Balance.......Part One

Balance…what a great concept.  As a product designer, I am always trying to find the right balance.  My customers are looking for safe, effective, fragrant formulas that are manufactured in America.  It is important that the product’s  packaging be appealing and add to the décor of their home.  They are also looking for a value so finding the right mix is not a small challenge.

Lately, my pet peeve is to bear witness to the outrageous misinformation campaigns conducted by “watch groups” and industry giants in an effort to define what is “natural or good for you” .  In my view, instead of providing accurate information their goal is rather to demonize ingredients that are perfectly safe, effective, affordable and by the way, in the case of the giants, are not present in their particular formulas.  Their claims often ignore current science and have no basis in fact.    They scare people needlessly and spread untruths because they can.  Unfortunately, these campaigns attempt and often succeed to force companies into make product development decisions that not only do not yield the best product, but also may not use our planet’s natural resources wisely.

I think it is important to check the science for safety ( http://www.cosmeticsinfo.org ) and then to balance the costs.  Is it is a good idea to use 4000 kilograms of rose petals to produce 1 kilogram of pure steam distilled rose otto for the desired product?  You should be the judge.  Check out this link.  It provides an interesting discussion and gives accurate balanced information with regard to the use of natural oils or synthetic fragrances in bath and body products:  http://www.pioneerthinking.com/lc_eos.html .

Got Any Ideas on Education?

Recently I attended a fascinating presentation given by Sir Ken Robinson about education.  That is a topic that resonates with most of us across the U.S.  I know I have been dissatisfied with the results of the system and horrified at the enormous cuts to public education over the past few years.  These are dismal times.  But I am encouraged because I know that often the best innovation occurs when a business is struggling.  So if we can just start talking perhaps we can rethink how we educate our kids, determine why we don’t get the best from them with our current system, tap the data and open our minds to finding a new way to nurture and capitalize on the enormous talents of every child.  Listening to Sir Ken is a good place to start.

Sir Ken Robinson is a visionary cultural leader.  He lead the British government's 1998 advisory committee on creative and cultural education, a massive inquiry into the significance of creativity in the educational system and the economy and was knighted in 2003 for his achievements.  He believes we need a system overhaul as he states in his book, “The fact is that given the challenges we face, education doesn't need to be reformed -- it needs to be transformed. The key to this transformation is not to standardize education, but to personalize it, to build achievement on discovering the individual talents of each child, to put students in an environment where they want to learn and where they can naturally discover their true passions.”

Sir Ken gives both an informative and HILARIOUS presentation.  Check him out on YouTube.  Changing Educational Paradigms at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U  AND start the discussion in your community!  Throw your ideas out for discussion.  As Sir Ken would say, “If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.”