In a previous post we discussed the power of inspiration. Here is an example: Fitness was not fun, it was for fitness freaks and gym junkies. Nike’s vision of fitness was about athletes, it was about guys. Then, at Wieden + Kennedy, Janet Champ and Charlotte Moore created this for Nike. The copy reads: “A woman is often […]

“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” – Arthur Schopenhauer I have kept a copy of this quote at hand for many years. You may remember when environmentalists were ridiculed as “Tree Huggers” and when “Save the Whales” was a […]

Al Gore has been on script for a long time. Not only did his “Information Superhighway” become the internet as we know it today but his “Inconvenient Truth” was a pivotal moment in the global conversation about climate change.  In this TED talk he gets “hot and bothered” as he focusses his attention on the […]

With photographer Lei Wang we explored the impact of mobile social media in China. Lei emerged with a simple question; “Is social media enabling community but increasing loneliness in the city?”  The work was sponsored by Cheil for Samsung as part of their study on the culture of smartphones.  The question has become more pressing […]

Back in 2011 when we founded Studioriley we had this idea: that creative talent is underutilized in the field of learning and insight. The process of creating involves a process of learning and analyzing. So, we thought, why not engage creative people to help us learn? Studioriley is a network node that connects us to […]

It is always worth listening to Jaron Lanier as he explores the relationship between humanity and technology. At the root of his insight is that humans create technology and technology simply connects human stuff to other human stuff. AI is not “alien intelligence” it is moderately good algorithms that mash up what that is already […]

The United Arab Emirates is a nation created by nomadic people from a millennia of wind and sand released from British colonialism and powered by the discovery of oil. It is both deeply Arab and enthusiastically global, a hub for international trade. Dubai is UAE’s port and, like all ports, has to be open to […]

“Kota Okuda examines the one-dollar bill in minute detail in his work. He blows it up, prods and pokes at it, reconfigures and recontextualizes it. The symbolic value of currency—these pieces of paper that occupy our minds and lives—fascinates Okuda, and it always has.” The blurb from NowHere gallery in New York says it all. […]

If you needed a reminder that markets are conversations SVB handed you one this month. SVB lost control of its narrative in 24 hours. By which time $700m had been withdrawn. Investors were advising their portfolios to run away and run away they did. The story is fanning out around the world; “banks are vulnerable, […]

For a few years now marketing has led the business narrative about sustainability. With the notable exception of Patagonia (and there may be others) the narrative has been disconnected from reality. To claim sustainability was easy since it was only loosely defined. Caring is not the same a doing. That is all changing as regulators, […]