At last month’s NeoCon World’s Trade Fair, in Chicago, Metropolis’s Susan Szenasy and Paul Makovsky captured a handful of key designs—and design conversations—on digital video. Above: Roger Martin, the dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and the author of The Design of Business, speaks with Makovsky at an event at the Steelcase showroom in the Merchandise Mart supported by the Consulate General of Canada in Chicago.

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From this year’s NeoCon World’s Trade Fair, in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart: Nearly 200 photos of the best in workplace furniture, lighting, textiles, technology, and more. Read more…

It’s the motherlode! In the 72 hours since this year’s NeoCon World’s Trade Fair wrapped up at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, our roving photographers have been busy putting together a slew of nearly 150 photos (!) from the show floor and area showrooms. Without further ado, then, we present a tour of some of the best in workplace furniture, lighting, textiles, and technology (and cocktail parties) from the exhibitors at the 2009 NeoCon. Read more…

Even at NeoCon, the ground zero of wire management, the wires resist management.

Imagine a time when you don’t need to carry around your bulky, tangled chargers for your laptop and various PDAs, a day when there are no wires snaking across your living room floor as your computer powers up. Now, imagine no wires in sight. You simply put your laptop or phone on a flat surface and voilá, you’re charging and ready to communicate. This is not a far-fetched idea; it can start happening as soon as 2010. Read more…