(Ruta Writes) …The sign of time…

Creative Re-use of the old and the Worn

Just imagine…old timber, rusted iron, an old bridge, an abandoned house, cracked glass, worn off paint on a wall, faded colors on a fabric…or imagine a old space with aged materials with no one to look after it except for some spiders and a few rodents. “THROW THEM AWAY!!” is what comes to your mind at the first glance.

But, I thought of giving them another glance and my mind just raced through these pieces of living history as any other designer’s mind would. I set out on a journey to see old materials around me not in a journalistic manner but in a designer way. Would these materials be of any use to me? As I kept on thinking about these ‘dying’ pieces, a question struck my mind… “Why do we say these materials are dying?” Human-beings also grow, from babies to toddlers to teenagers to youth to their middle-ages and finally become ‘old’. But we never say that “they are dying”….we say…”they are aging”. This further evoked a few questions…Is this process of aging just a way to decay? Is it a journey to beauty?? Or is it just the effect of time? Or is it something more…

The Alive thrives on the forgotten

Think about these 3 words – Neglection, Action and Reaction. What is neglection? Neglection is an action in itself. When you neglect something, you actually perform an action on the object that you do not pay attention to it. And as it is rightly said – ‘Every action has a reaction’ – With time passing and the action performed on it, the material submits itself completely to time and this, is the process of aging. Elements like air, water, humidity and microbes in addition to time affect it and the material starts changing its appearance. In general terms, the material looses its worth…but it gives a ’food for thought’ to the designers. With times changing, people have started realising the worth of these ‘aging beauties’. A few ‘oldies’ -  the rough, the worn, the dark, the mysterious go well with the ‘youth’- the sparkling, the polished, the bright, the new. The contrast of appearance that time creates on them, gives such a combination a wide appeal.

After thinking about all this, whenever I look at an old material, I can’t avoid giving it another glance. My mind wanders through the entire process again trying to figure out the sign that time has left on them. I ponder whether every person or every designer will perceive the same material as I will? The answer was obviously ‘NO’, the sole reason being that we all are uniquely situated biological beings on this planet. I collected a few things that have lost their original purpose and also a few pictures that can be perceived as something different by every individual.

The most striking thing that caught my attention in the old beauties was the play of colors and the varied pattern of textures that these materials possessed. The picture on the side is that of a rusted, worn piece of metal. The same object when new would have been something that possessed a homogeneous color and texture. The texture…the peeling-off of layers, the unevenness created on a surface that once boasted of its smooth finish makes me wonder how influential the effect of time can be. The diverse colors that the same object now displays after aging, is enormous. Out of curiosity, I tried to separate out colors that this new palette now displayed. Do you even think…this heterogeneous combination is that of a single metal piece? Looking at such a site evokes a few questions…is this a link to the past? Do these materials tell us any story?

To further investigate this question, I learnt about creative reuse of buildings and the reasons for their appeal. As stated by Prof. Derek Linstrum in his lecture series at York institute for advanced architectural studies, there are 5 reasons for appeal of old buildings –
1.Archaeological
2.Aesthetic
3.Economic
4.Functional
5.Psychological

THE REAL LIMITATIONS ARE NOT ARCHAEOLOGICAL, AESTHETIC, ECONOMIC OR FUNCTIONAL, BUT PSYCHOLOGICAL: THE LIMITS CREATED BY PRECONCEPTIONS, AND BY LACK OF IMAGINATION. ONCE THE WILL IS THERE, THE SKILLS AND INGENUITY WILL FOLLOW.
(Ref: Creative Reuse of buildings – Volume 1 by Derek Latham.)

    As I have always thought –

It may not be reasonable at times to recomburse the old…
But it is definitely worth taking the effort!!

(book review) Drive

Drive: The Surprising Truth about what motivates us by Daniel H. Pink (Audio book)
Penguin Audio, NY-USA, 2009

'Drive' begins where 'A Whole New Mind' (Pink's previous book) left us. This “business” book is based on 'human motivation' and discloses the disparity between what we already know as a science but what we actually do in reality. It contradicts the traditional extrinsic motivation and puts a convincing case in favor of intrinsic motivation. It involves more than giving out bonuses to employees or getting good grades.

In addition to the basic biological and response drives, humans have a  third drive - intrinsic motivation. Pink says that, in order to succeed, business need to catch up with this drive.

Pink uses the analogy of computer OS to describe generations of 'motivation' in humans. The 1st operating system in humans was based on survival – Motivation 1.0. Its successor 2.0 was built around rewards and punishments and worked fine for routine tasks of the 20th century. But, we need to upgrade ourselves to Motivation 3.0 (which is based on internal rewards and satisfaction) to survive the 21st century.

Simply put, the book says that people will be motivated when they get:

AUTONOMY in their work.
As humans, our default setting is set to autonomous and self-directed i.e. we are Type I (intrinsically motivated) by default. But, traditional (outdated) management settings turn this setting from Type I to Type X (extrinsically motivated). To move back to Type I, people need autonomy with tasks (what), time(when), team(who) and technique (how).

MASTERY
Traditional management settings demand 'compliance' whereas our default setting is 'engagement'. Engagement in a task that leads to mastery over it. This engagement comes with FLOW. Pink says, mastery can be achieved by 3 peculiar rules:
Mind Set (that sees one's ability as infinitely improvable)
Pain (mastery requires deliberate effort and persistence)
Impossible to fully realize (which makes it frustrating and at the same time, alluring)

PURPOSE
Traditionally, businesses function with the sole purpose of profit maximization and have a purpose so long as it doesn't get in way. With  Motivation 3.0, as Pink puts it, “purpose maximization is taking its way along side profit maximization”. This can be achieved through: 
Goals (using profit as a means to reach the purpose)
Words (that express more than just self-interest)
Policies (that will allow employees to pursue purpose on their own terms)

I would recommend this book for people who run a business or people in the field of management. The book gives a fair idea of what motivates not just employees but people in general. It will give a new way to look at getting the best out of people and one's business in general while keeping everyone happy and content.

(book review) Change by Design

Change By Design: How Design Thinking transforms organizations and inspires innovation by Tim Brown with Barry Katz
Harper Collins Publishers, NY-USA, 2009

Tim Brown, CEO, IDEO is one of the most respected figures in the design world and is one of my idols. His book, 'Change by Design', based on Design Thinking, introduces to the various ways in which businesses can integrate design thinking at all levels. Design thinking is not a design method, but an approach to look at things.

The book sheds light on how 'innovations' happen. It breaks the myth that innovation is a light that strikes the mind of the genius. It shows how innovation is a actually a product of a grueling deal and comes out of processes such as story-telling, prototyping, experiencing, etc. Brown goes through his experiences, projects and case-studies at IDEO to explain the concept.

The book starts off with what seems as Brown's favorite example for design thinking: Brunel – the engineer and the Great Western Railway in England. The book is divided into 2 parts, the first one explaining what design thinking is and the second taking us ahead from there. The first part includes the foundation and fundamentals of design thinking. He explains how any person and not just a designer can be a design thinker. He describes a design thinker as a person who is not only creative but can think creatively, in a non-linear fashion, is exploratory by nature. Brown looks at bridging the gap between designers and the MBAs.

This is a book not just for designers but for creative business people.

(Ruta Writes...) ... to tread a new path

... to tread a new path

They say that “Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.” It’s something that many of us believe! I feel that this is a saying those fatalist people who believe that all events in life are governed by fate and they are led by their destinies. Few are those gems who stride the path that no one has, seek the light in darkness that no one has ever dared to. I feel... it is not about the destination but more about the journey and the way you live it. Sometimes, it is as simple as - decide to walk and the paths start following. Imagine… one lost in an expanse of grassland of thousands of acres where no one has ever been. There is nothing but the vast spread grassland and somewhere at the horizon, the grassland meets the sky. One decides to walk to seek a human settlement. After walking for a substantial amount of time, if one turns back and sees, for once will he realize that he has marked a way of his own that people might follow. The challenge to seek new roads will be more fun than reaching the destination. One may be known only by what one has achieved and people will look just at the

outcomes. But, only one as a person will know the best parts of his journey. As a designer, I have seen that people and clients get awed by the final and finished products… but at times, I feel that the final product is not as beautiful as the inchoate idea. When designing spaces, the part of the design process where a designer can really reward himself is the creation of an incredible idea… the creation of a path, creation of the set of solutions to an issue, to a space that no one has thought of. The evolving of such an idea sets adrenaline running in a designer’s bloodstream and gives him the spirit to create more… But when such people are constrained and made to abide by some parameters, it is then that the level of the invention starts degrading.

It is very hard to find such a person who doesn’t succumb to any such impediment and prospers. As a student of design, I have listened to many people talk about hows, whats, whens and wheres of design. Most of them talk about design as a subject and a profession to which, I believe no listeners pay any heed. It is always inspiring to hear from people/ designers who not only design as a profession or as a hobby but imbibe it in themselves and make good design, a habit. 

As designers, we have to face practical constraints and come out of them. A classic and a convenient approach to address an issue would be to give out an optimum solution that well fits into the requirements and follows the constraints. But, how will it be to gaze at the solution which would be a mere factitious beauty that we have created? Thinking from a different point of view, and the changing perception of design from mere decoration to a strategic step, where a designer becomes a path director, a manager, a strategist, a economist and other endless positions, could we say that we could just not give out solutions to people but, advise them what to do and then surprise ourselves with the varied outcomes? Could this kind of a vision be translated into reality? Can we just raise people’s aspirations and leave them on their own to make them realize what they really want? Can we as designers believe in ourselves so much that we boost people’s understanding about what they really want and be sure that people accomplish their solutions? Can we just go one step ahead of optimists and be leaders who direct the masses? Can we be content just to point the way and not actually walk the path but still be able look back only to find that we have actually come a long way over the lonely grassland?

(book review) Wired to Care

Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper when they create widespreadempathy by Dev Patnaik with Peter Mortensen

FT Press, NewJersey-USA, 2009

This “business” book is about what all of us already posses and use in our daily lives but are trained to leave it back as we enter the workplace – Its about empathy and caring about people. It takes various examples from Dev Patnaik's experience at Jump Associates – a hybrid strategy firm. The book kicks-off with a basic idea that companies should care about their customers and revolves around the idea that a business will succeed as much with their hearts as much as their heads.

The book arguably demonstrates that more a business appreciates what their consumers or employees want or empathizes with their needs, more are the chances that the business will succeed. The book makes even more sense if you have read – 'A Whole New Mind' by Daniel Pink. Its like a flow from one book to another like a sequel movie to a previous one.

What makes the book most interesting is the way Patnaik goes through real life examples about a number of companies such as Nike, Disney, Mercedes, Clorox, etc. and about empathy and the ways companies could integrate empathy into their daily businesses and narrates them like stories – Stories that you can't resist, stories that hang on to you even after you have finished the book. Dev Patnaik really connects to the readers.

I particularly like the example of Harley Davidson Motors where Patnaik shows that the simplest way to have empathy for your customers is to be like them. The easiest way to gain empathy is to hire your own customers as employees. Harley's employees are themselves riders and the company has their front parking lot reserved only for motorcycles. The parking for automobiles or “cages” as they say, is at the back. And this is just the beginning! I won't go into any more details of the story as it will take all the fun out from reading it yourself. Other stories for X-Box and Zune, Nike, Pattie Moore – the story of the designer are as much enthralling.

As Dev writes - “...if you want people to be interested in you, you should be genuinely interested in them. That's a pretty straight-forward lesson with relatively major implications.” The same thing applies to the relationship between businesses and consumers. 

Its a must read for all business leaders, CEOs, CFOs (all the people with a 'C' in their titles) and people in the design field. 

Their website is worth a look.

This book is all set to become a classic! 

(Ruta Writes...) sustainable business: being human

...sustainable business: being human

These days, form the books I have read, the work I have done, the businesses I have seen, it seems that emotional branding, giving experiences, is what works today and that consumers appreciate it more when they are treated as people instead of mere subjects of targeted advertisements. This idea led me to think that even in a world where everything is mechanized and where the value of being human is rapidly diminishing, thanks to the fast moving, labor saving technologies, people still want to feel cared about. In a place where affluence is respected and having a lot of 'stuff' is considered as a symbol of success, where we have come far from being cave-men, we still crave more for being human.

At times, I really wonder what it means to have all the “luxuries” as we call them – a big car, a hefty salary, an air-conditioned house – where in all the drapes and windows are always closed, where one has everything he wants but does not relate to the nature cycles – when it rained, when it snowed, when was the last time I really looked at the moon, when was the last time I felt the breeze on my cheeks, when does it dawn and how long is the day? It has been scientifically proven that being affluent does not make one content. It just gives a surge of excitement for a while which is temporary, by nature. Once you posses a thing, the graph of excitement rapidly goes down and one starts looking for other things to satisfy his urge to posses. Thus it is a paradox that having more stuff will not make one satisfied, but hungry to look for more stuff, in turn making him unsatisfied and hence, unhappy. What we really 'need' is to be loved and not just keep on having more stuff. Have you ever thought that being with our parents, friends, partners and giving them everything – emotionally, is more satisfying than watching T.V or giving out a big and expensive gift. As I like to say, emotions are best expressed through emotions!

Yes, I was talking about being an aware customer, a responsible person and a sustainable citizen. I always relate the notion of being 'human' to being 'sustainable'. Being sustainable is not just using 'green' products, using public transport or using less paper. It is also about being responsible for what we do, respecting ourselves, others and the planet. Sustainability is about being satisfied with what we have, what we are and being happy. Even though we keep on producing, consuming and trashing 'stuff', even though we demean nature's best resources, even though we have invented the fastest ways of globe trotting and in turn polluting the planet, even though we have become loners, we still feel the need to socialize, the need to be cared for, the need to be loved, as we did in any era. The fact that we realize that our world has limited resources and that we all live in one single home, we tend to get even closer and our world shirks to become one big human family. After all, sustainability is all about being what we are – humans!

A business that makes people feel cared about, one that promises being light on the earth (e.g: is durable, is non-toxic) and has a purpose that people connect with, is likely to be sustainable.

(book review) The Brand Gap

The Brand Gap: How to bridge the distance between Business Strategy & Design by Marty Neumeier
New Riders, NY-USA, 2003


Anyone – be it in the business world, marketing, design, branding or elsewhere realize the power of the word - 'Brand'. Everyone talks about things like branded products, brand identity or brand experience and that a brand defines one's personality or marks one's likes and dislikes. But does everyone really understand what a 'brand' really means? Marty Neumier answers it all for us.

The author gives a new and a practical definition to 'building a brand' while explaining the 5 disciplines of brand building viz. :
1.Differentiate
2.Collaborate
3.Innovate
4.Validate
5.Cultivate

The book runs around all sorts of processes that go in creating, maintaining and growing a brand – the successful and the not-so-successful ones. The book starts from the very basic question: 'What is a brand?' and treads through branding, trends, the tests, problems,  strategy, creativity, names, avatars, designing, packaging, marketing, globalism and evolution of 'brand' to very comprehensive 'take-home' lessons. And these are just a few topics the book talks about.

As they say - “Good things come in small packages”, the best thing about this book is that Marty covers it all in a tiny little book that one can finish reading in a couple of hours. Its like taking a 'one quick pill' for all.

I would recommend this book to anyone with a background in design, business, branding, consumer study, engineering, psychology and anyone who likes to know the story behind brands.

You can view a presentation on the book by the author –  The Brand Gap
Its a huge presentation but worth a watch!

(book review) Cradle to Cradle

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things by William McDonough & Michael Braungart
North Point Press, NY-USA, 2002

I would describe 'Cradle to Cradle' as a landmark in the field of  Sustainability, written by architect and designer, William McDonough and German chemist Michael Braungart. This book got me introduced to sustainability more than a year ago and now, I own a personal copy that I love to read after intervals. The book puts across the idea of using nature as a model to design things and adopt the 'cradle to cradle' system in contrast to the traditional 'cradle to grave' system  of our industrial manufacturing. The language is simple and the authors explain their position through daily-life examples that are easy to comprehend.

The 'book' itself is designed based on the 'Cradle to Cradle' concept. The product is completely recyclable, not made out of trees and is water-proof. The book is a bit heavy than it looks – It is printed on a synthetic paper made made out of plastic resins and inorganic fillers. The whole idea is to reprocess the book once it is done with, to transform it into a new book – so that the system functions in a loop – cradle to cradle.

Apparently, being less bad is not good for the environment and neither is down-cycling (the authors clearly state that down-cycling is not re-cycling: Down-cycling degrades the product with every use increasing its toxic content). They say that, design is the basic intention of human-beings and with inventions like paints that give out VOCs or carbon emitting vehicles, the intention seems to be 'destruction of the planet'. They propose to play the infinite game of 'Cradle to Cradle' where the waste from one product becomes food for another. The Stone-Age did not end because humans ran out of stone – so why can't we go through this age without exhausting earth's resources.

This book is not one of those usual books on sustainability that talk only about reduce, reuse, recycle and regulate. In fact, the authors' thoughts suggest that we can grow bigger while maintaining the planet's resources. The book is based on the principle that - “Waste equals food”. They give an interesting example of 'leased services' where the producer takes full responsibility of truly re-cycling any product he produces. The authors rate many of today's design solutions as badly designed systems and products that are manufactured without taking into consideration their life-cycle.

The ideas of making oxygen emitting roofs or buildings that produce more energy than they consume or making products that turn into soil after use are interesting. There are many such examples and arguments based on an array of perspectives – scientific, design oriented, business, historical and philosophical.

This book is a must read for designers, architects, manufacturers, business people, environmentalists and anyone who cares about the planet and our future.

(book review) Creating Magic

Creating Magic: 10 Commonsense leadership strategies from a life at Disney by Lee Cockerell
Currency Double Day, NY-USA, 2008


'Creating Magic' is based on Lee's career and his experiences at Marriot, Disney World and Disneyland,Paris. The book also talks about leadership strategies that the author developed and those that later became learnings at the Disney Institute – strategies that are transferable to any domain or industry. 


Though the book has a part where Lee talks business, the first part of the book is a more personal and honest, where Lee tells stories about his personal experiences, mistakes, learnings and development as a manager and a leader. Lee demonstrates that adversity and failure are part of a leader's journey towards success and that, a balanced life plays a significant role in a leader's success.


I have always been fascinated by 'Disney' as a brand and wondered what makes it “magic”. This book gave an insight into what makes Disney a magic-land and that real hard-work and mostly, excellent management are behind the Disney's success. All the stories about Disney were just fascinating and discerning.


The ideas he mentions in the book demonstrate Lee's years of experience. The ideas aren't quite new but ideas that one might term as 'commonsense' and as they say – 'commonsense' is not common! He describes the following strategies as 'essentials' for any manager: 
          1.Everyone is important
          2.Break the mold
          3.Make you people your brand
          4.Create magic through training
          5.Eliminate hassles
          6.Learn the truth
          7.Burn the free fuel
          8.Stay ahead of the pack
          9.Be careful what you say and do
          10.Develop character


And the bottom-line everywhere in the book is: “Make people feel special” (customers, employees, managers). We need to get along with people to succeed and make our business successful. 


This book is a good read for anyone running their own businesses or anyone in a managerial role. If all the managers were to look up at Lee's principles, no office would be a “dull” place to work.

(book review) A Whole New Mind

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel H. Pink

Riverhead Books (Berkely Publishing Group), NY-USA, 2005

The principal argument of this book is that “right-brainers” or people with R-directed thinking will influence the Conceptual Age or the 21^st century, just as the farmers did in the Agriculture Age or the Factory Workers did in the Industrial Age or the Knowledge Workers did in the Information Age. The author illustrates 3 major problems of the developed world that will induce right-brainers to beam:

Abundance (It has satiated our material needs and now beauty has taken an important place in our lives. Now, people are in search of meaning)

Asia (Has taken up all the “white-collar” / Left brainer jobs)

Automation (Is affecting the white-collar workers similar to the way it affected the “blue-collar” workers of the industrial age)

He aptly defines the traits of L-brainers (converging, detail-oriented, sequential, logical, literal, analytical, textual) and contrasts them to those of the R-brainers. (Diverging, looks at the big-picture, simultaneous, synthesis, emotive, metaphorical, aesthetic, contextual)

In second part of the book, Pink talks about 6 R-Directed aptitudes necessary in the 21^st century:

Design - (Today, the emphasis has to be more on form and emotional engagement rather than just the function – that is what appeals)

Story - (It appeals to our emotions and gives a deep understanding of the context. It helps in communicating yourself) Dev Patnaik's book – 'Wired to Care' goes into more detail on this aptitude. I will write a post on the book soon.

Symphony (This capability helps us put the pieces together, helps us look at the larger picture. We can use it to combine and generate a unique value)

Empathy (It is a basic human quality – the ability to understand other people. This can be used to build a strong network for collective advantage) Dev Patnaik's book – 'Wired to Care' goes into more detail on this aptitude. I will write a post on the book soon.

Play (lightheartedness – doing what you enjoy)

Meaning (Abundance of everything does not give peace to one's mind. That is why the clichéd term 'search of a meaning'. This will have a positive influence)

Though I appreciate the author's thoughts about moving to a Conceptual Age and sharpening our R-Directed skills, I choose to disagree with him in portraying the six R-Directed aptitudes as unique to the developed countries. It is a mistake to make such an assumption as any person, regardless of his country, might be able to acquire them. It is worth-while to note that many successful entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers in the West – People such as Laxmi Mittal, Guy Kawasaki, C.K.Prahlad have origins in the East. But overall, 'A Whole New Mind' the kind of book that marks a shift – It gives a fresh perspective to look at yourself and the changing world.

The right-brain exercises in the book are interesting and fun. It makes one come out of the comfort zone and really challenges the R-brain. Hence to the book,the title is just right!

(book review) Emotional Branding

Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for connecting brands to people by Marc Gobe`

Allworth Press, NY-USA, 2001

This book, 'Emotional Branding' by Marc Gobe` gives a meaty insight into the delicious history of branding. The book tries to bridge the gap between 'business centered' brands and consumers. Marc Gobe` understands that, for a brand to be effective, it should appeal to the consumers' emotions and feelings instead of treating its consumers as enemy targets and forcing themselves into the consumers' life.

The landscape for brands is changing by the day and increasingly, consumers run the brands. A brand needs to appeal to the emotional senses in order to succeed. Gobe` gives 10 commandments of emotional branding: 

1. from Consumers to People (consumers buy, people live)
2. from Product to Experience (products fulfill needs,experiences fulfill desires)
3. from Honesty to Trust (honesty is expected, trust is engaging & intimate)
4. from Quality to Preference (quality is a given, preference creates sale)
5. from Notoriety to Aspiration (what does your brand mean on an emotional level to consumers?)
6. from Identity to Personality (identity is recognition, personality is character and charisma)
7. from Function to Feel (function is practical & superficial qualities, feel is about experiences)
8. from Ubiquity to Presence (ubiquity is seen, emotional presence is felt)
9. from Communication to Dialogue (communication is telling, presence is felt)
10. from Service to Relationship (service is telling,relationship is acknowledgement)

The book starts with an Introduction chapter, ends with a Conclusion chapter and sandwiched between are 4 chapters named after the 4 pillars of emotional branding: Relationship, Sensorial Experiences, Imagination & Vision.

Though I enjoyed reading the book where Gobe` goes into small details such as describing various symbols and colors and their properties, to painting diagram for portraying the logo and identity evolution or writing about the generations - Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y, to demonstrate relationship between 'Needs' and 'Desires', to stating 'Why' brands need to make that emotional connection, I would have enjoyed more had Gobe` shed more light on 'HOW' to make this emotional connection. 

This book is for people who think that products that sell the best, target the emotional level and one's who want to learn about branding and strategies and get insights into capturing emotions. It provides key insights into branding that will be useful for everyone in the chain - designers, marketing people, strategists and business people.