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 Notes My first cellphoneMy second cellphonehere's Derek Zoolander's tiny phoneits Wikipedia pagethese photographsthis documentaryGreat Pacific Garbage Patcha clip from 60 MinutesProject Ara DemoGoogle Cancels Project AraThe FairphoneDanny Boyle interviewed by Marc MaronMusic All 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 CeremonyCredits Design 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… Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. Di BreunBlue Dot SessionsDrip Hop Modular Beatsr benyOrielBlue Dot SessionsThe SnowgardBlue Dot SessionsCrosswireBlue Dot SessionsLi FonteBlue Dot SessionsE2 Ambient Xr benyCredits Design 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 Notes Newfangled Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. Blue Dot SessionsPodington BearBlue Dot SessionsBlue Dot SessionsBlue Dot SessionsBlue Dot SessionsBlue Dot Sessions Credits Design 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 Notes The Dymaxion HouseLe CorbusierLewis MumfordLewis Mumford on The Citydid get a futurist house eventuallyThe Entire History of YouMusic All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. Spiralsr beny Fall Creek Unitr beny Live 182801r beny Pinesr beny Crystals & Gravesr beny Volca Keys Arp Jamr beny Credits Design 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... Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. EnviraBlue Dot SessionsOur Digital CompassBlue Dot SessionsSvela TalBlue Dot SessionsTolls FollyBlue Dot Sessions Credits Design 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... Links The Sword in the StoneWart eats a bugIt is important to use your hands. This is what distinguishes you from a cow or a computer operator Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. RespirationPodington Bear Transit CenterPodington Bear TwinePodington Bear The DirtyPodington Bear Free RadicalsPodington Bear LlebPodington Bear DataPodington Bear Dark MatterPodington Bear RythnPodington Bear Credits Design 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... Links Split-flap displaysSaying Goodbye to Philadelphia's 30th Street Station's Iconic Flip BoardBERG's Pixel TrackBERG's archived home page Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. Arbic TallowBlue Dot SessionsFall Creek Unitr benyErviraBlue Dot SessionsKalstedBlue Dot SessionsArbinacBlue Dot SessionsLevangerBlue Dot Sessions Credits Design 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? Links Who 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 AttentionJared Lanier on micropaymentsThe Roosevelts Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. Greyleaf WillowBlue Dot SessionsRainy Day DroneBlue Dot SessionsFall Creek Unitr benyLoamPodington BearEE2 Ambientr benyWiltr benyE2 Ambient Electro Jamr beny Credits Design 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... Links It's a Mistake to Mistake Content for ContentIn the Kingdom of the Bored, the One-Armed Bandit is KingAmish HackersKevin Kelly speaking at GoogleWhat Technology Wants Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. Bloomr benyCyclotrakBlue Dot SessionsSvela TalBlue Dot SessionsTralagaBlue Dot SessionsExceter LaskBlue Dot Sessions Credits Design 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 DanielleTimelapse of the Imperceptible Effects of Aging Created from Family PortraitsNoah takes a photo of himself every day for 12.5 yearsHomer Simpson Time LapseNancy Grows Up41 Years in 60 SecondsThe Arrow of TimeStar Trek TNG - Moriarty pleads his case for existenceStranger than Fiction - Harold confronts the necessity of his deathMemento MoriMusic All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. DanielleTogether We Are Stronger,KomikuI Need to Start Writing Things DownChris ZabriskieThe Dark Glow of the MountainsChris ZabriskieI Used to Need the ViolenceChris ZabriskieOut of the Skies Under the EarthChris ZabriskieCredits Design 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.

When so many problems of existence remain unsolved, we haven't earned the luxury of smartphones. So this is an intervention. A challenge to the status quo of waste and distraction and triviality and short-term pile-on that is our way of life here in 2019... Links Give it a second! It's going to spaceDan Honstill doesn't have clean watera machine that turns feces into drinkable waterIt’s In the Bag! Teenager Wins Science Fair, Solves Massive Environmental Problem Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. InvictaBlue Dot SessionsBloomr benyElectribe 2 Meets System 1r beny4-Track Cassette Droner benyCommaBlue Dot Sessions Credits Design 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.

What is it about robots that compels us to create them? And what does it say about a culture that makes machine surrogates despite not having reached a consensus about why to make them in the first place? In this episode, we'll explore the robots taking over our world, and the agenda behind them... Links hitchBOTGoogleWikipediadrumming robotspring-making robotmany uses of springswas a beer runcompeting directly with UPS and FedExThe permanent transitionthree laws of roboticsOne Thing Real QuickHow to Keep Yourself Sane in Faketopia Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. Blue Dot SessionsBlue Dot Sessionsr benyr benyBlue Dot SessionsBlue Dot SessionsBlue Dot SessionsBlue Dot SessionsBlue Dot Sessions Credits Design 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.

What are our ideas worth? Are they as valuable as we think they are? And what might change about how we act on our ideas once we start thinking differently about how we value them and how unique they really are? In this episode, we'll explore how simultaneous ideas and discoveries throughout history show that ideas and minds probably work differently than we think... Links The Discovery of EndorphinsWho invented Electricity?List of multiple discoveriesTheory of MultiplesDueling Movies are a real thingWhat is an idea worth? Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. Ultraviolet Clouds Cloner benyBloomr benyFlashing RunnerBlue Dot SessionsCanopyr benyPassing StationBlue Dot SessionsE2 Ambient Xr beny Credits Design 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.

They say that practice makes perfect. I'll settle for "practice makes good," thank you very much! In this episode of Design Tomorrow, we'll explore what it means to practice - what there is in repetition that can help us to get better. Not just at what we do, but also at who we are. Links Alfred DecredicoBalancing Data with IntuitionThe Way to Make Good Things is to Make Many Things Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. Arctic DrabaBlue Dot SessionsBut Enough About Me Bill PaxtonIllumination Ritualr benyDrift & Divider benyBlue Dot SessionsVolca FM Meets POr beny Credits Design 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.

There are very few people left on Earth for whom the world isn't shaped by computers or seen through their screens. But does it have to be this way? In this episode, we'll explore how screens — and the images they reveal — are just as much a manifestation of the world from which they come as they are the raw materials of a story about the next one: the future... Links The IBM Portable PC 5155Blade RunnerOpening SceneHuman Progress Landscapethe Sony VAIO Digital StudioJony Ive's magical voice for Apple marketingTronLightbike SceneThe Matrix"What is Real?" scenethe Nostromo boot sequenceAlienThe Lawnmower Man'sdisconnecting sceneWhat Technology WantsWarGamesThe WOPR introduction scene Music With the exception of a brief sample from a live performance of Kraftwerk in 1978, all music used in this episode was independently produced and shared with Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use by Able Parris of kamuter. StratosfearkamuterDiscoverykamuterthe robots (live)FrequencykamuterTerraformkamuterInterrogationkamuter Some of My Favorite Independent Media Year of the MeteorFat GoldDesert OracleMysterious UniverseLogic MagazineHurry SlowlyAquarium Drunkard Credits Design 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.

As long as we've been self-aware, we've desired companionship. And yet, we are not enough for one another; we hunger for something more - something that folklore, imaginary friends, and now technology have attempted to satisfy. Today, we stand at a crossroads beyond which is a future full of artificial lives. What kinds of minds will we create for ourselves? And what kind of future will those minds make for us? Links The Measure of a ManHerBe Right BackTHX 1138confession sceneWhen her best friend died, she rebuilt him using artificial intelligencePADDsa lot of them Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. MDr benyBut Enough About Me, Bill PaxtonChris ZabriskieCities Sleep Like Seedsr benyThe Sea's Sullen Greenr benyEmpty Grindsr benyGlistenr beny Credits Design 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 more time passes, the faster it feels it's moving. It's an illusion, of course, but does that really matter? If you feel like it's moving faster, it might as well be. The shrinkiness of time is part of the human condition. But the secret you may not know is that you can slow it down. You can get your time back. Here are eight ways... Links Life is Shortboiling frogMy preferred notebookDeep Work Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. Morning ColorwheelBlue Dot SessionsMachinationBlue Dot SessionsOur Digital CompassBlue Dot SessionsBasinr benyEcrins Eurorack Ambientr benyCold SummersBlue Dot SessionsFull Blossom of the Eveningr beny Credits Design 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.

Progress is something we all try to work toward, but how do we really know if we're making any? And if progress isn’t permanent, is it progress at all? In this episode, we'll explore progress and the ways that certain forms of it actually trap us in the past... Links A Short History of ProgressWhat is Progress Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. Early Renaissance MusicWestern Sycamorer benyOur Digital CompassBlue Dot SessionsString Theoryr benyTraditional Polynesian MusicBurlr benyJune 12, 2014r benyDulcinea Eurotrack Modular Ambientr beny Credits Design 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're all using voice interfaces now — a thing of science fiction now very much in our reality. But it turns out that feelings — things like fear, loneliness, trust, and desire — play just as much of a role in the way these machines work than do databases and code... Links Data talks to the ComputerJosh.aiJosh promotional videoWe Are Hopelessly Hooked on TechnologyB.J. FoggTristan Harris on the needed design renaissance Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. Mercurial VisionBlue Dot SessionsI Can't Imagine Where I'd Be Without ItChris ZabriskieCascade Symmetryr benyAuroralr benySidrax Organ Black Fountainr benyElatanGustav Landin Credits 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.

In a world as crowded with technological tools for measuring our progress as ours is, sometimes the best way to see how far we've come is, literally, in our own hands and on our own faces. In this episode, we'll discuss a simple exercise you can do to test your perspective and how well it accounts for other people, not just you. Links A 30-second test to determine whether your boss is a gem or a jerk Music All music used in this episode is independently produced and licensed by Design Tomorrow for non-commercial use. The TerrariumBlue Dot SessionsMercurial VisionBlue Dot SessionsNovation Peak Ambient r benyThe Fossils of Intentionr benyPaper Houser beny Credits 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. After-Credits Links Joy's LawTingbotWeb Decay GraphRedesigning a blog to meet business objectivesYou're ending your emails wrongMan plays Beatles song on guitar while undergoing brain surgeryGoodnight Dune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.