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Tuesday, May 31

Send your loved one a long distance hug with this wearable bluetooth accessory for anyone with a java enabled mobile phone. Embedded with sensors, the 'hug shirt' recreates the physical sensation of a hug, I guess there's a few venture capitalists developing slightly more complex versions of this idea.

Posted by: squee.gee  | Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 31

Well, the body looks like a Strat, but that's probably beside the point. You can read all about the genesis of this new guitar case design project at calderoriginals.com. Here's a juicy part:

"Dec 03 THINKING BIG - CAN BE EXPENSIVE (Part 1)
Now I needed a product designer to make it something that would work. Always one to go to the top I decided only IDEO the world's best know industial design company would do. Luckily Mat Hunter the designer who was sent my initial letter was in the company band and he was intrigued enough to take a meeting with this guy from Devon who didn't even have a company. Mat was great and encouraging but he pointed out that IDEO is not only the best known but also THE MOST EXPENSIVE."

Now, what's probably most notable about this whole thing is that it's documented on a blog. Should there be a blog for every design project? I suppose we'll let the lawyers sort that one out.

Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 31
Two articles in today's NYT deal with attempts to rethink minor but impactful elements of the travelling experience - the hotel check-in kiosk and the middle seat on a commuter train. Seems that they can't build/install/maintain a working kiosk (more a comment on industry culture than technology) and that we may see more trains without the (socially) uncomfortable middle seat.
Posted by: Steve Portigal  | Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 31
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Tuesday, May 31

The promise of truly digital paper is getting a little closer with this latest announcement from the Seiko Epson Corp at the SID International Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition "SID 2005" held in Boston. Note* They only showed photos of the prototype at the presentation.

[via: engadget]

Posted by: squee.gee  | Comments (0)
Monday, May 30

"Hand sculpted from Rainbow Obsidian (natural volcanic glass), this truly individual product exudes an unusual beauty. Based on the smooth contours and design of our titanium product, the obsidian also has a specially designed end to hit all the right spots." (I guess that last bit gives it away.)
Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Monday, May 30
This article will no doubt be heavily blogged because it describes some innovative electronic acoustic privacy technology, but I thought the latter half of the piece, dealing with the relationship between innovative consultant and innovative manufacturer was extremely provocative.
Herman Miller has a long history of exploring the leading edges of office furniture and computer technology. The company worked with the computer scientist Douglas C. Engelbart during the 1960's to design furniture and office systems that would help workers collaborate more effectively.

In fact, a walk through Applied Minds' warehouses reveals many projects that seem to adopt the Engelbart approach of looking for ways to harness machines to augment human intelligence. With Northrop Grumman, the design firm is experimenting with teleconferencing, looking for ways to build systems that are useful for colleagues who work far apart from one another.

Mr. Ferren is particularly interested in finding novel solutions to design problems. All the bookshelves in the company's offices, for example, are tilted 15 degrees to one side as a way to keep books neatly stacked.

In forming an alliance with Herman Miller, Mr. Hillis proposed a yearlong experiment period, which would allow the two companies to work together on broad ideas. After that, they could either commit to a product development project or go separate ways.

Posted by: Steve Portigal  | Comments (0)
Monday, May 30
Fast Company, always more of an idea than an actual magazine, is probably gone for good warns this column about the shifting, and indeed fading, fortunes of business magazines. Interesting timing, given the increasing focus on design in these magazines (links ripped from LukeW)
Posted by: Steve Portigal  | Comments (0)
Sunday, May 29
The Evolution of the American Front Porch In recent times, new emphasis has been given to the cultural history and significance of the American front porch. In an effort to complement and to elaborate this emphasis, this project will attempt to define and distinguish the American front porch as an American cultural object. By exploring its evolution, from its origins to its decline, this project will not merely tell the story of the porch, but will also tell a limited story of America itself. While to many the front porch is unfamiliar, to the rest it must bring to mind a memory, experience, or actual place. This project may help to connect these cultural memories of the front porch to an understanding of the important role it has played in the national experience.

via MeFi

Posted by: Steve Portigal  | Comments (0)
Sunday, May 29
Game controller family tree via Waxy
Posted by: Steve Portigal  | Comments (0)
Saturday, May 28

I was walking down the aisles of my grocery store yesterday when I saw this: a measuring cap built into a cooking oil package. Duh! How long did that take us, like forever? Kudos to Crisco for recognizing a not so obvious problem and fixing it.

Posted by: Don Lehman  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 27


the Moneywallet - nice idea - I'd canibalize it in a week though. via craftster
Posted by: shaggy  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 27

Dress to kill. Or least not be killed. This Self-Defense Dress is based on the principle of a porcupine designed by MIT assistant professor of architecture J. Meejin Yoon.

[via engadget]

Posted by: squee.gee  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 26

Here you gotta say, "Duh�why didn't I think of that?!" And, the kid was 15 when he did. Now 20, Benjamin Henry has a business with these things. Written up in the NYTimes today, the company's phone must be ringing off the hook. Why? Well, there's only 24 shopping days left 'till Fathers Day, and this thing has ribbon written all over it.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 26
Check out Metacool today,
Seth Godin is gracing the pixels of metacool today from The Business Blog Book Tour to talk about creating cool stuff, remarkable stuff, and his new book All Marketers are Liars.
Posted by: Niti Bhan  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 26

As a self confessed archiving freak, this is the ultimate solution for those who want to catalog every book, movie, music, and video game they own. With Delicious Library, build your own searchable digital library by scanning all the barcodes with a web cam - within seconds the item's cover appears on your digital shelves matched from one of six different web sources from around the world. There goes the weekend.

[via k10k, via Crown Dozen]

Posted by: squee.gee  | Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 25
Fortune magazine has a pretty good article titled "The Amazing Rise of the Do-It-Yourself Economy" that I think most IDers will want to read. I came across it via WorldChanging.com's post (which seems a bit harsh, imo).

Highly recommended reading.

Posted by: csven  | Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 24

The IDSA Midwest chapter has posted Real Player videos of a few of the speakers from their district conference back in April. Speakers include: Bruce Nussbaum (Business Week), Don Palac (NASA), Karim Rashid, Tucker Viemeister (Springtime USA), Dan Formosa (Smart Design), and several all-star panel discussions.

All of them are pretty good, but be sure to check out ALL of Dan Formosa's lecture (immediately following Tucker), which basically starts with the concept of zero and ends with explosions.

Link.

Posted by: Don Lehman  | Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 24

"Pedalite's self-charging LED-equipped pedal has won the Consumer Product Design Award at the Plastics Industry Awards held in London. The pedal was launched at Interbike Las Vegas last year." [story at bikebiz.co.uk]

Pedalite is a non battery-dependent bicycle pedal light; Flashing LEDs in each pedal provide 360� conspicuity; Flashes white to the front, red to the rear and amber to the side; Operates automatically when ridden (fit and forget); Provides a unique light 'signature'; Provides information for the first time on a cyclist's distance, relative position and speed; Easy to fit, 15mm spanner included; No batteries to purchase or throw away.

Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 24
Doesn't the core of Lego's brand reside in the physical meatspace interaction with the bricks themselves? The tactile, the auditory snik? But this Star Wars Videogame recasts Lego as an aesthetic (granted, something the underground has done for many years), a style of animation, and a proxy for kid-friendly. Sure, it'll sell a jillion units (as will anything Anakin-tastic these days) but is this good for Lego in the long, long run?
Posted by: Steve Portigal  | Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 24

This year's Life Ball in Vienna featured a 650-square-meter freshly washed grass VIP lounge created by Walking-Chair. Working with the theme of this year's Ball�a thank you from Gary Keszler's Life Ball charity organization to his home town�Walking-Chair's design reflects the idea of Viennese culture and its deep roots in palatial gardens and parks.

Posted by: squee.gee  | Comments (0)
Monday, May 23

I got an e-mail from a friend today asking:

"We keep running into problems with designers and living hinges. They have no experience and draw up hinges that do not work! Do you have a reference or is there a place I can send them when the need help?"

Good idea. How's about a little refresher on living hinges? Like I told him, in addition to designing the part detail correctly, you should also carefully consider:

  • Material selection (like polypropylene or polyethylene - check with your material supplier for the proper grade).
  • Gate location (flow must go across the hinge).
  • How the part is handled after molding (the hinge should be actuated several times right after the part is ejected to help orient the material).
Here's several good links to articles (and one PDF) that will guide you:

"By Design: Polypropylene Part Design, Part 2-Living Hinges" by Glenn Beall (from Injection Molding Magazine)

Polypropylene Design Guide from Dow

eFunda's Design Elements: Living Hinges

"Care and feeding of living hinges" from Machine Design

"Design Tip for Lving Hinges in Polypropylene" from Huntsman (PDF)

Enjoy.

Posted by:  | Comments (0)
Monday, May 23
AIA + TMFTML = THE GUTTER ("Ill-mannered commentary on the architectural arts.")

[Wait! Start here.]

Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Monday, May 23

Photo gallery collection of japanese manholes via pixelsurgeon

Posted by: squee.gee  | Comments (0)
Saturday, May 21

Courtesy of an acquaintance over at Accelerating Change who cited Mark Finner's post on the Bay Area Future Salon site, I just watched a neat little Quicktime video on the Nanotechnology Now website showing how a NanoFactory might work. The piece is a collaborative effort between engineer/animator, John Burch, and pioneering nanotechnologist, Dr. K. Eric Drexler. Very cool (although I didn't get any sound... bummer). Considering these little conveyors and linkages and cams are unimaginably tiny, is it even appropriate to think of this as a kind of elegant Victorian mechanism?

If you don't have Quicktime and can't install it, there's a slideshow presentation as well so you can see some of what you're missing. Enjoy.

Posted by: csven  | Comments (0)
Saturday, May 21
Posted by: Niti Bhan  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 20
Architecture for Humanity announced their winner of the Siyathemba design competition which challenged the world's designers to create the "perfect pitch," for the youth of Somkhele, South Africa, who are three times more likely to become HIV positive than youth in other parts of the world. Siyathemba is the Zulu word for "hope." In addition to serving as a gathering place for youth between the ages of 9-14 and health education/training centre, the pitch will also be home to the area's first girls' football league.
Posted by: Steve Portigal  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 20
All the details (lots of 'em) here

Meanwhile, the list:

1. Meditation
2. Reconnect With Your Senses
3. Reconnect With Your Intuition
4. Analogies and Metaphors
5. Conversations and Interviews
6. Synthesis, Distillation and Restatement
7. Reading (and Writing) Fiction
8. Psychoactive and Other Drugs
9. Learning a New Language:
10. Learning Something Outside Your Comfort Zone
11. Do Impulsive and Serendipitous Things
12. Collaboration

Posted by: Steve Portigal  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 20

Peter Kinne's wooden iPod case: "About 50 percent recycled or reclaimed. Wood from old hot tubs and tables, and stainless steel from salvaged bikes." Hmm. Old hot tubs? [boingboing]
Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 20

Astro Design has relaunched its website in the wake of their design contribution to the xBox360. It's one of the more usable and slick implementations of a flash portfolio I have seen. Good ID work too.

Link.

Posted by: Don Lehman  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 20
The finalists for the INDEX: Award were announced yesterday. One winner in each category will receive a 100,000 euro prize. The overall theme of the award is to recognize "design that significantly improves life for a large number of people." Big props to Core contributor Arnold van Bezooyen for his work on the Material Explorer.
Posted by: StuCon  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 19
Here's the simplest do-it-yourself jewelry out there. Watch out, ReadyMade mag!
Posted by: Steve Portigal  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 19

Seamless is a show of 'computational couture' that will take place tomorrow night (May 20) at 8PM at MIT in Cambridge MA. The show will feature 25 works by current and previous students of MIT, Harvard, RISD, and Parsons. Free admission too - should be cool.

the media laboratory
wiesner building, E15
20 ames street
cambridge, MA 02139

Posted by: StuCon  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 19

A simple addition that we have all probably thought of the need for - here it is! Used as an example in a blog entry on When Cities Do Things Right

found on the cool design+innovation blog CPH127 along with a link to Notes of a talk John Thackara just gave at IDEO (while promoting his book "In the Bubble: Daily Life as a Design Opportunity")

Posted by: shaggy  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 19

Vodafone Japan will launch in Jully two new mobile phones with costume covers to allow customers to easily coordinate handsets with their mood, fashion or lifestyle. Only for people with sophisticated taste: covers include "dinosaur egg," "sucker," "mermaid" or "lawn." (via textually)

Posted by: regine  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 19

Pantone Color Institute's top 10 new colors. (Okay, we did the legwork: gloxinia.) [37signals]
Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 19

Rapid injection molding is fast becoming a preferred alternative to rapid prototyping for a number of applications. How many times have you wished you could quickly mold a sample test part for your design? You can make an SLA or a casting, but you have to deal with the limitations of the materials (drop test, anyone?). With advances in CAD and their own proprietary software, Protomold has developed a way to quickly and inexpensively build injection molds that produce fully functional parts.

This article was writen by Brad Cleveland, president and CEO of Protomold and was published by ConnectPress, LTD., at proe.com. It describes how the process works, the advantages as welll as the limitations. The price and time benefits to these tools really pays off for smaller, simpler parts, but it's a nice option when you need it.

Protomold's web site is pretty cool, too. In addition to the free part tester that will review your part to determine if it will work in this rapid tooling process, there's "Ask Professor Plastic" which offers design guidelines, tips and help with material selection. It's definitely worth a look, even if you never use their service.

Posted by:  | Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 18

Macintosh®-based retro arcade gaming - I want one

Posted by: squee.gee  | Comments (1)
Tuesday, May 17
The May 23rd Issue of Newsweek has a section titled "Design 2005" - on msnbc.com. From their story on Proctor & Gamble,

"And one of Kotchka's first acts was to embed top designers in brand teams to help rethink not just the superficials�graphics, packaging, product design�but, more importantly, how consumers experience products."

They are embedding designers in their brand teams, directly working on marketing, strategy and product development. Here's one of their innovations, a toilet paper dispenser for kids.

"Look at kids who are toilet training," Kotchka continues. "Their line is 'I want to do it myself.' So, we said, 'OK, we know how to make a great wipe�what can we do to empower kids to use it themselves?' We made this clever pop-up box that lets a kid grab a wipe with one hand. And the kids went nuts for it."

Posted by: Niti Bhan  | Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 17
June's Fast Company promises to do something that no other business magazine has ever done: "devote virtually an entire issue to the subject of design. Why? Because we believe that great design has become as important to competitive advantage as smart technology."

My advice? Buy out the newstand and slip a copy under the door of the senior leadership team in your company, or in the mailbox of your clients.

Online soon, read Chris Bangle's interviews with this years "Masters of Design," including a slideshow offering design tips and pointers to other design-related features, including props to Core77.

Posted by: Chris Gielow  | Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 17
Whether you think hating brooklyn is cool, or loving brooklyn is cool, Williamsburg was definitely the place to be last night. Held together�almost literally, with big, pink X's taped on the sidewalks in front of participating galleries�by Joint Venture, a "collective of concept-driven exhibitions at various design-oriented locations," the Living Spaces Afterparty served as a kind of bug zapper for folks across both the East and Hudson Rivers. It was extremely pleasant to stroll around the neighborhood, and Mariko's Green Tea Royale at Supercore Caf� was a revelation. Here's a taste (of the design stuff).


[Above: Ron Gilad's Dear Ingo, Jennifer McCurdy's Wheat Vessels, Victoria Milne's Color is a Language]

Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 17

Our mum's friend Tupperware invites designers to create a piece of art or unique functional product using Tupperware as the basis for their inspiration.

Participating countries to the Translations in Tupperware contest will each select a winner and runner-up whose work will be displayed in a traveling exhibit, kicking off in New York City later this year.

Details in dexigner, via Margarita.

Posted by: regine  | Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 17

I have to say I'm a bit disappointed by this design for the new PS3. It has none of the lust factor that the PS2 or the new PSP has, and the controller looks ridiculous. What it can do is a bit more impressive: Sony claims the PS3 is twice as fast as the new xBox360, can play all existing Playstation games (both Playstation 1 and 2), and supports 1080p HD resolution.

Humorous, photoshopped gamer reaction to the new console below.


("PS3 grill" by Narcofiche / "Batman" by baggedlunch.com)

Posted by: Don Lehman  | Comments (0)
Monday, May 16
The Italians moved out of the Javits Center and onto the Hudson River piers this year, and it's a bit of a mystery why. We won't go into all the different theories here, but the place was a bit of a ghost town, and the exhibitor smiles seemed a bit forced. Lots of sweet Italian furniture of course, but the end of the second pier (92) climaxed with an absolute thud. Gaetano Pesce, who just two days earlier stood as an absolutely brilliant and inspiring ringleader at Material ConneXion's Malfatto symposium, built his "Pesce for Lunch"�a heartbreakingly disappointing food-as-furniture-and-landscape indulgence. Ugh. So where will the Italians be next year? Well, it's a pretty short pier...

Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Monday, May 16
From the Core77 forum I came across this interesting piece of software. Antipode's 3D Spacer is targeted at interior design and appears to be primarily for helping arrange components in a space. From the screens, it also appears to display it's 3D isometrically; but it gets the point across which appears to be its mission. If you're doing interiors or showcasing interior products and need something less overwhelming than 3D Studio Max and AutoCAD, maybe this one will do the trick (although you might want to compare prices, it's by no means inexpensive).
Posted by: csven  | Comments (0)
Monday, May 16
Tonight's Critical Edge panel discussion, moderated by I.D.'s Julie Lasky at the Center for Architecture, provided a warm and personable forum for talks around design criticism. But by the time each of the panelists got through the obligatory background-'n'-bio�TenbyTen Magazine's Annette Ferrara (sassy), Designers on Design's Max Fraser (charming), Apartment Therapy's Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan (thoughtful), and Consumed's Rob Walker (real)�there was precious little time left over for debating the topic at hand. As these things go however, tonight was pretty good, and Lasky did her best to provoke some decent nuggets. Sadly, and startlingly, there was no mention of the web as a forum for design criticism�has anyone been to Amazon's reader reviews, consumerreports.com, engadget, or about a million discussion forums�though Fraser came teasingly close when he broke down the media's reticence to trash anything from a pages-to-burn perspective (books can't afford the pages, magazines can't offend/betray their advertisers and publishers, newspapers can indulge just a little, since they're tomorrow's "fish wrapper").

For my money, email the attendees the speakers' bios ahead of time, provide links their work, and then let's all dive into the discussion right away, shall we?

Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Sunday, May 15
Creative Latitude is a worldwide community that unites various creative disciplines for collective promotion, education and ethical business practice.

All the documents a designer needs: forms, contracts, pricing guides and more, including many from CreativePublic.

From their About page:

Creative Latitude is about promotion and education. Nope, we're not talkin' readin', writin' and 'rithmetic. We seek to find ways to educate people about the creative process and the business value we, and our particular discipline, offer. Creativity, whether visual or the written word, affects people. It influences their thinking. Savvy enterprises understand this and use it. Creative Latitude is a place for sharp business people to find collaborators for their projects and learn about various trade practices, ethics and processes.

Posted by: Niti Bhan  | Comments (0)
Sunday, May 15
By this time next year, with all the exhibitors leaving for offsite locales (hell, the Italians even went as far as the piers!), it'll be cool again to be back at the Javits. But for now, you gotta enjoy the spray of design all over the city. Taking it to another level, Turf Collective, a band of students and graduates, rented a truck, built a website, and are driving around town displaying their wares. See it all at turfcollective.com, or, if you're already prowling around, call their hotline at 718-732-2589 to find out where they're parked. Sunday night they'll be streetside outside the Vitra Showroom. (A sign that it really is all going back to the Javits next year? Vitra invited them.)





[Above: Shannon South's Flirtstation, bench for two, Victoria Haroian's t1-12 Upside Down TV Chair, Chris Clemo's Turf Suit, Margaret Francis's Hanging Veneer Lamp]

Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Saturday, May 14
Myths of the Self-Taught Designer: The First Conversation between Ego and the Devil is the first of a series in Voice:AIGA Journal of Design.

From the editor's blurb:
Starting with this issue, designer and author (design authorpeneur) David Barringer begins a multi-part series about the fallacies and truths of design practice in the 21st century. Read on and join the dialog.

And for those of you who would like to more before clicking through, here's the opening paragraph,

The self-taught are a varied bunch of ragtag amateurs, fakers, enthusiasts, wackos, quacks, thieves, simpletons, liars, rubes, chuckleheads, delusionaries, hobbyists, and geniuses. Beware. The self-taught arrive on a wave of American optimism that has a wee bit of historical undercurrent. Americans like to believe themselves to be quintessentially self-taught, self-made, self-liberated, self-reliant. We like to beieve there is no such thing as social class in America. We like to believe anyone can be anything. We need only opportunity and will power. America provides the opportunity. The individual provides the will power. And bang! We are who we work hard to become.

Posted by: Niti Bhan  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 13
Here are some quick pics of the schwank Dutch Village opening at Donna Karan's pad in the Village earlier this evening. Very fun party with decked out bouncers and enough switch-out-the-wires-to-lace/ print-something-contemporary-on-the-ceramic to start a movement. Oh wait. It is a movement.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 13
A great day at Material ConneXion's Malfatto Conference. Here are the Quotes of the Day, completely out of context:
Beylarian: "Malfatto is a style of liberation and individuality." Patton: "The pasta [extrusion] machine is a small parable of malfatto at work." "We're analog, and we should be proud of it." Pesce: "Time is a traitor; when we finally understand one thing, time is a cantalever�the times change, and we are 'out of time.'" [Quoting a father figure]: "The best thing to do is to do." "Abandon the stupidity of the ideal beauty." Onnig: "[In fiction and movies], people put the gun to the head now; they used to put it to the heart." Edelkoort: "[The box] isn't necessarily a bad thing. When people move, they don't unpack their boxes once they get to the new place, cause they love to live without their things�almost to free ourselves; the box is a freedom thing." Thackara: "Powerdrills are used for 10 minutes of their entire lives; Most CDs are used only once in their entire lives." "40% of Americans and 35% of Europeans are on anti-depressants." Henderson: "The problem is not that too many products lack aesthetic diversity, but lack original thought." Ludwig: "We don't want to turn it into a slogan: 'Got Malfatto?'" Carter: "Cool kids never wear their clothes off the hanger."

And here are some pics:





Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 13

An interview with Nigo, the guy behind A Bathing Ape, in Pig Magazine, via Being Hunted

Posted by: shaggy  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 13

Designers on the core boards are (so far) giving the design a thumb's down ("missing the X factor", etc...) - What do you think?

There are some interesting insights on the MS design scene in the discussion too.

Posted by: shaggy  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 13

Thanks to James & everyone who came down to the Remote Lounge last night, more pics in the gallery shortly.

Posted by: squee.gee  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 13
Okay, I read this article on C|Net earlier and thought it might get covered in Core's Materials section. Then I promptly forgot about it and it slipped through the cracks. So thanks to WorldChanging.com for the kick. Cool stuff.
Posted by: csven  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 12

+ An interview with green guy William McDonough - Designing the Future, via world changing

+ coming late June-early July! massive UK design grad show

+ herds of tiny dinosaurs swirl around sleeping Mao, via WFMU

+ print your own (custom lined!) graph paper

+ ICFF ain't all that - don't fergit Custom Furniture! - The Other Side - Furniture Society conference 2005! or La-Z-Boy (not bad, not bad) Designer Line

+ Are Nissan designers trapped in windowless studio? - New design center arch. details

+ retro r/c car kits, via coudal from things mag.

+ lying down makes you more creative!, via the apartment's skinny cool blog

+ go view the work of your chinese brothers (n sisters) at Get It Louder - the lowdown on the show is here, via josh spear's site

+ and lastly, a guy who seems to be one of them rare design players who can switchhit graphic and product, graphic stuff can be found under projects here

Posted by: shaggy  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 12

Chinese cars. New paradigm. This spring. 250 North American locations.

For too many customers, buying a car is akin to visiting the dentist�uncomfortable, stressful, and painful,� says Briklin. �Visionary Vehicles is committed to setting a new standard of service that eliminates high-pressure sales techniques, and actually makes the process of buying a car enjoyable. By putting the interests of the consumer first, the Auto Show will fundamentally change the auto retail experience, and create a new industry standard for selling cars in North America.

To full interiordesign.net story.

Posted by: Bruce M. Tharp  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 12

Tonight - May 12 - Doors Open 6PM
Kick off the New York Design Week with Core77
Featuring Lighting designer James Clar
Musical stylings by los P.bears
Complimentary drinks

/

18:00 - 21:00
Remote Lounge
327 Bowery (btwn 2nd & 3rd St)
New York

/

See you there : More info

Posted by: squee.gee  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 12
"Socks? If only one, it is burnable; a pair goes into used cloth, though only if the socks 'are not torn, and the left and right sock match.' Throw neckties into used cloth, but only after they have been 'washed and dried.'" [NYT link]
Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 12
The Whizzinator is a realistic-looking prosthetic with a hidden pouch that can be loaded up with clean urine. Implies that when providing a drug taste sample one is (closely) observed. Really?

Link above has pictures of the product for men (choose your skin color - white, tan, latino, brown, or black. Be thankful pictures aren't posted here!

There is a product for women, but no clue what it looks like (instead, we see a Crumb-like character).

Posted by: Steve Portigal  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 12
TV commercial (WMV link) for Levi's that is a very clever, funny, make-you-laff/make-you-think comment on evolving male stereotypes and the associated consumption, with Levi's being the honest, back-to-basics, simple (or "uncomplicated" as the ad offers) remedy. Nice. Business Week's take is here. Via Musings of A Social Architect.

Update: link fixed

Posted by: Steve Portigal  | Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 11
IBM Design Consulting Services offers strategic design, product design and customer experience design. Read the press release
IBM said today it will launch a new service that allows companies to tap into IBM's award-winning product design and usability expertise, creating breakthrough products for other companies that offer more impact and user satisfaction in everything from consumer electronics to medical devices, like those that transmit data from pulse rate, heart rate and glucose level monitors over cellular networks. With this new service, IBM design experts will consult directly with clients who want deep insight into how their consumers or business customers might interact with future products or services. IBM experts will also assist companies with the building blocks needed to move from design concepts to actual offerings.
Karl Long points out that this is competing directly with IDEO.
Posted by: Steve Portigal  | Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 11

Found via the good folks at k10k, the Museum of Early Aircraft Design features some awesome drawings found in original U.S. Patent applications. The 'Amphibian Airplane' above was registered July 27th 1943 by A. J. Stolzenberger JR. Check Patent Room for loads more unrealized 20th century classics.

Posted by: squee.gee  | Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 11

Found on Red Ferret, this item should have been great. Like this. The actual design, unfortunately, kinda breaks our hearts. What would this have looked like in the hands of Tibor?
Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 11

"Palm vein patterns are unique with each individual and aside from size, the vein patterns do not change over a person's lifetime. As the veins are internal in the body and have a wealth of differentiating features, assuming false identity through forgery is extremely difficult, thereby enabling an extremely high level of security. Furthermore, other advantages of palm vein pattern authentication include minimal impact from such factors as cold weather, injuries, skin chafing, and strong resistance to impact from changes in external environmental factors. Moreover, Fujitsu's system features contactless technology and does not require direct contact with the device. Simply suspending the hand in the air over the device is sufficient for reading and authentication. This hygienic feature makes it possible for numerous users to use the device without hesitance, as it is unnecessary to touch surfaces that others have come into physical contact with." [link]
Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 10

"This is the first puzzle with all the Platonic solids in a concentric, integrated and solid form, with no voids between them," said Jerry Slocum, a puzzle expert in Beverly Hills, Calif." It is an amazing achievement.

The All Five is the product of more than 40 years of mathematical puzzle making. Now retired and living in Genoa, Nev., Dr. Daniel, 78, had a distinguished career as a physicist working on engine design for General Motors Research Laboratories. His original interest in puzzling began decades ago when he set out to make a series of tetrahedral kites for his son. After he retired the hobby became a full-blown passion that has led him to become a leading designer of puzzles based on Platonic solids." [NYTimes Link]

Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 10

This is very nice. [Swapatorium]
Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 10

From the brilliant web site for Huh? the world's most dynamic e-business marketing, design and consulting agency...

Our consulting ideas will entice and excite you. Our professional design solutions will give you the confidence to succeed. And our web site will make you think we know what we're doing.
Thanks to Stuart Jang for the tip.
Posted by: StuCon  | Comments (0)
Monday, May 09

Behold the future of clean power for the world!

Sky Windpower presents a proposal for high-altitude wind turbines, tethered to the earth and churning out electricity from the jet stream.

Thanks to astute reader Liam Hinshelwood for the tip.

Posted by: StuCon  | Comments (0)
Monday, May 09

Thought this may be of note to all you multicultured types that fly back and fourth from USA to EU or Asia. This new line of Vodafone handsets (has been in Japan for few months now though) truely bridges the Multi band gap. The phone I got recently is the Vodafone 802se (or v800 in the EU). Its a TriBand and UMTS handset that works in all major continents and top level mobile phone frequency ranges, not to mention the 1.3MP camera (up to 1280x1024), support for MPEG videos, MP3s and Ringtones, Flashlite (a mobile version of Macromedia Flash) and Memory Stick Duo onboard (I have a 256MB one for mine), you can get up to 1GB! There are others in the lineup, but this was the one that really got me.

Oh, btw, the Vodafone exclusive units come in Ice White, Black and Copper, while the debranded ones (called the z800) only have Aluminum covers (not as cool as they sound). You can get any of these units on eBay, unlock using PC software and special unlock cable, and then program to work on your US GSM network (mine is Cingular).

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Monday, May 09
Surprised me. Read about Motorola's new nano-emissive display technology over on C|Net here. Sounds like a very cool development. Guess I have to keep an eye out for the Next Big Thing to make this one obsolete. Maybe next week.
Posted by: csven  | Comments (0)
Monday, May 09
NewScientist.com has an article on Vacuum Elevator's new (*drum roll for the surprise name*) "vacuum elevator" being retailed by (*hisses for the ugly website*) Daytona Elevator. This makes so much sense. Which makes me wonder: did a bunch of guys at some old time elevator manufacturer come up with this idea years ago, fidget nervously and go "No way"?
Posted by: csven  | Comments (1)
Sunday, May 08
A report on China's need for Industrial Design, written by two professionals, from the Japan Design Foundation's website in English.

Ever wondered what was really happening in the Far East? Explore more articles including one titled " Industrial Design to Introduce Industrial Products into the Global Market".

Also, links to the JDF's own news and articles in english.

Posted by: Niti Bhan  | Comments (0)
Saturday, May 07
Being held at U of Toronto later this month, Subtle Technologies is an annual, four-day multidisciplinary event exploring the complex and subtle relationships between art and science, presenting symposia, exhibitions and performances that juxtapose cutting-edge artistic endeavours and scientific exploration.
Posted by: Steve Portigal  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 06

The Brooklyn Designs 2005 show started in DUMBO today and will be open to the public both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Pictured above from top to bottom: 'Tetris Shelves' from Brave Space, 'Float Textile' by Emilie Baltz, 'Re-bulb' by Young taek Oh, the 'MOD Cabinet' from Glide and 'Site specific murals and installations' by Elisheva Biernoff and Jennifer Smith.

Posted by: squee.gee  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 06

Researchers at the U. of Michigan have developed Engineered Cement Composite (ECC) which "looks like regular concrete, but is 500 times more resistant to cracking and 40 percent lighter in weight. Tiny fibers that comprise about 2 percent of the mixture's volume partly account for its performance. Also, the materials in the concrete itself are designed for maximum flexibility."

Posted by: StuCon  | Comments (0)
Friday, May 06
Wired has a nice history of Samsung
In his 1996 New Year's address, Lee proclaimed the Year of Design Revolution. He was referring to design in the broadest sense - not just styling but consumer research and marketing as well. Engineers had once defined new products and decided what features to give them; now specialists in everything from industrial design to cognitive science would take that role. When Lee issued his decree, 'most of us didn't understand what he was talking about, ' says Kook-hyun Chung, the senior vice president who heads the Corporate Design Center in Seoul. 'Now we understand that we have a new, bigger, broader responsibility.
Posted by: Steve Portigal  | Comments (0)
Thursday, May 05
No design commentary here, but I want to note that the date is 05.05.05, in Europe AND America...
Posted by: StuCon  | Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 04
Once again, the Institute of Design is extending its design-strategy-brand out to the West Coast for an Innovation Workshop in San Francisco. Note that in some parts of Canada, this weekend is known as May 2-4 (two - four) after the nickname for a case of 24 beer. If you aren't in San Francisco for this event, then, you may wish to celebrate Victoria Day.
Posted by: Steve Portigal  | Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 04
From the Innovation Weblog, comes the news that MIT's Eric von Hippel has put up his new book as a free PDF download under the Creative Commons license. The book, Democratizing Innovation, describes "how the emerging proccess of user-centered, democratized innovation works...[and about] how innovation by users provides a very necessary complement to and feedstock for manufacturer innovation."

The first paragraph of his first chapter explains,

"When I say that innovation is being democratized, I mean that users of products and services - both firms and individual consumers -are increasingly able to innovate for themselves. User-centered innovation processes offer great advantages over the manufacturer-centric innovation development systems that have been the mainstay of commerce for hundreds of years. Users that innovate can develop exactly what they want, rather than relying on manufacturers to act as their (often very imperfect) agents. Moreover, individual users do not have to develop everything they need on their own: they can benefit from innovations developed and freely shared by others."


Looking for a good read on Lead User research and Innovation, start here.

Posted by: Niti Bhan  | Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 04
From Steven Heller's interview with Henry Petroski in AIGA's Voice:
"Petroski: Some readers have written to me that they think the bare-bones Ekco is the better peeler. Mostly they argue on functional grounds, but there is also a good deal of nostalgia that seems to affect their judgment. Like the paper clip, the stainless-steel Ekco can be appreciated for its minimalist design. Every part and curve seems to serve a function in an almost effortless way. It is a very efficient design, and it derives its aesthetic presence from that fact. (Those who prefer the OXO might arguably say the same about it.) The OXO, on the other hand, is strikingly modern in its look and texture. Its large, soft handle may be a boon to arthritics, but to those who are not so impaired obviously designed gadgets like the Oxo peeler are an aesthetic extravagance."
Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 04

Davin Risk is the winner of the Mike Industries �Make a Meatspace Shuffle� creativity competition.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 04
THE SETTINGS THAT WOULD BE ON A BLENDER TODAY IF THE BLENDER HAD BEEN INVENTED, SAY, 100 YEARS BEFORE ITS ACTUAL INVENTION DATE OF 1922.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov  | Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 04

Looks as though Fitch has redesigned their website and branding.

Two thoughts:
1) I'm glad they did away with the flash movable windows thing.
2) They have an insane amount of satellite offices. 18(!) in all. Helsingborg? Doha? Columbus? Where are these places?! (Just kidding Doha.) Luckily, they have an easy to read graphical system to show you which offices are open and which ones are sleeping.

Link.

Posted by: Don Lehman  | Comments (0)