Tue, 03/22/2011 | Co.Design: business + innovation + design

March 22 2011

Innovation Always Starts With Empathy; Look at Zipcar and Even Apple

[This post is a rebuttal to one previously written by Jens Martin Skibsted and Rasmus Bech Hansen, "User-Led Innovation Can't Create Breakthroughs; Just Ask Apple and Ikea." ? Ed.]

User research has been a critical part of Ziba's design process for more than 25 years, and we're not alone. Long before the term User Centered Design (UCD) was coined in the 1980s, the world's smartest companies have relied on insights gained from their customers to innovate.

L.A.'s Holocaust Museum Creates a Quiet Oasis Amid City’s Bustle [Slideshow]

L.A.'s Holocaust Museum Creates a Quiet Oasis Amid City’s Bustle [Slideshow]

Santa Monica-based Belzberg Architects has sent us breathtaking images of its new Holocaust museum in Los Angeles. Completed last fall, the design looks like plenty of other Holocaust memorials out there -- it's got a somber, Spartan aesthetic and lots of curving concrete (the material is actually Shotcrete, a sort of concrete lite) -- with one notable addition: a massive green roof.

A Toothbrush That Doubles as a Tube of Toothpaste

We travel a lot, and with the TSA ruthlessly enforcing the 3.4-ounce-liquid, single-quart-baggie rule, we're always on the lookout for toiletries that'll help us breeze right through the security line.

So we were thrilled to stumble on Twist&Brush, a great concept by the Spanish designers Kawamura-ganjavian that crams a toothpaste dispenser and a toothbrush into one elegant little package.

Ayala Serfaty’s Jellyfish Lamps Are Both Genius and Creepy

Israeli designer Ayala Serfaty is known for her innovative bio-inspired textile design for lamps and lighting. But while her other lamps have a bulbous, diaphanous quality that's easy to love even if you don't think jellyfish are pretty, her "taltal" designs are a bit more avant-garde.

A Skull Carved From $11K in Cash [Slideshow]

A Skull Carved From $11K in Cash [Slideshow]

Scott Campbell is a tattoo artist in Brooklyn who got kinda? famous for inking cool-kid celebs like Marc Jacobs and Heath Ledger -- something he somehow managed to parlay into a place in the world of gallery art.

Infographic of the Day

Infographic of the Day: A Stunning 3-D Chart of Afghan Casualties

We're betting that the headline above will turn most people away and that's a crying shame, because today's infographic is stunning, beautiful, and incredibly moving. Only once in a blue moon do web-based infographics rise to this level.

Flow Lets You Split To-Do Lists With Others, Takes Aim at Basecamp

Flow, a prettified new web-based task manager just announced today, is hoping to upend the sorry state of to-do apps. Take a look:

Infographic of the Day

Infographic of the Day: Infographic: A Beautiful Cheat Sheet For Two Dozen Espresso-Based Drinks

Innovation by Design

The Amazing Judges For Our 2013 Innovation By Design Awards

From the Editor

Thanks for stopping by Fast Company’s Co.Design. If you’ve been a reader for some time, you’ll notice that we’ve just unveiled a brand-new redesign. You can read about the thought process behind it here. Our content, of course, will be the same: Our focus is on highlighting the world’s best examples of design and innovation, working in concert.

We started this site with a few simple premises in mind. First, design is a window onto the world at large, and the culture we live in.

Continued