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In the Northern Hemisphere, the longest night of the year is almost upon us. Saturday, December 21, marks the winter solstice. An optimistic way to view this astronomical first day of winter is that there are brighter and warmer days ahead. A realist might point out that you first have to deal with cold and darkness.Lets take a look at what this all means and some tips for boosting your mental health during the chillier months:What is the winter solstice?According to NASA, the December solstice occurs when the Earths axial tilt is farthest away from the sun in the Northern Hemisphere. As a result, the sun reaches its southernmost position in the sky, directly overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn.The sun appears at its lowest point in the sky, causing the shortest day and longest night of the year. As Space.com points out, that means daylight will only be around for about 7 hours and 40 minutes.In the Southern Hemisphere the opposite is true. During this time, the tilt of Earths axis is closest to the sun, marking the beginning of summer or the summer solstice. Yes, for some parts of the world, its warm in December and snows in July because the two hemispheres experience opposite seasons.When exactly does the 2024 winter solstice occur?There are two solstices every year, one in June and one December. The Northern Hemispheres winter solstice officially arrives on Saturday, December 21, at 4:19 a.m. ET.How does the solstice impact sunset and shadows?A fun way to see the solstice in action is by heading outside at noon. During the winter, your shadow will be the longest of the year because of the suns low position in the sky. This also causes the sun to set earlier than on any other day of the year.What is the historical significance of the solstice?Many ancient sites were built to celebrate the winter solstice, including:England: The setting sun can be seen between the pillars of Stonehenge.Ireland: A tomb mound called Newgrange, which predates Stonehenge, was built so the burial chamber is illuminated for 17 minutes at dawn.Egypt: The temple of Karnak aligns with the winter solstice, with the suns rays lighting up the place of worship throughout the day.How to avoid the winter bluesDuring the colder months, it is easy to feel a decline in mental health, partly because of the lack of sunshine. To help ease the winter blues, the Cleveland Clinic recommends getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, and not skipping out on exercise. The Mayo Clinic, meanwhile, wants you to consider adding a vitamin D supplement to your routine. Many people also benefit from UV lights. Finally, its important to continue to make social plans to foster connection and community and not isolate yourself.

The phrase no risk, no reward couldnt be more spot-on for businesses and professionals trying to stand out in todays crowded markets.Harvard Business School Professor Robert Simons put it best: Competing successfully in any industry involves some level of risk. And hes rightcompanies that take bold risks often see big payoffs. Just look at Netflix. They didnt just disrupt the video rental industry; they bet big on streaming when it was still uncharted territory. That gamble paid off, with their stock soaring an incredible 6,230% in just a decade.According to PwCs Global Risk Survey, businesses that embrace strategic risk management are twice as likely to see faster revenue growth. But how do you figure out whats a smart risk versus a reckless one? At Jotform, taking calculated riskslike launching new products or broadening our missionhas been a cornerstone of our success over the past 18 years. Heres our simple three-step approach to evaluating and taking smart risks at work.Shift away from managing outcomesIn order to become an expert at taking calculated risks, you have to understand certain truths about decision-making.First, humans tend to be risk averse because, as a growing body of research demonstrates, losses loom larger than potential gains. Even when the potential to gain $50 outweighs a $40 loss, the fear of losing still outweighs the pleasure of winning.To overcome our tendency to give disproportionate weight to losses, we can assess risks in batches, the same way we might consider individual financial investments as part of a larger portfoliounderstanding that some losses are simply part of overall gains. Then, with each decision, focus your energy more on doing your due diligenceresearching and analyzing trends, reading case studies, and conducting economic forecastingand less on trying to anticipate the outcome.As Harvard Business Review notes, risk is unavoidable. Companies should switch from processes based on managing outcomes to processes encouraging calculating probabilities. As long as you do your research ahead of time, you can feel confident in your decision, even if it doesnt pan out as hoped. After all, cultivating an atmosphere where failure is accepted (or embraced) is key to innovation and growth.Develop a contingency planWhile accepting that failure is possible, you can still plan for worst-case scenariosin other words, develop a contingency plan. Developing a contingency plan helps transform a risk from reckless to measured.Good contingency plans prioritize the risks an organization faces, delegate responsibility to members of the response teams, and increase the likelihood that the company will make a full recovery after a negative event, says Mesh Flinders, Author at IBM Think. Give yourself peace of mind that even if all goes south, all will not be lost. You have a plan of action.Before following through with a given risk, think about the potential threat to your business. You want a clear picture of when the contingency plan should spring into action. Then, brainstorm the response you envisionfor yourself or colleagueswith clear instructions and protocols. Make sure its crystal clear whos responsible for which actions.Laying out these steps in advance can both minimize uncertainty and empower you and your team to respond quickly and calmly in the face of unexpected challenges.Log your risks like business expensesFinally, logging your business risks makes them feel more calculated and less impulsive. You can methodically create an organized record of decisions and track your patterns over time.At Jotform, we create and share templates for tracking risks the same way we do business expenses. This helps us ensure that risks are not only documented but easily accessible to the team. With this collective tracking method, we can view risks like a portfolio of investments, balancing losses against gains to get a broader perspective.Reviewing risks this way makes it easier to identify which decisions were beneficial and which need to be reevaluated. In most cases, we find that losses seem less catastrophic when weighed against cumulative gains. Whats more, knowing that failures are rarely disastrous, our team members feel more confident experimenting and innovating.But if patterns of losses do emergewhere failures clearly outweigh successesthis logging process gives us the data we need to spot recurring issues, analyze our decision-making habits, and refine our strategies.In todays world, reluctance to accept risks doesnt just stifle innovationit can have devastating consequences for a companys long-term success. But taking risks doesnt require risking it all. Hopefully, the above strategies can help you roll the dice with confidence.

This weekend is when many Americans consider the holidays to be in full swing. Its the final weekend before Christmas, which takes place on Wednesday this year. That means many Americans will be getting in their cars over the upcoming days to visit friends and familiesand their travel is expected to continue throughout the holiday season.If youre one of those journeying by roads to see loved onesor just want to avoid the busiest times on the pavementyoull want to pay attention to the data below from AAA and insights provider INRIX. The companies have revealed the best and worst travel times by road over the upcoming holiday period, which AAA defines as from Saturday, December 21, to Wednesday, January 1.During that time, AAA says 107 million people will travel 50 miles by car. Thats up from last years 104.5 million auto journeys during the 2023 holiday period but still a million less than those during the 2019 holiday period.Best times to travel by car this holiday periodAccording to INRIX data, the best times to be on the road between now and January 2 are:Friday, December 20: Before 11 a.m.Saturday, December 21: Before 2 p.m.Sunday, December 22: Before noonMonday, December 23: Before 11 a.m.Tuesday, December 24 (Christmas Eve): Minimal traffic impact expected all dayWednesday, December 25(Christmas Day): Minimal traffic impact expected all dayThursday, December 26: Before 11 a.m.Friday, December 27: Before 2 p.m.Saturday, December 28: Before 11 a.m.Sunday, December 29: Before 11 a.m.Monday, December 30: Before 2 p.m.Tuesday, December 31(New Years Eve): Minimal traffic impact expected all dayWednesday, January 1 (New Years Day): Minimal traffic impact expected all dayThursday, January 2: Before 3 p.m.Worst times to travel by car this holiday periodIf you need to be on the road but hope to avoid congestion during the holiday period, these are the expected times when traffic will be at its worst:Friday, December 20: 1 p.m.8 p.m.Saturday, December 21: 4 p.m.8 p.m.Sunday, December 22: 3 p.m.8 p.m.Monday, December 23: 1 p.m.6 p.m.Tuesday, December 24 (Christmas Eve): Minimal traffic impact expected all dayWednesday, December 25(Christmas Day): Minimal traffic impact expected all dayThursday, December 26: noon5 p.m.Friday, December 27: 3 p.m.7 p.m.Saturday, December 28: 1:30 p.m.7 p.m.Sunday, December 29: noon6 p.m.Monday, December 30: 5 p.m.7 p.m.Tuesday, December 31(New Years Eve): Minimal traffic impact expected all dayWednesday, January 1 (New Years Day): Minimal traffic impact expected all dayThursday, January 2: 4 p.m.8 p.m.As for the worst travel day? That would be Sunday, December 22, according to INRIXtransportation analyst Bob Pishue.Holiday travel expected to hit record in 2024Despite AAAs expectation that there will be a million fewer auto journeys this year than the record in 2019, the organization says 2024 will actually be the busiest holiday travel period on record when all primary means of transport are taken into account, including car, air, and other (which includes bus, train, and cruise).In total, AAA expects 119.33 million people to travel over the holiday period. Thats up from the 116.07 million people last year and upjust barely, at a 0.1% increaseover the record number of travelers in 2019, which totaled 119.3 million.This year, AAA says it expects the following numbers for three different modes of transportation:Auto: 107 millionAir: 7.8 millionOther (bus, train, and cruise): 4.47 millionIn total, the expected number of travelers over the 2024 holiday period represents a 2.8% growth over the 2023 holiday period.

Dezeen Showroom:Indian company Azmas Rugs has extended its experiments with mathematics and design to its most complex creation yet, the Raffles rug, devised by designer David Mrugala.Part of Azmas' Tessellations collection, the Raffles rug features a feather- or frond-like pattern that is superimposed against itself to produce a sense of movement and avoid the monotony of repetition.The Raffles rug is one of Azmas Rugs' most complex designsThe rug was Azmas Rugs' most expensive pieces to make so far, because it is handknotted from wool and silk with a dense 100 knots per square inch.As well as adding to durability and comfort under foot, this approach gives more clarity and definition to the pattern, similar to having more pixels in an image.The rug is handknotted with 100 knots per square inchMrugala is a German architect, designer and educator who runs Thedotisblack, a research platform that aims to innovate design through generative drawings made with code.His work combines visual narratives, natural science studies, sound analysis and data visualisation interests that are shared at Azmas Rugs, which translates these digital arts to ancient weaving techniques in Rajasthan, India.Product details:Product: Raffles rugDesigner: David MrugalaBrand: Azmas RugsContact: azmasrugs@gmail.comMaterial: wool, silkColours/finishes: multiDimensions: 1860 x 2780 millimetresDezeen ShowroomDezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.The post Raffles rug by David Mrugala for Azmas Rugs appeared first on Dezeen.

Promotion: brands and studios must be willing to embrace difference and tension while creating space for dialogues, said panelists at a talk about collaboration hosted by Dezeen in New York.The talk took place at the offices of The New Standard in SoHo, a design collective founded in London, UK that includes Universal Design Studio, Made Thought and Map Project Office.They were joined by sports brand New Balance's global marketing director Chuck Mauro and Brooklyn Museum contemporary art curator Kimberli Gant to discuss the need for a new era of collaboration in the design and art worlds.Universal Design Studio, Map Project Office and New Balance are currently working together to create a series of flagship stores around the world for the athletic brand where each New Balance store "will draw on authentic storytelling, offering an elevated and meaningful retail experience", according to the designers.Dezeen hosted a panel discussion with The New Standard at its offices in New YorkThe speakers at the talk reflected on the creativity generated in their work together, arising from spirited conversations. They voiced their concerns around the risks of designers talking in echo chambers and avoiding conversations with disagreements.It was the second in a series of talks put on as part of a collaboration between Dezeen and The New Standard, the first of which took place at the Ace Hotel in Brooklyn during NYCxDesign in May.Moderated by Dezeen's US editor Ben Dreith, the panel included Universal Design Studio principal Jason Holley and Made Thought strategy director Michaela Crompton.It was moderated by Dezeen US Editor Ben DreithAccording to the panellists, creating space for an honest exchange of ideas and expression is essential to the success of companies in an era of complex problem-solving and the proliferation of brand partnerships."I don't think creativity can happen in a vacuum," said Crompton."I think I have good ideas, but great ideas come from conversation and dialogue and interconnectivity between different disciplines and different teams, and I think being together under one group is a really important component there."Crompton added that creating spaces for vulnerability and honest exchange within and between companies is essential to fostering these dialogues.The panel covered the necessity for collaboration in the new era of design and artHolley agreed, adding that a certain degree of tension and friction underlying different viewpoints and approaches should be prized in order to create good work."Engaging with others who have different perspectives, different opinions can be uncomfortable," he said. "That friction, for me, is at the heart of creativity."He went on to say that finding common ground and languages should always be the first step when embarking on any collaborative venture. He cited an example where his studio worked on a project with tech firm IBM, where the parties had to use visual metaphors to understand each other's disciplines.Mauro, who has partnered New Balance with a number of distinct brands for collaborative ventures, also said that making space for different perspectives is important, but emphasised the need to "let go" of control and take risks.The panelists discussed the need for vulnerability and friction in collaboration"There are some brands that don't take any risks at all, and then they either fail or become part of a meme," said Mauro."Risk is really everything," he continued, adding that brands should make sure at least some values align. "Letting go is a necessary part of collaboration."Crompton added to Mauro's point, reiterating the need for vulnerability. "True collaboration is a vulnerable act," she said "It requires you to throw down your ego, throw down any sort of posturing."It was attended by New York creativesGant stressed that company culture is important and that certain parameters need to be set in order to create space for dialogue between staff and collaborators."When you're going working with a lot of people, you don't always get the time to actually listen to them and take the feedback and make things better," she said. "Unless you're in a culture, in a situation, that allows for that."Gant spoke about her work on an exhibition showcasing the archive of film director Spike Lee, saying that "listening" to the needs of all actors involved in a large project was an essential aspect.Universal Design Studio principal Jason Holley and Made Thought strategy director Michaela Crompton were joined by New Balance global marketing director Chuck Mauro and Brooklyn Museum contemporary art curator Kimberli GantShe also cautioned against top-down collaboration, emphasising the need for dialogue amongst people at all levels of a project.Latching onto the point about complex systems, Holley noted that the architectural fields tended away from embracing the "messiness" that is inherent to multi-party projects."Architecture as a discipline has, unfortunately, retreated from an engagement with the messiness of the world, the messiness of people."The panelists discussed informality and embracing messinessCrompton reiterated a need for messiness and informality in open collaborations."There's something to be said embracing the messiness," she said."Embracing informality doesn't always have to be a creative review, which sounds intimidating. It can be a kick around for a chat, a conversation, sharing ideas and listening to each other.""Increased the messiness a little, throw stuff at the wall and see what you get."The New Standard is a creative collective comprising renowned design studios Universal Design Studio, Map Project Office and Made Thought.The photography isby Louis KassamPartnership contentThis article was written by Dezeen for The New Standard as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership contenthere.The post "Friction is at the heart of creativity" says panel at The New Standard talk appeared first on Dezeen.

Architecture practice Heatherwick Studio has completed a commercial district in Xi'an, China, containing a series of cascading volumes and a vertical park.Located south of the city's historic centre, the Xi'an Centre Culture Business District is characterised by ceramic tiles chosen by Heatherwick Studio to honour the city's craftsmanship and ceramics.Encompassing 155,000-square-metres, the district comprises a retail podium, along with offices, apartments and public spaces including green areas, plazas and terraces.Heatherwick studio has completed a district in Xi'an"Here in Xi'an, we were excited to create a commercial district which gave the city an extraordinary new piece of public space," Heatherwick said."Instead of simply making different buildings, and paving and planting the spaces between them, there was the opportunity to craft an unexpected three-dimensional urban landscape on many levels, where citizens of the city can promenade and meet each other," he continued."The goal of the whole project was to find a joyful and contemporary way to respond to the history of Xi'an, and bring people together."Ceramic tiles were used to clad the cascading volumesA network of streets link to a large central plaza, where the Xi'an Tree vertical park serves as a gathering point for visitors.Rising 57-metres from its basement level, the tree contains 56 stepped terraces or "elevated petals", which are connected to a central staircase.Gardens hosted on each terrace werre designed mimic the biomes of the ancient Silk Road.Read: Heatherwick Studio reveals plans for island park with "floating islets" in SeoulSurrounding the central plaza are a series of interconnected volumes unified by tile-clad exteriors and cascading rooftops informed by the roofs of the city's temples.More than 100,000 tiles crafted by local makers were used for cladding the facade, columns and beams of the structures to create a "sensory experience" at ground level."Pursuing our interest in people's human scale experience of places, we also had the chance to integrate many special constructional details, to help make the project as engaging as possible for people to walk around," Heatherwick said.Rooftop gardens are on top of the volumesInside, the volumes have similarly stepped details integrated into the design, and are fronted with large glazed openings overlooking the central plaza.Additional spaces include lush rooftop gardens hosted atop the volumes, which are interspersed with variously-shaped skylights that draw light into the spaces below.Glazed openings overlook the central plazaElsewhere, Heatherwick Studio is set to complete the Hanwha Galleria shopping centre and a public park with "floating islets" in Seoul.The photography is by Qingyan Zhu.The post Heatherwick Studio arranges "unexpected three-dimensional urban landscape" around tree-like park appeared first on Dezeen.