Innovation has really gone to the toilet

I just completed a story on Continuum, a Boston design shop perhaps best known for the Swiffer and Reebok’s Pump. My piece looked at the creative process that goes into giving a twist to the mundane. One thing that didn’t make it into the piece: how the lowly toilet can foster innovation.

These photos I took show Continuum’s distribution medium for the company’s research arm, otherwise known as the Men’s Room.Oprah greets you as you walk in. Welcome to the creative zone, superstar!

Here’s a contemplative spot:

and, when you’re washing your hands, more trends to consider:

I shouldn’t mock. The company does a lot of creative work in a wide variety of fields. A few of them can be seen in this shot from Continuum’s Wall of Inspiration, which lines its main conference area.

It’s doing something right. Maybe I should start writing up trends and putting them on my bathroom walls.

Look for the piece in February in The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine.