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Despite knowing that death is the common thread that unites us all, we tend to keep the topic at arm’s length. Yet acknowledging the inevitability of death, contemplating what we wish the end to look like, and sharing our thoughts with loved ones can make our final moments profoundly meaningful. Aid-in-dying legislation, the availability of death doulas to assist in the dy...
What is design’s role in our lives today? How will it evolve in the future? How can design help us address the tumultuous changes we now face? Award-winning design critic Alice Rawsthorn delved into these key themes to write her latest book, Design as an Attitude. From the deepening environmental and refugee crises to the rise of inequality, intolerance, and prejudice to t...
How can we normalize inconceivable futures? At any given moment, there are multiple, parallel futures fighting for dominance – emerging from science fiction, political parties, corporate visions, counter cultures, and more. But in all cases, they need design to compete and thrive. Across the last decade COLLINS has worked with many of the world's leading organizations, inc...
The discussion of “designer babies” often revolves around gender or hair color, but the medical debate is far more complicated. Should we screen embryos for disease or other genetic modifications? These considerations raise ethical questions and call into question the validity of surrounding research. The lack of regulation and oversight make this particular biotechnology...
Design’s intrinsic motivation is to improve a user’s experience. There has been a surge of design with and by people with a wide range of physical, cognitive, and sensory abilities aiming to make the lives of those with special needs easier. Fueled by advances in research, technology, and fabrication, this proliferation of functional, life-enhancing products is creating un...
Despite discussion of work-life balance, work is not something separate from our life, but integral to it. Good work is a critical component to a good life. As societies across the globe struggle with economic division and working people who feel left behind, can companies invent a world of work that is more sustainable? The Eileen Fisher company is a certified B corporati...
Rod Stryker is one of the world’s leading yoga and meditation teachers. He has helped thousands of people from all walks of life recognize their soul’s call to greatness and achieve their dreams. In this talk, Rod will outline the practical and powerful approach to embodying the highest principles of yoga without ever doing a yoga pose as well as how these ancient teaching...
Small moments of joy are often the first to go when we're stressed or in a crisis. But they're actually a tool to restore our emotional well-being, says designer Ingrid Fetell Lee.
The Bauhaus was among the most progressive art schools in Europe in the first half of the 20th century. While it existed for only a brief period of time, from 1919 to 1933, its influence on international art, architecture, and design, as well as on educational theory and practice, is unparalleled. A key figure in the history of the school was Herbert Bayer, a Bauhaus maste...
Happiness, says designer Ingrid Fetell Lee, is a broad evaluation of how we feel about our lives over time.
The brain isn’t some static entity, cast in resin at adulthood and slowly breaking down as we age. Recent scientific research reveals that it’s an extremely adaptable and plastic organ that can become stronger or weaker — or simply different — according to the stimulus it receives. Are you ready for a neurological tune-up?
What if technology could read and respond to emotions the way humans do? It turns out that it already can, and in this session you’ll see a mind-bending live demonstration of software that recognizes our feelings based on facial cues. We’ll also explore how everyday tech like text messaging can get in the way of important social connection, but also how applications like C...
We're often taught that our surroundings are incidental to our well-being, but an emerging body of research shows that the physical world can be a powerful tool for cultivating happier, healthier lives. Studies show that workers in colorful offices are more alert, friendly, and confident than those in drab ones, that windows can speed healing, and children progress faster...
Esther Perel is recognized as one of the most insightful and provocative voices on personal and romantic relationships and the complex science behind human interaction. The author of the international bestseller Mating in Captivity, Perel believes that the most traditional aspects of a culture and the most progressive and radical changes in a society take place around sexu...
Art historian Sarah Lewis (Harvard University) and architect Michael Murphy (MASS Design Group) discuss the art and architecture of social justice in America. How do our artistic works create the fabric of national memory both cherished and shameful? How do our structures provide the framework of collective conscience? How does culture help us learn from history and inform...
Visionary leaders question established patterns, work collaboratively across disciplines and hierarchies, and trek fearlessly into uncharted territory. By encouraging risk-tasking, nurturing creativity, and championing unconventional thinking, they push the boundaries of what’s possible. Hear from a panel of trailblazers in health about what is required in a century that h...
Psychologist Marisa Franco explains the biggest misconceptions that are hurting our friendships, how relationships shape our personalities and sense of self, and why friendships don't just happen organically.
Author Michael Pollan focuses on psychedelic drugs in his latest book.