. “As the Whitney is one of the world’s foremost contemporary art museums, travel is essential to us. Delta will help us to fulfill our mission to collect, present and interpret the art of the United States in the broadest global context, while raising the Whitney’s profile for countless travelers and art enthusiasts the world over.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Almost immediately after the buzz had finally settled down about the opening of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the “world’s tallest building,” talk started up about the next “world’s tallest building,” the Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia. Though there was apparently a competition to design the new super-skyscraper, it’s long been assumed that it would be designed by Adrian Smith, who had created the Burj (and who complained a bit that the firm he worked for while that record-setting building, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, was trying to take too much credit for his work). And so has happened, with official announcements by both the architect and the developer, that the Kingdom Tower is moving forward like we’re still in 2005 and projects like these are booming. Smith and his business partner Gordon Gill will oversee their design for the 1000 meter building (a full 568 feet taller than the Burj) and construction will begin “imminently,” with an estimated $1.2 billion price tag to build the structure and another $20 billion to create a whole Kingdom City surrounding it. The whole thing is certainly impressive, but given how many hurdles the Burj went through to finally open (and stay open after that, not to mention reports of its vast swaths of unused space), it’s the sort of thing we’ll see happen when we see it happen. And six months after that, we’ll report on the new “world’s tallest building” being constructed. Here’s a bit from the developer’s press release about some of the specifics of the project:

Five contractors were invited to offer proposals for the Kingdom Tower and a short list of three firms submitted final offers for the tower construction. The Saudi Bin Laden Group (SBG) whose offer was the most attractive in terms of price, quality and schedule was chosen for the project.

With a total construction area of over 500,000 square meters, the soaring Kingdom Tower will be a mixed-use building featuring a Four Seasons hotel, Four Seasons serviced apartments, first class office space, luxury condominiums and an observatory that will be higher than the world’s current highest observation deck.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Once you’ve got a degree in industrial design and start to circulate in society, you realize ID is the redheaded stepchild of the creative industry. It’s the coolest field to us but it doesn’t have the same cachet—at least to laypeople—as graphic design, architecture or fashion. So I’m always shocked (if pleased) to see non-rockstar ID’ers being covered in mainstream media.

The Wall Street Journal’s got a profile up on Design Continuum’s Gianfranco Zaccai, revealing that firm’s method of using direct experience for research. “As one staffer put it, the firm’s philosophy is: ‘Go to where the lion is hunting, not the zoo.'” Zaccai himself is an interesting cat: This is a man who quit being Design Continuum’s CEO so he could be more directly involved with projects by demoting himself to Chief Design Officer.

Okay, maybe it’s not a pure demotion but in corporate terms it’s a lateral move at best. My point is I admire a guy who reaches the top job, decides he loves design more, and reworks the ladder to suit his purposes.

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In the past you’d make a feature, and someone would make a documentary detailing “The making of” that feature. But nowadays you’ll make a documentary, and have a blog detailing “The making of” the doc.

A new documentary called “Design the New Business” is currently underway, with an attendant blog providing progress updates. The doc, put together by designer/author/entrepreneur Erik Roscam Abbing, who’s also a professor at TU Delft, alleges that design itself is the new business model, and aims to show you why through a series of interviews. “[Our] fascinating interviews with industry leaders will unveil the creative ways in which design is changing mindsets across industries,” says the mission statement. “We are searching for the truth behind the ‘design thinking’ smoke and mirrors.”

Abbing’s put together a team of collaborators a bit numerous to list, but you can check them out here; a list of interviewees is being assembled here. The doc is scheduled to be completed by October, but in the meanwhile, here’s an intro:

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