Worthy News Items

GravityLight 1 prototype in situ

Two important and interesting items are in my feeds today, and are post-worthy here.

First up (shown above), a possible first-world solution to a third-world issue... GravityLight 2 is campaigning for funds to create jobs, manufacture, and bring LED light into the lives of many millions of people. GravityLight 2 IndieGoGo vid. From the campaign information... 'As well as designing GravityLight to provide a clean, safe and affordable alternative to kerosene lamps, we also want to create local jobs, skills and livelihoods for those who make and sell GravityLights.'  This is a brilliant idea, deserving of our consideration, and our backing. 

One the other hand, something inspirational & thought-provoking without an actual product...What Is "Design Fixation," And How Can You Stop It? The Premise - Your first design solution may not be the best. The Advice - Explore options, dig deep, get creative, look for multiple design solutions early. From the folks at LifeHacker: 'As design blog Fast Co. Design explains, money, time, or ego might make someone stick to their first idea, even if something better comes along. While creativity is an iterative process, you can bypass the tunnel vision that comes from focusing on a single idea by generating multiple ideas at the start. It helps even more if you can bring other people into that process to help challenge your ideas or offer alternative input.' This re-enforces a team approach, a collaborative process, and working less in isolation. I have long been an advocate for all that.

Bravo! Both Brilliant! ideas. h/t to both Gizmodo & LifeHacker.