Design for Good

Two decades after creating the World Wide Web, in a speech at an MIT symposium, Tim Berners-Lee said that "access to the web is now a human right". Probably not many people know, however, that only 25.6% of the world population has internet access. This means there are 5 billion people worldwide who ... Read More

In a previous post, Teddy Zareva wrote about a biodegradable urn made by the Spanish designer Martin Azua that turns you into a tree when you die. Big Think readers quickly warmed to this romantic notion of life after death in the form of "an eco solution," and the post went viral. One big thinker ... Read More

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after military service went by many names before it was recognized as a legitimate condition. “Shell shock,” “combat fatigue” and “soldier’s heart” are among the more recent terms for the haunting anxiety problems that some military personnel endure after combat ... Read More

Here are three interesting items that make the process of packing, eating and separating trash a bit more practical, fun, and smart.  I love the idea behind the packaging of one of the world's most expensive olive oils, El Verd Del Poaig. It's design was done by Spanish studio CuldeSac and it's ... Read More

Nature doesn't litter, people do. In the US that trash amounts to 1.4 billion pounds per day. And 40% of that is packaging. Recently, Greenpeace tried to provoke the global community portraying Barbie as a serial killer because of her addiction to cheap packaging. I personally think that ... Read More

1.3 trillion bricks are manufactured each year worldwide. 10% of them are made by hand in coal-fired ovens, emitting on average 1.4 pounds of carbon per brick or 800 million tons of carbon per year. In countries like China and India where the kilns are outdated this process is one of the major ... Read More

A year ago, Ronald Shaich, the founder of Panera Bread, one of the biggest restaurant chains in the States, decided to try something different. He opened the Panera Cares Community Café in Colorado, an establishment that looked like and sold the same things as all the rest of the Panera Breads out ... Read More

Iceland's 320 000 citizens all have a say in the writing of their new constitution. With the help of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr, the 25-member council drafting the constitution is reaching out to Icelanders to get their recommendations. Everyone registered with their name and address can ... Read More

"A building in a bag" is how engineering students Will Crawford and Peter Brewin describe their invention Concrete Canvas. It is a ground-breaking material technology that allows for the construction of concrete shelters in no time and only with the help of water and air.  The material the shelters ... Read More

There are so many global problems that we can’t even see. Like the fact that 670 million people lack access to vision correction and around 100 million children don’t have access to basic eyecare. Thankfully, there are people and organizations who not only see but also act to get these problems ... Read More

On a recent sushi night out, a friend of mine attempted to joke with the waitress asking her whether the sushi she had just served him was radioactive. She didn't find it funny and rightly so. It is a valid question after all, with everything that has been going on in Japan. It would be nice to have ... Read More

Yes, it is a Pocket Light, and you could actually keep it not only in your pocket but in your wallet as well, next to.. other useful items handy for engaging in romantic activities. The concept was originally created by Ryan Harc who was inspired by the blissful moments with his beloved and decided ... Read More

Have you had days that you would just like to erase out of existence? Or maybe burn away, collect the ashes and let the wind carry them as far away from you as possible? I have. Which is why I love the concept of this calendar made of matches.   The Energy calendar is the creation of Ukrainian ... Read More

A project, two years in the making, was revealed this week at the Computer Human Interaction conference in B.C. The device created by students from Texas A&M University is called ZeroTouch and looks like an empty picture frame. Don’t let the looks deceive you, though. It is equipped with infrared ... Read More

Celebration of creativity for creativity’s sake. That is the inspiration behind F5 film festival that took place in New York this April for a third year in a row. "Money might make the world go round, but it doesn’t necessarily help you jump out of bed every morning", say the organizers. I agree. ... Read More