In order to bring the complete vision for the Sprint Studio to life, Sprint and Continuum partnered with their photographer Ron Eshel and German light artists from Lichtfaktor. Working collaboratively in two adjacent photography studios, the team captured both lifestyle photography as well as time lapse imagery of actual light in motion. The resulting images help to elevate the Sprint Studio above the status quo and engage the consumer in a truly amazing retail experience.

Check out this light art. Really amazing stuff.

So I’ve been tracking a little company called Clover, based up in Seattle, that was working hard to re-think what good drip coffee could and should be. From their point of view, the industry was focusing too much on espresso-based drinks and not enough on the classic cup of black magic.

What was their hook? They took the french press brewing process (seen by many coffee snobs as a superior brewing process to the classic, drip coffee makers) and built a machine to replicate it on a larger scale. Coffee drinkers benefited from this ‘artisinal,’ small batch approach to coffee making while independent coffee shops benefited from a new, premium priced, retail theater experience for their customers. This was going to be their way to compete against the green apron army.

http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/about/press/01-23-2008

http://blog.richardsprague.com/2007/11/clover-coffee.html

Then something very interesting happened this week.

http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=850

While Starbucks has been focused on growing their business with breakfast, music and Mitch Albom, McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and the rest have been climbing directly inside their sandbox. We can assume that the move to purchase Clover is a solid indication that Starbucks realizes it needs to focus on the core of its brand – making really good coffee.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention – drip coffee perfection has its price. Clover takes about 4 minutes per cup.

Be sure to pick up The Five People you Meet in Heaven as you wait in line…

Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management and Continuum partner, talks with BusinessWeek about the potential pitfalls and rewards of trying to “buy” innovation

Read it here.

Also check out Continuum’s recent interview with Roger on his new book The Opposable Mind.

We think what Roger and the Rotman School is doing for design education is inspiring for the future of design and business. Other universities should follow suit.

On Thursday of last week, I returned from what turned out to be one of the most inspiring experiences of my short professional career: South by Southwest Interactive. Every year in early March, SXSW unites an eclectic group of Web 2.0 entrepreneurs, CEOs of multinational advertising agencies, design gurus, marketing execs, and social media mavens.

First of all, I wish I had this beforehand. But, like any other SXSW newbie, I tried to jam as much I could into the four days I had in Austin.

I had heard nothing but rave reviews for SXSW going into it, but was still totally blown away by the content of the conference and the SXSW community in general – imagine the Web 2.0 geek version of Band of Brothers (and sisters). There was this really interesting mixture of creative energy fused with technological know-how buzzing around the city throughout the entire week. I felt like everyone I talked to was working on some incredible project and I was just trying to soak it all in.

I attended the conference with a colleague, Sarah Ingraham, and our original plan was to blog the entire event live. This turned out to be impossible. There was simply too much information to absorb and too many people to interact with. But, here are a few initial takeaways from the four days I spent in Austin.

New Finds
Backpack – Developed by 37signals, this handy little tool was my virtual notebook throughout the conference. It allows you to create pages, lists, and notes in a really clean, simple online environment. I’ve also found myself using it as a tool to stay organized day to day.

Twitter – Twitter helps its users answer one simple question, “What are you doing right now?”, and broadcasts that answer to a person’s followers. For a simple explanation on how this works check this out. This was the highlight for me in terms of new social technology – everyone was on it. Throughout the conference, SXSWrs were “tweeting” back forth on panels and speakers in real-time. It was pretty amazing to watch (and later participate in). Want to get all of the latest updates from trackchanges? Follow me on Twitter @mikearsenault.

Read more

Join Dan Buchner, Vice President of Innovation and Design, and designers from Continuum for a one-day workshop — an interactive journey into the world of design thinking. Through short lectures and fast moving and interactive work sessions, our designers will take you through the design thinking process from concept to realization.

Partnering with the Business Innovation Factory in Providence has been a fantastic experience and we are really looking forward to the session.

You can register here.

Read up on the workshop and BIF here.

Business Innovation Factory
315 Iron Horse Way, Suite 101
Providence, RI 02908

This looks very promising.

2x as bright as LEDs for the same power
Near full spectrum light, similar to the light of the sun.

15 lumens/Watt = typical incandescent bulb
70 lumens/Watt = typical LED
140 lumens/Watt = Luxim’s new plasma bulb

Luxim homepage

The man who helped so many of us through our awkward teenage years, gave us a creative outlet where we might not have had one, and gave us a chance to enjoy something fun and rewarding with like-minded friends and family, passed away at the age of 69.

If you were affected by this, you already know who I mean. If you weren’t, then the name E. Gary Gygax probably doesn’t mean much to you either.

He didn’t invent a new biomedical process; he didn’t develop a more efficient internal combustion engine; he didn’t help squeeze more transistors onto a silicon wafer. E. Gary Gygax invented Dungeons and Dragons. I don’t want to go on and on about it; either you get what I’m saying already or you aren’t the slightest bit interested. What can’t be denied is that geek culture would not be recognizible today without his contributions.

Rest in Peace, O Grand Dungeon Master.

Both Wired and the New York Times have published great pieces on Gygax’s legacy.

Oh, and if you think I’m not cool because I like Dungeons and Dragons, you couldn’t be more wrong. I’m one of the coolest guys out there – just ask my Mom!

Attending a conference on “greening” the supply chain probably sounds as exciting as a conference on, well, managing the supply chain.

Last week I attended a conference in NYC called The Ethical Sourcing Forum 2008. It was 2 days spent steeped in a set of important and exciting questions that companies increasingly will be compelled to address:

• How to maintain an environmental commitment (which first implies you have to have one) when 90% of your eco-footprint is from your supply chain?
• What will happen to brand reputations when consumers wake up to the ethical, moral and environmental impact of outsourcing? (Big questions for a company like Coke, for instance, that has 70% of it’s value tied up in its brand).
• If you have an environmental message that really matters (and many companies are trying to do radical things in this terrain; many aren’t doing nearly enough) how do you break through the greenwash and natural consumer cynicism?

A leading issue in the conversations-mainly from the buyers and global procurement managers-was around the importance of transparency. Transparency with their often vast, global and complex supply partners. For example, Starbucks has 100 buyers in 3 countries procuring everything from coffee to tiles, from paper cups to lawn care services. No matter what stuff you’re after, the challenge is the same: How to achieve a trusted, reliable and consistent information stream so you can avoid the dreaded lead in toys or poison in pet food conundrum. How can you compel your suppliers to own the impacts of their processes? This is something that WalMart is taking a lead on with their Scorecard initiative which strives to achieve a 5% reduction in packaging from their own thousands of suppliers by 2013. The sleeping giant is waking.

Read more

UPS driver breaks rule and charms my wife

Our new carpet arrived from Pottery Barn. My wife convinced the UPS guy to carry it into the house…and up the stairs…and into our bedroom. I’m breaking into a sweat just thinking about it. Remember that study about how women dig the brown uniforms? Confident that my wife gave no invitation, I must ask myself, why would the driver do that? He must have broken both corporate and union rules. UPS drivers are Teamsters, not movers. But they are people.

UPS asks, “What can brown do for you?” One driver realized the answer: he could carry that heavy rug for the nice young lady. Breaking a rule is a great way to win a customer’s loyalty. Rule #1 of great service: break a rule for the customer.

I just can’t stop thinking about American Living.

So Ralph Lauren and JCPenney partnered to create a new brand called American Living. As the web site states, the brand is exclusive to JCPenney and jcp.com (btw, they own jcpenney.com as well, and it redirects to jcp.com, but that is a discussion for another day). What I can’t help thinking about is the brand look and feel. It is very aspirational, which I love, but does it have meaning for this retail audience? The imagery is evocative of the Hampton-set, but targeting individuals more comfortable with Hampton Inn.

I like the move, but will it resonate?

CNN’s take on the new brand:

http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/29/magazines/fortune/Its_Ralphs_World.fortune/index.htm