The imagination of nature is far, far greater than the imagination of man.
—
Essays Archive
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The curse of the innovation age
Posted on July 21, 2010 | View Comments“The global economy’s problem isn’t best seen as a lack of demand. But as an oversupply of toxic, industrial age junk.” . This remark, by Umair Haque, is intriguing because usually, the uninterrupted supply of industrial junk is seen as the very motor of economic... -
The luxury (r)evolution
Posted on May 31, 2010 | View CommentsImagine a room filled with characters like Bernault Arnault of LVMH; Matteo Marzotto of Valentino; Umberto Angeloni of BRIONI; Ferruccio Ferragamo; Santo Versage aka the ‘luxury royalty’. Where would this room be? Exactly – I’ve guessed you read the title: Hong Kong. Once in a... -
Where will luxury go?
Posted on March 29, 2010 | View CommentsThe high of the crisis is over. During it, we’ve learned how to look at ourselves. We saw what we have being doing, now it is time to assess the damage and try to change our ways. The same goes for luxury brands. In order... -
Designthinking: How to convert need into demand
Posted on January 28, 2010 | View CommentsWhile the 20th century seemed to focus solely on the enterprise as an economic unit, the 21st century shows a shift in this focus. A shift towards a more customer-focused approach, where design is not the shiny layer around a crappy product, but a new... -
Affordable luxury
Posted on January 20, 2010 | View CommentsWhat a lot of people may already know – but are afraid to say is that friendships now have price tags, and dinner guests are gauged, thanks to our current economical state. Some of us will go all out for a good friends’ birthday: there... -
Keep on playing to fly up high
Posted on January 18, 2010 | View CommentsIt was in San Francisco that I found myself caught by the view of two crows playing together high up in the air. It looked like they were dancing together, teasing each other now and then. Did you know that crows can fly upside down?... -
2009: What I’ve learned
Posted on December 28, 2009 | View CommentsFor almost ten years I’ve been a fan and subscriber of Esquire magazine (the original, US version, not the weak surrogate that is the Dutch issue), and one of my favorite parts has been the ‘What I’ve Learned’ section. It has long been my personal... -
How ‘social’ are social media. Online civil rights.
Posted on December 15, 2009 | View CommentsHow ‘social’ are social media? People are spending hours and hours on their twitter, Facebook, myspace, linkedin and so on. When we see people spending that much time somewhere, you’re wondering if they discovered a whole new world out there. I know that there are... -
Donuts through Social Welfare
Posted on December 8, 2009 | View CommentsIt has been a while since the last Donut. That last Donut left me with a bitter taste. It’s time to sweeten up the glazing a bit and find out if this bitter taste was legitimate. In other words; was the critique I had on... -
Monkey see, monkey do.
Posted on December 6, 2009 | View CommentsAs a man the following might sound a bit weird coming from me, but I think that all a man wants to do is to emulate another man. That’s it. We want to be him: the guy that gets the girls, drinks his whisky, drives... -
Lessons to become a great leader
Posted on December 1, 2009 | View CommentsPicture a horse. Picture its elegant, muscular body and its ability to move perfectly despite its weight of over 400 kilos and realize at the same time that although the horse is much stronger than you it is ready and willing to serve you. I... -
The power of authenticity
Posted on November 16, 2009 | View CommentsOne of the greatest things in marketing is authenticity. Why? Because it’s the one thing that really connects with people. It’s a basis for trust, it’s interesting. It cannot be faked. Because it’s only found in people who really care. For most businesses, it seems,... -
Become an innovation champion!
Posted on November 9, 2009 | View CommentsTo survive in tomorrow’s economy, it takes more than comparing yesterday with today and extrapolate into the future. That’s why only those companies that have the ability to rethink and re-imagine their core strategies will thrive in the future. Those that fail to embrace change... -
Battle positions!
Posted on November 5, 2009 | View CommentsGuerilla marketing is getting more and more a great way to send your brand message out there. It gives marketing professionals an opportunity to use an original, cheap and innovative platform. Unfortunately in the Netherlands it looks like the guerrilla troops aren’t well equipped to... -
Money has to be made, not earned
Posted on October 26, 2009 | View CommentsIt was only this week that I found out about the DSB debacle. “Where have you lived!” a friend asked me. I hardly ever watch television, and I am reading a great book that withdrew my attention from looking through the newspapers. After a quick... -
Do you speak ‘Lateral’ ?
Posted on October 16, 2009 | View CommentsA millionaire – let’s call him Ben, walks into a popular bank in the middle of New York City and requests to speak to a loan officer. He doesn’t alert the staff to his immense riches, he simply says he’s going away on business for... -
New & yummy!: Creative Destruction Fondue!
Posted on October 12, 2009 | View CommentsBefore I start – By giving this essay once again a title referring to food (for which I’m sorry for!) I’m participating on this little experiment that Wouter started out. We want to subliminally manipulate all Klatergoud.com readers to eat stuff while reading an article... -
Checkmate, remise, or a losing game?
Posted on September 22, 2009 | View CommentsWe can definitely say that the character of the internet shifted. I don’t have to tell the readers of Klatergoud.com what Web 1.0 was and what web 2.0 is. In fact, the readers of this article probably will have two or three more browser windows... -
Donuts past Middle-Clash
Posted on September 13, 2009 | View Comments“The position of starting businessmen, who emerge out of social security, is of great importance to the Dutch economy. Their conflicting situation is illustrating how little thought their struggle really gets.” Frank Kalshove; De Volkskrant, zaterdag 13 juni, Economie [1] The article explains how the... -
A little tale about generators, magnets and coils
Posted on August 12, 2009 | View CommentsThe year is 1831, when Michael Faraday – an English scientist, discovers he can move a needle of a compass if he links it with a magnet and moves a copper coil back and forth just above it. After a public demonstration of this miraculous... -
Talented Donut – Business in Housing
Posted on July 29, 2009 | View CommentsHow does one find talent or even better; If you have a talent, in what way do you get it ‘out there’!? And what the hell does ‘out there’, actually mean? These questions are hard and complex especially when it concerns your own talent, and... -
Added value
Posted on July 14, 2009 | View CommentsIn our market there is a shift going on from production to creation. No longer are expensive, exhaustively branded products desirable. Handcrafted and authentic goods are getting a growing attention. There is no fun in paying large amounts of money for something the whole city... -
Working on a box of donuts
Posted on May 4, 2009 | View CommentsIt seems from the perspective of a designer that initiating a design concept sometimes seems identical as undergoing a personal or business initiative. In both cases the goal is uncertain and not always achievable, but one always demands a high-quality end result. Considering methods that... -
Don’t run when chased by a bear
Posted on April 20, 2009 | View CommentsWe are facing a ‘bear’ market. This term is used to describe a downward movement in economics. A ‘bull’ market is the opposite. Often referred to as pessimistic and optimistic viewpoints, respectively. Consider yourself in the woods, facing a bear. You should remember that you... -
Let’s put the fish on the menu
Posted on April 6, 2009 | View CommentsBy: Maureen van Althuis our new contributor. As fish in the ocean, ideas float around us in the open air. Hence, the creation of ideas is not our share. We are not the ones who create ideas, we are the ones who need to catch... -
Building creative business, part 1
Posted on March 22, 2009 | View CommentsRecently, in a rant, I arrived at the conclusion that designers should be more entrepreneurial and business savvy. It’s a thought that I have been chewing on for quite a while, and while I don’t have any definite answers, I feel that the advisory, hired... -
Ok, I’ve had it.
Posted on March 9, 2009 | View CommentsLet’s make one thing clear upfront: there is nothing wrong with pretty things. Beautiful objects, moments, people etc. are what make life worthwhile. Fashion, for example, is an ultimate expression of self, and although temporal it’s not at all shallow or superfluous. Look at Africa,... -
A Great & ‘Social’ Idea
Posted on March 1, 2009 | View CommentsAs we recently witnessed in last couple of years, the majority of new ventures arose in the area of the Internet, the health sector or in the software industry. It would be a misconception to believe these are the only areas where true opportunity exists.... -
How is luxury going to survive?
Posted on February 19, 2009 | View CommentsIt’s hard, but basically – it’s time to face the facts: In this global economic downturn, even rich consumers are taking a deeper look, and more carefully weighing purchase decisions – much to the discomfort of marketers worldwide. Every luxury brand fears the critical eye... -
The State of our happiness
Posted on February 3, 2009 | View CommentsWe Dutch have a sacred belief in the state. In such extend that every day we are deeply disappointed that the State did not solve all our problems. In countries where the state is not strong or not trusted, corrupt, or even yet to be... -
Innovation at KLM?
Posted on January 22, 2009 | View CommentsThe past seven months I spent most of my days at KLM headquarters. Here I conducted my graduation project to finish my master in strategic product design. My original assignment was to develop a vision for KLM on what the flight of the future should look... -
Innovation in a pressure cooker
Posted on January 12, 2009 | View CommentsI’ve been reading A Day at elBulli over the holidays, and almost every page was a great source of insights and ideas. Although the book is about the famous elBulli restaurant in Rosas, Spain, it is by no means a cookbook, but rather an intimate... -
The 5th P = Porn
Posted on November 24, 2008 | View CommentsRecently I’ve read an article about Adrian van Hooydonk, BMW’s brand chief designer. This Dutch-born designer raced up the ranks at BMW from his first job sketching cars at BMW’s Munich studio to become BMW brand chief designer in only 12 years. Van Hooydonk, now... -
What lies behind the cashew(pea)nut butter
Posted on October 28, 2008 | View CommentsWhile at a birthday party I got engaged in a fierce discussion about the difference of an functional benefit and a emotional benefit for a brand or product. Ok, for starters – not to come over as your average nerd with a limited interest in...