There was a great article called "Innovating Through Design" in the Dec. 2006 issue of Harvard Business Review . The article explored how informal collaboration amongst design professionals in Lombardy, Italy, produces incredible innovation in product design. The Lombardy firms' R&D operation, for the most part, can be found neither inside the companies nor in interactions among them. Rather, it comprises a free-floating community of architects, suppliers, photographers, critics... Read More...