Insights curated by Experientia, the UX research and design consultancy
Insights curated by Experientia, the UX research and design consultancy
Category Europe
Creative communities: a bottom-up perspective on welfare and local development
Europe losing education race, study shows
Europe is falling behind Asia in terms of education and skills, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and released today by the Lisbon Council. It blames France and Germany which are criticised for…
What do European businesses and citizens think of widespread RFID use?
E-revolution forces Danes online [BBC]
Denmark was the first country in the world to make public services available online and is now going a step further – forcing its citizens online. Since the beginning of February, for instance, companies dealing with state institutions must submit…
Ethnographic study on shopping in Paris airports
Aeroports de Paris presents the first ethnographic study about men’s buying behaviour in an airport. This unprecedented survey was carried out in January 2006. In an airport environment, a man travelling on his own becomes a true shopper: He is…
Berlin comes in from the cold [Financial Times]
Sixteen years after the Wall came down, the German capital looks like a mess: it’s virtually bankrupt, unemployment is rampant and the property market is dismal. To all intents the city is a failure – but its reborn creativity makes…
What Ikea could teach Alitalia [Business Week]
Design Continuum CEO Gianfranco Zaccai imagines an airline that strives to provide an overwhelmingly positive customer experience I recently visited Boston’s new Ikea store with my two young children. A few days later, I flew to Italy on my usual…
Creativity and design to transform a former coalmine area
The former coalmine area of Zollverein has become a symbol of structural change in the Ruhrgebiet of Germany. The large scale interventions taking place there are an example of how creative industries can become the engine of economic transformation. After…
EU to challenge MIT with new institute [AP | CNN]
The European Union is to unveil plans Wednesday for the creation of a rival to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reflecting fears that academic standards are slipping further behind the United States and risk being overtaken by China and India.…
Historic city of Bath to host wireless experiment [Reuters | CNN]
Britain’s historic city of Bath is to host an experiment in advanced wireless computer technology that could provide the blueprint for developing the world’s next generation of mobile phones and lap-tops. Called Cityware, the project will see 30 volunteers using…
Mattel workshop on play experiences for the next generation
Looking to generate new ideas about the future of play, Mattel invited the Interaction Design Institute to present concepts during its company-wide Play Experiences for the Next Generation workshop. Children discover the world through play. Playing shapes human mental and…
Creativity and innovation for public authorities
The UK Design Council provides some interesting case studies of what creativity and innovation can do to public procurement and regional and local authorities. Borough of Tower Hamlets – Idea Store Libraries in the London borough of Tower Hamlets were…
Fins launch European network of Living Labs
The Finnish EU Presidency will launch a European Network of Living Labs – Co-creation of innovation in public, private and civic partnership on November 21, 2006. This is the first step towards a New European Innovation System (EIS). A European…
LIFT conference live
Plenty of people seem to be blogging at the 2006 LIFT conference, taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, today and tomorrow. Just this check this overview. Bruno Giussani is my personal favourite, because of his capability to condense the talks in…
European Centre for the Experience Economy
Following the publication of Pine & Gilmore’s book “The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage”, the University of Amsterdam founded the European Centre for the Experience Economy to create a place and network for fundamental academic…
Project Finland, cyber diplomacy with a child’s view
Some years ago, the media office at the Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C. saw the potential and possibilities of investing time and effort on children as a novel target group for building relations and international understanding. This was the…
Practice-based and user-driven innovation in small communities
Finnish designer Ulla-Maaria Mutanen (aka The HobbyPrincess) argues that small communities will have to radically change their innovation policy in the near future. This will include the moving from strictly institutional, business-oriented idea of innovation and competence development towards an…
Challenges of Design Promotion in Europe [Business Week]
Business Week reports on the recent Challenges of Design Promotion in Europe conference which drew new attention to areas where European businesses excel — and fall short A recent conference in Paris, called Challenges of Design Promotion in Europe and…
Experientia attending LIFT conference
Experientia partner Jan-Christoph Zoels will be attending the meanwhile sold out LIFT conference next week. If some of the Putting People First readers are going to Geneva as well, do seek him out. Aside from his role in Experientia, Jan-Christoph…