Cosmetics company 2 Love My Lips has created a line of lip glosses which include a card within the packaging that detects GHB and ketamine.

The tinkering that we now only associate with technology and machines, is emerging within the fields of genetics and biotechnology.

In a striking example of ingenuity, Australian inventor Tom Chalko has converted a deep freezer into an incredibly efficient refrigerator.

PSFK recently conducted a review of global brands that are doing “good” in regards to innovation, environmental responsibility and social collaboration. From this exploration, we’ve created the Good Brands Report 2009.
We looked at the companies we were writing about on PSFK.com and then asked a panel of cross industry global experts from the Purple List to tell us which of 40 common brands on PSFK were considered ‘Good’. These companies represent businesses from which we should learn. They are not just the well-known brands of the day but also companies that lead by example. Beyond the top 10 Good Brands, [...]

Despite the ubiquity of cellphones, most people in Africa still need to travel great distances each time they need to charge their battery, a fact of life for many living in remote Kenyan Villages, where an estimated 17.5 million people out of Kenya’s 38.5 million population own a mobile handset – up from 200,000 in 2000. And once they reach a charging location – typically shops that utilize a car battery or solar panel – charges can take up to an hour and cost around $2, which although a necessity, represents no small fee.
Having grown up in similar circumstances, two university students, Jeremiah [...]

In light of yesterday’s stunning announcement that Amazon had acquired Zappos for the sum of $807 million (plus), Seth Godin wonders what that deal actually means for Amazon, particularly when it’s clear that they already has plenty of shoes.
And while it’s hard to argue that eliminating the competition in one bold move is reason enough for the deal, Godin views things a bit differently, pointing to a number of valuable assets, many of which you can rarely buy for any price:
What you buy when you spend that kind of money is what matters now. And what matters is:

A corporate culture [...]

As technology strives to keep up with consumer demand for smaller, faster and more powerful everything, it’s inevitable that many of the “next-big things” of the past will become little else but memories of the past as they are eclipsed by their younger, sleeker iterations. Given the speed of innovation, there’s a very good chance that many of the devices and cultural hallmarks that we’ve grown up with will be long extinct before the next generation of digital natives knew they ever existed.
To that end, Nate Barry over at Wired has collected 100 such objects into a handy list that [...]

In light of today’s competitive business climate and more conspicuous consumption, conversations are increasingly focused on innovation as a means to deliver a differentiated experience and capture customers’ attention, loyalty and disposable income. Speaking to that notion, Business Week has showcased 10 examples of product innovation, shaped in part by designer Hartmut Esslinger.
Esslinger, founder of the 40-year-old San Francisco firm Frog Design, has worked with many companies including Apple, Louis Vuitton, and HP.  He shares with Business Week 10 tips for successfully and consistently innovating, including, among others:

“If it isn’t somehow good for the world, it’s not going to be [...]

PSFK recently wrote about Monocle’s Top 25 Most Liveable Cities 2009. Even though Melbourne made it into the top 10, Michael from linefeed has some innovative store concepts to boost the city’s retail sector. Believing that the city lacks quirky, niche stores Michael states; When I think of [...]

Prolific and imaginative product designer Scott Amron let us know about his latest project; a simple split ring key holder with a built in key blank. It’s a standard key blank that can be cut by any key cutter to fit KW1 or SCi keyways. Amron’s solution is uncomplicated and clever, making us wonder why the bow of a key hasn’t been used in this way before.

Two recent cover-stories in the weekly news magazines have counter arguments about innovation in the US. Business Week suggests that innovation is declining while Time says it’s booming…

In his talk at TED this year, marketing guru and author Seth Godin wonders what we all do for a living. He suggests that what we do is that we try to change everything. We try to find a piece of the status quo and change it – and we try to make big, important, permanent change. By sharing examples from his (very good) book Tribes, he describes how we are living through a change in the way ideas are created and spread and that tribes that are fueling this change. So he argues that what we do for a [...]

There’s a charming two-level space at the heart of Manila’s art enclave, Cubao X, that’s attracting a discerning crowd lately. On the ground floor is a home lifestyle store called Heima (Icelandic for “at home”). The owner, Bong Rojales, is also the director of the city’s Lomo camera cult, Lomomanila. This time around, he’s using his creative contacts in Copenhagen and Manila to retail some idiosyncratically colorful offerings. His partner, interior designer Rossy Yabut, spearheads product development as well as consulting and restoration services for the homes of the newly minted young middle class (most coming from creative industries and [...]

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 [...]

Technology entrepreneur Joi Ito shares some brief but poignant thoughts about the unique opportunities for innovation during a recession.

[via Media Futurist]