Hasta La Ideas

What seemed like a somewhat innocuous post over at a site for freelance photographers in DC requesting work samples for an unpaid internship for James Nachtwey‘s studio, turned into an all out firestorm. People came out of the woodwork to complain about the perceived advantage-taking the firm was after (“I wouldn’t wish that job on my worst enemy” and “Unpaid? You should be ashamed of yourself” were among the comments and the general tone in response). Furthermore, people were angry that the site would even post such a listing in the first place. Fortunately, sometimes that level of anger can result in something positive, as (found by way of Design Info) the site responded in another post shortly thereafter, getting into a great conversation about internships, unpaid or otherwise. If you have some time, it’s a really interesting read, with professionals like Pulitzer-winner Brian Smith chiming in to give their two cents on the issue. It’s a touchy subject, along very similar lines to that of all the heat the no-spec movement drums up from time to time. But like most touchy things, never as black and white as a 40 character blog comment comment try to make them seem.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Most products that come out of a factory go through several layers of middlemen, distributors and salespeople before they reach consumers, each tacking on their fees, commissions and markups. What costs a couple bucks at the factory ends up going for significantly more.

The collapsible storage bench you see above, which sells for fifty bucks, suffers from crappy product photography and is offered by the cheesily-named EZ Deals Direct; but we bring it to your attention because of that company’s philosophy. EZ Deals is attempting to draw a direct line between manufacturers and consumers with minimal intervention.

The Company was established to make high quality, unique and reasonably-priced goods accessible to consumers. Their products are economical because they are procured directly from the factory. Understanding the concept of ‘hot stuff’, EZ Deals Direct focuses on acquiring new and different kinds of gadgets in order to give their customers a greater variety of choices.

CEO of the company [Jeff Jones] says, “EZ Deals Direct was established to give honest people access to great stuff cheap, direct from the factory. All the rest of them buy in a chain of suppliers all who have big margin…. I have been buying products directly from China for many years and selling to some of the big retailers. I got sick of seeing consumers being ripped off.”

Lasting trend, or flash in the pan? Right now their product line consists of talking atomic watches and electric fireplaces with some genuinely useful tools, furniture and kitchen implements thrown in, so it’s hard to make the call; their future will depend, we feel, on whether they can shed the cheese factor.

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How many times does a condom package have to be re-designed to finally get people to use it? In the case of the NYC condom, 3…so far.

A great fanfare followed the unveiling of the Fuseproject-designed packaging and dispenser in Feb. 2008, created to replace the initial 2007 design (seen below) which was criticized by some for erroneously referencing the NYC subway system. Not two years later, in an effort “to keep the condom campaign fresh,” the city is rolling out a competition to design a new limited edition condom.

While crediting the Fuseproject package design as “now iconic,” nyc.gov states that the city is hoping to revive interest in the promotion of safe sex through this re-design competition. We’re all for NYC’s doling-out of over 41-million condoms a year in the interest of safe sex, and love the campaign, but if a design is truly iconic, does it need a re-design to spark its fire again? Well, the NYC health department believes so, and now you could get in on the action & potentially help millions of couples have a safe, fun time.

More info. at nyc.gov.

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Another magazine favourite has seen its last days. F+W (they also publish How and Print) are ending the 55-year run of I.D. magazine. “Certainly the downturn in print advertising has contributed to this decision,” says the company’s president here, “but other factors include the fragmentaton and specialized information needs of I.D.’s core readers (product designers) and the plethora of information resources available to them—some for free (online and B2B) and others that are highly specialized and targeted to specific industries served.”

I’m really saddened by this news; that yet another magazine with really great content and a long history has been shuttered. Even though I publish a magazine, I NEED other magazines in my life! They offer other perspectives, other ideas, other worlds of inspiration.

But UPPERCASE carries on with its small, streamlined staff (hey, that’s me!), talented and enthusiastic Editor-at-Large Deidre Martin, the ever-helpful Jenny Tzanakos and the generous family of UPPERCASE writers, illustrators, photographers and collaborators. Thank you to our amazing subscribers (954!) who believe in our content and vision.

Although we offer a few pages of ads in each issue, our model for sustainability is based on subscribers, not advertising. Please keep your subscriptions and renewals coming in! As the magazine approaches its first anniversary, it has surpassed all of my expectations—and hopefully yours as well.

This past week I have been immersed in the design of Issue 4 and I am very happy with how it is shaping up. (The cover is almost ready to be revealed!) I will post some teaser images soon.

Bruce Mau is at the forefront of a loose movement embracing a new way of thinking about design. It includes individual designers and larger companies like IDEO, as well as several prominent design schools, where new theories about “design thinking” are being developed: what it is, how it works, what it can accomplish. But this “glimmer movement” (the “glimmer” being when a life-changing idea crystallises in the mind – see also this review on Core77) also includes people from outside the design profession – basement tinkerers, technologists, do-it-yourselfers, “crafties”, social activists, environmentalists, video-gamers and business entrepreneurs. What links them is their belief that everything today is ripe for reinvention and “smart recombination”. And what makes them all designers is that they don’t just think this, they act on it.

This article will appear in the January issue of Wired UK magazine and is available online.

>> Read article

Photo: Dave Gillespie, Bruce Mau Design

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