Everyone would have heard of the MacBook Air by now right? It is a stunning piece of product design. There’ve been loads of “oohs” and “aahs” over how thin it is.

The designers have used a proven technique to make the unit look thinner than what is actually possible with engineering alone.

In everyday circumstances, we almost never perceive a product from an orthogonal viewpoint – ie perfectly …

The concept of a “computer” for your business has been kicking around since the late 1970s. And yet, most businesses have yet to really grasp the fact that it is a tool and not an end in itself.

Stilgherrian’s excellent post Social Media: It’s about the people, not the tools sparked this post.

I suggest that the continuing focus by businesses on the technological “bits” instead of …

Last week, I was at a concert put on by a number of community choirs for charity. Great music, great performances, and for a good cause.

As we left the concert, we were talking about how wonderful it was to spend an afternoon with people who were truly passionate about and committed to what they do. There is this awesome energy of creation, of togetherness, of being that is …

I had a nice day today – mostly spent lying in bed, reading (a novel), and dozing off in between chapters. Only slightly thinking about work… It’s the whole “we must have this done by Christmas” workload . Not that I am complaining!

In the afternoon, I got up and started a new painting. It has been a while. The canvases were piling up accusatively.

After …

Since buying the Thinkpad line of products from IBM a few years ago, Lenovo has been busy transitioning the product line branding.

The Same Product, Different Stickers blog post on Lenovo blogs provides an interesting insight into the transition process from a product badging viewpoint.

The lessons are:

Consistency is important, but not a blind rule to be followed.
Consistency goes beyond mere badges and logos.
Transitions must be given time …

Angus and Robertson, one of the bookstore chains in Australia, is taking a “pay us to stock your product or go away” approach with publishers.

When does the drive to make a profit cross over to clear-cut greed? What is the definition of greed? A business, by definition, must make a profit; but how far should a business focus on making a profit before it starts eroding its offerings?

For …

I gave a talk this week to several hundred high school students at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research where the Eating Disorders Foundation had their Youth Forum. My talk was about body image – specifically how fantasies are literally manufactured in the media, advertising and the fashion industry.

Eating disorders aside, there is no doubt that being constantly bombarded with impossible and unattainable ideals will negatively affect self …

My article on logo design in flyingsolo resulted in quite a few comments. Here’re my additional thoughts as a result.

The Bank of Queensland peeling poster

I did not know the Bank of Queensland logo was meant to represent the outline of the state - so thanks for pointing that out Greg from Toowoomba. This illustrates how hard it is for symbols to be read “correctly” …

I saw a TV piece on the pet food contamination scandal in the US recently which affected many dogs and cats. It was interesting to note the initial confusion amongst consumers as the contamination affect many different brands across different price points and market positions. This is because like many other mass manufacture-based industries, the pet food sector sources its base products from relatively few manufacturers …

I was watching this digger at work whilst waiting for the train one day. Its movements were intriguing – digging, scraping, lifting, scooping, and levelling piles of rubble. As it switched tasks, it was deftly swapping its scoop attachment for others. To reposition itself in a tight corner, where its turning circle was too large, it even used its arm as a crutch to manoeuvre …