1. The long tail of poverty

    In his book Out of Poverty, Paul Polak recounts a day he spent wandering the streets with a homeless man named Joe. During the course of the day, Polak realized that despite the fact that Joe was homeless and jobless, the man had an income of about $500 a month. That income, multiplied by the number of homeless persons in the city Joe lives in, represents a buying power of $1.5 million a month, or $18 million a year. Everyone designs for Gucci and Mercedes because that’s where the money is, but there are more poor people in the world to design for than wealthy. Paul Polak’s “homeless Joe” is just one example of the long tail of the poor economy, and one of the subjects of the new design revolution.

    Category: New Ideas Blog Comments Off | May 18, 2011 by THINKTOPIA®

  2. Infographics are us.

    Three years ago, we were explaining to researchers what an infographic was. These days, everyone thinks they’re Edward Tufte. Thing is, nobody has time to read any more. We want to see big brashy words and pictures leaping at us with instantaneous information. We love them. We’d tell you exactly how much we love them, and which ones we love most, but that’s another chart.)  

    Category: New Ideas Blog Comments Off | May 16, 2011 by THINKTOPIA®

  3. Mad about MAD architects.

    Winner of the Absolute Towers project in Toronto (pictured), the first major international competition win for a Chinese architect, MAD is Ma Yansong’s architectural firm. Established in 2003, Ma’s studio has created stunning new designs like the Fake Hills apartment complex, China Wood Sculpture Museum, and more. We like.

    Category: New Ideas Blog Comments Off | May 4, 2011 by THINKTOPIA®

  4. Black Kites and For The Love Of God: Separated at birth?

    Gabriel Orozoco’s retrospective at Tate Modern in London may not eclipse the Royal Wedding, but who can say “no” to the idea that his iconic Black Kites (shown, 1997) possibly inspired Damien Hirst’s diamond-encrusted “For The Love Of God”?

    Category: New Ideas Blog Comments Off | May 3, 2011 by THINKTOPIA®

  5. Spontaneous City by London Fieldworks

    Spontaneous City In The Tree of Heaven is the work of collective London Fieldworks. These bug and bird boxes cloak trees throughout London.

    Category: New Ideas Blog Comments Off | May 2, 2011 by THINKTOPIA®