take our survey Participate in BACE survey and have a chance at winning JOY goods worth up to $50.00! Bring some fresh ideas to our blog. Only selected winners will be notified.  BACE does not accept gifts or discounts to write about products. Blog posts on BACE are based on personal opinion and not for profit.
|
 Stephen Randall from LocaModa. Image courtesy of DMI. Social Media
I am a late adopter of facebook, twitter and even blogging. The only reason why we started BACE, was so that we could be the one holding the conversation and discuss topics that matter to us. And of course we hope those topics matter to others as well. The cool thing is, no one pays us to talk about them. Whatever is discussed on our blog, is unsolicited. It’s a venue for us to rant about the things we love and hate.
Continue reading “DMI Conf. Day 3 Recap: Social Media, National Design Policy, GE, US Military Healthcare, Futurist & a Vacation at BVI” →
Second day was a full day packed with provocative speeches and hot taboo topics.
Let’s start with John Maeda, the President of Rhose Island School of Design (RISD).
Design Education
 John Maeda, President of RISD Here is what John said:
Design + Art
= Creating solutions to meaningfully asked questions
Technology + Business
= Using new possibilities for customers
Design + Technology + Business
= Using new possibilities to create solutions for customers
Design + Art + Technology + Business
= Using new possibilities to create solutions to meaningfully asked questions for customers
All the discussion about “design thinking”, designers solving complex problems, designers role in corporations, got me thinking about the definition of design. How do we raise design awareness and the standards of design to the level where designers are treated as true professionals and as equals to other professionals like engineers, programmers, lawyers and doctors?
Maybe designers can’t be treated seriously because there are no standards to define our profession. Should there be standards? And what are those standards? And who determines them? Maybe there is a need for legislation similar to the interior design or architecture profession. If we have such high regards for design and expect designers to “change” the world and designers are the “catalysts” for innovation, then treat us with respect, dignity and as equals.
Continue reading “DMI Conf. Day 2 Recap: Design Education, Empathy, Sustainability, Sex & Sensibility, Health & Coding.” →
I am a HUGE fan of Virgin. I love Richard Branson. His no nonsense yet playful gutsy approach to business has always inspired me to be true to myself, regardless of all the distracting forces of conformity on how businesses should be run.
 Joe Ferry, Head of Design, Virgin Atlantic. Image courtesy of DMI. To see how the creative team of Virgin Atlantic led by Joe Ferry, use design to differentiate the Virgin brand and placed the company as one of the most innovative airline company in the world, is simply remarkable. With a bit of humor and play, the design team carried their brand vision from print to the interiors of the plane, their clubhouses, all the way through their TV commercials, without ever compromising the details, quality and experience of the brand.(Check out this Q&A with Joe Ferry from WallPaper* Magazine)
 An in-cabin shot of Ferry's crowning glory, the Virgin Upper Class deck. Image from WallPaper*.
 DMI Annual Conference 34 This is my second DMI event. The first event I attended in SF was so fun, I simply could not miss this annual conference. Plus my husband, Joe and I haven’t been to Boston and this would be a great opportunity to see the city.
This annual DMI Annual Conference 34, was located at the Marriott Cambridge, organized with the Collaborative Initiatives at MIT. There were around 150 attendees from over 15 different countries, representing leading professionals, consultants, and educators from organizations such as Businessweek, Capital One, ConAgra Foods, Fidelity, Legrand, Nike, Pitney Bowes, RISD, Sony, Boeing, and Vodafone. (Oh, and of course, me, Mel Lim, representing herself and all other small business owners and independent consultants out there.)
Continue reading “DMI Annual Conference 2009 : Overview” →
 The Designers Accord We are honored to be part of The Designers Accord’s mission.
(This is an excerpt from their website. )
Mission
The Designers Accord is a global coalition of designers, educators, and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact.
Adopters of the Designers Accord commit to five guidelines that provide collective and individual ways to integrate sustainability into design. The Designers Accord provides a participatory platform with online and offline manifestations so that members have access to a community of peers who share methodologies, resources, and experiences around environmental and social issues in design.
Continue reading “Mel Lim has adopted The Designers Accord” →
1. Your web presence is way bigger than your website.
2. You are not afraid of being authentic. Warts ‘n’ all.
3. You promote/ link/ praise other sources.
4. You don’t let negative feedback paralyze your efforts.
5. You have a dialogue with your customers/ audience.
6. You react to your customers in real-time.
7. You embrace open platforms not proprietary systems.
8. You know the risk of not engaging > risk of engaging.
9. You cannibalize yourself before your competitors can.
10. You keep with it. Evolve, learning and leading.
This is from Stephen Randall, during his presentation at DMI Annual Conference, “Moving Design from Impression to Expression.” Stephen is the founder of LocaModa Inc.
Stephen also said, “Social networking is NOT a fad. It’s an infrastructure of communication/ connectivity.”
 Generation G. Courtesy of TrendWatching.com With the urge for transparency, gift economy, social networking 3.0, green business, Generation G is one more term I have to investigate and understand. I was just at a conference recently, trying to explain The Millennial Generation, and now Gen G!
Trendwatching.com has an amazing article on Generation G, that I’d love for you guys to check out here. And for those of you who are still not sure who The Millennials are, check out the Millennial Generation blog.
I have always believed that you don’t have to agree with people just to be agreeable or disagree just to rebel but rather, we should engage in a meaningful conversation.
And that’s what this conference was to me. Sitting on the other side of the room listening to great speakers talk, there were times that I was nodding like a bobble-head and there were times I was so stirred up, when I went back to my hotel room, I was busy googling and researching to find out what was this guy talking about! That’s the best part of this conference, it made me re-think my thought process; what I know now and what I have yet to learn. I felt like an eager grasshopper, prancing around the auditorium, waiting for the sifus to ascend their wisdom to me…
Therefore, instead of my covering every single segment of the conference, I want to share with you one of the conversations I had with myself.
Continue reading “Re-Thinking Design: The Businessman & The Designer – Part 2” →
 DMI Re-Thinking Design San Francisco 2009 I haven’t been to a conference this engaging, exciting and educational in a long time. Most of the design conference I attended in the past was filled with so-called “famous” designers plugging their works. And most of the time, I left feeling that I’ve not gained any useful information, instead I ask myself, “Did I just spend thousands coming here to listen to a bunch of people brag about their work? I already saw all of that on their websites!!”
Well, this DMI Re-Thinking Design Conference in San Francisco was none of that. I left with a belly of information that I can actually use to help my clients, grow my business and how to move forward in these uncertain times. Conversations were provocative, strategic, informing and inspiring. And MOST speakers tried their best to answer very difficult, complex questions.
Continue reading “DMI | Re-Thinking Design recap – Part 1” →
 Yogurtland Yes. I know. Another yogurt place. We’ve seen too many of these little yogurt shops sprouting at every other block. I must confess – I was not a big yogurt fan. I had way too many excuses; lactose intolerant and I simply didn’t believe in this ridiculous “non-fat” dessert. If I wanted dessert, I wanted to have REAL dessert. But this one, I think is simply AWESOME. Yogurtland is clearly a WINNER. First they offer HUGE selection. Second, I get to chose and do it myself! And third, the toppings! And of course lastly, IT’S GOOD AND CHEAP!! Yup!! 30cents an ounce! I walked away with 2 HUGE cups for less than $4.
You go in, pick up a empty cup, choose from 15 flavors, (my favorites are cookies n’ cream and mango), fill up to however much you want, and walk over to the toppings counter, top with your favorite kit kat crumbles or fruits, weigh and VOILA. DONE. NO hassle of waiting in line. No repeating what you want to annoying staff behind the counter, no wondering if you are getting what you paid for. It’s simple. You even get to sample all flavors before making your selection.
Talk about offering your customers a WIDE selection to chose from and lowering the cost of overhead by hiring less cashiers or staff to attend to those yogurt machines. I admire their business plan and their competitive edge. Let’s see how long they keep their pricing at 30 cents/oz.
I simply LOVE this self-serve yogurt place. No fuss, just pure yummies.
|
