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Lifehacker's been a real fave lately, and today's link to printable paper rulers just might give that ratty old IKEA one stuck to the inside of your wallet a run for its money.
Today, Interior Motives Design Awards 2006 opens its registration doors for students on a recognised graduate and post-graduate design course, anywhere in the world.
According to Interior Motives "anyone can do science fiction". They want you to consider future technology, the environment, society, regional differences, etc. - and come with a scenario supported design proposal.
Feel challenged? - Get registered here or print out the student manual (PDF) for some bed time reading.
Posted by: Aart van Bezooyen | Comments (1)
Split-toe booties, balloon pants, checker patterns - dope! You too can be Tobi! aka "scaffolding man/woman" in English. via shift blog
While out at SolidWorks World recently, I got the chance to get up close and personal with a new device from Next Engine. I first saw this, under NDA, a few months ago and have barely been able to contain myself.
Essentially, it's a very small, hi-res 3D capture system. Its uses a multi-stripe triangulation system and dual 3.0 megapixel camera to capture both 3D forms and the associated texture maps. The device was launched at SolidWorks because there's a co-development project under for the 2007 release that'll see full support add for both the device and the data it produces… There's an associated turntable to automate much of the process and even from the briefest of glimpses, registration of data sets seems pretty easy.
What's perhaps most shocking is that it costs just $2,495. With the release of SolidWorks 2007, this device is going to be very popular indeed..
If you've got an interest in the world of product development software.. well.. development, the guys over at Cyon Research have just announced their COFES (Conference on the Future of Engineering Software) 2006 event.
According to the press release, the 7th annual COFES "brings together executives from engineering, design, development, architecture, and technology companies to explore new engineering technology and discuss its effects on the future of business."
If you fancy a trip into the desert, some warm weather and the chance to geek out with the best of the best, the event takes place at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort, Scottsdale, Arizona, April 20 - 23, 2006.
Maybe it's life post-Bladerunner, but it's not uncommon while travelling in Asia to suddenly find yourself nudged into science-fiction. Arriving passengers at the Hong Airport must walk through an area where their thermal image is observed - presumably to see if you are feverish and carrying SARS or H5N1.
Posted by: Steve Portigal | Comments (0)
EcoPanorama is the site/journal of Mathieu Acquart, a French industrial designer. He is engaged on a round-the-world trip to immerse himself in sustainable design. The ZIP file on the 'resources' page outines the whole thing. Hopefully he gets a blog going and posts photos online - the results should be interesting.
Many thanks to Emilie Baltz for sharing her impressions of this weekends Maison & Objet show in Paris.
[ View Photos ]
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)
We love surprises and she knows how to make them. Materials designer Lauren Moriarty feels well between illusion and design and tells us about the Butterfly Effect
"A double layer printed plastic lampshade with magical qualities. The layering of patterns creates an interference effect- a type of optical illusion which makes the butterflies appear to magically flutter."
Posted by: Aart van Bezooyen | Comments (1)One of the most distinguishing and memorable elements of the Nintendo Entertainment System was its design. In its day, it had a futuristic aesthetic that has now transitioned into cultural icon status. The NES is alive and well, on t-shirts and other fashion accessories like the infamous Captain N power pad belt buckle.
The designer is Lance Barr, Product Design Director at Nintendo of America and you can read his full interview here. Here's an intriguing snippet,
As a designer you are always making new, and hopefully better designs and products, so as you move on to the latest project, it's great to look back on some of the things that people noticed and appreciated. When I designed the controller, I never thought it would be the icon that it has. But I have to tell you, it's weird when my daughter comes home wearing the NES controller design on her shirt.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (1)This detailed article from The Guardian describes a research study conducted on household waste - mostly unnecessary packaging materials that still consume oil - in the form of fuel, energy and plastics - in their manufacturing process. Some excellent examples of redesigning bottles and packaging to serve recycling needs, be more eco friendly and ultimately sustainable, moving away from the overkill of plastic. After the gap is the example of the redesigned Evian water bottle.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (3)
What's not to love about the steam-powered toys being constructed by I-Wei Huang? Check out the wonderful handiwork - Link. After that, take a look at both the posted resume ("worm counter"?) and the video (safe for work) on the main site. Great stuff.
via Boing Boing
{Image Copyright: I-Wei Huang}
Posted by: csven | Comments (0)This is Rob Walker's most recent article from his NYT "Consumed" column.
It deals with the Mike brand of sportswear/streetwear that intentionally references both Michael Jordan and Nike. The brand is not trying to dupe consumers into thinking that it is affiliated with those marketing juggernauts, but instead questions the possibility of creating new brand content from someone else's intellectual property. Up until now the brand has evaded litigation.
Click here for the article
As olympic torches go, this one's pretty sweet. The shell of The Torch for the games in Torino is aluminium alloy with the internal equipment in steel, copper and technopolymer. The surface finishing provides an embossing to make the grip easier and a special painting resistant to high temperatures. The Torch is stoked with a hydrocarbon mixture (propylene-butane) contained in a spray-type canister in standard aluminium.
The styling concept of the design by Italian firm Pininfarina is a modern reinterpretation of the traditional wooden torch in which the metal itself appears to catch fire and burn. When lit, the flame wraps the body of the Torch rather than coming out from a hole on the top, as in the past editions.
There's only one little problem: it's a bit heavy. At nearly 4.4 lbs (2 kilos), runners carrying the aluminium torch in relay across Italy to the opening ceremony say it is difficult to hold aloft for long. (Article)
If you want to get your own, you can buy one on eBay.
Additional links here and here.
Posted by: | Comments (4)
The New York Gift Fair opens this weekend. The bulk of the show is at the Javits Center, but the real action will be at Pier 94 (a few blocks north) where our good friends at Cake will be showing their new line, including the Kromengnomen shown above. The pensive look on Mrs. Gnome's face is strangley alluring.
Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) have completely transformed visual display technology, particularly within portable electronic devices. Because of their improved brightness and low power consumption, the sales volume of these power-saving color displays doubled in 2005 compared with the previous year.
Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam are now studying ways to make OLEDs transparent, which will lead to a variety of new applications. While metal oxide coatings in earlier OLEDs made them opaque, researchers are investigating new transparent physical properties, as well as OLED and liquid crystal display hybrids.
Because the new panels will interfere little with visible light or views, future applications include transparent heads-up displays in car windshields and building glazing units. [via the Fraunhofer Institute.]
We love this competition so much it hurts. Over 600 entries; a whole bunch shown here.
We've blogged the toy version before, but the big boys are going to try it again tonight (Wed.) on MythBusters. Hope it works this time.
The Ergoshoe project is driven by INESCOP, the Spanish Technological Institute for Footwear and Related Industries.
By using a laser foot scanner to create a 3D computer model of a person's feet, the ERGOSHOE system bridges the design gap between shoe manufacturers and customers, allowing shoe comfort to be improved efficiently and at relatively low cost in the mass market, and in niche markets such as healthcare and worker footwear. In turn, it promises to boost the competitiveness of European shoemakers, who produce 700 to 800 million pairs a year, against Asian imports that amounted to 1.6 billion pairs in 2004.
Full article: blogs.zdnet.com | Via: Pixelsurgeon
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (1)The NYT article, "As Gadgets Get It Together, Media Makers Fall Behind," discusses the big theme at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas--convergence.
Interesting for object makers, it discusses the crucial role that services must play (without focussing on iPod/iTunes).
For once, the visionaries were right. Video is popping up on cellphones, iPods, TiVo's and Web sites. And as for blogs, photo-tagging sites like Flickr, podcasts and the rest of the bubbling digital stew, it's clear that lots of media are coming together in lots of devices in lots of ways.
Yet for all the time that media executives - from the towers of Sixth Avenue to the back lots of Burbank - had to prepare for convergence, they are now scrambling to figure out what to do about it.
Click here for the article Posted by: Bruce M. Tharp | Comments (0)
Here's a follow-up to an entry from last September on Microsoft's "Sparkle" application. News.com has posted an article on the lastest incarnations. From their report:
Microsoft on Tuesday released early versions of a new line of tools meant to lure illustrators and designers closer to Redmond's world.The software giant made public its trial editions, called community technology previews (CTP), of Expression Interactive Designer and Expression Graphic Designer--two products from a new line of software aimed at graphics designers and illustrators.
To read the entire article, follow the Link.
Posted by: csven | Comments (0)
Oh for goodness sakes. We have firm sites, firm blogs, project blogs...now we have a new hybrid by a firm that blogs other people's stuff. Still, we love that Globalhaus Sticks Screen (above), and wish good luck to housefish.com...what/whoever you are.
A designer who believes that interfaces and products should be designed in conjunction with each other rather than seperately, Luke Wroblewski, writes the Functioning Form blog and has an excellent post today with links to reading lists and topics for those interested in learning more about User Interface Design. Here's his intro,
I receive a lot of email from students and novice practitioners asking for resources to help them learn the fundamentals of interface design. These questions come from people with a variety of backgrounds: computer science, psychology, Web design, human computer interaction, and more. This is great because interface design, at its heart, is an inter-disciplinary activity whose practitioners benefit greatly from strong horizontal (generalist) skill sets
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (0)
Manifestos at their heart are one person's vision of what they feel the world could or should be. Who then is better equipt to put out a manifesto than a designer, or at the very least, a science fiction author who really digs designers? Enter Bruce Sterling with Shaping Things.
Shaping Things is brimming with energy and urgency. Sterling looks to the future and envisions where our present is going (hint: landfill). But he doesn't want to halt progress either. So instead what he does is touch on ways in the future we might better account for our actions so we can evolve our object lusting ways into something more sustainable and possibly more lustworthy. Don't forget, designers play a big part.
This is a great, energizing read and at its core, an optimistic look toward our future's greatest achievements.
Posted by: Don Lehman | Comments (2)
If Bruce Sterling is the heart of Shaping Things, Lorraine Wild is the soul. Wild is the head of Green Dragon Office, a graphic design studio based out of LA, and the design force behind Shaping Things. Several things are done well with the design of this manifesto and one or two are done really well.
First, the book has the perfect size and heft to support the content inside. Remember, this is a manifesto, it should be rugged, paperback, and somewhat pocketable. You have to feel good about passing it on to a friend, but not so careless that you don't take it seriously. Typography is boldly used to compliment and bring clarity to the content. For example, whenever the word, "Gizmo," appears, it's set in a pixilated typeface. It's eye-catching at first and later becomes a subtle way to remember a key idea.
Overall the charts, the pictograms, the type, even the broad strokes of green, generate a visual wit and empathy that neatly matches Sterling's optimism.
Posted by: Don Lehman | Comments (0)
Via Boing Boing (Link): The General Motors Futurliner. File under "Object Culture".
{Image Copyright 2004-2006 Barrett-Jackson Auction Company, LLC}
Posted by: csven | Comments (0)
2500 people from 99 countries took part in the 2005 poll - now Brandchannel presents its yearly results on which brands have the most impact on us.
"Google went public in the summer of 2004, and the hype hasn't died yet. Notable milestones in 2005 included the launch of Google Mini (around the same time that Apple unveiled its own mini product) and Desktop Search, which, like most Google product, falls under the "descriptive" school of naming. The quirky brand also treated us to Google Earth, arguably the greatest thing to hit the Internet since porn."
See Brandchannel for the full story including regional differences (!) and previous year results.
Posted by: Aart van Bezooyen | Comments (1)
Core77 pal and footwear designer Richard Kuchinsky has a blog about footwear design that we've linked to before. But he's recently returned from a trip to Asia where he visited and documents the production process. He's now posting this on his blog First Pullover. Make sure to click the 'read more' links to see the details.
This intriguing installation will be up until February 20th at Danish Design Centre's Balcony space. Lykke has set up two parallel layers of hexagonal boxes--each painted with red lines--hung 14 cm apart, along the back wall of the gallery. As visitors enter the room, they create air disturbances, which are tranposed into subtle moire patterns. Very low tech, but very sophisticated.
As Lykke explains, the wall is "passively waiting" and is only activated when the spectator moves within the space. Then variations of the patterns follow along as a film, forming a living, vibrating surface. In this way, the spectator alters the wall.
We wanna go.
Ane: send video when you got some.
Event info here;
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (1)Infoworld is carrying news (Link) that Adobe has released Acrobat 3D which reportedly allows CAD files to be shared much more easily than was previously possible. Read the story and stop by Adobe's product page (Link) to get some additional details and see samples.
Posted by: csven | Comments (0)
The Volvo SportsDesign Award nominees have been posted on their site. Some nice work there (full disclosure - the event organizers have purchased advertising at Core77). The 'concepts' category looks interesting, but we'll have to wait for the final judging to learn anything about those items.
Or at least the idea of Bluetooth.
The main problem with Bluetooth is that people haven't had access to it. I have it built into my laptop, but I don't own a single device that interacts with it. But I do have several USB devices. All that are a giant pain in the butt to reattach to my laptop everytime I need to use them. If only I had a way to connect to them wirelessly...
Enter this wireless USB access point from Belkin. You have a base that you plug all of your gear into and a wireless USB dongle for your computer. Having to plug the dongle (great word) in all the time is a pain too, so look forward to devices (meaning no need for access points or, heaven forbid, dongles) that have wireless USB built into them sometime next year. Until then, I'll be buying this for $129 (US) when it comes out this spring.
Posted by: Don Lehman | Comments (2)
It's probably time to start "B3ta Fridays!" around here, but this is a nice way to send y'all into the weekend. [b3ta]
For those of you in Chicago this Sunday, you have the chance to listen to Julie Lasky, Editor-in-Chief of I.D. Magazine, speak to the public on design.
Her talk, Design at the Crossroads, sponsored by The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, "will explore how contemporary design is changing with the breakdown of traditional disciplinary boundaries."
Sunday, January 22, 2006
1:00pm
Ballroom, MacLean Center
112 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois
The Miele Space Station was a pilot project to develop methods for making architecture from waste. Old washing machines are great, but the Dutch agency 2012 Architects takes it further and brings a catalogue of waste materials available at www.recyclicity.net
"The objective of Recyclicity is to promote re-use of waste material for construction applications with as little added energy as possible for transport and processing of materials."
Instead of chopping and melting waste to anonymous base-material, they use the unique identity of the waste-material. Example projects at the website prove how working with waste in its primary form opens doors for innovative applications and unexpected design. You've got my support guys!
Posted by: Aart van Bezooyen | Comments (1)
Konica-Minolta today revealed it is to quit photography business after more than 103 years - with the loss of 3,700 jobs worldwide. The company also said it will move out of the camera market - digital and analogue - beyond the digital SLR systems and lenses it designs for Sony under a development deal forged in July 2005.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)
I post quite a bit about the merging of virtual worlds/videogames with real world products on my own quiet little blog, but this mashup spins things in a way that I don't doubt will get most everyone's attention. Via C|Net (Link) comes word that Nissan's "Urge" concept car doubles as an XBox 360 videogame controller. When in park, of course.
Note to self: invest in a parking meter manufacturer.
{Image source: Tony Ding/Icon SMI}
Posted by: csven | Comments (0)
Wouldn't think that the seat was the expensive part, but this is obviously a great initiative. (Couldn't the whole thing be knock-down?) [via Gizmag]
I've been posting frequently on design in Singapore and India lately, so this kills two birds with one stone. Singapore's Senior Minister (ex Prime Minister) Goh Chok Tong visited the National Institute of Design at Ahmedabad, India this week to urge collaboration and cooperation between the two nations. From the article,
'South East Asia has a lot of common issues to be tackled. Its time to rise up to the occasion and have collaborative projects with Singapore institutes," said Akhil Succena, Activity Chairperson (Education), NID.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (2)
Approximately 2 billion people worldwide lack access to electricity. Sheila Kennedy's Portable Light project brings together ancient textile weaving techniques and contemporary solid state electronics to design a new material form for light: a cost-effective, de-centralized renewable lighting device. Lightweight, easily rolled or compressed, readily shipped, transported and carried, Portable Light can be deployed at a global scale for education, household health and economic production and community practices. [via Portable Light.]
Posted by: Blaine Brownell | Comments (0)
Over at Reluct. Pictured above; 'Easy Chairs' by Willy Guhl, 'Ideal House Cologne' by Dieter Rams & 'Floating light' by Erik Klarenbeek.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (2)
OJ sends in this link to a techeblog post comparing a 1985 hard drvive to today's model. Kinda beautiful though.
Experientia has begun a new interview series--dialogues with leading professionals in user experience and innovation--and their first one's up: Richard Eiserman, Director of Design and Innovation at the UK Design Council. Here's a taste:
People tend to have many different ideas of what design is. The Design Council has a rather broad vision of design. What does design mean for you?
When I talk about design, I try not to mention the "d" word anymore. I try to talk about value. There are three types of value that design can help create. First, there is economic value for business, the impact on the bottom line. Then, there is social value, the creation of value for people. The products and services we design need to be responsive to user needs, and need to have social qualities that are positive and reinforcing.
But there are lots of disciplines that can provide this, not just design?
Yes, there are. So the third value is rather unique to what design can do, which is to provide aesthetic value, the visceral pleasure and satisfaction provided by a product or service. This aesthetic quality positions designers very uniquely in the creation or development of any kind of product or service.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (1)
The IMM Cologne Furniture Fair opened on Monday, and POL Oxygen is posting photos. More pics from the actual fair would be nice, rather than the official press photos.
Posted by: StuCon | Comments (0)
Amongst the myriad design blogs these days, we are thrilled to see disabledhands.com, a kind of Lifehacker-meets-universal design blog. Subtitled "Tips, Hacks and Products for those with diminished hand function," the blog checks in on everything from devices that help you put on a bracelet to speed laces.
MINI Detroit
MINI Tokyo
MINI Frankfurt
Before revealing last week that they would be introducing a new model with more legroom for passengers, MINI was dropping not so subtle hints on the auto show circuit with these concept cars. The new models won't be available for awhile (MINI says sometime within the next three years) but I'm liking the direction they're playing with, which seems to be a cross between the current MINI and an Aston Martin.
Posted by: Don Lehman | Comments (2)As we approach the final countdown for the Torino games (23 days), the organizers of the Beijing Olympic Games (933 days) have launched a campaign to solicit entries for the design of the Beijing 2008 medals.
"The designs for the Beijing Olympic medals should highlight the themes of 'glory and dream' and 'faster, higher and stronger'," Zhang Ming, deputy director of BOCOG's Culture and Ceremonies Department, said at the press conference. "The medals should be the material vehicles to disseminate the Olympic ideals and the concepts of the Beijing Games, to showcase China's arts, designs and scientific and technological development. They should become the unique legacy of the Beijing Games."
Click here for details about the competition.
Posted by: Stephanie Munson | Comments (0)
In response to hurricane Katrina, students led by Jerry Malinowski at the University of Louisiana (Lafayette) felt the need to take action. The students created "The Book of Ideas for Disaster Relief", which proposes ideas for improving contaminated water, evacuation routes, and helicopter food drops.
Click here to read more about the project. Posted by: Stephanie Munson | Comments (0)
"There are as many sex workers in the Philippines as there are factory workers. This is a numbingly tragic statistic, when you are confronted with the economic realities that push devoutly Catholic girls to be molested by Middle aged western men. Over 40% of Filipinos live below the poverty line. As a designer I saw the equation simply: More products sold at higher margins mean more work for the factories, which means fewer girls being tempted to this line of work. The self-hatred I had developed as a designer working for a large corporation where the complexities of globalization wrestled with the plight of the individual worker pounding out my crap seemed to lift, once I realized that I could do something to help..." [Go to article]
"Technically, "innovation" is defined merely as "introducing something new;" there are no qualifiers of how ground-breaking or world-shattering that something needs to be only that it needs to be better than what was there before. And that's where the trouble starts when an organization requests "innovation services" from a consulting firm. Exactly what are they really requesting? The fact is, innovation means different things to different people..." [Go to article]
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)"Bicycle design is a funny thing. For all intents and purposes, its main design has remained unchanged for over 5 decades. Yet an evolutionary design approach, through various iterations, has led a continual search for optimum solutions within the same core design; though the formal bones of the bicycle have remained the same, several significant changes have come through material and mechanical innovation. It's been slow and it's been gradual, but these changes now represent the improvements necessary to help riders squeeze that little bit extra out of the human body..." [Go to article]
Posted by: core jr | Comments (1)
Google Will Eat Itself is not a Poppies side project although I bet they wish they thought of it. Using the money generated by Google Ads on a number of secret websites, GWEI automatically buy Google shares which will ultimately be handed over to the GTTP Ltd. [Google To The People Public Company] which distributes them back to the users (clickers) / public.
Its only 3.443.287.037 Million years until GWEI fully owns Google. Awesome !!
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (1)
Truth be told, I fell in love with design as a 9-year-old, sitting at the kitchen table, drawing Buffalo Bills logos and uniforms in crayon. (I'm from western New York and the Bills were very good back then, so lay off.) To this day I am passionate about sports uniforms and have become a regular reader of Paul Lukas' "Uni Watch" over at espn.com. Every week, Paul takes you through the minutae of uniforms, everything from the latest in sock fashion (high whites!) to bemoaning the worst color in sports: purple.
Come to find out, Paul used to write the old Inconspicuous Consumption column for Core way before anyone knew what a blog was. Rock on brother.
Posted by: Don Lehman | Comments (0)
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Have stove, will travel. [Link]
That's the watchword for Eugene's Ken Goyer, who has journeyed from El Salvador to Turkey to Uganda to get his energy-efficient wood-cooking stoves in the hands of refugees and other impoverished souls.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (1)THERE may not be much going on in Slovak design when compared to the neighbouring Czech Republic. However, in Slovakia there is certainly one identifiable trend: designers using the crafts of their forefathers to produce stylish, contemporary products
[...]
Slovakia, in contrast to the Czech Republic, managed to save the institution that takes care of traditional heritage after Communism fell in 1989. Therefore, Kleinová explains, this trend is more visible here than may be the case with other countries whose designers also draw inspiration from the "domestic".
Interesting read on how one new country is trying to preserve and continue it's cultural and design heritage.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (4)Outsource it. To students, says Entreprenuer Magazine.
It's not a new idea for corporations and universities to work together on ideas. What's changing is how the country's design and engineering schools are creating integrated product design programs that bring together engineering, business and design students to facilitate the innovation process. Student teams research markets, build prototypes and work out design flaws--effectively creating one-stop R&D capacity for small companies.
[...]
Ideas in early stages without tight deadlines tend to be the best fit for both sides.
Timothy just sent this link in, and it got us thinking about cutting the material up and using it for some hot rapid prototyping/breadboarding action. Anyone out there know what this stuff is, or have any ideas for it? (Other than a vase, of course.)
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, consistently ranked as the top MFA program in the country by US News and World Report, is adding three new graduate programs in Fall '06: Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects. If you are wondering about "Designed Objects," it is very closely aligned with industrial design.
If you are still curious, they are having an online chat this Tuesday, January 17th, from 6:00pm-9:00pm CST.
Click here for details about the web chat.
Posted by: Bruce M. Tharp | Comments (0)
From Under Consideration (producers of the venerable Speak Up), The Design Encylopedia now has 396 entries and 277 registered contributors.
Our favorites are Tang, Bestine, Cheez Whiz, Holga Camera, and Mr. Potato Head. (But you prob'ly knew that already.) And, Sergio Pininfarina? Now THAT's an entry!
People, let's put 'em over the 500-mark by Monday, k?
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)
Another 'fashion meets car design' surprise. This time by Berlin's upcoming designers Unrath & Strano
"23m2 of snakeskin-effect leather for the interior. The specially treated leather was applied to the seats, steering wheel, gear stick and doors in strips - a process that took around 80 hours." - [imagery via DaimlerChrysler]
Guess no pythons/photographers were harmed during the photo session... (yes, they are real)
via interior motives [thanks to PARK for the mag]
Posted by: Aart van Bezooyen | Comments (1)
The Chartered Society of Design announces their international design competition:
Entries will be accepted from any SECOND year student studying on any full-time design course anywhere in the world.
The design disciplines eligible are: exhibition, fashion, graphic, interior, product, and textile.
Posted by: Bruce M. Tharp | Comments (0)The 48 students enrolled in the National Yunlin Technical University Department of Industrial Design held an exhibition entitled "Caring for the Underprivileged" at the university's Art Center on Monday, showcasing product design.
Chen Ching-wen designed a "movable bed for the homeless," made of material that stays warm in winter and cool in summer. The bed can be folded up, turned over, and carried from place to place. Chen calls her creation "STAY."
For blind people who need guide dogs, today the canine companions can be replaced by robots. Student Li Hsin-min created a specially built cane head that uses ultrasound to sense obstacles in front of the user. The direction in which the wheels roll guides the user to avoid the problem.
via Taiwan Headlines
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (0)
This is pretty interesting. Anyone out there wanna do one for a car?
[Thanks to Sally for the link.]
In my browser, the favicon for this new logo announcement at Kodak's site still shows the old logo. And now the bluster
"Today's digital cameras are dinosaurs, with the same basic architecture and functionality as the box Brownie camera that Kodak introduced more than one hundred years ago,' said [Kodak CEO] Perez. 'It's a lens, shutter and something to capture the focused light. All the imaging industry has done is to replace silver with silicon. In the next era, we will design digital cameras from the ground up to take full advantage of the creative power that digital technology provides.""Consumers want the power to use their images to connect, create, preserve, entertain and inform," said Perez. "To that end, Kodak is committed to reinventing the digital imaging experience by pretty much changing everything that defines photography today and bringing ease-of-use to the next level."
Ease-of-use is a surprising thing to hang an innovative hat on; it's still delivered terribly, but it's not very sexy. Will it work? Posted by: Steve Portigal | Comments (4)
Check out our first in a series of panel discussions on Design, Business, and Innovation
Panel #1: Current Thinking in Brand and Service Innovation
February 28, 1-6pm
Topic:
From Complexity to Clarity:
Distilling the ingredients of great customer experiences
One of the biggest challenges of brand and service design is to take complex systems and represent them to users as simple and clear experiences. From Google to Apple, from Kodak to FedEx, this panel discussion will center on the strategies for developing clear artifacts and experiences from sophisticated palettes.
Moderator:
Bruce Nussbaum
Panelists:
Kevin Farnham, CEO, Method
Marissa Mayer, Vice President, Search Products & User Experience, Google
Jeneanne Rae, Co-founder, Peer Insight
Andrew Zolli, Founder, Z-Plus Partners
Location:
Union Square Ballroom, NYC
Wired online has posted an excellent article discussing the development of Lego's Mindstorm NXT product (Link). There's been plenty of talk in marketing circles about tapping into online social networks (like Myspace) to connect with consumers and gather market data; even some increased discussion recently about software companies enlisting netizens to assist in their own product development - most geeks know that there isn't a much faster way to fame and (possible) fortune then adding "hooks" into the software API (application programming interface) to allow users to code their own piggy-back applications (just look at Google Map hacks). Everyone wants to be like Google. So reading how a humble little product like Lego is showing everyone - and I mean everyone - how it's really done is a treat. Maybe we'll start seeing manufacturers wanting to be more like Lego and read more stories of consumers becoming product developers.
After you read the Wired piece, I'd also point to my other post on Lego which is decidely low-brow, but perhaps of further interest (Link). It's a trip to see a product go from robotics to simple homemade products. And btw, you now have enough ammunition to go back to your mother explaining why throwing away your Lego's when you left home was a bad thing.
{Image Copyright 2005 Lycos, Inc.}
Posted by: csven | Comments (0)
Fake products that feature prominently in classic movies, include Beautee soap, Klenzrite soap, Happy soap, and Dazzledent toothpaste. Be fun (yet tedious) to come up with a broader list (more than consumer products) across a longer swatch of time.
Image courtesy FemaleFirst.
Gabriel Tan, third year ID student at the National University of Singapore and his classmate, Wendy Chua, won the Electrolux Global Design Lab Award competition with their 'Airwash', a waterless washing machine.
The Airwash utilizes negative ions, compressed air and deodorants to clean clothes. Its form is inspired by the waterfall, nature's negative ion generator. Airwash eliminates the need for detergent and water. By using atmospheric air and negative ions - a natural cleansing agent - it fights dirt and bacteria with nature's own weapon. It is designed to be placed anywhere in the home, not only in the laundry area. The simple user interface "floats" to wherever on the appliance the user wants.
Tan also wins the Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Grand Prix, Asia.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (0)
They paint the nose red, I suppose, so it doesn't look like a real gun.
From the site:
What's it like to drive?
The vehicle feels big, as you get accustomed to the cockpit. There is quite a bit of noise, as you are sitting alongside the engine. Driving on the road you are smaller than most cars and much lower to the ground. You feel like a racecar driver as it has Superbike like quickness and formula car handling. There is an awareness you also must have of your surroundings, much like a motorcyclist, in that you have to predict and judge your environment, other cars and trucks, road surface conditions, as well as distracted onlookers. It all combines to create an unbelievably fun, unique, and visceral experience.
Make sure you check out the sweet build images.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (1)
Considered Nissan's in car gaming fancy? (see earlier post) Then check out the GMC PAD, winner of the 2006 Design Los Angeles Design Challenge.
"The concept of the GMC PAD is that of an urban loft with mobility. Featuring a diesel-electric hybrid system for propulsion, the engine also serves as a generator for the onboard power grid. The media rich environment is unlike any other, and comes with an endless variety of entertainment, information and security options."
A "LAV," Living Activity Vehicle" according to the judges.
Find concept car extravaganza at the 2006 Design Los Angeles Design Challenge
Posted by: Aart van Bezooyen | Comments (3)
SkinBag is a synthetic latex material designed to emulate skin, including wrinkles, scars, moles, and other natural deformities. The company offers a line of bags, accessories, and overgarments made of the material, described as a "successful alchemy between the captivating and the repulsive." Tattoos and piercings are optional.
An interesting study from IDC puts 'Product Innovation' as the #2 priority for business execs in 2006, up from #4 the year before.
The growing focus on improving product innovation makes sense, considering that it sits upstream of virtually all other business activities: shaping the business’ value proposition, defining much of the company’s differentiation, and directly impacting profitability as well as sales and marketing productivity.[via Business Innovation blog] Posted by: StuCon | Comments (1)
Students looking to kick-start the semester with a competition, or make use of an extended amount of time off, may want to check out the young designers International Eyewear Design Competition.
The competition's tagline is: "Emotion and Simplicity - Materials, functionalities, forms, inventiveness... Pick up the challenge and create tomorrow's emotions! "
You must register before January 31st in order to enter -- click here for details.
Posted by: Stephanie Munson | Comments (1)
America's campuses are a valued vehicle for environmental building.
From Berea College in Kentucky, where students designed a house that produces its own electricity, to Middlebury in Vermont, where local forests supply wood for construction, the greening of higher education is everywhere, showing signs of outlasting earlier, faddish fits and starts. Nationwide, more than 110 colleges have built or are building structures certified by the United States Green Building Council, a nonprofit group that promotes construction and designs that meet high standards of energy efficiency.
Click here for the NYT article Posted by: Bruce M. Tharp | Comments (0)
The Lolah Chair by Filipino Kenneth Cobonpue, a Pratt Institute alum who won the Design for Asia Award (DFAA) - the most prestigious design award given in Asia. The Lolah is a furniture collection that is made from rattan poles and strips fastened together with glue, nails and nylon wire in a process reminiscent of traditional Asian shipbuilding. The judges praised the design for its simple structure, sculptural form and innovative use of material. Other prominent designers and companies who garnered awards are fashion designer Vivienne Tam, Nokia Corporation, and Sony.
Complete list of winners here. Also special Merit Prizes "Distinguished Design from China"
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (0)
An interdisciplinary team of students from Western University spent fall quarter on an island off the coast of Greece, developing alternative solutions to sustainable community redevelopment problems, such as a water purification project and connecting a village to the main city on the island. Students from departments such as industrial design, environmental studies, urban planning, architecture and anthropology participated in the project led by Arunas Oslapas, associate professor of industrial design. This is a perfect example of applying design thinking and methodology to find solutions to large scale complex problems.
"The goal was to have a variety of students who could look at the problem from different perspectives," Oslapas said. "We figured an anthropology student could possibly see something that a student from urban planning could not, and vice versa."
Story here.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (0)In his new book, Dealing With Darwin, [Geoffrey] Moore has injected some new and useful insights into that comparison. Moore's theme is innovation, which he sees as being as necessary to the survival of businesses as a plant or an animal adapting to changes in habitat.
"How can we innovate forever? Because that is precisely what natural selection forces us to do. Evolution requires us to continually refresh our competitive advantage. To innovate forever, in other words, is not an aspiration; it is a design specification. It is not a strategy; it is a requirement."
Full review here. Moore's blog Dealing with Darwin here. Insert intelligent design joke here.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (0)
January 22- July 23, 2006 at The Orlando Museum of Art.
Motorcycling is the rare pastime that combines transportation with a passion for life. Riding a motorcycle links serenity with discovery; it defines freedom, self-expression, and adventure. It satisfies a range of desires from adrenaline to Zen. And it accomplishes all of this by design. Artistic and functional design.
"The motorcycle is a perfect metaphor for the 20th century," said Thomas Krens, director of the Guggenheim Foundation. "Invented at the beginning of the Industrial Age, its evolution tracks the main currents of modernity. The object and its history present the themes of technology, engineering, innovation, design, mobility, speed, rebellion, desire, freedom, love, sex and death."
They're also fun.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (0)
The pages below show prints I made from processing film I found in old cameras. You are seeing them for the first time as they were lost by the photographers that took these images.[b3ta]
Marine Robotic International, a Florida-based technology company, specializes in marine robotics and has developed three generations of Unmanned Surface Vessels, (USVs). Shown above is a diagram detailing their Ghost Guard vessel, designed to patrol coastal waters under the command of shore-based humans. I'm sure the systems have been thoroughly tested to prevent the robots from turning against their human controlers.
Noticed TIME Magazine lately? If not, check out the Most Amazing Inventions of 2005 - including Michelin's Tweel [photo by Nicholas Eveleigh]
"Tweel is a shock-absorbing rubber tread band that distributes pressure to dozens of flexible polyurethane spokes. The spokes in turn are supported by an aluminum center. B