Intellectual property (IP) is no longer just about legal protection—it has become a key driver of customer experience (CX) and innovation. While traditional IP management has focused on patents, trademarks, and copyrights as protective barriers, modern companies must adopt a broader vision: IP must be more deeply integrated into the company's sense of purpose and customer-centric value creation models. In this context, IP moves from a legal asset to a strategic tool supporting business model innovation and enhancing the customer journey.

The customer experience (CX) goes beyond providing seamless interactions; it involves designing a journey informed by customer insights that consistently delivers your brand’s promise at every touchpoint. Many companies struggle to unify CX because strategy, technology, and operations are handled in silos, leading to fragmented experiences. This article explores how businesses can use customer insights to craft a unified customer journey, blending digital and human interactions for maximum impact.

Consumers have unprecedented choice and access to information. To thrive, businesses must go “beyond insights,” not only profoundly understanding their customers but also being able to translate that insight into practical action. Anticipating customer needs, preferences, and behaviors ahead of the competition is only part of the story. The ability to act on this information separates the successful from the also-rans. We call this process Customer Synthesis.

Building a valuable brand requires more than logos or slogans. True brand value stems from a purpose-driven strategy that aligns your business with your customers’ unmet needs and consistently delivers on that purpose across all touchpoints. Brand identity is crucial in making a great customer experience more memorable but cannot compensate for poor or generic experiences. As Michael Eisner said, “A brand is a living entity, and it is enriched or undermined cumulatively over time, the product of a thousand small gestures.” This article outlines how companies can build real brand value by addressing customer needs and ensuring consistency in every interaction, supported by Forrester’s research on the impact of customer experience.

The nature of value creation has shifted dramatically in the past few decades. The value of tangible objects continues to decline in favor of intangible and intellectual capital. The explosion of transformer-driven AI tools has accelerated this process considerably since 2023. Tangible assets like factories, equipment, and distribution networks are no longer the primary sources of growth or value. Instead, value has migrated to the customer, meaning businesses must focus on delivering customer-centric value to remain competitive.

🖤 Lessons in #Trailblazing: In tribute to the creative life & contributions of Japanese design visionary, Issey Miyake, April 22, 1938 - August 5, 2022. Born in Hiroshima, he was 7 years old when the US dropped an atomic bomb in August '45. Since his experiences that day, he said he preferred to "think of things that can be created, not destroyed, and that bring beauty and joy". For more than 4 decades he created textiles, clothing and accessories for people who embrace contemporary visual culture. Steve Jobs loved Miyake's perfected minimalism so much that it became his uniform.

🗽Opened in 2013, a quintessentially New York City art experience ~ this teeny-tiny museum lives in a freight elevator at 4 Cortlandt Alley. 🥁 Mmuseumm is a style of storytelling about the modern world - it's Object Journalism. The viewing windows are always open, and private viewing sessions are available. 👉 Continue reading to see inside this special curated gem.

🏜 We love a historic building out West, and even more so when an iconic American artist reinvents it ~ Enter Feminist Artist @judy.chicago x her husband, Photographer @donaldwoodman’s New Mexico Art Mecca, Hotel Belen, Est. 2019. The creative pair transformed a one time hotel in a remote desert town into a center of imaginative output. 🌵 90min south of Santa Fe, Belen has been Judy's home for nearly 30 years.

💡 Ultimately, the goal of an interior environment is to move forward the intention of a space and engage the user in meaningful ways. One way to do that is by designing spaces to activate the 5 basic senses: sight, sound, touch, smell, & taste. Read more to discover our key learnings to implement when crafting your spaces.

⛰ We love having an office in Colorado - this beautiful state provides great inspiration, simply step outside and you have mammoth beauty of large scale all around. Christo & Jeanne-Claude must've agreed with this notion ~ their incredible 1972 "Valley Curtain" installation in Rifle, Colorado remains an iconic moment in the art world.

🏪 File this under #TheNewGrocer: We love to travel through time via the atmospheric photographs of New York City storefronts captured by @jamesandkarla - the corner shop has evolved into many iterations over the last 100 years; perhaps the farthest departure, the Amazon Fresh cashierless grocery concept - read on to see what makes this a success.

💰The power of branding has perhaps never been more ingrained in our personal identities - the associations many consumers choose to have with the brands they select to purchase from and endorse has undoubtedly become a part of how they represent what they believe in and subscribe to. 🛒 The shift towards conscious consumerism and an awareness of consumption impact is a shift we're thrilled to see adopted. We're big believers in supporting brands with a conscience, read on to see which brands made the list as part of our #TheNewGrocer Series.

🎬 From Silicon Valley upstart (remember those red envelopes?) to Hollywood Studio, Netflix' dominance in American Culture is clear; their biggest hits are society's cult favorites. Soaring chess set sales thanks to The Queen’s Gambit, a shift in dressing courtesy of Bridgerton and an increased interest in the wellbeing of Big Cats thanks to Tiger King, Netflix' ability to steer global interest and behaviors is fascinating.

🌎Known worldwide for his signature IKB (International Klein Blue), this striking blue was invented by him and used in his artworks ~ although interestingly enough, it was never patented. Made from dry ultramarine pigment and clear synthetic resin, during his Blue Period, he created more than 200 monochrome works that explored the vibrant shade in different ways. Read more to see a few of our favorite Klein artworks.

🔦 The world that Brands operate in has changed in the blink of an eye. In order to thrive, Brands need an accurate map of the new territory that they're operating in. Our Action Checklist provides 8 things to do now, to build that map so you can adapt quickly and effectively to a new reality.

🌎 We are all dealing with a lot of uncertainty at the moment. Given how bizarre and unpredictable COVID-19 has been as a disease, trying to plan a business based on what the virus may, or may not, do, could well be an exercise in futility. Read on to learn key principles for business and brand management during these unprecedented times.

🎨In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating the iconic American Painter, Helen Frankenthaler. Frankenthaler (1928-2011) was an abstract expressionist painter with a body of work that spans over six decades. She influenced many a painter, and printmaker. We can't get enough of the spectrums created by her soak-stain technique - read more to see notable highlights from her iconic career in Art.

📚We love a well-designed public space that’s intentionally built for gathering and community. Enter the stunning Calgary Central Library. Completed in 2018, this architectural gem by Snohetta is phenomenal. The design lifts the main entry over the encapsulated train line below. Gently terraced slopes rise up to the heart of the building, allowing for people arriving from every direction to interact with the library. Continuing reading for the full architectural story.

🔳Squares haven't been the same since Josef Albers applied his color spectrums to them. This leading color theorist has forever impacted how we interpret, design and apply color. This month, we celebrate his invaluable teachings on color theory and relationships. His beginnings as a stained glass maker at the Bauhaus in 1922 lit a fire to his life-long pursuit or color exploration. See our must-read books after the jump…

✨#ThePowerofLight: It transforms space, sets an atmospheric tone, and can be unforgettable - most certainly true in the case of Ingo Maurer, our long-time favorite light artist. If you've seen them, chances are you can remember, in detail, his creative, boundary-breaking fixtures. Over the years we've sought out his poetic light sculptures through travel (hello @ampersandhotel London), visited @ingomaurersoho countless times and collected prints of his work.