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Replenish is a fantastically innovative household cleaning product, not based on some new magical formula, but rather the bottle’s design. Founder Jason Foster explains in an interview with me about the story behind the bottle, and how its continuous reuse through easy-to-use pod at the bottom, saves people money, waste, and the planet from associated carbon emissions by shipping water. An elegant and intuitive solution indeed! Learn more at http://www.myreplenish.com

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John Viera who leads Ford Motor Company’s sustainable business strategies, speaks with me at Sustainable Brands 10 about their near, medium, and long term sustainability plans for vehicle engineering & design. Topics include eco-boost technology which use fewer cylinders in the internal combustion engine to achieve similar horsepower while using less gas; alternative fuel engines that accept ethanol, propane, and natural gas; hybrid & electric drivetrains; recycled and biobased soy materials procurement; and lightweighting.

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Why are faces so special? Because while some may be lovely and others unsightly, we do recognize them instantly. Like seeing faces in abstract art, nature, and space photographs of the moon. They’re an apt metaphor for the near instantly perceived elements of a design that we can interact, perhaps delightfully notice and want to play with (well, isn’t that every designer’s hope?!)

Gretchen Anderson takes us on journey through this topic, because it’s an important one that deserves attention. Not for usability sake, while that is a noble goal in itself, but for attraction sake. That which naturally invites people into the experience you’ve designed. While perhaps physical form design may be the easiest to conjure up, it also extends to graphic and information design.

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Real sustainability can best be achieved by creating better-made products designed to be re-used as well as recycled. Replenish’s flagship product, available later this year, is an eco-friendly, multi-surface household cleaner in a reusable bottle that makes concentrates easier to use, is safer for the environment and saves money for consumers and retailers.

I met the engineer/founder Jason Foster earlier this year at Sustainable Brands 10, where I also did a video interview. The bottle works and the refills look like a Glade (brand) cartridge. Self-explanatory, no? Don’t ship water, buy only what you need, everyone reduces affiliated carbon emissions from weight reduction.

Fun presentation and collection of thoughts from Frog Design’s David Sherwin and Justin Maguire on the required attitude and traits for innovative leaders. I agree with much of it. I’ll stress a desire to see the big picture from a balanced perspective, the willingness to step forward and say “We can do better!”, the desire and aptitude to foster ideation with a diverse team, active listening skills, and doggedness to pursue and actualize a vision.

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Neat presentation from Erin Malone on what she sees as three trends in information architecture. Blend that term with interaction design, user experience, social behavior, and psychology to get the bigger picture (since IA is somewhat of a boring subject in itself). See her article for the thoughts behind the slides.

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Great (older) video from Charity Water’s Scott Harrison that uses the power of founder-narrated storytelling to describe the history and mission of an organization. To me, it’s a style of marketing I call Cause Championing combined with brand identity. For nonprofit organizations, this is likely to be one and the same (though I’ll save that conversation for a future time). Enjoyez!

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So one of my favorite marketers, Tim Leberecht, put together a slidedeck on 7 rules for the Chief Meaning Officer. Now if you’ve been following me along for a while, you’ve seen how much of a social media, branding, innovation, and sustainability/ethics aficionado I am. Thus in going through Tim’s slides, there will be many points that have been expounded upon many a times by marketers. However, I’d really like to stress the term “meaning”. Yes it carries a largely amount of weight for personal “value” and benefits. Fewer marketers have extolled the virtues of transcending utilitarian benefits, into the actualization realm. Those with a love for “social” will advocate the human connectedness factors that digital marketing & conversations provide about life, love/pain, “insert topic here”, and of course the brand and user-experience.

All those things are great, but for me brand love & loyalty for a higher purpose beyond ourselves is where real magic is. Beyond the “I love Apple, Disney, Anthropologie, Target, Method, other passion brand” experience. There are so many different brand personalities out there that are admired or liked in their own way. In my B2B experience, oftentimes it’s the culture and how the brand interactions at various touchpoints are simply pleasant, despite the nature of the product/service being a bit boring.

Off to Tim’s presentation! Enjoy. Don’t let it overwhelm you though; go through the slides at a slow pace
Here’s also an audio interview with Tim to check out

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via The Soft Power of Social | Blog | design mind

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Blair Shane, Chief Marketing Officer of the new California Academy of Sciences, discusses how a 150 year old institution dedicated to nature took on the challenge of reinvention for a new generation. Blair covers all aspects of creating a durable, sustainable brand: environmental, financial, new audience development and customer experience. Hear how the 4th R - Reinvention is as critical as the traditional three – reuse, renew and recycle and how the Academy is using it to move from surviving, to thriving - through innovation and creative marketing.

The building design was an inspirational story, but my favorite aspects were the integrated multi-channel marketing approach. The digital work seemed pretty good too. Seriously, you have to check out the “green roof” that they made at a few bus shelters. Bringing in younger audiences to the museum by having cocktails and djs was another good idea, one that I’m familiar with from the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

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Retail is the conduit between manufacturers and consumers, and presents a frontline opportunity for messaging, product selection, and an environment that focuses on being better. In a holistic sense for both the shopper and the retailer and their operations. There’s much psychology through going on behind the scenes, in not only trying to understand and meet shoppers needs, but also by delighting them. Stephanie Eller and Anthony Perez of FITCH, specialize in research and design initiatives for various retailers regarding these areas, and present here a variety of findings and case studies on sustainability, retail, shopper attitudes and behaviors, and brands that are providing custom atmospheres and experiences that stand out.

So many visuals! Really had me engaged