Category: #function

What can you make from a box of wheat pops?

What can’t you make from a box of wheat pops? When you’re trying to solve the problem with technology there’s always a big temptation to start from scratch and build something completely bespoke, but it’s almost always the wrong approach. Better off thinking about what already exists and how it can be reused… This Thinkery…
Marmalabels

My eldest son is at it again. This time it’s funky labels for his mother’s freshly made Orange Marmalade. We keep this stuff in our cellar, so when we send one of the minions down for another jar (height restrictions mean it’s a yogic experience for the taller man…) there’s a collective marvelling at the…
Brand Refresh

“…creating a fresh brand for an organisation is tricky. In some ways it’s like buying a bold new coat. Liking it isn’t enough. You’ve actually got to wear it…” From this Visual Thinkery post about the collaborative process of refreshing the GO-GN brand.
Graphic Recording – it’s magic!

A quick guide to graphic recording, and the fact that it’s not actually magic, which you can read about in this Visual Thinkery blog post.
Whose Knowledge?

The lovely thing about Mozfest, is that you can rock up to a session, already in mid-flow, and learn new things from wonderful people. In fact, I think it’s the only way to do Mozfest; the best sessions are those you chance upon, that expose you to new worlds, and new people. Here’s a visual…
10 ideas

It’s a case of the cobbler’s shoes – I rarely find the time to think about how to articulate my own process, but this hot-air balloon really helped me out… How to create 10 visual ideas from a 1-hour conversation: https://visualthinkery.com/10-ideas/
Fresh Hope

I belong to a community church – and last weekend we gathered up our families and spent a retreat in a woodland adventure centre outside London. There was fresh hope, so I took some. It tasted good.
First Principles

Nothing’s ever fair, is it? If you’d like to wilfully lose 13 minutes of your busy life, you could watch this video on what makes a fair dice. What are the chances that you make it all the way to the end? Less than 1 in 6, I’d say…
Privacy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Business behaviour around use and exploitation of people’s data, is dictated by the local privacy law (or lack thereof). Julie Owono was speaking at Mozfest on research into sub-saharan subsidiaries of European telecoms companies. It’s no surprise really – capitalism is about capital, so everything is a possible resource waiting to be exploited.
Data in Oppressive Regimes

At Mozfest, I participated in a discussion on the use (monitoring / controlling / blocking) of data in oppressive regimes. Hearing the issues first hand from those who live there was horrifying. I realised how much I was completely unaware of. One clear call was the need for financially supporting homegrown communication platforms, as opposed…
19 Alternative Anniversaries

We’re married 19 years – what is that? Nearly Sapphire? Stainless Steel? Blotting paper? This year, instead of writing me a card to mark our 19th wedding anniversary, my wife thought it would be a good idea to come up with a list of alternative anniversaries. So, over a shared plate of restaurant nachos, we…
Blues Brother, Soul Sister

As my head hasn’t really returned from holidays yet, the rest of me is very susceptible to falling down a rabbit hole on the interwebs… Internet > Twitter > Aretha Franklin > The awesome “Think” scene from The Blues Brothers movie > The full movie on Netflix … Truth be told though, Aretha Franklin has…