Design Thought Leader

Acting teaches me so much about theater. I played George in ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ in Atlanta. That’s a play I have known intimately my whole life. But until you really crawl inside of it and see how it works, it’s not part of you. I know I’m a better playwright as a result of acting.

Tracy Letts
Playwright and Actor

The ubiquity of cell phones and PDA devices allow for many more innovative and convenient solutions to the problem of providing way-finding clarity within spaces that are becoming more dynamic, fluid and multi-purpose. The iPhone and similar devices represent a massive untapped area of potential for communication designers. And as ‘experience’ seems to be an area of interest for the contemporary consumer, the physical act of using a PDA to access information while the user is located within hot zones and networked areas allows for a heightened brand experience through the simple touch of a button and lightning fast feedback. We propose that experience be taken much more seriously by companies, organizations and designers, as the dynamic that it fosters between user and content provider could greatly impact brand awareness and form tighter bonds between consumers and manufacturers. All in, mobility and access to information are maximized for the user, while unsightly public signage is minimized. And as an aid to architecture and public space, in order to allow it to be all that it is capable of, digital technologies and wireless devices should serve as the connection between places and people intent on finding them, networked together through constant communication and feedback.

Jayson Zaleski
Designer and Writer, Kolor

…innovation comes from people meeting up in the hallways or calling each other at 10:30 at night with a new idea, or because they realized something that shoots holes in how we’ve been thinking about a problem. It’s ad hoc meetings of six people called by someone who thinks he has figured out the coolest new thing ever and who wants to know what other people think of his idea.

And it comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We’re always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.

Steve Jobs
Founder and CEO, Apple