This was synchronous because Intersections was exactly about the same thing – but within a different context, how design thinking can come to the aid of social innovation and also the commercial world, resulting in business transformation by exploring emerging trends in technology and design. The summit also turned its gaze to, sustainable design and the environment, as well as social design and collaborative practices. Because it is when two unlikes come together in close adjacency, creating an edge and an intersection real creativity happens.

I met some great people. I second Michael Thompson in congratulationing Andrea on becoming Associate Director of the Academy for Innovation and Research (AIR) and Head of the Centre for Sustainable Design at the University College Falmouth starting on 11th April, and the great job Andrea Siodmok and her team had done.

There was for me, a palpable sense that people genuinely wanted to make and create a better world, and I also think that the two days expamded peoples idea of what design is and could be – whilst still retaining the origins of what motivates design and craft – to create new forms and give them to the world as a civilizing force.

My presentation ended up becoming highly emotive as in the Q&A I discussed the extreme frustration I felt trying to educate my intelligent but dyslexic son in the state education system, with a very engaged audience. Here is my presentation for those that asked for it. #intersect

Here is the presentation that I gave.

I have to say I don’t think I have ever met such a driven individual whose sense of mission is so crystal clear and a lovely man to boot. Whilst many talk about this stuff, Jay has gone and done something to see if its possible. Today I will be speaking at Incubate 2.0 and Local Motors will be part of my story – it as NSL (No Straight Lines) approach to solving life’s seemingly intractable problems. Why is it NSL? Because Local Motors combines, not just the buzzword of the moment “co-creation” and “social media”, but; legal frameworks, a blended reality of online and offline engagement in R&D, design, engineering innovation, sales and marketing. Using low cost media and communication capability to make that possible and to reach and harness the collective intelligence of many people.

And perhaps what really attracts me to Jay, and people like Jay, is their passion, their desire to make the world afresh, to be bold. what we can learn from Jays company – many things I would argue. All SME’s should study Local Motors in understanding that taking a NSL approach to finding a sustainable solution without compromise would be well worth the time and the effort. More on SMLXL (open innovation, co-creation and Local Motors) Local Motors on YouTube

I new this event was going to be different when we arrived, though I was already excited because of the design of the event, and the quality of speakers. And I knew something special might happen, when on the first day sitting in the faded grandeur of the ballroom, we were asked to close our eyes by a Tibetian Lama, and to take the red, white and blue pill for inner peace and harmony, to feel the quietness of the inner body. We all did it, it felt really weird and it felt really really good.

Yes we were all there because in some way or another, the idea of connectivity and communications enabled by mobile technologies was the gravitational pull, yet the agenda I can tell you was as broad as the diversity on this planet. Favourite speaker was, Kazi Islam – CEO, Grameenphone IT, Dhaka, Bangladesh, as his message to us was compelling and humbling. His statistics of the probability of too many people that will never make it beyond child birth, to the age of 5, the chance of obtaining clean water or an education to lift them out of poverty – forced us all to pause and think what we filled our days up with – we were he told us in the 0.01% percentile blessed in so many ways that we all take for granted.

I also felt there was a desire to want to effect change, to build the world afresh, but also that we could do this by also making money, redistributing wealth, and creating a more equitable society.

The Open Space and Future Cube experience, where speakers and attendee’s collaborated together to look at for example, Justice, Wealth Distribution, Emerging Markets, Media, was part of the special part of this journey of discovery for us all. So we were actively working together to look at problems and trying to discover/design solutions. Paul Bay spoke so elegantly about media being sensorial, emotive, and fluid. S if you did not go missed something special and if you did it was an honour to hang out with you all.

Emerging Markets Future Cube. Very intense very productive

Ralf Rottman wrote:

When Peter Giblin and Harald Neidhardt set out on their journey to create the MLOVE concept, there was one key driving factor: Putting the people back into the center of everything. Many, if not all, business events and conferences are grouped around the central concept of an audience and speakers. Two distinct roles. Some who listen. Some who talk.

While “a great chance to network” is on every agenda these days, I never quite experienced it as intense, as enriching as during the MLOVE days. Both, for work and for my personal life.

It was this intensity of engagement that made this event special, the only other experience that has moved me as much is the Do Lectures, And the art projected onto the facade of the schloss was something that took this whole experience onto another level, created by these very special people.

As the Beatles sang, All You Need is Love.

It was said that Alan Moore sounded like a character from a Guy Ritchie movie at his SXSW keynote. Skyping in from Over, England (a village outside Cambridge), Suz and Alan talk about our collective responsibility to leverage open social systems, global connectivity, consciousness and lightweight (green) business practices to the way we strategically create companies in the future. More on No Straight Lines. My SXSW presentation. Do Lecture (Video)

Proudly calling itself “the world’s first fully-specified mass production workstation made entirely of cardboard”, this is the Paperweight Desk, from British company Cardboard Future Ltd.

“We are aware that cardboard furniture has enjoyed a mixed press over the last fifty years,” says Chief Executive Rod Fountain, “and it is going to take an exceptional product to win over the cynics. But we think we are launching the right product at the right time – it’s elegant, very strong, extremely eco-friendly, and excellent value for money.

Via Eqsuire

The founders say

The cardboard box changed the world, but that was 150 years ago.  Since then this fabulously versatile material has enjoyed a modest press, but in the environmentally sensitive, cost-conscious world of 2009 its time may have come.

This autumn we launch a range of fun and practical furniture products for the home and office made entirely of pristine corrugated board, designed and built in England to mirror the mood of the times.

Simple, clean design combined with clever engineering makes these products extremely light, immensely strong, fully functional and excellent value for money.

Starting with the stunning Paperweight desk, we are rolling out a comprehensive product range to include storage, pedestals, book shelves, wardrobes, beds, and tables in a wide range of shapes and sizes.

More on the Do lectures

Riversimple explain

The Riversimple approach has five key elements:

A lightweight network electric vehicle, constructed from carbon composites and powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

[1] Open source design and development. Riversimple will invite the community to help develop its vehicles, by licensing its designs to the independent open source foundation 40 Fires.

[2] A service concept – we will lease cars not sell them. This aligns the interests of the manufacturer with the interests of the consumer and of the environment – everyone wants cars that have a long life span with maximum efficiency and minimum materials usage.

[3] Distributed manufacturing – The economies of scale of carbon composites frames are very different from those of steel-bodied vehicles. Riversimple vehicles are likely to be produced in small factories producing 5,000-10,000 vehicles per year.This allows for considerable local variation in the car.

[4] Broader ownership – The corporate structure of Riversimple is designed to ensure that all stakeholders in the enterprise have a fair say and share in the benefits of a successful business.

They say they believe that business can be a powerful force in addressing the greatest issues that face humanity. However, it cannot be business as usual. The business must be driven by a profound purpose, must be democratic in structure, must seek to give back to society more than it takes and must be highly flexible and responsive to changes in its environment.

I think we can say the riversimple subscribes to the values and idea of the No Straight Line rule.

Re*Move posts

Today, on the terrace behind London’s Somerset House, Riversimple launched the culmination of nine years research and development – their new open source, hydrogen powered city car. Like Local-Motors in the US (more on whom soon), Riversimple are utilising open source principals to design and develop a new car. But that’s only half the story. Riversimple have, in effect, today launched a blueprint for how the car industry could reinvent itself – with wholesale changes to the way vehicles are designed, how they’re fueled, where and how they’re built, and how they’re sold.

Re*Move go on

We’ve said before and we’ll say again, open, networked forms of design and collaboration are going to change how we solve many problems. They’ll also shape the future of our cities, towns and villages, how we work in them, the ways we move and interact in them, the vehicles we design and the way they fit together.

Mitch Altman talks open source and networked design

So if you want to follow the No Straight Line rule of doing something. Get over to and get stuck in with Ecotopia.

Become the change you want to see in the world.