Fruit Tree

Autumn in Amsterdam Wandering around Oude West, I spotted a red apple hanging in the tree. What a beautiful, perfect apple, I thought. Strange though, I never see fruit trees in Amsterdam. It did look a little too perfect though. Then I saw an orange, a banana, a pear, and a bunch of grapes. The joke was on me. Perhaps they were hung there by children in the school a few doors down. I imagine that they spend their free moments looking out the window at all the unsuspecting adults who catch a glimpse of the tree, do a double take. Then stop to take a closer look and really see.

Bauhau Turns 90

bauhaus Last week in Berlin, I headed eagerly to the exhibition at the Martin Gropius Bau celebrating the 90th anniversary of the founding of Bauhaus. A few days before, I had read an article in The Design Observer criticizing the association of IKEA with Bauhaus:

"In the first half of the twentieth century, design reacted to industrialization, world wars, poverty, inflation, and class divisions. The Bauhaus arose out of a reaction to disastrous world politics and the inhumanity of urban living conditions, from the bullying architecture of the powerful to the class divisions perpetuated by luxuries only the rich could afford. By contrast, IKEA has evolved over time to refine a much narrower, and perhaps humbler, mission: to make home furnishings look good and cost less. The Bauhaus responded to the social urgencies after the First World War. What has succeeded the social inspiration of the Bauhaus is the business inspiration of retail giants like IKEA, which pursues a business model for the global marketplace.

Today, with the crash of world markets, design must more fully confront and re-evaluate its role in global business. This is what Bauhaus principles are all about: taking stock of the present states of technology, business and culture and crafting reasonable designs for the way we live now. A glut of cheap, uniform products in the marketplace can no longer be a virtue of global business. To pursue Bauhaus principles in the future, IKEA will have to increase the personalization of its products, improve ergonomics, reduce wastefulness and increase quality in order to create lasting value for the consumer."

Yet, the exhibition in Bauhaus, especially Christine Hill's DIY Bauhas installation, took on a lighter spirit. Focusing on the proclamation "People's needs instead of luxury needs" by the second Director of Bauhaus Hannes Meyer, she takes a less harsh view of IKEA.

"Some mostly leftist designers may protest, but IKEA had and has achieved the pioneering influence on a broad spectrum of buyers that, as one of its central goals, the historical Bauhaus would have liked to achieve."

Perhaps the danger comes when we believe that the pioneering influence Bauhaus wanted to achieve was merely a specific design style, rather than the manifestation of political and social goals that would in turn shape design principles and the consumer's mentality.

All One's Own

“It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from all the world, that no one and no thing hurts along with one’s burned tongues and skinned knees, that one’s aches and pains are all one’s own. Even more terrible, as we grow older, to learn that no person, no matter how beloved, can ever truly understand us.”

— Donna Tartt, The Secret History (via Something Changed: Psychotherapy)

And yet, in spite of our existential solitude, isn't the whole point to try, and keep trying? To create relationships over the years, continually making time and effort to know and grow with others, which most likely will be very few. But infinitely worthwhile.

Mobility for Change

MoMo The first day of my week kicked off with a Mobile Monday afternoon around the great topic of utilizing mobile technology in emerging markets to create social change. Last fall, I worked on a research project related to mobile banking that focused primarily on the way the developing world is taking this up full force. I spotted this trailer for the recent documentary Hello Africa on the website of Mariéme Jamme, one of the speakers at Monday's MoMo.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAqsFqY-kGQ&hl=en&fs=1&]

Looking at Your Whole Life

It’s easy to think that college classes are mainly about preparing you for a job. But remember: this may be the one time in your life when you have a chance to think about the whole of your life, not just your job. Courses in the humanities, in particular, often seem impractical, but they are vital, because they stretch your imagination and challenge your mind to become more responsive, more critical, bigger. You need resources to prevent your mind from becoming narrower and more routinized in later life. This is your chance to get them.

— A little advice for the upcoming school year that makes me a bit nostalgic for the energy of a classroom and the chance to buy new books.

On the Tip

on the tip Trying to remember a forgotten word just became easier with Tip of My Tongue, a search tool that helps you out when you can't seem to recall that perfect word. I spent all day trying to think of a word I couldn't remember to test it out. A bit opposite of it's intention, so I guess I'll have to wait until a blank moment. (via booksbooksbooks: sanaminerva)

http://sanamivera.tumblr.com/

Girls Will Be Girls

little ballerina This picture of my niece Naia trying on a pair of ballet slippers was just too irresistible not to post. She just turned three and will begin ballet courses soon. I was convinced she was going to start a band after I gave her a maraca set for her birthday. But I guess it's hard for little girls to sway off the predetermined paths that lay before them.

pinkI have to say, I'm glad she didn't go the route captured by the Korean photographer JeongMee Yoon in The Pink & Blue Project. This is his daughter SeoWoo in her room with all of her pink things. Amazing. (via WLYS: Beautiful Decay)

Viva la Kunst

Seoul As I prepare to head to Berlin on Wednesday, I thought I would resurrect one of my great life mysteries. While I was living in Seoul, I spent a lot of time in Hongdae, an artsy neighborhood in the north with some of the best graffiti in the city. I spotted the above work one day, thought it was interesting, and snapped a photo.

Two years later, while in Berlin, I saw the exact same work in Kreuzberg. I did a double take then and there. When I returned to Amsterdam, I tried to find out who was behind the graffiti, but without luck. Deciding, a few more years later, to make one more attempt, I came across this Gridskipper article today discussing the street art in Berlin. Last on the list of prominent Berlin graffiti artists was SP38 and an almost identical image. Mystery solved!

He's apparently French born, living in Berlin, and has apparently been in Seoul at least once. Although his website is down, you can see more of his work on Flickr. See you in a few days Berlin!

A World of Paper

[vimeo vimeo.com/3319096 w=500&h=400] Scott Coello keeps creating nice work, but his animation 'She Farted and Created the World' remains one of my favorites. It illustrates the evolution of the world with scraps of found paper, and it all starts with one Big Bang. I guess I'm not the only one to like it, since it was recently shortlisted on the Virgin Media Shorts, and the dedication of the film to his dog Maggie is certainly an effective selling point.

Trust in Numbers

we feel fine A recent NYT article about the rising field of sentiment analysis - translating human emotion into hard data -  underscores the importance of sophisticated algorithms to analyze and understand the growing amount of information created by individuals online. Whether these new services and applications are tracking emotions or quantifying behavior, the consumer is taking center stage. I thought I'd list some that have captured my attention:

Sense Networks, recognizes patterns in behavior by tracking the path of mobile phone users and analyzes what those behaviors reveal about the user.

Wakoopa, a downloadable service that tracks the programs and applications running on a user's computer, and other pertinent information such as the frequency and duration of use. From this, Wakoopa distills user habits about when and how they use certain programs and web services.

We Feel Fine, pictured above, explores human emotions by scouring blogs for the phrases 'I feel' or 'I am feeling' and presents these feelings as an online collaborative art project. While it's not really quantifying its findings, it's so beautiful.

Jodange, a service that filters traditional and social media to gauge the influences on consumer thought and opinion.

Newssift, a project by the Financial Times Group, that incorporates meaning, relationships, and sentiment into news with a business slant.

The Case for Content Strategy

About a year ago, I was on a team tasked with redesigning a website for a luxury fitness brand. Abandoning the typical sweaty images for a more spa-like experience, we reworked the content to include testimonials about reaching lifestyle goals, and to feature the gym’s breadth of yoga classes, rather than just their range of free weights. At first glance, the paid ad copy and keyword-rich meta content fit the common search terms: “gym,” “workouts,” and “private trainers.” However, our client didn’t want the typical “gym rat” audience. That’s where a partnership between content strategy and search engine marketing paid off. We revised the site content and search terms to fit the brand of a premium fitness experience. As a result, our client attracted more traffic from an audience eager for their style of gym. The leads were good, but the conversions were even better.

— Margot Bloomstein, The Case for Content Strategy—Motown Style in A List Apart.

Dreams of Flying

The Balloon Flyer A few months ago, I worked on a client report researching expectations for technology in the future. One of my favorite findings was that the childhood dream to fly still lives in so many adults. When respondents envisioned life in the future, amongst the more realistic hopes for future technology, were many wistful responses from people who wished they were able to soar through the air. I think a great depiction of this dormant desire is the series of photographs by the German artist Jan von Holleben entitled Dreams of Flying.

The Pirates

The Future of Reading

reading workshop A New York Times article explores a new approach to classroom literature and the Catch 22 that it creates. Inspire a love of reading by letting students choose their own books to read and assess? Or ensure a common body of literature and ease the weight of standardized testing by having all students read and analyze the classics together?

Most experts say that teachers do not have to choose between one approach or the other and that they can incorporate the best of both methods: reading some novels as a group while also giving students opportunities to select their own books. But literacy specialists also say that instilling a habit is as important as creating a shared canon.

Summer Reading

summer books At the beginning of summer, I wrote a post about the books I had read since the start of the year and thought I would mark the closing of summer with the same review. It was a full few months of reading, inspired by my trip to Powell's in June, where I gathered most of the above titles. I'm looking ahead to the fall, where I hope to read The Other Hand by Cleave Chris, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson, and The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton. Any other suggestions?

Distinctly German

1_Tatort_Logo_2005

At one time three-quarters of German television viewers tuned in. Now, when cable channels atomize viewers, more than seven million people still make a ritual of turning off their phones and getting together on Sundays at 8:15 p.m. for an hour and a half to catch the show at home or in bars, some of which, “Tatort” hangouts, receive advance DVDs so fans can pause the action before the killer is unveiled and collectively try to guess who did it.

— New York Times article about the German crime series Tatort, started in 1970 and still widely popular. It's part of my Sunday evening routine and my favorite way to practice German. Es ist fantastisch.