[jwarzech]

Really cool idea, however I'm wondering how necessary it was to hire an outside group. Why not just dedicate a space and slowly fill it with items that employees find interesting?

I do remember an article awhile ago about a company (perhaps 37signals) that kept a collection of different textures/materials to use as inspiration. I always thought this was a great idea.

[fiatpandas]

A lot of times, creative processes are best fueled with unfamiliar or alien sources of inspiration. If employees brought in objects they like, how much is their decision influenced by how they already think about computer interfaces? Adding an external group to the mix is healthy in my opinion.