Dwell magazine visits the design firm Smart Design and talks to Dan Formosa, and Richard Whitehall about the ‘intersection of Universal Design principals and the limitations of public bathrooms.’ The video presents an insightful yet humorous look into the use of public restrooms. Well worth a watch and if anything will provide a great topic for discussion amongst friends.

Julian Treasure, author of Sound Business, speaks at TED about how the sound around us play a large role in productivity, shopping behavior, emotions, and many other ways. Once you are inspired by the talk, head on over to birdsongradio.com and get your daily 5 minute dose in.

In an effort to change people’s behavior to promote earth friendly and healthy activities, Volkswagen has come up with several fun and clever ideas. For instance to reduce litter, a trash big with sound effects triggered by placing trash into the bin, collected nearly twice as much trash as a near by bin. In another experiment, when using sound effects on stairs, 66% more people than normal chose the stairs over the escalator. View more videos at: TheFunTheory.com

Bill Gurstelle, author of book like Backyard Ballistics and Absinthe and Flamethrowers, speaks at Gel 2009 about risk taking and its correlation with life satisfaction. Both inspiring and informative, Bill shares multiple stories of his own and others’ risk taking adventures.
Do you take risks? Take the test here.

Steve V, a video producer from Kitchener, Ontario, replicates the marshmallow test. An experiment in kids ability to sacrifice short-term gratification for long-term rewards, the marsh mallow experiment is interestingly academically just as it is fun to watch kids struggle with waiting the fully 20 minutes for their reward. In terms of relevance, if the child can resist the instant gratification, there is a very good chance they will be successful in life. For more details of the original landmark experiment, watch Joachim de Posada’s TED talk.

Us Now, a documentary from Banyak Films, takes a look at social media and its effect technology communications have had on democratizing society in every aspect imaginable. Whether it is offering a couch to sleep on to strangers, sharing advice between mothers, managing a soccer club, or any number of other things, social media is changing the world. Us Now takes a look into several virtual communities which are having a very real impact and begs everyone to question what else can benefit from democratization and plain ol’ good will.

Adam Savage, of Mythbusters fame, talks at Maker Faire 2009 shares two personal stories of when he has failed in life and how those failures have shaped who he is today. While many people are quick to say that failure is how people learn, he wishes people would share more openly their stories of failure. That said, Adam shares two of apparently many stories of when he has totally let others down and was forced to deal with the failures head on. A great storyteller, Adam is lively and this talk is well worth the time watching.

Dan Ariely, a professor of behavioral economics at Duke University, shares examples from his book Predictably Irrational illustrating why people fail to make logical decisions. Dan shows how the complexity of options will drive people away whether it is trying a couple more pills vs. hip replacement surgery or even checking a box to opt-out of organ donation. Also shown, is how presenting an inferior third choice can influence people to choose the similar, but better choice, which in one case translated to significantly higher subscription rates for The Economist. Take note, if you are going bar hopping, take a similar but uglier version of yourself with you.

Microsoft’s Dane Storrusten directs this short concept video imagining a future where technology is invisible to end users but allows the full benefits of gestural recognition, context awareness, and more. The video is one of two videos produced by INVIVIA. Also check out August de los Reye’s slightly less intricate concept video for the home environment.

In a well executed short, Jonathan Jarvis explains today’s credit crisis through excellent visuals and a poignant narrative. At a time when so many are learning for the first time how various aspects of the economy work, Jonathan’s video is a welcome surprise. Jonathan Jarvis is a Masters of Fine Arts Candidate at Art Center.