Adobe Creative Cloud is harnessing the power of the crowd to create a cover for the next dance music album DANCE RED, SAVE LIVES to be released as part of anti-AIDS initiative (RED). The tech brand is calling international design talents to submit their past works for a chance to collaborate with Futura, a renowned New-York based abstract art master.

Lexus teams up with designboom, a popular digital architecture and design magazine, to run its second annual competition The Lexus Design Award. Professionals, students and design enthusiasts from all across the globe are invited to take the challenge, which this year revolves around the theme of сuriosity. The two winners of the competition will be invited to develop their concepts, working side-by-side with a mentor designer.

Why to buy something if you need it for a limited time only? It’s much easier (and more rational) to share underused assets instead of purchasing and owning them individually. The past few years have witnessed the rise of what’s called the sharing (share or shared, collaborative, peer, access) economy which implies collaborative consumption of physical, virtual and intellectual goods. The new model of consumer relationship emerges at the intersection of online social networking, mobile technology and the social movement that comes as a response to the reduction in purchasing power. While the concept of the sharing economy seems to be clear, it needs some detailing. Why is the sharing economy good to people? What threats to traditional business can it pose? Does the collaborative consumption have a potential to become a consumer religion of tomorrow? 

To promote the launch of its 2014 catalog, IKEA has released an AR app that “builds in” furniture of the new collections into the room—virtually. The IKEA Catalog app saves the time and pain of choosing the furniture in-store and returning the purchase due to a bad room fit. With the app, consumers will be able to see how a new sofa or a chair integrates into the interiors without actually taking the piece of furniture into the house.

Google launches the fifth installment of its annual Google RISE (Roots in Science and Engineering) Awards to inspire a new wave of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and CS (Computer Science) education of school pre-university students across the globe. The tech giant is encouraging international organizations that foster CS studies among K12 students to submit for a chance to receive a $15,000-$50,000 grant for their expansion.

With mobile devices and advanced computer technology available now, knowledge can be accessed distantly and at any time. Still, people sometimes need wisdom to be packed and delivered to them in portions, preferably in the physical dimension. The focus is gradually shifted to teaching on the go, and more mentors are hitting the road to bring their expertise to the public across the country or sometimes even across the globe. Brands gladly support or even initiate such initiatives aimed to break into the cluttered informational realities of consumers, teach the curious minds something new and let them evolve as creatives.