Design Tomorrow

Can we really call it progress when it creates so much waste? What if your phone — the one you’re using right now — was your last phone? Take a good look at it and imagine using it for the rest of your life. Could it even last that long? Could you? Probably not. Today I want to think about what that means. What happens to a planet and its people when technological progress is measured in product cycles. And what happens when there's no balance sheet to account for the other side of that — when every new product leaves billions of products and accessories and packaging behind…Show NotesMy first cellphoneMy second cellphoneThis clip ended up on the cutting room floor, but here's Derek Zoolander's tiny phoneYou can learn more about the Agbogbloshie landfill by reading its Wikipedia page, looking at these photographs, or watching this documentary. Please watch it!You can learn more about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch here."The Victims of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch," a clip from 60 MinutesProject Ara Demo at Google IO 2015Google Cancels Project AraThe FairphoneDanny Boyle interviewed by Marc MaronMusicAll music used in this episode was independently produced by r beny and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use.FeltFall Creek UnitFormation ProcessNovation PeakMariposaAlluvialNatomaSpindleIllumination CeremonyCreditsDesign Tomorrow is produced by Chris Butler at the Tomorrow office in Durham, NC.You can follow the show on Twitter @dsgntmrrw. You can visit the show's website at designtomorrow.co, and you can email me at chris @ designtomorrow.co.Thanks for listening, and remember, what we do and think today can create a better tomorrow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every discussion of entrepreneurship is really a discussion about values. Today, we'll follow up on last week's episode, where we began a discussion of entrepreneurship by resetting that idea — by challenging the story of entrepreneurship. We contrasted the protagonist — the hero CEO — with the reality of who we are. And we contrasted the plot — the capitalistic, meritocratic variant of the hero's journey — with the meandering serendipity of our lives' paths. But dismantling one story doesn't write ours for us. And so that's where we'll pick up today — with how we begin — by identifying, examining, and ordering our values so that they may serve as a foundation for the creative and productive lives we build upon them…MusicAll music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use.Di Breun, by Blue Dot SessionsDrip Hop Modular Beats, by r benyOriel, by Blue Dot SessionsThe Snowgard, by Blue Dot SessionsCrosswire, by Blue Dot SessionsLi Fonte, by Blue Dot SessionsE2 Ambient X, by r benyCreditsDesign Tomorrow is produced by Chris Butler at the Tomorrow office in Durham, NC.You can follow the show on Twitter @dsgntmrrw. You can visit the show's website at designtomorrow.co, and you can email me at chris @ designtomorrow.co.Thanks for listening, and remember, what we do and think today can create a better tomorrow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Entrepreneurship doesn’t have to mean what you think it means.Over the course of the next two episodes, I'd like to share with you how my own perspective on “entrepreneurship” has evolved, and offer a critique of the sameness of the popular model of the entrepreneur. I'll also give you eight little nuggets of wisdom that have been helpful to me on my journey so far, and only grow in their value to me as it continues…Show NotesNewfangled, where I work.MusicAll music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use.Kirkus, by Blue Dot SessionsTransit Center, by Podington BearOrder of Entrance, by Blue Dot SessionsLunette, by Blue Dot SessionsTralaga, by Blue Dot SessionsTolls Folly, by Blue Dot SessionsExceter Lask, by Blue Dot SessionsCreditsDesign Tomorrow is produced by Chris Butler at the Tomorrow office in Durham, NC.You can follow the show on Twitter @dsgntmrrw. You can visit the show's website at designtomorrow.co, and you can email me at chris @ designtomorrow.co.Thanks for listening, and remember, what we do and think today can create a better tomorrow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every vision of the future is a better index of the present from which it came than whatever time it imagines. So today, let's look back at some of the things we believed would serve as landmarks of the future. Not to point out how quaint they are or to dunk on the blind spots of the past. But so that we can better understand why — no matter what shiny new objects we make and use — we never quite feel like we've gotten to the future. Why it's so difficult to recognize how far we've come…Show NotesThe Dymaxion HouseLe CorbusierLewis MumfordLewis Mumford on The CityRobert Heinlein did get a futurist house eventually. He just had to design it himself.The Entire History of YouMusicAll music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use.Spirals, by r beny Fall Creek Unit, by r beny Live 182801, by r beny Pines, by r beny Crystals & Graves, by r beny Volca Keys Arp Jam, by r beny CreditsDesign Tomorrow is produced by Chris Butler at the Tomorrow office in Durham, NC.You can follow the show on Twitter @dsgntmrrw. You can visit the show's website at designtomorrow.co, and you can email me at chris @ designtomorrow.co.Thanks for listening, and remember, what we do and think today can create a better tomorrow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Too often we think of the word "design" as a shorthand for an ecosystem of mostly visual phenomena. But words play an enormous, though often unseen, role in the creation of everything. Today, I want to tell you a story about how my life was changed by a few words said quickly, but words which I will never forget...MusicAll music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use.Envira, by Blue Dot SessionsOur Digital Compass, by Blue Dot SessionsSvela Tal, by Blue Dot SessionsTolls Folly, by Blue Dot SessionsCreditsDesign Tomorrow is produced by Chris Butler at the Tomorrow office in Durham, NC.You can follow the show on Twitter @dsgntmrrw. You can visit the show's website at designtomorrow.co, and you can email me at chris @ designtomorrow.co.Thanks for listening, and remember, what we do and think today can create a better tomorrow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The majority of our clicking and tapping is a repetitive act of information management. Isn't A.I. supposed to help us with this? Don't hold your breath... Today, on Design Tomorrow, in the tradition of the rantiest of rants, I'd like to, well, rant about a few things. About AI and us, about wasted time and wasting of the land, and about the lowing and highing of design...LinksThe Sword in the Stone, Wart eats a bug“It is important to use your hands. This is what distinguishes you from a cow or a computer operator.” - Paul RandMusicAll music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use.Respiration, by Podington Bear Transit Center, by Podington Bear Twine, by Podington Bear The Dirty, by Podington Bear Free Radicals, by Podington Bear Lleb, by Podington Bear Data, by Podington Bear Dark Matter, by Podington Bear Rythn, by Podington Bear CreditsDesign Tomorrow is produced by Chris Butler at the Tomorrow office in Durham, NC.You can follow the show on Twitter @dsgntmrrw. You can visit the show's website at designtomorrow.co, and you can email me at chris @ designtomorrow.co.Thanks for listening, and remember, what we do and think today can create a better tomorrow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is technology a means to an end — the ladder we climb to a future we want to inhabit because it's better for us than the present — or is it as far as we let our minds and hearts go? In this episode of Design Tomorrow, we'll connect a few stories about technology that didn't make it in order to better understand the technological path our culture is on...LinksSplit-flap displaysSaying Goodbye to Philadelphia's 30th Street Station's Iconic Flip BoardBERG's Pixel TrackBERG's archived home pageMusicAll music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use.Arbic Tallow, by Blue Dot SessionsFall Creek Unit, by r benyErvira, by Blue Dot SessionsKalsted, by Blue Dot SessionsArbinac, by Blue Dot SessionsLevanger, by Blue Dot SessionsCreditsDesign Tomorrow is produced by Chris Butler at the Tomorrow office in Durham, NC.You can follow the show on Twitter @dsgntmrrw. You can visit the show's website at designtomorrow.co, and you can email me at chris @ designtomorrow.co.Thanks for listening, and remember, what we do and think today can create a better tomorrow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does advertising still make sense in our world today? How does a form of media always known as an associated form — as something that sips from the attention river flowing to and from other things — function when the complexity of those waterways has exponentially increased?LinksWho is Using Twitter in the US?28 Twitter Statistics All Marketers Need to Know in 2019The Eye-Opening Influence of Instagram on Buying10 Instagram Stats Every Marketer Should Know in 2019The Cost of Paying Attention, by Matthew CrawfordJared Lanier on micropaymentsThe Roosevelts, by Ken BurnsMusicAll music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use.Greyleaf Willow, by Blue Dot SessionsRainy Day Drone, by Blue Dot SessionsFall Creek Unit, by r benyLoam, by Podington BearEE2 Ambient, by r benyWilt, by r benyE2 Ambient Electro Jam, by r benyCreditsDesign Tomorrow is produced by Chris Butler at the Tomorrow office in Durham, NC.You can follow the show on Twitter @dsgntmrrw. You can visit the show's website at designtomorrow.co, and you can email me at chris @ designtomorrow.co.Thanks for listening, and remember, what we do and think today can create a better tomorrow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are interfaces good? Or are they a distraction — for us the makers, and for the users we believe we are helping? How can we think better about both how we interface with digital experiences, personally, and how others do it? Today, we'll think deeply about the nature of the interface — what it is, and what it says about us, the people who made it — and explore the need for new rules for better interface-making...LinksIt's a Mistake to Mistake Content for Content, by Kenneth GoldsmithIn the Kingdom of the Bored, the One-Armed Bandit is King, by Nicholas CarrAmish Hackers, by Kevin KellyKevin Kelly speaking at GoogleWhat Technology Wants, by Kevin KellyMusicAll music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use.Bloom, by r benyCyclotrak, by Blue Dot SessionsSvela Tal, by Blue Dot SessionsTralaga, by Blue Dot SessionsExceter Lask, by Blue Dot SessionsCreditsDesign Tomorrow is produced by Chris Butler at the Tomorrow office in Durham, NC.You can follow the show on Twitter @dsgntmrrw. You can visit the show's website at designtomorrow.co, and you can email me at chris @ designtomorrow.co.Thanks for listening, and remember, what we do and think today can create a better tomorrow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We live in a time of illusions. Simulations that reflect back upon us more than just the passage of time, but something important about who we are. Something unique is going on right now — with the tools and technology we have — that is giving us the ability to stop, stretch, bend, and replay time. In this episode, we'll explore what that offers us, we for whom at some point, time will end...Links"Danielle"Timelapse of the Imperceptible Effects of Aging Created from Family Portraits by Anthony Cerniello"Noah takes a photo of himself every day for 12.5 years"Homer Simpson Time Lapse"Nancy Grows Up""41 Years in 60 Seconds""The Arrow of Time"Star Trek TNG - Moriarty pleads his case for existenceStranger than Fiction - Harold confronts the necessity of his deathMemento MoriMusicAll music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use.Danielle, by Mark ReveleyTogether We Are Stronger, by KomikuI Need to Start Writing Things Down, by Chris ZabriskieThe Dark Glow of the Mountains, by Chris ZabriskieI Used to Need the Violence, by Chris ZabriskieOut of the Skies Under the Earth, by Chris ZabriskieCreditsDesign Tomorrow is produced by Chris Butler at the Tomorrow office in Durham, NC.You can follow the show on Twitter @dsgntmrrw. You can visit the show's website at designtomorrow.co, and you can email me at chris @ designtomorrow.co.Thanks for listening, and remember, what we do and think today can create a better tomorrow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.