September 2014

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 26 sep 2014

'Design Thinking' is being applied by professors at University of Michigan's Ross School of Management to develop and enhance leadership capabilities of participants in their Executive Education programs. The programs are developed by using design thinking approach to seek and understand perspectives of potential candidates and fulfill their expectations and aligning theory with practice. In today's business world innovation is a critical component of leadership and competitive advantage. According to Professor Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks of Ross School, 'The design thinking approach shrinks innovation to something that doesn't require a massive strategic change in an organization, but can be applied every day; from how might we better communicate within a team to how might we increase our ability to identify new market potentials and trends.' Professor D. Scott DeRue, associate dean of executive education at Ross, explains that, 'We had a program in place, and it was doing well, but we weren't sure it was the best we could offer. We went out and immersed ourselves to understand the needs of high potentials in today's world.' Read on...

Talent Management: Use Design Thinking to Develop Better Leaders
Author: Kate Everson

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 26 sep 2014

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture & Construction defines 'Minimalist Architecture' as, "Architecture that follows the doctrine that the use of all decorative elements, including ornamentation and color, should be held to an absolute minimum. This tenet considers all such architectural features to be nonessential and of negative aesthetic value, thus promoting the concept attributed to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe that 'less is more'." According to Wikipedia, minimalist architecture became popular in the late 1980s in London and New York, where fashion designers worked together in the boutiques to achieve simplicity, using white elements, cold lighting, large space with minimum objects and furniture. Moreover it is also considered to be highly inspired from the Japanese traditional design and the concept of Zen philosophy. View the homes designed by architects utilizing architectural minimalism in their work, ranging from sleek facade to perfect blending with the natural environment. Read on...

Huffington Post: Architectural Minimalism: 7 Stunning Homes
Author: NA

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 23 sep 2014

Professor Brian Wansink of Cornell University, has been conducting research on eating habits and behaviors of consumers through his Food and Brand Lab, which he founded in 1997 while being at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His new book 'Slim by Design: Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday Life' is just published and focuses on understanding surrounding and environment at five places - home, favorite restaurants, favorite grocery store, work-place, children's school - that influences eating behaviors and find solutions by designing them in such a way that encourages healthier eating habits. According to him, 'It's easier to become slim by design than slim by willpower.' Here are nine recommendations from him while doing a kitchen makeover - (1) Move healthier foods to visible spots (2) Make tempting foods invisible and inconvenient (3) Declutter your kitchen (4) Make your kitchen less friendly for lounging (5) Think twice before buying big packages of food (6) Use smaller serving bowls and spoons (7) Use smaller, narrower drinking glasses (8) Serve food from the counter or the stove (9) Avoid doing other activities while eating. Read on...

USA TODAY: 9 ways to lose weight by rearranging your kitchen
Author: Nanci Hellmich

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 06 sep 2014

From Henry Ford, to whom manufacturing efficiency was paramount, to Steve Jobs, who valued the working of a product over its looks, design has always been an important component of the products delivered to consumers. During craftsmen era, individuals both designed & created the products. Industrial revolution focused on multiple specialized processes to finish products in large quantity with little room for errors. Autodesk pioneered computer-aided design (CAD) software, to enhance collaboration among highly skilled teams of designers, engineers etc. But today design is becoming critical for product performance and everybody needs to have a basic understanding of design. Autodesk is now promoting design literacy and participating in its democratization process. The gap between design, production and distribution is narrowing with technologies of sharing & collaboration, 3D printing etc and in future it will totally disappear. In the design economy the firms will have to perform in real time and the design will become the product itself. Autodesk predicts the demand for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) professionals will rise to 8.65 million in 2018. It created 'Design the Future' program to fulfill this demand and provides free software to students and curricula & training to educators. Diego Tamburini of Autodesk says, 'design no longer just applies to physical systems, but has permeated to other non-physical areas such as software, services, and the overall "emotional experience" of using a product that also require designers.' Read on...

Forbes: Why Autodesk Is Investing In The Democratization Of Design
Author: Greg Satell