Nuru: non-profit that works to end extreme poverty

This article talks about Nuru's approach on communities that are at risk of becoming part of terrorism if their needs are not addressed properly. When in desperate positions, people will do anything to survive.

Nuru's founder, Jake Harriman, a platoon commander in the Infantry and an elite unit of Marines called Force Recon; believes that address the following five areas of development: : Agriculture, Water & Sanitation, Healthcare, Community Economic Development and Education; extreme poverty can end and therefore terrorism.

http://www.loopinsight.com/2009/11/18/non-profit-organization-nuru-utilizes-macs-to-end-extreme-poverty/

Hypothesis VIII

This thesis presents the hypothesis that strategic design, a problem-solving methodology that uses abductive reasoning, can be applied to the challenge of providing financial support to a community center in a developing country. Traditional sources of financial support for such institutions, including individual benefactors, government agencies and international organizations have shown to be unreliable. Applying strategic design methodology to such a problem may provide innovative sources of funding for a community center drawn from local residences, a network of numerous such centers, and a hybrid of local and global community center grown businesses and cooperatives.

The Medillín project

Currently running for the presidency of Colombia, Sergio Fajardo initiated a project in the slums of Medellín to improve the quality of life of the residents.

The main idea of his project was the "best thing in the worst neighborhoods." Referring to how the quality of the environment would enhance the lifestyle of the people living in slums. It will make a positive impact and elevate their social status. In my opinion, it is one of many initial steps in curing poverty.

to read the entire article visit:
http://changeobserver.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=11507

After reading the article, sounds like ADIC or any neighborhood in Caracas could benefit from it. These slums are similar to those in Medellín but having houses stacked on top of each and being social nucleus of violence and death.

My next question would be: Where the politics of the country ever got in the way of the project? Did you receive any political support?

I am concerned that when the time comes to do research in Venezuela the government of political parties will get in the way of it and try to stop it or intervene.


Another article:
Quote:
"The first step toward quality education is the dignity of the space. When the poorest kid in Medellín arrives in the best classroom in the city, there is a powerful message of social inclusion. That kid has a newfound self-esteem, and he learns math more easily. If you give the most humble neighborhoods beautiful libraries, you make those communities proud of the libraries. That is powerful"

source:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/69623

Idea Summit

Extract:
Rolf Smith "Colonel Innovation" has spent a career thinking about how people think. Now, he is helping people at some of the world's most powerful organizations to generate big ideas -- and to rethink their whole approach to creativity

Interesting concepts:
Metacognition

Quotes:
The 7 level of change:
"Level One is effectiveness -- doing the right things. Level Two is efficiency -- doing things right. Level Three is improving -- doing the right things better. Level Four is cutting -- doing away with things. Level Five is copying -- doing things other people are doing. Level Six is different -- doing things no one else is doing. And Level Seven is impossible -- doing things that can't be done. Smith's goal for every Thinking Expedition is to move a team along this continuum."

"Being creative is when you think about your thinking," Smith says. "Being innovative is when you act on your ideas."




http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/31/smith.html?page=0%2C1

Continuum's ideologies

Continuum is another design consultancy that uses design thinking to solve problems.

Design Thinking Workshops
Evolving your business. Solving unprecedented problems. Connecting with customers. Our Design Thinking Workshop is all about finding new solutions to old problems.
Fast paced and highly-interactive, the workshop highlights the principles of design thinking and how to use them. You’ll gain new perspective on how to define problems and generate breakthrough ideas. And you’ll walk away with tools and approaches that can be applied to your own business challenges.

• Experience the power of working collaboratively
• Develop an understanding of how to use consumer insights
• Use abductive reasoning to explore the logic of what might be
• Understand how to define problems in full context
• Discover quick and cost-effective ways to make new ideas tangible

dcontinuum.com

Thesis presentation I

Dominguez Thesis

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The beginning of the model

A Similar Model of Development

KickStart is an organization that works to get people out of poverty quickly, cost-effectively and sustainably.

Here is their 5 step model that could be an great source of inspiration for my model:

1. Identify Opportunities - what business will be profitable for this people, in this place?
2. Design products - what new tools will make this possible?
3. Establish a Supply Chain - how can we produce this?
4. Develop the Market - how do we convince someone with little money to make a big investment?
5. Measure and Move Along - is it going as we planned?

KickStart believes:

-If tackling poverty then tackle rural poverty as 70% of the poorest people live in rural communities

- The poor does not need money, she needs ways to make money

- You canot develop a technology to address a problem without fully undestanding the local culture

http://www.kickstart.org/

Hypothesis VII

This thesis presents the hypothesis that strategic design, a problem-solving methodology that uses abductive reasoning, can be applied to the challenge of providing financial support to a community center in a developing country. Traditional sources of financial support for such institutions, including individual benefactors, government agencies and international organizations have shown to be unreliable. Applying strategic design methodology to such a problem may provide innovative sources of funding for a community center drawn from the center’s own network, a network of networks linking numerous such centers, and hybrid local / global community center grown businesses and cooperatives.

Research what?

- Anybody who does fundraising. What are their strategies

- Anybody doing it differently?

- Fundraising initiatives: Kickstart.org

Tesis outline

1- Strategic Design

- Define

- Human-centered Design
- Design process
- Divergent Thinking
- Enabling constituents
- Social application
- Social Design
- Teach to Fish
- Integrative Thinking/ Inclusive design

2- Nonprofit
- Domestic & International

- Business model/ model of development
- Fundraising
- Communities’ needs & abilities

- Donor Market
- Foundations
- Corporations
- Governments

- Individuals
- NPOs in Latin America
- Background
- Cultural differences
- Support, their donors
- Technology & education barriers
- Economies of scale & poverty

3- ADIC
- How it works
- History
- Funding
- The community of “El Placer de Maria”
- Donor Market
- El Peñon
- Individuals
- Fundraising events:
- ADIC’s annual raffle
- School Uniform drive
- Paper recycling

Fundraising strategies

Growth, Involvement, Visibility, Efficiency, and Stability (GIVES)

- Fund Raising Management, Mal Warwick

Does ADIC have tax-deductible donations?

Can you do that in Venezuela?

Facts

In 2001, Americans gave $138 billion to charity, according to Internal Revenue Service records.
- Hyannis, Mass., Presentation Outlines Top Fundraising Strategies, Ethan Zindler

In 1992, US organizations raised about $122 billion.
- book from the library

Another thought for the list of many

Changing the interface by which people make decisions and the nature of the decision changes

- TED.com

A different model, arts non-profit

Nonprofit arts organizations are generally able to earn only half of the money it takes to sustain their operation. The other half of their revenue must be raised through contributions and grants. Even small fluctuations in contributed revenue can mean deficits for many organizations.

• Earned income is the largest source of revenue for the typical nonprofit arts organization. Yet most people are unaware of the funding challenges that must be met to keep America’s arts organizations in operation.
• Support for the nonprofit arts is a mosaic of funding sources—a delicate balance of earned revenue, government support, and private sector contributions. The pie chart above provides a snapshot of what the average revenue picture looks like for a nonprofit arts organization in the U.S.
1. Earned income represents roughly half of the pie (ticket sales, sponsorships, and fundraising events, for example)
2. Private sector philanthropy is the next largest portion (corporate, foundation, and individual giving)
3. Finally, the smallest of the three is government support. (Note that federal arts support includes NEA, Kennedy Center, Smithsonian, and other direct arts funding—a total of about $1.4 billion annually.)

Source: Americans for the Arts, 2004.

http://www.artsusa.org/pdf/get_involved/advocacy/research/2007/revsources.pdf

Research

Revenue diversification among non-profits
Abstract Although the non-profit literature has grown substantially, the issue of how revenue diversification affects non-profits has not been fully explored. This paper presents several disciplinary perspectives regarding the financing of non-profits, what determines their ability to diversify, and the consequent effects on their behaviour. It first develops an index for measuring revenue diversification and applies it to a national sample of charitable non-profits. The results indicate that, while the perception that most non-profits rely on a single revenue source is exaggerated, the institutions in our sample have somewhat concentrated revenue. Our findings also suggest that the activity of a non-profit and the proportion of its expenditures that it devotes to fund-raising affect its ability to diversify its revenues concentration. While a number of anomalies exist, the weight of our evidence suggests that diversified revenue sources are more likely to be associated with a strong financial position than are concentrated revenue sources. Researchers interested in studying the life-cycle of non-profits, the factors that give rise to stability and growth, and the constraints on non-profit behaviour would do well to consider the diversification index presented in this paper.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/f3561tj91616j4ug/

Hypothesis VI, working it

This thesis presents the hypothesis that strategic design, a creative approach that identifies the needs of those affected to create innovative solutions, can be used to help developing communities in emerging economies improve their well-being. Currently, developing communities in Latin America subsists through fundraising and donations, not a sustainable practice. Such a hypothesis will allow developing communities to build its own sustainable economic model based on transparency, two-way communication and showing respect to the community through design.

Hypothesis V, less gobbly goop

This thesis presents the hypothesis that strategic design, a professional approach that identifies the needs of those affected to create innovative solutions, can be used to help developing communities in emerging economies improve their well-being. Currently, a developing community center in Caracas, Venezuela, named ADIC subsists through fundraising and donations, not a sustainable practice. Such a hypothesis will allow ADIC to build its own sustainable economic model based on transparency, two-way communication and showing respect to the community through design.

Take out the Trash

Hypothesis IV

This thesis presents the hypothesis that strategic design, a platform that identifies the needs of constituents, creates innovative solutions, and delivers solutions with financial sustainability in mind (HCD, IDEO), can be used to help poor communities improve their well-being. The current method of subsistence, fundraising and donations, neither guarantees a steady stream of income nor fosters a symbiotic relationship between stakeholders. Such a hypothesis will allow on-going dialogue between stakeholders by employing constituents as co-creators and initiating an open-ended project that begins with the allocation of local resources to exploit their potential and guarantee financial independence.

Hypothesis III

This thesis presents the hypothesis that strategic design, a platform that identifies the needs of constituents, creates innovative solutions, and delivers solutions with financial sustainability in mind (HCD, IDEO), can be used to help poor communities improve their well-being through co-creation by crafting a vision to build a development platform. The current method of subsistence is through fundraising, which does not guarantee a steady stream of income nor foster a symbiotic relationship between stakeholders. Such a hypothesis will allow poor communities to become self-sustainable by employing residents as co-creators and allocating local resources, as oppose to foreign resources, to develop.

Thought

Help yourself using what you have

ADIC, community center in Caracas

ADIC

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The observation is: ADIC already does all those things that are advisable to do in order to develop in all aspects. They have even integrated the community in the functioning and yet, they still struggle money wise. Now, that is the problem to solve. Where is the missing piece.

Hypothesis II

This thesis presents the hypothesis that design can be used to help poor communities improve their well-being through already-existing resources. The focus will be on using the community as co-creators to help craft a vision to build a development platform. The community center in question, currently relies on donations and fundraising events without providing a steady stream of income. Such a hypothesis will open new approaches of self-sustanabiliy for communities who are used to rely on external help to subsist and do not have a steady source of income.

As a designer I feel very socially responsible. Use your logo-making abilities to help people. Since people is what surrounds us.

Hypothesis follow up

Slow Design

Process
The process of slow design is comprehensive, holistic, inclusive, reflective and considered. It permits evolution and development of the design outcomes. It belongs to the professional and public arenas and emphasises the importance of democratising the design process by embracing a wide range of stakeholders.

Outcomes
slow design is manifest in any object, space or image that encourages
a reduction in human, economic, industrial and urban resource flow metabolisms by:

• designing for space to think, react, dream, and muse
• designing for people first, commercialisation second
• designing for local first, global second
• designing for socio-cultural benefits and well-being
• designing for regenerative environmental benefits and well-being
• democratising design by encouraging self-initiated design
• catalysing behavioural change and socio-cultural transformation
• creating new economic and business models and opportunities

Taken from: http://www.slowdesign.org/slowdesign.html

Video Experience

La Leche and all its components

More of what I do

Some of what I do, some

Hypothesis I

This thesis presents the hypothesis that design can be used to help poor communities improve their well-being through already-existing resources. The focus will be on human-centered design and how this methodology will help the community’s stakeholders craft a vision to build a development platform. Such a hypothesis will open new approaches of self-sustanabiliy for communities who are used to rely on external help to subsist and do not have a steady source of income.

Example

Seeing the unseen

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Lets build a farm

The new plans are to build a farm/recycling center for ADIC in Caracas, Venezuela.

Awesome, awesome, awesome and tasty

Look at this amazing solution for stamps. I hate to lick stamps or envelopes for that matter. A chocolate flavored stamp is a great solution to kill the bitter, yucky after-taster of stationary.

http://www.toby-ng.com/graphic-design/chocolate-mail/

Thank you from me personally!

Sustainability means

Because we must first define the term before cornering it into the environmental-only corner. Here is the dictionary.com definition of what the multi-syllable word means.

–verb (used with object)
1. to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.
2. to bear (a burden, charge, etc.).
3. to undergo, experience, or suffer (injury, loss, etc.); endure without giving way or yielding.
4. to keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from giving way, as under trial or affliction.
5. to keep up or keep going, as an action or process: to sustain a conversation.

Some of the definitions. We are speaking about keeping something alive, keeping it going. Now lets think of the entire system of life, not just the environment. Not that we should not care about the environment, but the definition is much broader than that.

What would make you save the environment anyhow?

As I continue on the path of honesty

Dove has been a pioneer in leading the fight against fake beauty. The photoshoped beauty. They started with the really beauty ads and now this video:



My point is, get the masks of. You look the way you look. Are you really going to stop living just because your freckles don't align?


Verità

We do indeed like good news

After all, I had lost a bit of hope. News are always flooded with aweful new which makes them the harder to watch/read. But here, in one of the cheesiest shows ever. A voice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnmbJzH93NU

People won't save the environment

What would it take? Research conducted by IDEO found that neither expensive energy bills nor the threat from global warming are likely to make consumers conserve energy.

Instead, IDEO is focusing on developing "human-centered products and service experiences". The solution will appeal to the consumer in a more emotionally resonant level.

That is IDEO's take. PSFK actually developed a device called Onzo, a sensor, a display and integrated website; that provides immediate feedback allowing the user to take control of their energy usage. The device is also recyclable.


The more your know! click and keep learning

PSFK article:
http://www.psfk.com/2009/04/onzo-dashboard-for-your-home.html

IDEO article:
http://www.ideo.com/work/item/shift-focus/

My soft spot: helping others

What is yours?

Soft Spot is an organization that provide designers with information and inspiration to solve contemporary issues and educate the masses to make the world a better and healthier place.

Soft Spot helps designers become actively involved with their community. All to bring about positive social change.

I am a Softy. Are you?

http://www.thesoftspot.org/about.html

Congratulations, you are contributing to the evolution of the Web

Just by blogging!

Blogs are dynamic websites that changed the way information was exchanged online and allowed human relationships. One way to use this information could be to make "smart websites", this I just made up. Imagine a website that improves itself just by recording natural human behavior in it. It ends up being an efficient tools and source of information easy to use, as if it was second nature. Maybe your grandmother won't be as terrified to use it.

The articles has more interesting information about Blogging, Web 2.0 and RSS. Read and learn people.
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html?page=3#designpatterns

Ciao pescao'

RjDj a sound drug

http://more.rjdj.me/what/

RjDj, Reality Jockey and Disk Jockey, is not just another app for the iPhone but one that reacts to your environment and changes the way you perceive sound. How about a smart phone and sensory.

Camera Viva

Seeing the unseen

Innovation what?

Innovation is redefinition.

Don't start from scratch but rather give what you have a new meaning. After all, it is the sustainable thing to do.

Getting closer to your enemies

Even without meaning to, we make friends and enemies. Sometimes, it only takes for someone to walk into a room to make both simultaneously.

This argument goes back to a conversation with Prof. Klinkowstein on how to fight back. Seth's blog just brought these lessons back to mind.

From what I recalled, this is what stuck in my mind:
1. Understand the problem, better than your enemies.
2. Consult with your smartest friends, friends of friends, experts in the fields about your problem.
3. Invite Cruella Devil to lunch. Get close to your enemies, this will show them how not frighten you are. I see it as a watering down thick dough. Besides you will get to understand their weaknesses.
4. Use Verdana when writing legal documents. You are not ashamed of showing you are right, there is nothing to hide, nothing they can use to get you and huge Verdana is like calcium for strong bones.

What triggered my thoughts:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/03/demonization.html

And, thank you Prof. Klinkowstein!

Seeing the unseen leads to opportunities

musicians are better mathematicians

The idea that started MozartMath, a program for kindergarten childrenn based on the belief that musics teaches important concepts such as tempo, tonne, styly, rhythm, tone, style, rhythm, phrasing, and feeling-training allowing the brain to become incredibly good at organizing and conducting numerous activities at once.

Multitasking!

And why is this not applied as much to educating older kids?

So lets become better at mixing sound and, consequently, better businessmen.

Good luck.

Read about MozartMath here:
http://www.mozartmath.com/research.cfm

More solutions for tough times

As CC hosted Prof. Hanson's talk on Thursday, the students had a change to learn more about how to get a job. It seems almost impossible nowadays, as if you must become a jack of all trades.

However, another option to getting a full-time job is to be a freelance artists. Not so safe, I mean if you break a leg, no pun intended, the surgery/recovery is paid by yours truly. But freelancing is in fact a great opportunity to get into projects that really interest you and getting paid for them.

Learn from Seth and follow the instructions:

1. A group of possible customers you can identify and reach.
2. A group with a problem they want to solve using your solution.
3. A group with the desire and ability to spend money to solve that problem.
By Seth Gobin

More here:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/02/three-things-you-need-if-you-want-more-customers.html

Curiosity did not kill the cat after all

IDEO's, one of the most amazing companies ever, has come up with ten tips about how to bring education into the 21st century. In IDEO's ten tips, curiosity is an important factor as it will make the students teach themselves, make them wonder and feel the need to look for answers. Besides I think this technique will empower students of all ages as they become more independent and well-informed. At least they will know where to go for answers as oppose to waiting for them or get them only when they need answers.

Oh! an inquisitive mind.

Besides, we can take advantage of kids' natural need to questions everything. If you have ever babysitted or been around kids you will know this. The most discouraging part is to see this inquisitive nature die off as kids get older. Nobody raises hands in 10th grade, they either feel embarrassed not to know or the way subject is presented is beyond boring, so no participation from them.


Here is the article with the 10 tips. Of course this is only the beautiful beginning.
http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20090218/”http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20090218/ideos-ten-tips-for-creating-a-21st-century-classroom-experience

It's a penny work

I had a friend who said that pennies made him poor. He got rid of pennies as if they had girl coodies. I disagreed with him and always kept mine. My purse weighted 5 pounds but I would eventually end up with one one-dollar bill.

I turn pennies into paper and Sagmeister turned them into art.

What would you do with pennies? My roommate made earrings.

Your D@ddy is online

Every time I get an email from my Dad is in ALL CAPS and adorned with 20 exclamation marks. It is the old loud-fighting, opinionated spirit of the Boomers and they have discovered where to keep it alive: online.

It is not just email. Yes, Boomers do have an online life. No, they don't spend their time uploading all of the pictures from last night's bar crawl but they do join the online world by participating in polls and blogs (back to the fighting and opinionated-spirit comment)

Nothing has changed since the 60s. It is just that in 2009, opinions are coded in CSS and are written in ALL CAPS.

What does this mean? The Boomers are spending more time online, which resulted in the the government taking an interest and investing in social technologies, as well as graphic designers becoming more digital.

How is that for a pattern?

Read it:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/baby-boomers-luddites-not-so-fast/?em

Parahrah parahrah in the world of Sounds

Yes, that is in fact a Phonetic Poem. Author: Kurt Schwitters, Ursonate. From YouTube.com.

Now that we are on the subjects of sounds, I decided to research phonetic poetry. It is poetry with sounds, as opposed to words. It uses the sounds of letters, human sounds. Combines them changing the tempo, pitch, speed, all those features of sound; to create a mood.

Born in the times of Dada, 1916.

Some videos of phonetic poetry are pretty out there. Some I couldn't even finish because it was triggering uncomfortable feelings of fear and anxiety. One video has a rubber chicken head sounding letters...way too far out for me.

A somewhat related TV ad of this sort, is a Honda ad produced a few years ago and it's genius. This is how I prefer my phonetic poetry.

"An Awesome Book" Thanks Dallas Clayton

Cover of Dallas Clayton's book


I just hope that this post is acceptable. A friend shared this book with me a while ago and now it is time for me to continue down the chain of favors. Here it is for your enjoyment brought to this world by Dallas Clayton "An Awesome Book"

What draws me to this piece of literature is irony of the grown-up world, where everyone wishes to dream but is too caught up with surviving. This is the time to sacrifice our dreams, as if they go to hibernate until the bad times pass and we are allowed to invest in our dreams again.

Is it? or is this the best time to start from scratch and make those dreams of flying watermelons alive?

Here, read it:
http://www.veryawesomeworld.com/awesomebook/inside.html

Too early to ignore what people think

It is easy to say that the costumer is always wrong. How many times have we seen the scene of stupid people walking into a store demanding services that don't even exist. Asking for what cannot be given to them. I once saw a woman buying butter by weight. She wanted a pound, which was what was given to her. The tub was not filled but was a pound. Instead of taking the pound of butter, she spent the next half hour fighting with the employer because she wanted the tub filled and still pay for one pound.

Are we such brats?

Unfortunately, I have found that for baby commercial artist or communication designers, our fights with our clients often end up in them winning over. They are the ones taking care of the bill and tip. We are the ones serving whatever they ask for too.

So stay away from stupid client and stick to the good ones who pay you for what you are worth and let you do the work!

Here is the article that inspired my thoughts:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/02/the-customer-is-always-wrong.html

Forgive the students

And this is something I have been talking about for a while now, not publicly unfortunately. But imagine being able to go to school without having to sacrifice so much for it and having to pay back for the next 30 years of your life? This will be amazing because students will be able to concentrate more on classes and homework, develop their projects to their fullest. For a graphic design student this may mean more time to get school project looking impeccable. For their professor, they will have more of their students helping them as intern or assistants. Just to name the few benefits.

And all my complaints about not having enough time to focus on homework and having to work to survive will end!

What would you do if you would not have to pay any more loans? If college was free or cheaper than it is at the moment?
I think more people would be taking classes regularly, even professionals.

Yes! for education.


Check out the amazing article on Nussbaum:

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/NussbaumOnDesign/archives/2009/02/president_obama_1.html

Digital Criminals

image from Joyce Dopkeen/The New York Times


Bullying has moved from the playground to the World Wide Web. Cyberbullying, such a new word that my spell checker is highlighting it, is the new form of harassment in the digital world. The law is cracking down big time on this new crime. The question is where would the line be drawn separating free speech from harassment?

Follow up the most recent article found in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/us/08cyberbully.html?scp=1&sq=cyberbullying&st=cse

Hulu, TV on your monitor

Hulu Superbowl Commercial




A bit pathetic but sadly realistic. We are addicted to TV. Even if we don't watch it actively, we always seem to find TV as our best companion. I definitely agree with the statement of having the "three screens". I cannot concentrate on my work without having the noise on of the TV in the background as I work in my computer.

Boomers vs. Gen Xers and Yers

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - Gaza: The Case for Middle East Peace, youtube.com




It is so refreshing to read this article/watch the video. Both experts and common people, those who live the economic recession every day, got to share their thoughts at the same time at Davos. Facebook facilitated this interaction as users submitted their comments live all throughout the conference.

Seeing the Unseen

Seeing the unseen

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Tools and humans

To keep us on our toes, here is the story of Google displaying an error message as the result of its human nature. After all, behind the most complex pieces of machinery, behind the tiniest of phones there is, in fact, a human. No matter how precise our instruments become, we cannot forget that they are the result of innovations made by people.

As our career evolves each day, we should keep reminding ourselves that the computer is just a tool. How good it is? It all depends on our own skills and talents.

More Lessons

And of course right after my last input I stumbled upon Seth and his edges. He claims that creativity is at the edges of stuff. To start where the last person let off. This is why research takes so long and why it is so important.

Other lessons that stuck in my mind after reading Seth’s blog entire first page were: hope, beauty and mood. Marketers selling hope was my favorite realization of the night and why I decided not to pursue a career in advertising. Not that I am against hope. There are at least two ways of seeing how hope fulfills. Hope buys time as one may sit and hope for better times. All filled with hope one waits. A better way, is using hope as the force that makes one stand up to make the good times actually happen.

New literature, I am hooked

I have come to realize that blogging is really how I wanted to get a better grasp on current affairs and personal opinions. I am particularly fond of NussBaum. The articles on rethinking our values, going back to the basics and seeing the current crisis as an opportunity to redefine and improve, sound like music to my ears. Starting from scratch is something that I am seldom opposed to do.

These views reawake the hopeful optimist in me.

It is just so refreshing to learn about conferences focused on innovation and change. It is exhilarating to think about these conferences as beehives where the smartest professionals get together. Ready to ask the right questions as oppose to just wait for a series of instructions from a manual. I attribute my excitement to the discovery that there are others who have the drive to excel and innovate.

I think I can see the “why” of this assignment.

Innovation cannot be without the existence of a problem. In my opinion, solving problems is all about understanding them from every angle. Getting the insight. How well do we understand a problem? Do we think we understand it or are we just seeing through our own glass? Is it impossible to truly see all the layers of a problem? This last question could be the reason why so many solutions fail.

Welcome to Sue is Blogging! The first step to get into the digital world of design. So far my world of design has been print oriented.

It will all come to life pretty soon and you will be able to see new pictures, entries and videos coming up. Can't wait to learn how to make my own videos!

Feel free to drop a line or two and welcome.