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Business consultant, writer and speaker on design, technology & innovation | Writing, events, projects and references |
Just passed...
Why brands shoudn't get lost in the Twitter storm
11 November, Digital Thought Leader column Netimperative.com
Social media is more about creating loyalty than new ideas
21 October, Digital Thought Leader column Netimperative.com
Digital Britain: welcome to the slow lane
25 June, spiked Review of Books
The UK government’s report on the future of the internet and the creative industries replaces the freedom to innovate with an overwhelming impulse to regulate everything.
A transparent attempt at social engineering
10 September 2009, spiked
The initiative to re-design pub glasses to stop them being used as weapons overhypes the problem and the solution.
‘Nudging’: the very antithesis of choice
19 December 2008, spiked Review of Books (Republished on Future Cities Project)
‘Libertarian paternalism’ represents a retreat from political debate, and the rise of a base psychological agenda that wants to make us conform on green, health and lifestyle issues.
This is no time to call the 'design police'
5 December 2008, spiked (Republished on British Design Innovation)
By reorganising our lives around suspicion and the fear of crime, design can leave us feeling insecure - and less free.
The best foundation for the web: open debate
23 September, spiked
Tim Berners-Lee's new group aims for a 'free and open' web, but the idea of 'rating' content would close down discussion.
Book review: Organised defeat?
12 September, Culture Wars
My review of Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky arguing that until we become less fascinated with group behaviour and let genuine purpose and content rise to the surface, the tools will continue to do all the talking.
Book review: Changing the meaning of 'change'
29 August, spiked review of books
Charles Leadbeater tries to convince a sceptical Martyn Perks about the positive powers of 'we think' and how unleashing the creative potential of ambitious individuals could potentially overhaul society.
The rise and rise of 'anti-design'
21 August, spiked
Designers who focus on producing only meek and sustainable things are denying their own creativity and impact on the world.
Responses include: Posted on the US design site Core77, the über Design Observer, digital marketing news NetImperative and included on dynamo london's i-design 08 conference website. Elsewhere I am called a brave soul for daring to criticize green design!
Censorship online: who needs evidence?
5 August, spiked
A new UK parliamentary report says the internet must be regulated to protect children - even though there’s no proof they are being harmed.
Hands off our internet connections
30 July, spiked
The UK government is demanding that service providers punish users who share files illegally. That's a threat to everyone's freedom.
Comment: Creativity versus Counting
12 June, Netimperative
Is the digital industry becoming too dependent on using web analytics to asses customer behaviour? Collecting too much data can cloud decision-making, even causing complacency when bolder decisions need to be made.
22 May, spiked
Government attempts to ‘design out’ crime by sticking anti-theft, noise-emitting devices around the country will make us feel less secure.
Update Read Lorraine Gamman, director of the Design Against Crime Centre's vitriolic response, also on spiked. Wonder if I touched a raw nerve?
Winners and losers in a troubled economy
10 March, The Telegraph Business Club [Registration required], Director of Finance online & iMedia Connection
Trendy online gadgets are no substitute for genuine innovation in products and services.
Why we should swat The Mosquito
13 Feburary 2008, spiked
The launch of the Buzz Off campaign to rid Britain’s streets of a screeching ‘anti-youth gadget’ should be welcomed - and built on.
Are marketers hiding behind UGC?
18 December 2007, netimperative
Does our infatuation with user-generated content betray a lack of creativity and conviction within the marketing industry?
Tracing the history of Helvetica
28 November 2007, spiked
A film about a font?! Yes, and it's gripping, too, showing how a sleek typeface has encouraged good design and helped to shape big ideas.
November 2007, Blueprint Issue 260
Design is about more than being sustainable or socially responsible--and its time to defend design for its own sake. Afraid only available in print
26 September 2007, the Guardian's arts&entertainment blog
The idea of sustainable design is an oxymoron. Design is about exploring limits, not about imposing them.
'It looks like Lisa Simpson giving head'
7 June 2007 spiked
The bizarre squashed swastika that is the London 2012 Olympics logo perfectly captures the authorities' confusion about what the Games are for.
24 April 2007 spiked
While technology is high on the public agenda, in contrast to developing countries like Rwanda, our lack of ambition is striking.
Comment: Taking a shortcut around the digital divide
March 2007 Future Cities Project
While digital inclusion has become a major focus for funding and social renewal, it is questionable whether IT is actually being used for the right reasons.
Essay: Putting design and technology to good use
October 2006 Battle of Ideas 2006 conference
No one could argue that design and technology does not help society transform itself. However, today the content of the transformation is arguably not as bold, innovative and challenging as is sometimes supposed. This is not due to a lack of available tools, techniques and materials, but rather a lack of imagination.
16 September 2004 spiked
Will setting standards for accessibility stifle innovation?
Parliament in the Public Eye Download
98k
May 2004 Institute of Ideas
The Institute of Ideas response to the Hansard Society Commission on Parliament in the Public Eye’s Call for Evidence.
22 April 2004 spiked
A new book argues that products should be designed around their users' emotions..
10 March 2004 spiked
More blogging by Britain's MPs and ministers is likely to reduce politics to the level of a webchat.
6 February 2004 spiked
Howard Dean’s virtual network was a poor substitute for political conviction.
30 December 2003 spiked
Why do political and business leaders want to immerse themselves in our everyday lives?
16 October 2003 spiked
If only the World Creative Forum’s ideas matched the ambition of its title.
20 November 2003 spiked
The BBC’s new web site will not build community or rescue democracy.
31 July 2003 spiked
Could blogging MPs reinvigorate the electorate?
3 July 2003 spiked
Email gangs come together — and go away again.
17 June 2003 spiked
Software geeks are turning into social engineers.
20 March 2003 spiked
Can software build worthwhile relationships?
12 November 2002 spiked
Users taking the lead highlights our reluctance to design
Success is more than counting clicks Download 
23k
27 June 2002 New Media Age
Profits are more than a few clicks away
28 March 2002 spiked
The internet services industry often worries about how to keep customers loyal.
What use for usability? Download (Zip
file) 975k
March 2002 Cre@te Online
Usability is on the lips of every interaction designer these days, but while no one denies its benefits, its not all it’s cracked up to be.
26 November 2001 Usability News
Report back from User Experience 2001/2002 Conference, organised by the Nielsen Norman Group.
I write and speak about design, technology and innovation for publications including The Big Issue, spiked, Blueprint, New Media Age, the Guardian's arts&entertainment blog, Cre@teOnline, the Architects Journal, Interactions, and for the Institute of Ideas.
I organise and speak at events at the Design Council, Designing Interactive Systems 2004 (Boston, USA), Design Museum, Barclays Global Investors and at the Battle of Ideas festival.
My business consultancy is called Thinking Apart Ltd with clients both the public and private sectors.
To commission me to consult, write or speak, email me.