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October 10, 2010 @ 3:54 pm · Filed under Categories? What Categories? by amal

This Fall quarter, Ambidextrous has put together a course hosted at the d.school called “Design Evangelism,” a 1-2 unit course where students work with editorial staff and magazine professionals to edit and produce Ambidextrous, Stanford University’s Journal of Design. Topics include design processes and innovation, storytelling, writing and editing for an audience, magazine production and project leadership. Class is held every Monday, 6-8pm. The class is being led by Julia Cosgrove (editor of AFAR Magazine & former editor of ReadyMade) and Micah Lande (PhD Candiate, Mechanical Engineering Design & Ambidextrous Co-Editor-in-Chief). The Ambidextrous editorial team is working closely with the students in the class to produce Issue 13, “Wonder.”
Stay tuned for updates from our students over the next few months, as we develop “Wonder”!
And of course, if you have any articles for “Wonder,” contact the editoral team at: editors at ambidextrousmag dot org.
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September 26, 2010 @ 6:35 pm · Filed under Ambidextrous News, Cheap by amal

Come join us for a belated launch celebration of Issue 12, “Cheap”!
How do we have a party? We ask that you bring a food dish or beverage to share potluck-style to this Back-to-School night, of course. It might be hokey but it’s in keeping with this issue’s theme of “Cheap. So bring yourself, your friends and loved ones. Bring design colleagues, food for thought and your appetite for design! We expect tasty treats to snack on and the best company the Bay Area’s design community has to offer.
Come talk about Real Cost of Free * IKEA Hacking * RAFT * Dollar Stores * Technology for the Homeless * Store Brands * and more.
RSVP now
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May 31, 2010 @ 2:20 am · Filed under Ambidextrous News, Cheap by amal

Issue 12 (!) debuted at the d.school Opening Day on May 7th and at Maker Faire last weekend. If you haven’t checked out “Cheap” yet — buy a copy online or sign up for a subscription today!
A big thank you to all those of the amazing Ambidextrous community who made it possible for us to make it to this major milestone. Please continue to spread the word about Ambidextrous, and help our community grow.
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February 19, 2010 @ 3:26 pm · Filed under Ambidextrous News, Ambidextrous people, Developing by Micah
Frequent Ambi contributors Jorge Cham and Dwayne Godwin were just awarded 1st Place in the Informational Posters and Graphics category in the NSF International Science and Visualization Challenge for their comic “Brain Development” from the Developing Issue (#9) of Ambidextrous, Stanford University’s Journal of Design. We congratulate them on the honor!
Ambidextrous is Stanford University’s Journal of Design.
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February 10, 2010 @ 12:12 pm · Filed under Getting it on by Micah

In time for Valentine’s Day… frequent contributor Angie Heile dissects the role of desire in design… from Ambidextrous issue #10
Getting It On.
Check out the full article: How Desire Drives Design.
Ambidextrous is Stanford University’s Journal of Design.
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January 28, 2010 @ 1:32 am · Filed under Design News, Designed things, The Future by Micah
Issue 6 – The Future- featured an object obituary of a cherished Apple Newton. Remember the Apple Newton? It was the original PDA. Let’s see if this excerpt could describe the iPad:
It was the right size. It was the size of a book but it was a computer! I could carry it in one hand or hold it lovingly in two; portrait or landscape. I could read it in bright sun or read it under the covers. It was stylish by itself or I could dress it up in a smart wallet (with keyboard!) for class.
Check out the full article Object Obituary: My Newton
Ambidextrous is Stanford University’s Journal of Design.
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September 28, 2009 @ 5:01 pm · Filed under Categories? What Categories? by Micah

Come learn about Stanford’s student-run design magazine and how you can become part
of the leadership team or get involved as a writer/photographer/editor/production person!
AMBIDEXTROUS
Stanford University’s Journal of Design
Information Session
Fri Oct 2 12:15PM@ d.school
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July 25, 2009 @ 3:02 pm · Filed under Ambidextrous people, Categories? What Categories?, Picking Things Up by Micah

Ambidextrous profiled Amanda West in our Fall 2006 Picking Things Up issue (“Creating a Healthy America, One Hamburger at a Time” by Angie Heile). At that time she was just in the planning stages for a feel good fast food restaurant experience.
Her vision has become a reality. Now it’s celebrating it’s 1st birthday! Amanda’s Feel Good Fresh Food Restaurant is in Berkeley on Shattuck Avenue serving burgers and baked french fries and apple fries.
Amanda’s Feel Good Fresh Food Restaurant in Berkeley celebrates its anniversary from noon to 8 p.m. July 25. Highlights of the daylong celebration include free food, entertainment and raffle prizes. The free bite lineup includes organic cookies, noon-2 p.m.; baked fries, 2-4 p.m.; organic apple fries, 4-6 p.m.; and freshly made sodas, 6-8 p.m. The restaurant is at 2122 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. 510-548-2122.

It’s a result of applying design thinking to the fast food/dining experience. From the article:
West’s simple plan to feed Americans better burgers reminds designers of the compromises struck between what’s best for the people who use their products and what most people really want in their hearts: the same old junk they’re already grown to love.

Check out the full article Creating a Healthy America, One Burger at a Time here.
Ambidextrous is Stanford University’s Journal of Design.
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July 22, 2009 @ 1:10 pm · Filed under Ambidextrous people, Categories? What Categories?, The Future by Micah

The Tech Museum of Innovation will host a book launch party Wednesday evening for The Engelbart Hypothesis by Valerie Landau and Eileen Clegg in conversation with Douglas Engelbart.
Ambidextrous Co-Editor-in-Chief Bjoern Hartmann sat down with Douglas Engelbart for a Point of View article for AMBIDEXTROUS Issue #6 The Future. In What Would Douglas Engelbart Do?, Bjoern captures four lessons we can glean from on of our favorite visionaries:
- First off, be stubborn. Very stubborn. His adviser at Berkeley told him that he was wasting his time. For more than a decade, Engelbart couldn’t find reliable financial support. He kept his project afloat with fringe grants for “wildhaired guys” because he was convinced that his ideas were important. The time it takes to convince others of your ideas is measured in years—so plan for the long haul.
- Second, experiment. A lot. The mouse was not a fluke. The Augment group devised chorded keyboards, nosecontrolled pointers, foot pedals, and knee controllers. They partnered with Herman Miller to develop experimental workstation furniture that you would straddle like a horse. Some innovations stuck, many did not. Expect failures—if nothing else, they make for entertaining anecdotes.
- Third, put yourself out on the line. In 1968, Engelbart staged the “mother of all demos.” He introduced his mousecontrolled workstation to an audience of a thousand engineers in San Francisco by using it live. During the demonstration Engelbart brought up a data and video link with team member Bill Paxton in Menlo Park and showed how the two could remotely collaborate on a document in real time. Nothing like it had been done with computers before. It was a high-risk plan, but it paid off with immediate public recognition.
- Finally, and, maybe most importantly, bite off more than you can chew. Improving the collective IQ of mankind was a larger-than-life goal. But for Engelbart it meant he never ran out of intermediate steps to accomplish. His most successful innovations were born out of necessity— they were the means needed to augment collaborative intelligence. Having a bigger picture helped him to solve the real-world problems at hand—and then move forward towards the next challenge.
Check out the full article of What Would Douglas Engelbart Do?.
Ambidextrous is Stanford University’s Journal of Design.
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