Integrity is a concept that rests upon consistency of expectations, principles, values, methods, measures, actions and outcomes. Integrity differs from honesty in that Integrity is a subjective concept and one can only judge the integrity of others per the values, beliefs and principles they claim to uphold. Ultimately, we are the only ones capable of defining and measuring our integrity. The higher the standards we set for ourselves, the higher the standard we can set for our clients, peers, friends, and family.

Law professor and social-policy writer Stephen L. Carter sees integrity “not only a refusal to engage in behavior that evades responsibility, but also as an understanding of different modes or styles in which discourse attempts to uncover a particular truth.”

Carter claims that integrity requires three steps: discerning what is right and what is wrong; acting on what you have discerned, even at personal cost; and saying openly that you are acting on your understanding of right from wrong.

How we define integrity, the social and cultural value we place upon it, and the extent to which we hold  individuals and entities (both public and private) accountable to their claims and for their actions will dictate our future. Let’s see if we can’t set our standards a little higher.

Larger image available at flickr.

“Obsolescence is a crime.”
- Massimo Vignelli

Planned obsolescence is the design and manufacture of products that are deliberately intended to have a limited useful life. The result is that you are forced into an everlasting cycle of replacing, repurchasing and repeating.

For over 50 years Vitsoe has adopted a no nonsense approach to design. Others have described it as ‘innovative’ and ‘sustainable’.

“I am not rich enough to buy cheaply.”
- Anonymous

There once was an abundance. A great abundance of many things. But now that bounty is gone. We have depleted it. We have been reckless. Now we must do more with less. Doing more with less is good. But only to a point. We can only do so much with less. Many of us have too much. We want too much. We do too much. We were taught to expect too much.  We still believe that more yields more. But it does not. Perhaps we could consider less. We could want less. We could work less. We could use less. We could simplify our lives. We could refine. We could grant others desperately in need of more – more. And at no expense. Just Less. We ought to strive for less. We ought to experience more. It’s not too late for less. We could embrace less. And in so doing we could have more.

Larger image available at flickr.

“Every fisherman has his story.”

Fishing with John is a 1991 television series conceived, directed by and starring actor and musician John Lurie. On the surface, the series resembles a standard travel or fishing show: in each episode, Lurie takes a famous guest on a fishing expedition. Since Lurie has no expert knowledge of fishing, the interest is in the interaction between Lurie and his guests, all of whom are his friends. Nothing particularly unusual actually happens, but the show is edited and narrated in a way to suggest that Lurie and his guest are involved in dramatic and even supernatural adventures.

Besides Lurie, the guests featured are Jim Jarmusch, actor Matt Dillon, musician Tom Waits, actor Willem Dafoe and actor-director Dennis Hopper. The series ran for 6 episodes, each featuring a different guest and locale, except for episodes 5 and 6 which both feature Hopper in Thailand. Each episode has voice-over narration by Robb Webb, which is sometimes bizarre and off-topic. The soundtrack is by Lurie, with several guest performers.

Episode 1 part 1 has been embedded.

– Play Episode 1 part 2
– Play Episode 1 part 3

View all 6 episodes online here or, watch the entire series on DVD from The Criterion Collection.

Back in the early 1980s, Dieter Rams was becoming increasingly concerned by the state of the world around him – “an impenetrable confusion of forms, colours and noises.” Aware that he was a significant contributor to that world, he asked himself an important question: is my design good design?

As good design cannot be measured in a finite way he set about expressing the ten most important principles for what he considered was good design. (Sometimes they are referred as the ‘Ten commandments’.)

Here they are.

Good design is innovative
The possibilities for innovation are not, by any means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for innovative design. But innovative design always develops in tandem with innovative technology, and can never be an end in itself.

Good design makes a product useful
A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain criteria, not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic. Good design emphasises the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could possibly detract from it.

Good design is aesthetic
The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products we use every day affect our person and our well-being. But only well-executed objects can be beautiful.

Good design makes a product understandable
It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product talk. At best, it is self-explanatory.

Good design is unobtrusive
Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user’s self-expression.

Good design is honest
It does not make a product more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.

Good design is long-lasting
It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years – even in today’s throwaway society.

Good design is thorough, down to the last detail
Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.

Good design is environmentally-friendly
Design makes an important contribution to the preservation of the environment. It conserves resources and minimises physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.

Good design is as little design as possible
Less, but better – because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials.

Back to purity, back to simplicity.

We are nature.

We are innately connected to the earth. Our deepest connection as human beings, as animals, as part of nature – ought to be to the earth.

We have known nature longer than we have known anything else. Nature provides us with everything we need. And so much more.

So, what is it about our modern nature that has enabled us to grow so disconnected from nature?

Why have we become so greedy?

We pave nature over, exploit her bounty, and wreak havoc on her beauty.

Why? For what?

Are we afraid? Are we unaware? Or, are we just ignorant?

It seems more likely that we are simply in a deep and sustained state of denial.

Have we become so self-serving and shortsighted that we have completely lost our way and we have intentionally, purposefully disconnected from nature, from our life force?

To what end?

Regardless of the reason we must reevaluate, reconnect, and reunite with nature.

We must begin this process immediately. We must do it now.

To live in the present with little respect for the future is to do an injustice to ourselves, our ancestors, and all those to follow.

We can undo much of what we have done.

We can reconnect.

We can design the future.

We can do better.

– All images courtesy of the Buckminster Fuller Institute.

The Buckminster Fuller Institute is dedicated to accelerating the development and deployment of solutions which radically advance human well being and the health of our planet’s ecosystems. We aim to deeply influence the ascendance of a new generation of design-science pioneers who are leading the creation of an abundant and restorative world economy that benefits all humanity.

Our programs combine unique insight into global trends and local needs with a comprehensive approach to design. We encourage participants to conceive and apply transformative strategies based on a crucial synthesis of whole systems thinking, Nature’s fundamental principles, and an ethically driven worldview.

By facilitating convergence across the disciplines of art, science, design and technology, our work extends the profoundly relevant legacy of R. Buckminster Fuller. In this way, we strive to catalyze the collective intelligence required to fully address the unprecedented challenges before us.

While the immediate future of a great many things, including quite possibly our planet, rest firmly upon the communication potential of the internet – some things are still best communicated in print. Design is one of those things.

We all love contributing to and consuming the World Wide Web. A 27″ cinema display, or dual 27″ displays for that matter deliver a wonderful view. The iPad is an amazing device and the experiential potential therein can certainly be mind-bending at times. But, the web can not engage all of our senses like a proper piece of print. And that’s just fine for now.

The web is faster, arguably an easier environment to publish in than print, and it’s where the money is at – for the most part. Hence our respect for print, and particularly for those who produce it. Below is a list of 10 lovingly prepared print publications where design, and those behind it really shine. Keep it real and support small-run print.

– idN™
– Slanted
– 8 Faces
– Eight48
– Baseline
– It’s Nice That
– Creative Review
– Process Journal
– Newwork Magazine
– Unit: Design/Research

The future of information consumption is changing and Qwiki is leading the charge. With Qwiki, information becomes an experience. While only in “Alpha” Qwiki is poised to be a leader in creating the new information experience. Qwiki is an exciting platform built on intriguing technology.

As information becomes more accessible and more experiential the process of learning and the potential to learn changes. We believe for the better.

Chosen by the President of D&AD, speakers representative of the best in their creative fields discuss, inspire and debate.

In December of 2009  designer and writer, Adrian Shaughnessy (Unit Editions / Graphic Design on the Radio) spoke with renowned designer, Neville Brody (Research Studios). The talk was titled Genius or Wanker. Shaughnessy prompts Brody to discuss his fame, his studio philosophy, and his sociopolitical and cultural leanings. He and Shaughnessy discuss and debate the role of the designer in society today.

We say genius.

Watch the talk here.

To distribute material possessions

is to divide them

to distribute spiritual possessions

is to multiply them

– From Poems and Drawings
– First Published 1958

– Photo by Josef Albers
– Untitled (Anahuacalli, Mexico) n.d.
– Gelatin silver print, 244 x 160 mm
– The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation