At PSFK Conference NYC, I had the opportunity to sit down with Edward Felsenthal, Executive Editor of The Daily Beast, to discuss his new online publication and the changes he’s seeing in the rapidly evolving world of publishing. The Daily Beast, launched in October of 2008, is a curated online news site created by Tina Brown, the former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. Felsenthal, who served as Deputy Managing Editor of the Wall Street Journal prior to taking the helm at The Daily Beast, shared his insights on launching a new brand in the ever-expanding digital news [...]

At PSFK Conference NYC, moderator David Pinter (PSFK) along with Sarah Beatty (Green Depot), Simon Collins (Parsons), Ryan Jacoby (IDEO), and Matthew Lusk (Hecho Inc.) discussed the meaning of “sustainability” today, and how economic and social conscience are driving the design of new products and services. Sustainability, explained Simon, is not just about creating eco-friendly products; it’s also about making thoughtful choices as a consumer, too (buying blue jeans that last, for example). Sarah expanded on that idea, explaining that focusing on sustainability means seeking out high-quality products and services – things that maintain value and meaning over time.
The panel [...]

At PSFK Conference NYC, Colin Nagy (PSFK/Attention) led a discussion with Help Remedies‘ founder Richard Fine and Hello Health’s Dr. Jay Parkinson and Dr. Sean Khozin about “Building Healthy Brands With Heart”. The panel touched upon the different ways their ventures were setting out to innovate an industry resistant to change. Richard Fine talked about how Help Remedies is attempting to change the way we think about medicine and first aid. Richard’s aim with creating Help was to simplify medication, from packaging to ingredients. His range stands apart from the myriad “dual-action”/”24-hr relief”/”fast-acting” products on the market – most recognizably, [...]

At PSFK Conference NYC, Celestine Arnold gave an eye-opening talk on the “Ghost in the Machine: Digital Multiculture.” Celestine discussed the role of race and culture in video games – and the gaming industry’s failure to address (and successfully market towards) it. While minorities make up a disproportionately large percentage of the gaming community, most games cater to an assumed mainstream (white, male) player….

At PSFK Conference NYC, Kevin Slavin gave a captivating presentation on “This Platform Called Everyday Life”, in which he discussed the evolving nature of the objects surrounding us. Kevin, Managing Director and co-founder of Area/Code, explained how pervasive technologies are changing the way we relate to our physical environment and everything in it – from playground balls, to houseplants to sneakers.

Kevin opened his talk with a story about a fascinatingly bizarre woman who had such intense feelings for the Berlin Wall that she married it. Through his talk, Kevin demonstrated how the woman’s relationship with the Wall, while extreme, parallels [...]

At PSFK Conference NYC, Danielle Sacks (Fast Company) led a thought-provoking discussion about the rise of the “New Idea Agencies” – companies that are thinking outside of the traditional client-agency model and creating their own products, brands, and intellectual property to launch direct to market. The panel, featuring Robbie Vitrano (Trumpet), Carl Johnson (Anomaly), Bart Haney (fuseproject), and Ben Malbon (BBH Labs), explained how their companies’ unique business models evolved and the struggles (and benefits) of agencies becoming their own clients.
Developing IP rather than just messaging is clearly an attractive idea. Why build brands that, ultimately, you have no stake [...]

The videos from PSFK’s Good Ideas Salon in London are now available (and embeddable) for your inspiration:
Simon Waldman’s Good Ideas in Media
Good Ideas through Collaboration Panel
Good Ideas in Storytelling With Colin Nightingale

Good Ideas and Youth Panel
Good Ideas in Mobile Panel
Richard Banks on Good Ideas Over Time
Troika Design at Good Ideas Salon London
Christian Nold on Good Ideas for Communities
Good Ideas in Design Panel
Good Ideas from London Panel
Mark Earls on Why Good Ideas Matter
Hope you enjoy them enough to share the ideas.
Good Ideas Salons

This past January PSFK held Good Ideas Salon in London, bringing together the most forward-thinking tastemakers, innovators, and experts from around the world to discuss key areas steering innovation and opportunity. The last panel of the day focused on Good Ideas Through Collaboration, where Colin Nagy (PSFK / Attention) moderated a talk between Pat Connor (BBC), Jeremy Ettinghausen (Penguin), Sophie Howarth (The School of Life), and Simon Waldman (The Guardian).
While the idea of collaboration is nothing new, the way we use it are still being developed and reinterpreted. Jeremy Ettinghausen noted that collaboration is relatively new in relation [...]

This past January, PSFK held a Good Ideas Salon in London, inviting our favorite innovators and thought leaders to present their current projects and share some of their own good ideas. One of the day’s most visually inspiring presentations came from Eva Rucki, one of the founding partners of Troika, a multi-disciplinary art and design practice based out of London.

Eva shared insights into the philosophy and ideas behind Troika’s varied work, covering graphics, communication, art, product design and engineering, with a focus on the iterative process employed in the development of their projects.

On April 2, 2009, PSFK will [...]

This past January, PSFK brought together our favorite innovators and thought leaders for our Good Ideas Salon London. There, Christian Nold, artist, designer and educator famous for his Biomapping project, discussed how design can create systems of trust within communities.
Picking up where the design panel left off, Christian elaborated on how new, performative and embodied approaches to engaging our surroundings and those around us can create powerful change and how designers can leverage technology to develop social relations through democratic procedures.
Coupled with a background in fine art, Christian describes the various ethnographic techniques he employs to find out what the [...]

This past January, PSFK hosted the Good Ideas Salon London. Starting the day off, Mark Earls, author of Herd, began by discussing the importance of gathering inspiration across categories, market sectors, and groups – and ultimately, how to turn those insights into mass change. Effectively, Mark explains why innovation is important.
Mark Earls stressed that innovation is an exercise that needs to be practiced.  The mere process of looking for new ideas allows you to challenge whether or not your existing ones are any good. Even if a new idea is not perfect, it can still shine a new light on [...]

At the PSFK Conference Asia 2008, Jeff Staple, Founder and Creative Director of Staple Design and Reed Space, talks about his “accidental” career path. Jeff went from hand-silkscreening tee-shirts in school to heading a global design, consulting, apparel and retail operation in 11 years— on his own terms. He speaks about lessons learned and knowledge gained in the process.

For tickets and/or information about our upcoming event in London, go to www.goodideassalon.com

At the PSFK Conference Asia 2008, Rob Campbell (Sunshine/M&C Saatchi) explains why he believes the future of brands is about creating fate – not advertising.  Claiming that ad agencies don’t know the difference between an idea and an “ad” idea, Rob describes why true creativity is more cost effective than common philosophies of formal research & development, distribution and brain-washing media spend.
Rob explains why companies who are looking for the ’single insight’ are wasting their time and that companies who understand people and culture – not categories – and who have a way to transform it into something that is [...]

At the PSFK Conference Asia 2008, Nick Barham (Wieden Kennedy, Shanghai) explores the anxiety, opportunity and extravagance of the Chinese middle class.  Deliberately not speaking about the “Olympics, the Dali Lama, Tibet, the earthquake, their amazing economic growth, or all the reason why the West is scared or worried about China growing,” Nick focuses on the aspirations of China’s middle class and the broader social changes that are happening at that level.
Noting that the number of new credit cards issued in China jumped from 3 million in 2003 to 90 million in 2007, Nick describes how the middle class are [...]

Held at thehappycorp’s lovely loft space, this morning’s Good Ideas Salon focused on the future of entertainment.  After a brief thought-starter from Dan Gould, the panel of experts discussed the changing dynamic between content creators and their audience/readers/viewers/users.  Moderated by Piers Fawkes (PSFK), the panel included Carl Goodman (Museum of Moving Image), Doug Jaeger (thehappycorp/LVHRD), Lauriana Zuluaga (SonyBMG), and Ricky Van Veen (CollegeHumor.com).

WATCH COMPLETE SERIES:
Good Ideas In Mobile – Featuring Allison Mooney (PSFK/Mobile Behavior), Kevin Slavin (area/code), Alistair Fulton (Deloitte), Florian Peter (CScout) and Steve Roberts (Shoptext)
Good Ideas In Design – Featuring Dave Pinter (PSFK/GRID2 International), Craig Dubitsky (The Kind [...]