Automotive designer Robert Cumberford writes about The Best Racing Car Design of All Times – the Bugatti Type 35 – in Automobile Magazine. Great read and the Bugatti is a timeless beauty.

If you are open to changing the conversation, you will enjoy IBM’s (IBM) 80 page report on The Enterprise of The Future. The introduction from the site:

“What will The Enterprise of the Future be like? What will your business look like in five years, or even ten? While we don’t have a crystal ball to provide all the answers, The IBM Global CEO Study sheds light on what the future may hold.

Through interviews with 1,130 business and public sector leaders worldwide in 45 countries, the IBM Global CEO Study provides new and compelling perspectives on strategic issues such as global integration, new and changing customer groups, and business model innovation — facing organizations of all sizes.

Only those organizations that understand and prepare to address the new realities of the integrated market will be able to harvest its full potential.”

The report includes some interesting insights, facts, questions to consider about your own business, and several case studies. A quick and informative read. Highly recommended.

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn speaks with BusinessWeek earlier this year in Ghosn Hits The Accelerator. While the article gives mixed reviews of his performance – sales, profits and stock prices are down for both Renault and Nissan this past year – what I found insightful is Ghosn perspective on brands and consumers. Continuing on the theme of “think globally, act locally” Ghosn promotes Renault and Nissan designing for local tastes with the flexibility to export a design fast to meet consumer trends elsewhere.

When it comes to consumers, Ghosn is all about being prepared rather than trying predict: “We can’t know what consumers will want 10 years out.” But generally he is betting on smaller engines, smaller vehicles, and higher fuel economy due to the probable rise in gas prices. In green technology, he is stressing all-electric vehicles (EVs) more than gas-electric hybrids: “People used to think electric cars were ugly, hard to drive, and unsafe, but it’s completely different now.”

Navigators, a running series by the San Francisco Chronicle Business staff profiles prominent business leaders in the San Francisco Bay Area who are managing their way through the severe economic downturn. The December 23 profile on Virgin America President and CEO David Cush caught my interest as I am a big fan of the airline.

Some insightful quotes by David:

The economy – “In the end, during tough times, what matters is putting out a great product that people want to buy. As long as you are doing that, at the right price, everything is going to be OK.”

Their audience – “We can’t be the airline for everyone. We have a very specialized product, we have a very specialized target audience and we are going to make sure we do not catch the disease a lot of airlines do, which is to decide they can be everything to everyone and they outgrow their business model.”

You can read the complete profile here.

Brand Engine core values + long-term client success = great story. At Brand Engine we live sustainability. And when one of our clients is recognized for their environmental efforts, we like to brag. In Good for Earth, Good for Business, a San Francisco Chronicle Business article by George Raine, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) ranks number 11 of 63 large businesses graded on their environmental record. The ranking was done by Ceres, a Boston group that joins investors and environmentalist to promote that going green makes good business sense (and I completely agree).

From the article – HP… is nearly three years ahead of schedule to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of its products and operations to 20% below 2005 levels by 2010, and went on to increase its overall target to a 25% reduction.

Over the past year, Brand Engine has contributed to communicating HP’s commitment to the environment. We helped re-launch HP Eco Highlights, a labeling program to inform consumers on the environmental features and impact of HP consumer products.

Stay tuned for the case study.

Are you happy? As we celebrate the new year, Chopra writes about happiness during the recession on his blog. What makes you truly happy?

Going through my “must read and insight” file, I want to share some business facts on Apple that you may not be aware of. These are from an article The MAC in the Gray Flannel Suit published earlier this year (May 2008) in BusinessWeek.

1. From 2002 to 2007, Apple total sales have grown from $5.2 billion to $24 billion
2. Apple share price has risen 2,300% in the same 5 years giving a market capitalization of $154 billion, topping the likes of HP, Dell and Intel.
3. Sales growth for Apple Macs have outpaced overall PC sales the last three years by 3:1 or greater
4. Average sales price for Apple Macs are 50% higher than the industry average
5. Apple Mac market share is up almost 100% in the last three years
6. Apple’s net margin last year at 15.1% was 2 or 3 time greater than HP (7.3%) and Dell (4.8%)

WOW! How is this possible? Apple is not the biggest computing company in terms of people or offices. And their product offering is dwarfed by most competitors. My perspective is that Apple has mastered the core fundamentals of branding and embraced it into their business culture.

You can do it as well. To start, answer the three core business questions: what do you do, whom do you do it for, and why it is compelling. And get very focused. This is where most businesses get it wrong. Yes your audience includes a wide range of people, and you need to focus on that one person who really “gets” your product. Have a meaningful conversation with her and you will reach everyone you want to reach and more. Not convinced? Reread the six business facts on Apple above.

If you are open to learning more about how you can design a successful, sustainable brand read my article on Designing Sustainable Brands: Parts 1 and 2.

On a recently flight on Southwest, I came across this insightful and humorous article on Owner’s Manual: Six rules will tell you how to read instruction guides in the in-flight magazine Spirit. I could identify with all six rules. My most used rule is #3: Every problem can be solved by turning the unit off, then turning it back on. It works about 90% of the time. As a designer, the rule that resonated with me the most was rule #1: If the product needs a manual longer that one page, the designer failed. As someone who also follows rule #2: No one reads manuals, I agree that if your product is not simple and intuitive to use, get back to the drawing board.

Complexity and over-featured are out, simplicity and focused purpose are in. Take for example the iPhone, no owner’s manual in the box — just the phone, charger and headphones. I think if you want an owner’s manual, you can download it from the Apple website. I wonder how many have gone to the trouble of downloading and reading the manual rather than asking a friend or just trying what you want it to do? The iPhone invites exploration. And that openness to allowing your customer to explore and learn new abilities of your product or ways to use it builds brand loyalty.

As you revisit the owner’s manuals of your products, change the conversation from protecting against product liability to building brand loyalty.

Another great article in Metropolis Magazine reminding us that “jones-ing” has no age limit and design is not just a pretty face. Philip Nobel writes about his mid-life reintroduction to skateboards. Beyond a vehicle to capture the joy of his teen years, Nobel sheds light on the design revolution that has taken skateboards from fashion and sports into “…the most efficient, elegant form of urban transportation…” You decide.

I stumbled upon this link while looking for new clothes from our resident wiener dog, Alfie. From their jackets and beds made from recycled plastics, to the recycled neck-tie collars and leashes, it is nice to see someone doing things the right way… in style!

Visit Annie’s Sweatshop for more details.