Six-Word Memoir

SMITH magazine, an online journal, has published thousands of six-word memoirs. Apparently they adapted the idea from a possibly mythical challenge to Ernest Hemingway — write a story in just six words. I like writing haiku, so this sounded like a fun little exercise. Here’s my six-word memoir:

Born to technology. Love making bags!

I think you’re just supposed to leave it at that. Cheers! -Mark

Design is the Solution!

I just finished reading a new book called “Design is the Problem” by Nathan Shedroff, and I recommend it as a good introductory survey of sustainability for designers. Not yet available on Amazon, you can order a copy directly from the publisher, Rosenfeld Media, for $36. Nathan is currently pioneering a new MBA in Design Strategy program at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. He’s well-versed in this subject, and the book is solid and thorough.

Just a couple of comments… First, I don’t like the title, and rumor has it the title was the publisher’s idea, not Nathan’s. In my opinion, negative marketing is just bad branding. “Hey all you designers, you’ve got a problem!” Personally, not my favored call to action. Second, the book itself doesn’t walk the talk. At the most basic level, there’s no mention of recycled content in the paper it’s printed on. How about a call to read it and pass it along to someone else — thereby extending it’s utility and useful life? There are no doubt a variety of clever ways the book itself could have embodied and reinforced its message. Third, there’s a background narrative criticizing the fashion industry for creating desire for unnecessary and even harmful goods — a riff that becomes a little overworked by the end of the book. Finally, the cover art is bland. I have purchased more than one book under the influence of a snappy title and provacative cover art. Surely a book for designers could benefit from some compelling graphic design. So, in my opinion, the book is weak in form and footprint, but rates high in function — and is a good addition to the introductory syllabus for new design students, and an excellent overview for working professionals.

I believe we’re on the verge of an “age of enlightenment” for the design profession. As I suggest in my essay, “Form, Function, Footprint“, design is a three-legged stool, and we’ve been precariously perched on just two legs for far too long. This is not the fault of the design profession or its professionals (“forgive them for they know not what they do”) — it’s simply the result of the traditional design education curriculum. Designers are the stewards of our natural resources, and this has never been a more important responsibility than it is now. It’s high time designers were properly trained to lead the charge, and this begins with a solid education in the principles of sustainability. Design is not the problem — design is the solution — and Nathan’s book is a good starting place.

Greetings from San Francisco!

Hi everyone. It’s been awhile since my bike ride to TED and the related flurry of blog updates, Facebook messages, Flickr photos, video postcards and tweets I posted along the way. All this social networking stuff is time consuming and exhausting! After TED, we just had to get back to work here at Rickshaw, making bags, communicating with customers, tending to the minutiae of our day-to-day business and preparing for the official production launch of our Backpack and Moleskine Folio. We figured you didn’t need us tweeting every detail if it delayed the actual goal. Well, we’ve made progress. The Backpack is now live on our website, and the Folio will go live next Tuesday, April 21. We also did some work to better integrate blog postings, photos and videos with our web site, so our Rickshawbags homepage has been updated with direct links to our WordPress, Flickr and Vimeo assets. In the meantime, I’ve been doing a lot of writing in my Moleskine journal, and preparing a few new subjects for the blog. Special thanks to our growing list of customers who are helping spread the word about our products and their experiences interacting with us. We’ve even started receiving some gifts from our most ardent supporters. I’ll share some of them with you tomorrow, but for now, let me just say we’re still working on the 10-pound Toblerone chocolate bar we received several weeks ago from our first Folio customer in Switzerland – thanks Yvette! As always, we welcome visitors to our factory and we’re delighted to discuss opportunities to personalize a bag just for you – in person or via email. Whether you’re a regular visitor or a fresh new face, please explore our growing gallery of product photos. That’s all for now. -Mark

Rickshaw Bagworks joins Slumdog Millionaire at the Oscars!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

 

The Grafton on Sunset

I’m writing from the Grafton Hotel on Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood, just about to walk three blocks to the Slumdog Millionaire Oscar Party (not the awards ceremony, mind you, but the pre, viewing and after party) at the ONE Sunset restaurant — hosted by Hewlett Packard.

Thanks to Ken Feldman of Stylit.tv, and the good folks at Phenomenon.com, we’re honored to donate our laptop computer bags to compliment 40 HP Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition netbook PCs (http://tinyurl.com/67ooec) for the Slumdog movie stars and execs. We used 5 colors from our TED2009 Designtex”Kola” bottles-to-bags collection to spice-up the presentation (pictures to follow). This could be the party of all parties tonight! I’ll let you know how it goes… -Mark

Satellite uplinks at the Vanity Fair party at the Sunset Tower

Let’s talk “footprint”

Thanks to all of you who have read my Form, Function, Footprint essay. I received one comment from a friend and esteemed academic that made it clear I need to explain my definition of “footprint”. First, here’s the comment:

Mark, I “get” the value of mnemonics like “3 Fs” but “footprint” doesn’t really do it for me. The word has such a strong connection with waste and only environmental impact and only at the product level, usually. I would propose “Style, Substance, and Sustainability” since it makes more room for social and financial impacts as well as environmental impacts. We won’t get far enough (and not far at all) if we only consider the ecological impacts of sustainability.

I agree with the substance of the comment, and I’d like to share my response…

Rather than inventing a new semantic for designers, it’s my goal to leverage the established language of product design as the foundation for inspiring an evolution of thought and practice. The “form/function” mnemonic has stood the test of time, and “footprint” is a convenient and memorable progression. Rather than reframing the discussion around a new set of “s-words”, I prefer to leverage the established “f-words”. In the spirit of efficient branding, I’d rather teach the audience one new word, rather than three.

I certainly intend “footprint” to represent ecology and sustainability in their holistic definitions and sensibilities.

“Ecology” is defined as the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms. By definition, ecology deals with more than the natural “environment”, and includes the immediate “society” of like organisms and the extended ecosystem of dissimilar species.

Likewise, “sustainability” involves much more than the simplistic environmental concept of “green”. Sustainability includes economic viability, environmental impact and social responsibility.

These terms are so readily “dumbed down” by mass marketing. This is why I’m calling for fundamental changes at the educational level. There is so much to learn about sustainability and ecology — i.e., footprint. Students must be taught, and researchers must continue to explore, the complex systems, relationships and interactions embodied by these concepts.

Designers must consider not just what things are made of, but how, where, why and by whom. This is the basis of the emerging field of “life cycle analysis”. Design education must adopt the “systems” view, and impress upon new designers that the footprint of a product is the sum of all these considerations. This is a rich, complex and essential field of study which has received little, if any, rigorous consideration in the traditional design curriculum. I believe there is no better time than the present to retool the educational curriculum for the Age of Sustainability.

Rethinking design for the new Age of Sustainability

I’ve been working on an essay for the past several months, and I’m posting it today for your reading pleasure and critical review. When I arrived at Stanford in 1978, the industrial design school was in its infancy, and “designers” were regarded more artists than engineers. With some early notion of potential post-graduation return on investment, I opted instead for a degree in mechanical engineering. Regardless, I have always had an interest in product design, and I later found my creative muse in the field of soft goods design (aka, “bags”). When I attended my first TED conference in 2005, I met William McDonough, and was introduced to his Cradle To Cradle methodology, and the more general conversation regarding sustainable design and manufacturing. Since that inspirational meeting, I have completely changed the way I think about my approach to design and manufacturing. This essay, “Form, Function, Footprint: The “3-F’s” of Product Design for the New Age of Sustainability”, is my first attempt to put some of my thoughts into words. Please click on the “Form, Function, Footprint” tab to read my essay. I look forward to your comments.

-Mark

TED Grand Finale

 

Rickshaw sponsor screen at TED2009

Well, TED2009 is over. It was another great event, filled with inspirational moments. People have asked me whether I’ve had any life changing epiphanies at this event, and the answer is no — not this year. But it was as inspirational as ever, and another milestone in the continuum that is my personal TED journey. In fact, as I reflected on my own personal expectations of the TED2009 conference, it occurred to me that as a member of the TED community, I’m here as much to enable an inspiring experience for someone else, as I am to experience inspiration myself. Perhaps through some of my conversations with others, I have inspired someone with an idea worth spreading.

During one of the talks today, I made this note in my journal:

TED is a place where “yes” is the answer, and “how” is the question.

I think it was fitting that we ended the conference with the song “Imagine”, by John Lennon.

You may say that I’m a dreamer 
But I’m not the only one 
I hope someday you’ll join us 
And the world will be as one 

I think that’s the overarching shared goal of everyone here at TED, and I applaud the generosity of the TED organization in making part of the TED experience available to everyone, everywhere via ted.com.

Peace.

-Mark

TEDbag2009 Sneak Peek

Tomorrow I’ll officially introduce you to the bag we made for this year’s TED conference. Bag pick-up begins tomorrow morning at 10am — not even I can get one yet. Though I know all about the bag itself, the goodies inside will be a surprise to me. I just came from the registration room, and here’s a spy photo of me with some of the 2.200 bags. More about all those colors tomorrow…

 

Spy photo of Mark Dwight, Rickshaw Bagworks founder and bag designer, with some of the TED 2009 gift bags

Day 6 Checkpoint: Long Beach, CA

Greeted by Will Allen in Long Beach

Monday, February 2, 2009. Day six of my TEDride: Venice to Long Beach

Greetings from Long Beach, California – the final stop on my bicycle trek from the Golden Gate Bridge to TED – a total of 527 miles. Today was a leisurely 32-mile spin along beachfront bike paths and surface streets across Los Angeles. For the last 10 miles, I was accompanied by a film crew from France making a documentary about TED. I finally reached the Long Beach Center for the Performing Arts, where I was greeted by Will Allen, one of my good friends in the TED organization. I’m glad to be off the bike for a few days – “500 in 5” is just about the limit for my sore behind.

 

I Biked Today!... and yesterday, and the day before, and...

I’m now checked-in to my room at the Westin Long Beach – on the 10th floor, overlooking the TED venue, and the ocean beyond. Here’s a photo of the view from my room:

 

Bird's eye view of the TED venue

It’s summer-clear and summer-hot down here – auspicious weather for the 25th anniversary of TED, and the inaugural Long Beach TED. Tomorrow, I’ll start blogging my experiences here at TED, beginning with a video about this year’s TEDbag. For now, I’ll sign-off with a quote from my 16-year old son, Spencer:

“Yeayuhh, mashin’ to LA is what’s up!”

You can see my video postcards on my YouTube page (www.youtube.com/mmdwight).

Day 5 Checkpoint: Los Angeles, CA

Sunday, February 1, 2009. Day five of my TEDride: Santa Barbara to Los Angeles

The Finish Line!

I made it! I crossed the Los Angeles City Limit at 4:00 this afternoon — though I still had another 12 miles to reach my hotel. I’m currently relaxing at the Venice Beach Hotel (www.veniceonthebeachhotel.com), after meeting the owner, Greg Ralston, at dinner last night in Santa Barbara. I logged 89.1 miles today, bringing my trip total to 494.6 miles in five days. Tomorrow I’ll cycle about 25 miles to the Long Beach Convention Center, where the TED conference is being held this year.