While searching YouTube for something completely unrelated, I came across this video from the old Munich studio. It’s possibly one of the best things on YouTube.

I have no idea who made it, but I’d like to shake their hand.

For those of you who have no idea what’s going on, it’s (obviously) a tour of the studio with the audio provided by one of the most viral videos of 2010. YouTube user Hungrybear9562 spotted a double rainbow over Yosemite National Park, videos it, and provides an…interesting commentary to it, eventually breaking down in tears. See the original video below. It’s bizarre, entertaining, and meme-making (over 30,000,000 views at time of writing!).

It’s Tuesday morning and we’re all back in our offices. Or getting there. 4 days of non-stop Spanish goodness has left us weary eyed, full of fantastic food, oiled up by outrageously large drinks, inspired by wonderful new colleagues, and buzzing all over. Madrid is a city packed full of inspiration. From looming, deco buildings to dark, twisting back alleys, Madrid is alive with sights, sounds, smells and people.

We were overwhelmed by the friendliness and hospitality of our new colleagues. Showing us the new office (they have a cinema. We think this should become standard at Designit offices), laying out tapas and drinks, taking us out for more drinks and various Madrid nightlife experiences, and being there for us whenever we needed them. Thank you :)

Friday night was spent at the new Designit office, meeting colleagues from near and far, and having guided tours around the office (their building has crests. Any suggestions for a Designit crest?). Later on, we headed out in to Madrid, sampling food and drinks until the wee small hours.

Saturday morning was about exploring Madrid, then in the afternoon we all met for a 4 hour workshop inside the magnificent train station. It was a great afternoon, with laughs, more tapas, creativity in every corner (some slightly more Star Wars inspired but still creative!) and altogether extremely inspiring. Saturday evening was a night at the Danish Ambassador’s home with more tapas (no Ferrero Rocher, for those of you wondering), more talking and getting to know everyone, and then a night out at a swing dance club – a truly inspired choice!

Sunday morning (or early afternoon) was met with puffy eyes and big smiles as we talked about the night before and set off to get lost in Madrid. The beautiful Retiro Park provided warm grass, dappled shade and wonderful sights for a late breakfast, and the rest of the city provided the playground we needed for the remainder of the day. Coming together in larger groups in the evening, we went out for our last supper. Despite being a bit sad about leaving, we managed to make the most of the evening (some more than others!), and can safely say we made the most of our time (note the piglet head in this photo from the oldest restaurant in the world!).

We’re so happy to have been to Madrid. Not just because it meant we got to meet our new Spanish friends, but also because it’s a city that needs exploring and investigating. It gave us a wonderful (warm!) break, the chance to experience the new, and not least, it gave us a wealth of inspiration.

Check out more photos on Flickr or Facebook!

Hola! Yes, today we’re off to Spain for our annual Inspiration Trip. 150 Designits will descend on Madrid, from all corners of the world(ish) and spend 4 glorious days exploring the city, getting lost, eating tapas, maybe having a drink or two (or three), trying out our Spanglish, and (the two most exciting things) meeting our new Designits and taking part in a big workshop!

As you may know, Designit has recently merged with the Spanish company dnx, and to celebrate this and meet our new colleagues, we’re all off to sunny Spain. What better way to seal the deal than all getting together? We’ll have time to explore, time to investigate, time to talk and time for our traditional workshop on the Saturday. We can’t wait!

We’ll be sure to give a good recap once we’re back on Tuesday, but be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to keep track of what we’re up to and to see just how lost we do get…

Adios for now!

Yes, we have to publish our lovely little recap early this fortnight, as on Friday we’re off to Spain! Yes, we’ll leave behind the chilly Autumnal weather and head off south, a bit like birds, to warmer climates and lots of tapas and wine (not so much like birds). So here you have our fortnightly 13-day titbits to enjoy this lovely Thursday. Kick back, have a cup of tea, and think about how nice it is that it’s nearly the weekend. Enjoy.

The Social Tattoo Project seemed to be quite a popular link we shared recently. It’s a pretty nutty idea – but has good intentions behind it. Basically, they have a bunch of volunteers who will get the most popular cause tattooed somewhere on their body. Check out the video below for a full explanation. Needless to say it raises a lot of questions…

Next up, a slightly less….extreme story. Diet Coke (or Coke Light as it’s also known – not sure why) packaging was on the receiving end of a make-over by Turner Duckworth. It’s rather beautiful, we think, but is (for now) a limited edition.

IKEA once again make it to our best-of with their Man Land, essentially a play area for bored husbands and boyfriends. With TV, Space Invaders, an Xbox, sofas and other games, I don’t think it should be restricted to the male species…

This video game in a box from Teague Labs was genius. A perfect mix of old and new school, it’d please anyone. Maybe not as portable as an iPhone or even a Gameboy, but still just as fun (OK maybe not but the novelty value makes it just as cool).

If you’re anything like us, you love LEGO (if you call the bricks ‘LEGOs’, close your browser and never come back), and you love Kickstarter. Imagine the two combined. That’s pretty much what Cuusoo is – a platform for LEGO ideas that, with enough votes, will get made. I’m rooting for the DeLorean! Check out the blog for updates.

The Nissan Leaf gives us a brilliantly interactive way to discover the car. Walk around it, sit in it, hear more about what you want to hear about – give it a go. Even non-car people should be impressed!

So that’s it for the next 14 days. We’re off early tomorrow morning, so stay tuned to either Twitter or Facebook to stay up to date with our antics work in Madrid!

Adios!

Yup! More cats joining the team. It’s so cool to be constantly updating the team and seeing what people are brining to our ever-expanding family. Check out the latest…

Marie Geert Jensen will be joining the team in Aarhus as a part-time Office Assistant. She’s into drawing and art, and brings a good mood to the office every day.

Anne-Lea Egendal Leipziger also joins Aarhus as a part-time Office Assistant. She’s into swimming, reading and her friends – one of which is Marie – so expect some laughter echoing through the Aarhus office!

Over in Copenhagen, the zoo is joined by Cansu Akarsu as an Insights & Strategy intern. She began her BA in Industrial Design at Istanbul Technical University, spent a semester in TU Delft in the Netherlands and a year in KAIST, Korea just until now. She’s currently on a break from school until February, and has chosen to spend that break with us. Cansu has previously spent internships at Siddhartha Das Studio in New Delhi, and at Ernamas in Istanbul, and brings with her a great deal of experience across a wide range of design fields, which she plans to channel into projects that will have a positive impact on people’s lives. When not travelling around the world, Cansu likes to cook (woohoo!) and dance (we’ll see those moves this weekend when we go to Madrid!).

Heading back to Aarhus, Lene Kjær will be the new Instructional Designer. Lene holds a BA in Information and Technological Studies from Aarhus University, and brings a love of visual design and communication, a lot of questions, and a lot of theoretical knowledge which she’s ready to turn into practical experience. When not at work, Lene can either be found at a festival or singing in a gospel choir (we should get her and Camilla together!).

Anders Theil also joins the Aarhus crew as a Digital Designer. Anders has 3 years of design school under his belt, together with 8 years as Art Director/Digital Art Director at Recommended Denmark/Zupa Aarhus, almost 2 years as Digital Art Director at Envision, and is currently (not for much longer) Digital Art Director (see a pattern?) at AarhusKontoret+Elektrisk. Anders likes pointing at walls, perfectionism, running and Dexter (which is actually brilliant and if you haven’t seen it, do it).

So that’s our latest bunch. Hopefully you’ll get to meet them soon!

Another two weeks have flown by and here we are in September. Autumn is well on the way here in Denmark, the leaves are falling, and while the sky is still blue, the sun is rising just that bit later every day. It’s also getting pretty chilly, but we solider on regardless!

Now it’s time for some more of our favourite links from around the massive interwebs. Get your tea or coffee, put your feet up, and enjoy a 15 minute break. You deserve it.

First up, the brilliant campaign from Movia for their night bus service. Move your mouse and get to see what you think you look like, and what you really look like, after that one drink too many. Probably should have just gone home….

Although the internet of things is no new area, it’s still great to read about and, well, imagine. This is a nice article about just that; the internet of things. From TVs that mute when the phone rings to sewage overflow warning systems, by inserting a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag we will become more connected to objects and ‘things’ than ever before.

You should definitely sign up for Gimme Bar. Gimme Bar allows you to save anything from the web, and we’re talking photos, videos, text, whole pages, screen dumps – you name it, you can save it. Make it public or private, and filter them in to different categories. You can even share directly on to Twitter through it. It’s awesomeness rolled in gold with a cherry on top. Sign up (I believe that it’s actually open for today, but tonight it’ll close back down so you’ll have to wait a few weeks before you get it, so do it – now!).

New Gimme Bar Demo from Gimme Bar on Vimeo.

Here’s another little video for you to watch and enjoy. The Museum of Obsolete Things is brought to us by Jung von Matt/next, and is, well, a museum for all things obsolete, like analogue radios, cassettes, etc. It’s fun. It’s interesting. It’s cool.

One of our most popular posts on Facebook was a photo from the office. This photo. It’s very cool. It’s also very handy to be able to speak on the phone and type – which yes, you can do using headphones but then you always run the risk of looking a bit mad. Another plus is that it fits well over your ears, you can’t accidentally turn off your phone, and (if you’re like me) it’s nicer to use when you wear glasses. You can buy the Moshi Moshi retro handset here.

There you go. Some videos, some advice, and even something to buy. What more could you want? Except a 3 day working week.

Have a great weekend everyone!

On Monday just gone we went to a conference as part of Copenhagen Design Week entitled What Keeps You up at Night?

This was the question posed to a handful of leading international companies, and it was there answers to this question that would form the 4-hour conference at The Danish Design Center. It sounded pretty interesting, and it didn’t disappoint.
We were treated to talks from Alice Rawsthorn, Design Critic from the International Herald Tribune; Clive Van Heerden, Senior Director at Philips Design – Design Probes; Francois Lenfant, Manger of Global Product Design, Developed Markets, GE Healthcare; and David Kester, Chief Executive, Design Council UK.

Although each had their own particular spin there was a very evident dominant theme – and we don’t just mean design.

Designing for people, for humanity, is what these companies see as the future of design. As Francois put it, GE Healthcare’s designers’ ultimate goal is human benefit – what better goal can there be?

It was clear to see how designers are being involved in societal aspects today – they’re being recognised as beneficial for governments – even the UK Cabinet has a behavioural insights team. Designers are no longer just called in to make a leaflet look pretty and fold the right way, they are used, as David Kessler said, to nudge social behaviour and encourage changes within society, changes which focus on the fundamental ways we work, play, and live. By focusing on user-centric solutions the hope is that problems we witness in society today can be totally avoided in the future – even before they even begin.

The sobering fact presented to us by Clive was that 70% of populations will live in cities by 2050, highlighting the immense urban sprawl we’ll soon be facing. The way today’s comparatively small cities function, from power plants to water treatments, just won’t work in the future. Bu it’s not just industrial processes and solutions that will have to be redesigned – it’s just as much how society will function and cope with such a huge amount of people being crammed into urban spaces – not to mention the millions of youths that feel neglected by governments and the rest of society. This is where designers can make a difference. They can be involved in entire projects, from start to finish, projects that involve, empower and enrich, projects that range from a closed loop toilet water treatment process to youth projects.

Examples during the conference were;

Studio H

Studio H is a high school design/build curriculum for rural community benefit. Based in Bertie County in North Carolina (the poorest county with one in three children living in poverty and only 27% of 3rd-8th grade students passing the state standard for both English and maths), the one-year programme is offered to Junior-year students and provides college credit, a summer job, and a hands-on opportunity to build real-world projects for the community.

Loops by Participate

Loops is a project involving young people who are typically regarded as trouble by society and the media. They are locked in to their communities and never have a chance to break free from the downward spiral they are so often caught up in. Loops is a social enterprise that aims to expand young people’s purpose and possibility. Piloting in 2009, and now going live in 2 locations, Croydon and Brighton, it is now preparing to roll out nationally.

FARM: shop

As part of a council supported project to help regenerate parts of Dalston, FARM: shop is a groundbreaking urban agriculture centre which will include a community café, an events venue, and workspace, and will offer fresh produce directly traceable to a farm or grown in the shop itself.

It was fascinating and incredibly encouraging to realise these themes were running through every talk regardless what sector or country they were from. Design and society is a theme we’ve touched upon here in this blog in regards to Denmark and there are many, many other initiatives going on around the world – not least in the UK.

They say design can’t save the world, that it can only help, but if these projects and this passion were anything to go by, we’d say design can come pretty damn close.

“Change before you have to.” Jack Welch, ex-CEO GE

It’s time once again to welcome a group of new faces into the fold. It’s more than a group this time, it’s a mass, a mélange, a mishmash of people and proficiencies. It’s a lot.

First off, we have Regimantas Vegele joining the team in Aarhus as a Product Designer. Originally from Lithuania, Regimantas has just graduated from the MA programme of Advanced Product Design from the Umeå Institute of Design. He also holds a BA in Product Design from Vilnius Academy of Fine Art. After a number of internships included stints at IDEO and Native Design, he decided he wanted to join us. We’re happy about that. Apart from buckets of experience, a curious and determined nature, Regimantas brings a passion for music, and a love to cook for people (which sounds good to our ears). Yum.

Next up is Camilla Christensen, joining the Copenhagen crew as a Service Design Intern. Camilla holds a BA in Design and Innovation, and wanted to take an internship before she starts her MA to help her decide on exactly which direction to take. She came to Designit as she was fascinated by the diversity of projects and the open-minded mentality. She’s all about creativity and enthusiasm, and also sings in a gospel choir. Maybe she’ll treat us to a tune one of these days…

Also in Copenhagen, we have Kim Gabrielsen joining as our new Interaction Design Intern. Kim is currently studying for an MA in Interaction Design at the Danish Design School. He holds a BA in Product Design from Akershus University College in Norway, and has also studied technical drawing. While studying, Kim had the opportunity to gain work experience with companies such as Philips and Copenhagen PIX. He’s got an eye for detail, a devotion to learning and new perspectives, and when he’s not absorbed in design, digital interaction and all things techy, he’s making music – something we hope we’ll experience.

Another face for Copenhagen! Tinuke Iyore will be our much needed PR Intern. Tinuke has taken the 2 year entrepreneur-design course at KEA Design & Business, and is now approaching the end of her final year focusing on Communication Design (PR, journalism and visual communication). She’ll be graduating in 2012, then heading into an MA in Digital Design and Communication at the IT University of Copenhagen. Just back from an internship at Classwish in New York City, Tinuke will be bringing enthusiasm, motivation, a big head of curls and a bag of creativity to the team.

Still in Denmark but this time we head back to Aarhus to welcome Dogan Sekercioglu as the new Product Design Intern. Dogan holds a BA in Industrial Product Design from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, during which he took an internship at Jacob Jensen Design. He plans to head on to a MA in Advanced Product Design from Umeå Institute, and is just finishing an internship at Atlas Copco in Sweden. Bringing experience, determination, some Turkish cuisine and post-it notes – we think he’ll fit right in.

Deep breath!

Still in Aarhus, we welcome Melanie Becker as another new Product Design Intern. Melanie began her studies in Industrial Design in 2007 at the FH Joanneum Graz University of Applied Sciences. Last year, she went on exchange and studied two semesters at the Umeå Institute of Design. During her studies Melanie finished a 5 month internship at the Bosch Design Team at Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Munich. She brings the experience and knowledge gained from an in-house design company, as well as heaps of motivation, team spirit, and a love of sports of just about every variety.

A skip and a jump across the waters and we’re in Oslo! Andrea Plesner joins us as a Service and Industrial Designer. Andrea holds an MA in Industrial Design from The Oslo School of Architecture and Design, and has had exchange semesters in Zurich, Wuxi and Boston. For the last three years Andrea has been working as an Industrial designer at K8 Industridesign, a design consultancy in Oslo. Before that she had an internship at Tribecraft AG, a Swiss design consultancy and at Froghop lnc, a mobile gaming start-up in Boston. Since March 2011 she has been part of an international research project initiated by Management Center Innsbruck with the objective of using service design thinking as an approach to foster competitiveness and sustainability of European tourism. When she has a moment of free time she can be found writing fiction and opera singing. Maybe together.

Lynn Bui joins the Oslo team as an Interaction Design Intern. Lynn just finished her first year as a MA Interaction Design Student at the Umeå Institute of Design in Sweden, and before that she was in UID’s Industrial Design certificate program. She also holds a BA in Business Administration with special focus on Marketing and Finance. In the past Lynn has worked as a Program Coordinator for a nonprofit, a Marketing Specialist for a consumer bank and a Global Market Analyst Intern for an investment bank, but looks forward to joining Designit to develop her design skills and work on some kick-ass projects. She enjoys oil painting and has recently picked up the Ukulele. Brilliant. She brings energy, laughter,and Vietnamese food (lucky Oslo….).

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Oslo also gains Thomas Larsen Røed as an Industrial Design Intern. Thomas has 1year left of his ID MA at The Oslo School of Architecture and Design. Last year he went on exchange to Beijing for Transportation Design at The Central Academy of Fine Arts, and before this he comlpeted a BA in Digital Media at The University of Oslo. He brings a positive and creative mind, and a love of sports from football to cycling.

Oslo gain another team member in the form of Kaja Bosca, a new Office Manager. She holds a MA in Society, Science and Technology in Europe, an inter-disciplinary and international degree from the University of Oslo and Aarhus University. Kaja wants to look into the design industry and get to know our processes, having had her curiosity sparked while studied innovation, technology and user perspectives during her MA. She brings organisational and analytical skills, as well as an interest in photography, foreign cultures, and knowledge of modern Greek!

Around the corner, down a bit and to the right, we find ourselves in Munich, where Benjamin Brück joins the team as a Senior Industrial Designer. Benjamin studied industrial design at the Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Kiel, and holds a diploma in industrial Design. Over the past 3 and a half years he’s worked at Pilotfish as Senior Designer and Project Manager, with clients such as BMW, Native Instruments and Moog industries. Before that, he freelanced for IDEO and Pilotfish. He brings rock ‘n’ roll, and a love from good food, nice girls and fast cars. Something tells us he’ll fit right in.

Still with us? Good.

Back to Aarhus again to meet Steffen Høgehav Nielsen, the new Product Designer. Steffen holds an MA in Industrial Design from the Aarhus School of Architecture, and went straight into work in the development department of Danish Pressalit. He was there for 4 years before joining the team in Aarhus. He’s a big family man, and with a love for biking and a need to be challenged creatively, he’s a welcome member of the team.

Last but not least, Aarhus also welcomes Jonas Ørum Hansen as a 3D Design Trainee. Jonas has just started at the 3D College of Denmark, and is fascinated by 3D, CG, VFX and all kinds of graphical effects. He’s into computer games like MMORPG (‘massively multiplayer online role-playing game’ for the rest of us) and Eve, and hopes to have his own little tattoo shop at some point in the future. Let’s hope he doesn’t practice too much on the guys in the office…

And that’s it! Even more people with even more talent and flair. We can’t wait to get to know them.