After recently re-reading Aldous Huxley’s classic novel, Brave New World, it was timely to read the Questions for Jonah Lehrer interview in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, as he has just written How We Decide, a book on how we make decisions. I got to thinking about our understanding of the human brain and the use of that knowledge in marketing. In another post, I’ll chat about behavioral economics, but in this post, as it is the end of the year and there is the surfeit of “Books of 2008″ lists, allow me to note just a few books related to this topic that I think would be inspiring and to ask you to provide your own suggestions. (more…)

karim rashid kite chair

karim rashid kone cleaner

Karim Rashid was in Omaha last week and offered an insightful and entertaining chat with the audience, somewhat along the lines of a loosely structured monologue of thought. Despite some apparently contradictory comments, Rashid spoke of the democratization of design, centered on the recognition that all of human existence involves interaction with design. Rashid suggested that the more design focused on the function and aesthetic of the design, combined with an open-minded creative decision making process, the more democratic design was, because it then served the needs inherent in everyone’s experience of human existence.

In a fun expression of this ethos, Karim Rashid referred to “divertente,” which he applied to design that makes you feel alive and present. My only regret is that the Karim Rashid design that I would really like, the Kite chair, is (undemocratically) beyond my budget, although I can afford and have at home his Kone vacuum cleaner!

As long ago as 1994, the British wine bar brand, All Bar One, set the tone for a new wave of bars and clubs designed for women. The original concept for All Bar One was developed by two enterprising ladies, who wanted a bar ideal for women to have a drink and something to eat without the intimidating and secretive confines of a traditional British pub. As a result, the design of the bars feature huge glass frontage, open spaces and interiors that are bright and airy, making the space seem open, inviting and visibly safe. (more…)