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Dutch By Design is a new shop/site selling design items by, you guessed it, Dutch designers. Not exclusively, but for the most part. Nice stuff.
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Sweet ride, sweet materials: Indigo's Bamboo Snowboard features a reinfoced carbon fiber core with an oiled bamboo veneered surface and stainless steel details like the nose, tail guard and inlays.
Now for the bad news: It's got a $1,220 price tag. Buy hey, you'll be feeling that "natural, harmonious flex line which give you precise control and edge performance."
Can you dig it?
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{via Protein}
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Interaction Design Institute Ivrea students Didier Hilhorst and Nicholas Zambetti 's Quattro alarm clock is housed in a translucent enclosure without button nor markings. Its functions depends on its position: orientating it on the side it's a radio, upright it becomes an alarm timer and placed horizontally it's a clock. As you come nearer to Quattro, it detects your presence and reveals illuminated touch-sensitive controls relevant to its current function.
There's more! The radio alarm works in tandem with a teddy bear: squeezing the bear triggers various actions including a remote "snooze" operation. (seen at the Strangely Familiar exhibition.)
review: ipodlounge.com
S2DIO Night is a brand new monthly event for creative types in Detroit featuring art, photography, music, dancing, schmoozing and more at the legendary Bankle Building/Detroit By Design HQ.
S2DIO Night kicks off this Friday:
January 28th
8pm-?
FREE
(please bring your own beverages)
2944 Woodward Ave., Detroit MI
Nothing here about the influence of actually experiencing the product on the ability to recall, one of the points of my article on recalling stuff from the year gone by.
One of those items you're not sure has been blogged to death, but here's the Museum of Soviet Calculators. [via MUG] Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)
my cats are as finicky as they come but gosh darn it if they aren't the cutest things in the world. the illustrious ms. jackson and turk demand only the best and i think i've found it. in a world where people only design fun things for dogs, ryan rutherford has designed the cutest little play toys for cats! yes, cats! take that dog owners! (well, i love dogs, but the cute toy count does seem to always tip in their favor)
i found ryan on our very own coroflot and fell in love with his cute, cartoonish style that he has so wonderfully translated into tiny plush "creeps" toys for cats. it really doesn't get any cuter than this. i know for a fact that turk and ms. j would be more than happy to rip these suckers to shreds, or at least hide them under the oven for safe keeping. great work, ryan! check out ryan's portfolio here. adopt a great cat or dog here (best.shelter.ever)
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Hayat Benchenaa's hanging radio alarm clock (done in collaboration with Garikoitz Iruretagoiena) physically drags you out of bed.
In the evening, after you've set the alarm, the glowing Sfera gradually dims and the music fades as you drift off to sleep. When the alarm chimes in the morning, you must reach up and tap the Sfera to silence it. Which triggers the snooze function and makes the alarm rise higher. As it slowly rises away from your reach, you must stretch higher each time to gain another ten minutes of snooze.
When Sfera finally reaches the ceiling, you have no option but to get up and drag it back down to your bed - an action which switches off the alarm. (the device was part of the Strangely Familiar exhibit, more to come about it)
And if you need more, try the wake-up pillow and duvet.
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The Chicago Auto Show opens to the public on February 11th. Take a look at some shows of the past... both inspiring and embarrassing for exhibit designers. 1978 was quite the banner year, with Chrysler-Plymouth trailblazing experiential design with a "12-foot-tall fuzzy and silly creature". Nice.
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in addition the fact that i enjoy drinking mochas (esp when you live in the urban tundra like i apparently do), i also enjoy checking out products made by mocha- the uber hip british design company that is home to some really cute and quirky home goods.
known for their products that combine function with whimsy (and you know how i love whimsy), mocha is a great source for design that, above all, is fun. perfect example? the mr. wooly stool. the name says it all, a crazy little stool that looks like a sheep and i guarantee any child would be psyched to have in their room. well, i would have loved it as a kid. and then there's the dunk mug, a perfect way to cart your cookies around with your hot chocolate (or if you're like me, you'll use it more for the cookies than the hot chocolate). additional products not to be missed? dynamite, one heck of a little door stop, and the spoon egg cup- because, well it's a cute egg cup made of cool bent spoons. you can find more info on mocha here and catch josh spear's write up on the dunk mug here. enjoy!
Kokuyo in Japan is about to release earthquake resistant desks featuring "protection panels" and "catching bars." (via gizmodo)
canadian design all-stars, molo are constantly churning out cool stuff. from their innovative icff winner, the float tea lantern, to their brand new (and totally sick) softwall system, these guys are on top of their game. just when you think they'd be taking some time off to rest on their creative laurels, they surprise you with a brand new collection of cups and glasses that are to-die-for! based on the same premise and style of the float series, molo's newest line of cups and glasses is designed to house your racier drinks: liqueurs, champagne, pilsners wine and of course, cocktails (and if caffeine is your guilty pleasure, there's even one for cappucino). each glass is elegant, modern and begging to be filled with something delicious to sip. ps: you can even fill it with macha, that gorgeous green tea pictured above. but be careful, that stuff will knock you flat. i had some served to me at a jun-ichi arai show at gallery gen last year and i almost fell out of my seat. so, go easy on the macha and cruise on by molo's site for more information on their work.
editor's note: seems as though additional congratulations are in order- molo was recently selected as one of the finalists for the moma/ps1 young architects summer program! way to go guys....d*s
We've been hearing about this for a few years�which feels like forever�but here's the latest update on the Universal Charging Pad promised for our wireless, utopian futureworld. Of course, you'll want to warm your coffee with it (once hackaday sets its sights), but we can await v.2 for that. Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)
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I first saw the Flip Flap by TOMY� on the John Maeda design BLOG. Its a great disruptive power efficient invention. No batteries, no water, just light. Brilliant! Oh, by the way, I bought one already! Check out the site (in Japanese) for more cool pictures. You can grab one on eBay for about $14.99.
Concept cars for the Peugeot Design Competition. This one is Mauto that allows users to travel on a car carrying a motorbike. It features a transparent auto body and the possibility to substitute the motorbike with a passenger.
(via Cyril)
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Hel-lo? This has been a concept, and eventually a (poorly-conceived) product for at least seven years. How can these columnists review it as something new?
from the land of all things tiny and cute comes a brand new way to teensy-fy your life....mini key chain plants! yes, you too can grow a itsy bitsy plant in your pocket. in theory this is really cool, but i'm afraid that, despite my love of greenery, i'd manage to kill these poor little guys in my purse, which is so often slung mercilessly around town. however, if you go a bit easier on your belongings than i do, this could be just the thing for you. for only ten bucks, you can foster a fledgling fir (or a number of other plants- mostly cacti) until it outgrows its tiny arboretum, after which you can transfer it to a normal-sized planter of your choice. always something tiny and cool coming from japan....[via the cool kids at treehugger]
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Hey *sponge, hope you're having as much fun with your move as we are at my work. (We're moving from cubes to an actual design studio today. Sweet!)
Going through old boxes we came through an artifact of the Atari age: The Screenshooter. This is how screen captures took place back in olden days: Just place the Screenshooter on your Atari 800 monitor, take a picture with your Polaroid camera that is attached to the end, and bango! you have a screen capture. How adorable!
(ed. note - thanks to Max DenHaan for pointing out that this is actually an Atari 800, not an XL as originally reported!)
in honor of my impending move this weekend, i thought i'd post some furniture that has "moving" at the heart of its design. while packing, i found myself wishing that all of my furniture had wheels . turns out a british design team has heard my prayers and answered with a super cute collection of durable and portable furniture.
q-style has introduced a new range of products that evolved from the company's experience designing industrial storage systems and flight cases. lightweight yet tough, the q-style collection provides a number of durable storage solutions. i'm partial to q-style's style cabinets (a perfect way to toughen up your office gear), coffee cubes (super-cute mini-tables) and trunk boxes. while i wouldn't go filling my house with airline-style storage containers, i think a choice piece here and there would look super cool. accents of airline chic are always hip, so....why not? you can find more information about q-style here.
January 29, 2005. Race Starts at 2pm
Race begins at Fulton Ferry Landing Pier, Brooklyn
[ Full Details ] [ Pics from Last Year ]
Full details, speca and pricing can be found at the VersaLaser web site.
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for a good laugh, check out this website. they've found a much simpler way to shuffle your itunes...[via the real janelle]
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i've been wanting to post these for awhile now- because well, they're super cool. plus, i'm a huge fan of felt . created by liz maly, an architecture student in seattle, felt cafe is home to a million super cute and totally original felt creations. i was drawn in by the ipod cozies (i love homemade ipod covers, it's such a pleasant contrast to the uber techy ipod look) and then found the felt bracelets (which i will soon be the proud owner of!). liz makes each one by hand and the result is a website full of artfully crafted, beautifully designed products. you can't go wrong with anything on there, it's all gorgeous. for those interested in details: liz makes all felt from hand, from fluffly wool before it's spun into yarn. with hot water, dish soap, and friction, the wool fibers become tightly interlocked. the result is dense, soft, warm and waterproof felt.
go check out felt cafe and order yourself up some gorgeous felt goodies. ooh, and all orders can be customized so enjoy!
Posted by: Steve Portigal
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Download These
Ahhh, I love the Internet... Here's something useful I tripped over the other day, courtesy of The International Association of Plastics Distributors and Modern Plastics. It's a set of PowerPoint presentations used to educate their members and I though a lot of it was pretty useful. Make sure you display the notes for each slide as they contain the narrative that goes with the presentation.
The links will take you to one of six modules:
Module 1: How Plastics are Made, Understanding the Physical Properties of Plastics
Module 2: Understanding the Basics of Plastic Materials
Module 3: Amorphous and Semi-Crystalline Commodity Thermoplastics (Part 1)
Module 4: Amorphous and Semi-Crystalline Commodity Thermoplastics (Part 2)
Module 5: High Performance Thermoplastics
Module 6: Understanding Thermoset Plastic Materials
(Quick Disclaimer: Use any information you download from the 'Net at your own risk - sometimes the authors know what they're talking about, sometimes not... Yes, that includes me.)
Get 'em quick while they're still available...
the real janelle is home to some amazing design finds. this week i'm positively drooling all over tara mcpherson- an inked out graphic artist whose rock posters will soon grace the walls of my new apt. i've always been drawn to concert flyers and rock posters for their ability to combine images and typography is a powerful way. ms. mcpherson does that and more with her creations. her style speaks for itself- the girl's just plain cool. AND she worked on futurama! these days she's working for herself and a tiny little group called dc comics. (tiny being a HUGE joke...). check her out here and see how long you can hold out before grabbing your credit card and grabbing a few posters to frame. (me? i gave in the second i saw the dismemberment plan poster. biggest. fan. ever.)
The Archinect Winter 2005 Collection is here, featuring t-shirt designs by Christian Unverzagt, Peter Rentz and Clancy Pearson.
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The StoP interior light, designed by Maarten den Hartog at PLU interior design. Great for waiting rooms.
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in honor of their fab metro paper coverage (i love free newspapers), i thought i'd post the latest from lite brite neon- the little brooklyn studio that could. based over in the gowanus area, matt dilling and co. make some of the craziest stuff for the fashion and music elite. they've designed signage for everyone, from stella mccartney and fischer spooner to dizzee rascal and calvin klein. most notable about this crew is their new take on traditional home design. upending the conventional ideas of chandeliers and sconces, lite brite neon constructed a new lighting line made entirely of neon. nothing like a good twist on an old idea. for more info on matt and co. click here and here. you can pick up both pieces at the future perfect in brooklyn or through their website.
update: check out this video clip from jane's ny about them. it's a trip...
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Posted by: Steve Portigal
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It's a surfboard! It's a skateboard! It's a vehicle for beach parties and a boom box on wheels, with folding speakers for doors and running boards shaped like chrome baguettes. It's a Cinderella carriage gone wild.
The description that accompanied the NTT could be read as a parody of the standard auto-show presentation for a new design study: 'It's more than a vehicle, it's a lifestyle.' The surfboard fin on top mimics the shark-fin-shape antennas that have appeared on some recent cars.
At other design centers, imaginations were similarly unfettered...read on
Posted by: Steve Portigal | Comments (0)At Ford, the role of Mr. Horbury, Ford's top North American designer for the last year, has been attracting more attention lately. Last month, Ford said that Mr. Horbury's boss, J Mays, who is the group vice president for design, would be moving from Ford's headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., to London.
Mr. Mays has been perhaps the industry's more prominent designer and is best known for a style he calls retro-futurism - updating classic designs with contemporary looks, as he did with the Beetle while he worked for Volkswagen and for the newer Ford Mustang. While he was given an additional title - chief creative officer - the move has led to speculation that he was being both promoted and moved aside. Top Ford executives, including Mr. Mays and Mr. Horbury, deny that, but it is clear nonetheless that Mr. Horbury is the principal design voice in Ford's most important market.
Posted by: Steve Portigal | Comments (0)More show highlights from Car Design News.
Without question the sexiest car on the floor is the Ford Shelby GR-1. Debuted as a concept at the Pebble Beach concours, the running prototype shown here in Detroit is absolutely stunning (if not difficult to read) in its deeply sculpted polished aluminum skin.
"The list is, of course, a standard journalistic device. It makes good copy. It fills the pages that issue. It�s a talking point and something for readers to think about (a bit). And it�s marvellously flattering for those who are included. Anyone who is featured is likely to feel seriously endeared to the publication doling out the acclaim. In that sense, the idea of the list is fundamentally uncritical. It can never be a robust or rigorous way to assess the actual achievements of any of those who are featured. Those short, enthusiastic bursts of copy will sound like puffs. I know. I have written them myself in the past � for I.D., too."
True to D.O.'s strenghts, the comments are intelligent and worthwhile�Julie Lasky contributes one too�and as an extra extra bonus, the list is reproduced in Poyner's piece. So for those of you who haven't seen the magazine yet, make it interesting for yourselves: write your own top 40, then read all about it. Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)
i know we've all mentioned apple today, but i have to add one more thing....can we please talk about how fresh their new logos for iLife and iWork are? i love them. love them love them love them. thinkin about gettin the tiny new computer too. i like the idea of "reclaim your space", not bad. take a look at the newbies for yourself.
Tonight (Tuesday) is Designer's Night, always the highlight evening to close out press week. Hosted by Ford Living Legends Studio chief Camilo Pardo, this is the place to chat with fellow designers over cocktails and art. (And no bean counters are allowed in the door.)
Tuesday, 01.11.05, 7pm-11pm
Bankle Building, 2944 Woodward Ave.
Music provided by DJ Shortround
Presented by Art & Development Inc.
Design business card is required for admittance
The Design Show opens Friday at the venerable Detroit Artists Market, featuring product, furniture and fashion design from Detroit are designers.
Friday, 01.14.05, 6pm-10pm
Detroit Artists Market
4719 Woodward Ave.
313.832.8540
Dance like you give a damn: after the Design Show opening Friday night, Blackbx and Burnlab present an evening of great music for a great cause: a very special Les Infants Terribles benefit for Architecture For Humanity's Project Re:Build. All proceeds from the evening will go directly to reconstruction relief for tsunami victims. There is no minimum donation, but we will have exclusive giveaways for contributions of $5 or more. We of course encourage you to give what ever you can. The Dorkwave Soundsystem will be joined by the strange, lovely and talented team known as Terror on the Turntables (a.k.a. Terror at the Opera.)
Friday, 01.14.05, 10pm-2am
Corktown Tavern
1716 Michigan Ave., Detroit
Saturday night, the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit presents The Other Auto Show, a survey of automobile culture in the Motor City. The exhibit features Detroit-area artists, architects, and designers each presenting a unique critical interpretation of Detroit's "love/hate" relationship with the automobile and its influence on our culture.
The Other Auto Show is co-curated by Andrew Malone and (um) myself. It will feature recent work from Robert Andersen, Mark Dancey, Maurice Greenia, Jr., Francis Grunow, Tyree Guyton, Brian Kritzman, Camilo Pardo, Jaron Rothkop, Gary Schwartz, Himanshu Sharma, Christian Tedeschi, and Ron Zakrin. The exhibition will also feature a critical essay on the history and effects of the automobile by Nick Sousanis.
Saturday, 01.15.05, 6pm-11pm
Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit [CAID]
5141 Rosa Parks Blvd.
313.899.CAID
Music provided by Rob Theakston
Oh, and the real auto show open to the public at 10am on Saturday, 1.15.05: info here
Today also happens to be the annual Macworld expo where Apple tells me everything I'm going to have to buy this year. This time they are being very nice to me however as they are targeting everything at the low cost end of the spectrum.
That little USB keydrive above also happens to be the new $99 iPod Shuffle. Holds up to 240 songs and will either play your music on a track list you set in iTunes or on random. No LCD screen interface.
This little fella (Mac mini) is the $500 wonder that will save a ton of beer money for college kids. Its for serious a fully loaded Mac (G4, combo drive, all the ports you need, etc.)
Posted by: Don Lehman | Comments (0)
although this might be essentially lame, i think it's endlessly funny. apparently in japan, apple's design scheme has tackled the final frontier- the human body. girls in tokyo are lining up to have their nails decorated with mac's illustrious little apple symbol. not sure whether i should laugh or shudder at the thought of millions of nails covered in the mark of steve jobs. more more info click here. for another amusing apple accessory from lite brite neon click here.
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Great list of interactive tables.
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(found on Atomiq)
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so, it seems that the ever fashionable mrs. gavin rossdale was picked by hp to re-style one of their digital cameras for the ces show in vegas. i'm not exactly blown away by the design (or the no doubt front woman's total obsession with/exploitation of harajuku culture) but i thought it was worth sharing. engadget has the skinny on the in-person review:
"Hit the floor here at CES again today and of course we had to find that digital camera Gwen Stefani designed/styled for HP. The camera�s basically just a tricked out version of their 4.1 megapixel HP Photosmart R607 (i.e. they slapped a skin on it) and according to Gwen, is dedicated to the hyper-trendy girls of Harajuku (which is why they put the words �Harajuku Lovers� on the front, get it?)."
click here for more info on gwen's design for hp... Posted by: | Comments (0)
The NY Times has an interesting piece on the design competition held as part of the LA Auto Show, celebrating west-cost car design. The official web site doesn't have much to show, but a search at Google turns up links to multiple sites showing the entries.
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If you're not turned on by the world's most fascinating urinals, I'll add to Steve's list, the Magic Cone and the Plasgoot, by Dutch designer Isabelle Leijn. (via elastico and popgadget)
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Stadium Pal
The STADIUM PAL consists of three simple components: the external catheter worn like a condom, a flexible hose, and a collection bag with drain valve. This Convenience Drain that connects to the leg bag system (worn on the inner calf). Was developed as a health care product for the incontinent by the home health care industry, millions were spent in research and testing.
(and don't miss the Stadium Pal sizer)
Stadium Gal
Once again we have adopted a product that has already been used in the Health Care Industry, and provided it to those who hate the waiting. It is called a Female Urinary Pouch. The pouch is Non-Latex, and contains an Odor-Barrier pouch film. At the bottom of the pouch is a Convenience Drain that connects to the leg bag system (worn on the inner calf). It is one size fits all, and is cut to fit one's needs.
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Available in two lengths, the longer original Whizzy,
and the compact travel size Whizzy with easy-grip handles.
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ok, so they are just chic oil-lamps with the flame power of candles but i bet it works better than my smokey heats-up-the-chimney-more-than-my-feet fireplace. [via]
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(check out the full story for all the devious details)
Seems like a Richard Pryor plot, rewritten by William Gibson...
i'd seriously like to post this in the interest of discussing it from a design standpoint, but first, can we just talk about how weird this thing is? seriously? i don't know how i found this but i can't decide whether or not to be totally creeped out or applaud their creativity. for those of you with an abhorrence of all things scatological, turn away- this is kinda gross.
pipinette is this sort of bizarro swedish company that designed a system which allows us ladies to well, do our business boy-style. standing up, that is. now, for all you hikers in the crowd, this is cool, cause you know what a pain it is to take off your pack and gear just for that. however, i'm really just intrigued by the thing in general. the way they've designed the system is quite ingenious. take a look for yourself- the system is explained pretty well on the site.
spotted on PSFK
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The women from the society called the pans "bund pans" because "bund" is German for a gathering of people. Dalquist added a "t" to the end of "bund" and trademarked the name.
For years, the company sold few such pans. Then in 1966, a Texas woman won second place in the Pillsbury Bake-Off for her Tunnel of Fudge Cake made in a Bundt pan. The win prompted a nationwide scramble for the pan.
Nordic Ware sells a variety of pots and pans and other kitchen equipment, but the Bundt pan remains its signature item, with more than 1 million sold each year.
harvard design school student bryan boyer passed this sink along to me in response to a piece i did on henrybuilt kitchens. designed for a house on the foothills of the big belt mountains in montana, this uber sleek sink is an amazing example of the work of the massie architecture firm.
based in troy, new york, massie architecture produces some of the most modern and painfully cool designs i've ever seen. with works like "house for a photographer" and the "big sky house" it's clear that massie architecture has a keen grasp of the relationship between light and space. check out massiearchitecture.com for a peek into the world of william e. massie. (be sure to check out the sink in the big belt house!)
via {Things Magazine}
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most people already know molo for their fabulous little tea lantern that scooped up the editor's award at this year's icff, but this fantastic canadian design duo has just come up with something that i've fallen madly in like with. deep, deep like.
still in production, softwall is, "the first product in the line of soft products. it is an expandable partition with a moody ambient light quality; light falling onto the softwall from windows or light fixtures is absorbed and contained within its layers, giving off an inner luminosity similar to a block of snow or ice. softwall can be manipulated by the user to make any larger open space more intimate or dynamic. the honeycomb walls also serve to dampen sound." really. what more can you say- it's sick. super sick. it's a great way to divide up a loft, make a subtle space division or just add a bit of ambience to your plain old apartment. check out molo's website for more info. and if you haven't seen em yet, do check out their super cute tea lanterns. they're tres chic.
"Allow me to make my one and only New Year's prediction for 2005: The emergence of China and India will force every single major corporation in America, Europe, and Japan to choose one of two competitive strategies. They'll have to attract customers by offering either low-cost, low-value goods and services, or innovate and create new high-cost, high-value products and services."
From the Getting Schooled in Innovation article.
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"Having revolutionized product development, Materialise.MGX is now thrilling the design world by offering esthetic innovative solutions for this age of information and global digital access, combining art and technology by drawing on our proven experience in the high-tech arena of 3D printing techniques (stereolithography, selective laser sintering, fused deposition modeling...)."
source : www.materialise-mgx.com & best wishes my material fellows!
Dutch designer Felieke van der Leest has a very nice and hilarious gallery of knitted objects. My choice is the Pippi Longstocking Balaclava.
Surface Magazine supplies our '05 vision-of-the-future fix in a minisite that celebrates their first decade by challenging designers to visualize the next. Before you vote for your favorite, perhaps Scott Wilson can sway your vote with some exclusive insight into the creative process that led to his three entries on the Core77 boards.
Posted by: Chris Gielow
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