smithHOUSE

03/24/2022

*NEW BLOG* 😎

So it's been a pretty serious couple of years, hasn't it? Let's have some fun. Here are some designers having fun and bringing a little bit of magic too! These are fun illusions and playful products that bring delight and mischief into ordinary places.

03/11/2022

*NEW BLOG* The digital world is crowded with charming people who've achieved outrageous success. You meet them by way of a video ad, and are invited to attend their online courses. You have doubts, but what's really going on? (Spoiler: Conmen Love Social Media)

In the last blog, I warned young people about the conmen that float about in trusted circles–in your community, around the university, and even your church. If you haven’t yet, go read it. This blog is different. I want to expose younger, savvier conmen who use social media and our modern tools ...

12/10/2021

NEW VIDEO! Don't waste your time pretending.

Think twice before you follow the course of other influencers.

10/06/2021

New in the blog...

This is an open letter to young people. I want to warn you about the conmen you will soon encounter in your professional life. These people are confident, charming, and seem very successful. But they are posers. They will bring you down. They will ruin your dreams.

09/29/2021

New in the blog... if you’ve been waiting for a sign, this is it: it’s time for you to take a chance.

A great many of people never outgrow the self-doubt that began in high school. It may not show up in that high school topics and interactions, but it’s still there throughout adulthood. Ultimately, this self-doubt leads very capable and talented people to hesitate in the face of opportunity.

09/21/2021

New in the blog... cautionary tales of technology, ideology, and deception. (And how to safeguard the things that matter to you the most.)

Our great leaps in humanity never land us softly in Utopia.  We land hard, and when we wipe the dust from our eyes, we see new problems that we could’ve never imagined.  You don’t have to look far for examples. All recent technologies have already revealed unintended consequences. Social netwo...

09/08/2021

New in the blog... if all goes well, cars on the streets are about get crazy-cool. Or just maybe just crazy? You decide!

Designers of electric vehicles aren’t obligated to round off every corner to reduce drag. Designers can carve vehicles with confidence and audacity. Proof? The ridiculous Cybertruck from Tesla.

11/19/2020

11/19/2020

People love to make big predictions. Predictions about the economy, the stock market, sports games, and of course, elections. But rarely do we have the courage to revisit past predictions and hold ourselves accountable. So today, let's get real!

I made some big predictions in my blog about Converse's new era of shoes and Apple's sneaky entrance into healthcare by way of fashion. Some of my prediction...

11/18/2020

I made some big predictions in my blog about Converse's new era of shoes and Apple's sneaky entrance into healthcare by way of fashion. Some of my predictions were wrong, yet others proved to be true. An honest discussion!

10/22/2020

What the heck is going on here? Sometimes good companies make bad decisions. First, Pinterest rebranded for no good reason. Then Pei Wei did something bizarre. Good news is that Pinterest got smart and pretended that the new logo ever happened. But Pei Wei is hanging tough with an awkward logo and a silly marketing strategy that it learned from lesser restaurants.

10/22/2020

NEW VIDEO! Sometimes good companies make bad decisions.

What the heck is going on here? Sometimes good companies make bad decisions. First, Pinterest rebranded for no good reason. Then Pei Wei did something bizarr...