We were always taught that design was about solving problems (never mind that the decision making food chain and more common verbal usage relegate design to “styling”). Sam’s Club, a membership store owned by Wal Mart, made a simple design change that affects their bottom line. By changing the shape of the milk carton, they increased the amount of milk per cubic foot by 50%. This means fewer delivery trips and the elimination of water and labor costs associated with cleaning and transporting milk crates. Consumers found the pouring spout in need of further work but it raises the question – How many other things could be made more efficient/economical/green through design? Top photo by David Maxwell for The New York Times.
We attended the first seminar in the Evil Businessman series over the last weekend and we were thoroughly impressed by what we got out of it. If we had to summarize the most important part this weekend it would be this-
We clearly outlined goals about what we wanted, both from life and from work.
We found specific needs and issues, outlined specific solutions and action, determined the steps needed to act, and created a plan of execution.
We did it with the help of an outstanding group of creative people. Read the rest of this entry »
Our friends at The Groop are putting on a series of free seminars for Creative Proffesionals titled “I want to Be an Evil Businessman- Why Creatives Fail at Business”. These seminars are geared to deliver some much needed education to the creative community by helping creative types (artists, designers, musicians, film makers, etc.) understand how to let go of their day job, start a business, and keep it profitable.As described by the hosts, “This one day seminar will introduce creatives to the fundamentals of achieving business success in 3 easy steps. The first we call life branding, the second is business planning and the final part is measuring success, a simple money management system for creatives.“Neu Black whole heatedly supports any efforts by Creative Professionals to take the skills they use to make other people money and put them to use for themselves. As creatives start our own businesses we take financial, creative, and personal control of our careers and our lives. This control garners respect from other professionals, gives us the power to make high level decisions, and allows us to charge for our services accordingly.Only 20 seats are left for this event.Find out more and register today at: http://www.evilbusinessman.comThe first seminar is being held-Sunday, January 27 2008.12:30 pm - 5:00 pmArt Center College of Design South Campus950 S. Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105
