Here at Idea Works we love it when people are thinking outside the box so when we heard about the Open Architecture Network’s 2009 Classroom Design challenge we were thrilled. According to the Open Architecture Network’s website:
The Open Architecture Challenge is an open, international design competition hosted once every two years on the Open Architecture Network. It reaches beyond the traditional bounds of architecture by challenging architects and designers to partner with the broader public to address architectural inequities affecting the health, prosperity and well-being of under-served communities.
This years challenge was designing a classroom that met the unique needs of the future. While the submission deadline has already passed, we are still quite excited about seeing the results that come from increased collaboration. The most exciting part of challenges like these are that students and teachers across the globe can let the world know what they need to meet the unique needs of the 21st century classroom. By working together we can certainly create a better future for us all.
Sketching is not just right side of the brain stuff. All throughout my academic career my professors almost unanimously agree that students should draw more pictures when trying to solve math, physics, biology, computer science, etc. problems. After years of hearing their pleas I’ve finally started to come around. Even with all this technology surrounding me I can safely say that sketching is the quickest way to get ideas out of my head. Some may suggest mind mapping software but for me nothing beats pencil and paper. Drawing offers a physicality that we’ve yet to duplicate in computer interfaces. Things like multitouch screens and Wacom tablets come close but they just never feel quite right.
I’m not huge fan of upfront design. I prefer to take an idea and start building and design through iteration of an actual product. Pencil can be great for that. Several of the features I’ve written have started out as quick sketches on paper with mini-addendum sketches as I go. And nothing beats going to a different room with your pencil and paper to solve difficult conceptual problems. Because I kept losing these awesome sketches, a few weeks ago I bound some Idea Works notebooks. They’re recycled from old stationary that we couldn’t use because of an outdated phone number. Good for the environment and good for the brain.
As a John Lennon fan and a sucker for interesting animation, I loved this short animated film “I Met the Walrus“. It’s an Academy Award Nominee for Best Animated Short Film and combines the artistic talents of director Josh Raskin with pen work from James Braithwaite and digital illustration by Alex Kurina.
A perfect example of how a great director can piece together different types of media to create an engaging experience. Kudos. I hope they win the Academy Award.
Who has time to read the hundreds of blog posts that would be useful? Surely not me. Some of those blog posts, while informative, just become too much information. Regular Joe (or Jane) doesn’t have time to read those. Academics and students, who are the majority of our customers, are so busy that it is crazy. There has got to be a solution for this…
Turns out that there is. We started using a service called Twitter (www.twitter.com) last week. This allows us to post what are called micro-blogs. Micro-blogs restrict the writer to 140 characters. That is the full length that is afforded to give an insightful update, or tell a part of a story.
The great thing about them is that they are easy for everyday, busy Joe (or Jane of course). With under 15 seconds you can evaluate the information, and then proceed to the external link if it seems of interest to you.
We currently have two Twitter accounts, one for Ideaworks and one for Bar Essay Prep. You can view them by going to www.twitter.com/ideaworks or www.twitter.com/bar-essays. Feel free to follow us on Twitter and interact, we would love to have you join the conversation!
In short, for easily digestible updates on Ideaworks, go to www.twitter.com/theideaworks. (Only 90 characters!)
Recently, we started doing some thinking regarding our overall marketing strategy. We evaluated the voice from the many e-mails that get sent out for the company, and we worked to make them unified. We reviewed the different products, and we tried to see where we disconnected from the standard voice. Here is the biggest thing we noticed: Sometimes we tried to act a lot bigger than we actually are, and it was completely transparent. So we adopted a new stance.
We are a small company. We love being a small company. Being a small company gives us advantages that larger companies don’t have. So we decided to take our voice and presentation back to the people from which we came. By the people, for the people!
Keep your eyes peeled for some of the changes we will be making, they are exciting. I’ll give you a clue. One of the companies that has inspired some of my thinking about this, and I company that I feel has branded themselves well, is Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches. In particular, their slogan that I think is excellent is “Damn good, Damn fast.”
Here’s an interesting concept of future web browsing from Adaptive Path. It looks pretty and suggests some good ideas. It’s also features some poor design choices (like hidden menus and tools) and visual displays that look shiny, but may not actually be useful (cloud display of related information).
Also, the background music is annoying.
Still, I admit that I don’t too often try and look this far into the future. I can think of a few small ways to improve Firefox, or some useful ways to integrate certain applications, but I’ve never considered radical new ways to discover, understand and share information.
Once in awhile, I find myself in a meeting that doesn’t seem to accomplish much of anything. It’s a strange result, because I know that I’m meeting with intelligent, innovative people. And all of them have suggested some great ideas. But somewhere along the line, things derail and the potential with which we started fizzles away.
In school or work or sports, decisions are often made in a group setting and we often assume that groups are the best way to produce valuable, creative ideas.
Here at Idea Works we love it when people are thinking outside the box so when we heard about the Open Architecture Network’s 2009 Classroom Design challenge we were thrilled. According to the Open Architecture Network’s website:
Sketching is not just right side of the brain stuff. All throughout my academic career my professors almost unanimously agree that students should draw more pictures when trying to solve math, physics, biology, computer science, etc. problems. After years of hearing their pleas I’ve finally started to come around. Even with all this technology surrounding me I can safely say that sketching is the quickest way to get ideas out of my head. Some may suggest 
(www.twitter.com) last week. This allows us to post what are called micro-blogs. Micro-blogs restrict the writer to 140 characters. That is the full length that is afforded to give an insightful update, or tell a part of a story.