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We've been big pushers of Under Consideration's Design Encyclopedia, (that post is from Jan. 13th last year!), and now heading into year 2, TDE is launching a "Fill in the Blanks Initiative." Here's the pitch:
The amount of information about design is deep, vast and well spread; the time, energy and resources to amass it all requires a healthy dose of dedication, perseverance and interest. The Design Encyclopedia is looking for individuals ready to bring all that information together with some gusto--and we are ready to do so by rewarding the most prolific. The Fill in the Blanks Initiative (FitBI) is an ongoing program, segmented in periods of three months, where anyone who is willing and interested can sign up to contribute to The Design Encyclopedia and vie for a US$300.00 Amazon Gift Certificate.
Get all the detes here.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)
Want to start with the $2500.00 grill, or just open with the $200.00 motion-sensing trash can? Let's start with the garbage:
Cleaning up is hard work, and there's nothing worse than having to step on pedal just to open a trashcan. You're not a feudal serf! Ditch the medieval tech and go modern with a waste receptacle that does most of the heavy lifting for you. Simply wave your foot under the infrared sensor to pop the top and dump garbage.
Goodness.
[Link]
Santiago, Chile-based design studio Musuc, or Rodrigo Alonso's "happy ideas lab," presents N+ew (No More Electronic Waste). N+ew is a functional object that makes use of discarded electronic devices and parts, granting this toxic trash a second chance at life. This project enlisted the help of technicians and professionals with expertise in metal smelting, counterfoil development and plastic resins. N+ew's development was also supported by Recycla Chile S.A., the first and only company which recycles electronic waste in South America.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (3)We've got a soft spot in our hearts for this company, so we're glad to see things moving into the black (brownie?). 'Course, there's bad news here too: "Now in the final year of its historic four-year digital makeover, Kodak has piled up $2.7 billion in restructuring charges and accumulated $2 billion in net losses over the last two years. It plans to eliminate up to 27,000 jobs, with 23,300 already axed through 2006." That's a lot of jobs. Story here.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (1)In case you missed it (the shindig and the blogging), Bruce Nussbaum has a ton of Davos-reflective posts at NussbaumOnDesign. Our favorite lede?: "There's this weird disjunction at Davos with enormous attention being paid to Second Life, YouTube and everything that smacks of social networking and innovation yet most of the business people don't understand any of it. All they know is that they should."
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)Jayson Stark has a breezy item on espn discussing the penetration of the iPod as a tool for athletes. Brian Jones, formerly the Rockies' assistant coordinator of video coaching, remarks, "A couple of years ago, when Preston Wilson was with us, he used to have us put all his at-bats on 8 mm tape. … Now, instead of having four shelves of tape just for Preston, we've got one iPod we can plug in."
Thanks to Chad Kendall for the link!
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)
This is the stuff makes the Internet a truly awesome place. The entire NES Nintendo collection (670 games) available in one hit. It's not cheap if you wanna be the man, but as the ad says. "If you ever lost an auction... this is not the one to lose!"
spotted at pixelsurgeon
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (5)
Herbst LaZar Bell
Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, USA
Herbst LaZar Bell has recently teamed up with Dell to launch a series of all-in-one printers for home and office environments. Dell's new AIO photo printer line was designed with the user's experience in mind, implementing simplicity and ease of use as key factors from the moment the customer opens the box to the first time a new print cartridge is ordered. Read more in the Studio Bullitts section.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Aspen/Snowmass hosted the official unveiling of Red Bull's Illume Photography Exhibit, designed by Fullaluv Creative. The exhibit consisted of 25 enormous mirrored metallic cube displays showcasing 50 finalists' images of action and adventure sports. In daylight, only the mirrored surfaces are visible, while at nighttime, the cubes are illuminated to reveal the images.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
Matt Brown
St. Joseph, Michigan, USA
Featured Project : Forkplate
Matt Brown's Forkplate concept aims to accommodate those who struggle with their "daily steaks." With Forkplates to the rescue, carnivores around the world could really "get a grip" on their steaks.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (6)Nobody ever said marketing was easy. But if you play the game right, results could range from great to phenomenal.
The delicate relationship between management and marketing is a dance roughly akin to that between fox and hen, but with far less goodwill. To management, you're only as good as your last campaign.
Read the 12 Tenets of Social Media Marketing to "see how you can up your success rate." #5 hits a good spot:
V. Thy communications must pass the "who cares?" testAbandon ye all communications that are long-winded, formulaic, boring as hell, and laden with superlatives and marketing babble. Write down your concept in one sentence. Then ask yourself, and answer honestly, "So what?" If it still sounds like a good idea, proceed to rewrite it, over and over, until it has not one extra word.
spotted at noise between nations
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Crawford Partnership, a London-based architecture and interiors firm, has completed Snowden House I & II. These two residences both make use of nearly "unusable" and oddly-shaped plots of land near tall buildings. The houses uphold an ideal of sleek modern style and are built around the idea of vertical space, above and below ground, in order to maximize efficiency and amenities. The houses also reference traditional Middle Eastern "Windtower" courtyard dwellings, which are secure, internal, high-walled areas situated at the center of all living accommodations.
There isn't much to say about this Gold Ingot USB hub other than "Sweet. I want one." If you're willing to drop USD $79.00 on this precious peripheral, just keep in mind that it is not made of real gold.
via ohgizmo
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
Did you know that.... James Bond, special agent 007, drove a Saab 900 Turbo? Or that Grand Prix driver Sir Stirling Moss once navigated for Saab rally legend Erik Carlsson? And that Saab not only produced aircraft, but also a series of ultra-light caravans? Whatever your interest, we hope you'll find this review of Saab's first 60 years entertaining, informative, and even a little surprising in places - just as you would expect from the Saab brand.
full history of the evolution of SAAB
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (0)
Though BusinessWeek says what Nokia and Motorola really need to deliver to the Indian market,
That kind of explosive growth has big international handset makers such as Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and Korean players LG Electronics and Samsung, in hot pursuit. Yet India is a tricky market to get right. Most of the really spectacular growth is in rural India, home to 75% of the country's 1 billion-plus population.
And that means to win there, you have to deliver functional but low-priced handsets in the under-$50 range designed to meet the needs of low-income users. That's a tall order and requires innovative design, smart manufacturing, and financial discipline to keep profit margins steady in a market, however vast, that demands more and more value.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (0)
Mark Hoekstra sends in an alert on his new iNoPhone creation--a wireless handset cell-phone accessory made from an "olde" Apple mouse and the guts of a bluetooth headset. This "breakthrough bluetooth device" features "One-Button Call Management" and "Proven iNo Technology." Yuk yuk.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Dutch industrial design firm FLEX/The Innovation Lab has collaborated with Dutch Design in Development (DDiD) on TaVie, a new collection of home goods crafted by the artisans of the Service Artisanal Agadez cooperative in NIger. The coop is the central sales and export organization representing different Nigerien producers of objects made by artisans out of silver, soapstone (a relatively soft stone), embroidery, batiks and palm leaves.
Dutch Design in Development (DDiD) initiated the Niger project, aiming to link professionals from creative commercial services to producers from developing countries that export to Europe. The TaVie collection will cover a range of home accessories including baskets, dishes, coasters, and bags, stressing luxury, strong branding, and most importantly, the unique, hand-made quality of these products.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Jan Dijkstra's Kitchenette project consists of 4 modules that make up a functional kitchenette with a wire-frame structure. The four stations individually accommodate cooking, cutting, washing, and drying. It's as if you're preparing a meal in SolidWorks!
via vvork
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
BusinessWeek celebrates the "forgotten pioneer of corporate design," Eliot Noyes, a most influential and multi-talented designer and architect of the 50's and 60's. Noyes is known for building the first corporate design programs at IBM, Westinghouse, Mobil Oil, and Cummins Engines.
It is harder still to explain why the designer and architect, who died in 1977 at age 67, isn't better known today, when the principles he championed--the notion that good design is good business, for instance, and the belief in interdisciplinary design teams--are now accepted wisdom.Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)
Check out Bubbl, a free, easy-to-use online brainstorming tool (especially great for those who suck at diagrams and drawing rounded-rectangles).
via lifehacker
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)
The Portland (OR) Aerial Tram opens, bringing to life a an old-fashioned futuristic form of transportation. Sure, there are trams in Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook, and by gum, it put them on the map!
Levi's is suing to protect its design for back-pocket stitching. Is this desperation or design? They risk being seen as a bully in a time where their competitors are more connected with customers.
Via the Onion, of course.
Fashion house and perfumer Chanel, famed for its iconic, $300-an-ounce No. 5 scent, announced that it has created a cost-efficient fragrance for the Third World, one specifically designed for the rigors of dry, dusty, less glamorous environments in the Southern Hemisphere.
[...]
As for 3rd's scent, Chanel wanted something "clean, youthful, and beguiling," said Chanel chemist Robert Geneau, adding that organically musky, smoky, and earthy tones had been rejected because the scent's intended users most likely had too much musk, earth, and smoke in their lives already. "3rd has a bright, grassy base, like a fresh breeze after a rain—a very exotic scent for our target customer. There are also notes of cocoa, citrus, spices, and other things our customer sometimes raises and harvests for foreign export, but rarely gets to savor herself. Captivating, and for a fraction of the cost of high-end scents available in the West, 3rd is just the economic miracle developing nations need."
These are examples of a trend called "Building Marketing" that employs unusual and eye-catching architecture to promote a company's brand, a trend which is catching on in Korea. Often competing for space and eyeballs with multi-story towers, these buildings rely on exquisite design to promote and enhance a brand image.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (0)
One more on packaging design and positioning? Why not! Rob Walker on Bear Naked cereals.
Posted by: Steve Portigal | Comments (0)
Part of their strategy to bring some "innovation" to the category involved packaging: apart from eliminating the word "granola," they also banished actual bear imagery and any graphics that resembled oats or connoted nature (too crunchy) in favor of a more minimalist design featuring three slashes suggesting claw marks. Instead of a box (granola is positioned as cereal in most stores), they opted for a stand-up pouch with a transparent panel, so people could see the ingredients and squeeze the package. And instead of health and nutrition boasts, the pouch text played up the youthful, "active lifestyle"-loving founders. (That’s even more true on the company's Web site, which includes pictures of them in high school and in the great outdoors, along with repeated reminders that they are in their 20s.)
via Wired
Jump on your bike, start the engine, throw a rev, and hear... silence? No, you haven't gone deaf - you've traded your mighty Harley for the zero-cylinder ENV (yep, envy). Green vehicles are nothing new - the Prius and its kin have been quietly zipping along special commuter lanes for years - but engineers have largely dismissed an environmentally friendly two-wheeler as impractical. That was until Britain's Intelligent Energy created the ENV, the first road-worthy hydrogen-powered motorcycle. The vehicle runs on a removable fuel cell, emits almost nothing, and will be street legal. The only drag? Top speed, for now, is 50 mph. Production versions go on sale later this year.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (4)
Another grocery packaging ethics story. A recent study found many food products with fruit in the name or illustrated on the packaged contained no fruit:
Airheads (take the factory tour here...mmm, sugar)
Berry Berry Kix
Cap'n Crunch with Crunch Berries
Dannon Danimals XL (Strawberry Explosion)
Froot Loops
Fruity Cheerios
Juicy Fruit Gum
Life Savers (Wild Cherry)
Nestle Nesquik milk and drink mix (strawberry)
Post Fruity Pebbles
Push Pop (cherry)
Ring Pop (cherry)
Starburst
Tang
Trix cereal
Trix yogurt (strawberry kiwi)
Twizzlers
Yoplait Go-Gurt yogurt (Strawberry Splash)
Yeah, maybe this doesn't surprise you and you don't expect there to be fruit in tasty deadly crap like this, but then maybe one should step back for a moment and marvel at the dissonance we've become comfortable with.
Posted by: Steve Portigal | Comments (7)
Another great analysis from Jess McMullin of B+D Landscape, with the 2007 edition of the (PDF) BplusD Landscape.
via gizmodo
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (4)
Check out I Make Things' new graphic stylings for Foundation Skateboards' Pro team riders...and make sure to scroll down for more fresh work.
via cpluv
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
World Changing interviews CEO Bill Gross and president Andrew Beebe of Idealab, "one of the most influential business incubators in the commercial Net with early ventures into e-commerce, local directories and paid search." Idealab has redirected its focus in a big way, consulting businesses who wish to wrap their arms around market opportunities that address the major global challenges we face today.
Italian furniture design company Maoli has just released Walking Family, a set of surrealistic tables designed to minimize production waste when working with hardwoods.
In 2004, the Shrinking Cities project studied vanishing populations of Detroit, Ivanovo, Manchester/Liverpool, and Halle/Leipzig through a collection of works from various architects, filmmakers, journalists, artists and cultural and social scientists. Beginning on the 28th of January, Shrinking Cities will exhibit in Akihabara, Tokyo, this time presenting possible ways to take action. For those of us who can't make it, PingMag covers the scope of Shrinking Cities' new exhibition, including and interview with project founder Philipp Oswalt.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
Mike Leavitt, creator of the ArtArmy collection of "alternative" characters, will be giving a live action demo this Saturday in Seattle. Leavitt will provide a tutorial on the technical aspects of my action figures' craft, with discussion and questions encouraged throughout the duration of the demonstration.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
6 to 10pm
BLVD Gallery
2316 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
Samsung's latest washing machine is gilded, gold plated and in deep rich jewel colours. Designed by Andre Kim, is this taking the recent surge of interest in extreme luxury to new heights?
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (11)
Music in the Rain is a musical umbrella. Open it up and tunes instantly begin to play through the canopy. Spin the umbrella to the left or right and you'll be able to move between tracks. And when not in use, you'll still be able to listen to music stored in your brolly - simply plug a special speaker into the handle.
It's a nice idea, but various questions spring to mind. How do you get the music into the umbrella in the first place? Will there be a pause button? What about a volume control? And will the umbrella blast your music to the world when turned inside out by a strong gust of wind?
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (0)
Rkuchinsky starts off this board discussion by asking members to add their favorite designisms or design truisms and posting a few himself (including the clever one above). Here are a few choice picks:
"Can you make it like an iPod?"
"We need it yesterday. For free."
"If you try to polish a turd, all you get is sh*t on your hands."
Read the entire discussion for a quick chuckle or add your own on the Design *isms discussion board.
hot tip from the one and only yo!
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
Not sure what's the new _____? Wanna be in the know? Not to fear...it's all right here.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Shimmery, shiny, photo-realistic 3-D models are all the rage...but what ever happened to old-skool manual renderings? Yo brought us back to the hand in the UPDATED: vintage concept sketches discussion board that is now 4 pages full of inspirational hand-drawn gold. Get pumped and grab a pen and paper to see if you've still got "it" or feel free to add your own examples of awesome vintage renderings right here.
hot tip from the one and only yo!
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)
Purely based on appearance, these bikes by Wild West Motor Co. seem pretty sweet. What you don't see from the finished product is the in-depth utilization of CAD and 3-D modeling software used in conjunction with precision CNC machinery for production and prototype parts, fixtures, and dies. Bad-ass meets tech-nerd...finally!
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)
Dreaming of an independent endeavor and actually executing one are two different stories. It's an intense undertaking and we oftentimes hesitate to take the plunge because we have no idea where to start. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has swooped in to better prepare small biz dreamers by providing 9 podcasts covering a range of helpful topics from "Check List for Starting a Business" to "Making Your Business Plan Work for You," with more feeds to be added every month.
via lifehacker
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Jack Godfrey Wood's Locksit concept combines security with convenience by eliminating the need for cyclists to detach and carry around their seat without compromising the safety of the bicycle. Locksit snaps backwards to lock itself to the rear tire while the bike frame is secured as usual.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (9)
Italian architecture and design consultancy DGF Design presents the Dogma sound system for ClaraVox. Dogma's high-precision sound quality and bold looks aim to please even the most fastidious audiophiles.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Timberland Boot Company has joined forces with 5 current-culture artists to present the Boroughs Project with 5 special edition boots styled after each of NYC's 5 unique boroughs. From left to right: Atsuko Tanaka for Queens, Chris Mendoza for the Bronx, Jeff Staple for Manhattan, Wu Tang Clan's RZA for Staten Island, and David "SKWERM" Ellis for Brooklyn.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Daniel Kocyba
New York, NY, USA
Featured Project : Nanobots
Daniel Kocyba's Nanobot concept was realized within the scope of film producer Michael Bamber's science fiction vision of a mid-21st century implementation of nanotechnology and nanobots used for medical and military purposes. The Nanobot works independently in its active state and has the ability to join with other bots to form larger machines when in a passive state. Alias Studio was the program of choice in Mr. Kocyba's creation of this visually stunning and convincingly styled design concept.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)
Marine Advanced Research's WAM-V watercraft promises a "radically new seagoing experience," where the ultra lightweight catamaran structure allows for functional convertibility covering a range of uses.
Unlike conventional boats, the hulls of a WAM-V conform to the surface of the water. A WAM-V does not push, slap or pierce the waves. She utilizes flexibility to adapt her structure and shape to the water surface. Instead of forcing the water to conform to the hull, she gives and adjusts; she "dances" with the waves.Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
Dey Alexander Consulting has a great resource page chock full of links, pdf's, definitions, etc. And it's pretty darn usable, too. [Link]
Change Design : Conversations About Architecture as the Ultimate Business Tool is a collaborative literary effort of NBBJ, an international architecture, branding, and design consultancy, and Bruce Mau Design. The book illustrates design as a critical element for the success of any business in four main sections: Conversations, Talking Points, Design Essays, and Change Tools.
The book provides a roadmap for business leaders and designers to build transformative, effective, and competitive organizations.
thanks jm!
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Portuguese designer Joao Planche of PrideParanoia is looking to launch Designers Footwear, an online showcase of the multitude of kicks that designers (who should have impeccable taste) choose to sport. In order for the collection to take shape, PrideParanoia asks you to contribute a snapshot of your kicks, that is, if you are in fact a designer. Read more here for entry details.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
Check out PingMag's must-have selection of graphic design texts that Ian Lynam considers utterly invaluable to the education of a graphic designer. The list includes books about typography, research, history, information design, and also suggests a few essential magazines.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Pune, India-based ID firm Ticket Design has received the 2006 Business World NID Award for Design Excellence, an achievement that recognizes "excellence in the field of concepts and designs for the Indian consumer." Ticket Design's process and development for the telematics product designed for Tata Motors paid heavy attention to user centered industrial design, ensuring an intuitive interface and user friendly approach for their target audience, Indian truck drivers. The device grants drivers access to lifesaving medical help in case of accidents and informs them about possible traffic jams. They can also speak to the base station, listen to music, and be accessible to their families at any give time.
Nominees have just been announced for the 2007 Volvo Sports Design Award. Designs in the running include products for the categories of Activewear, Headwear/Footwear, Accessories, Outdoor Equipment, Ski Equipment, Board Equipment, Wheelers, and Concepts. Nominated for best in Board Equipment, NXT FX Ultimate Freeride by Flow is shown above.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Presenting his first solo show in the United States, Marc Newson's exhibition opens this thursday in New York blurring the line between design practitioner and artist.
Sometimes I start with the material, sometimes the idea. In this case the materials were the inspiration. I began by identifying materials that I had always been interested in but had never used. Often the context of materials strikes me more than the materials themselves. Context is new, not materials.
Marc Newson
Newson's Lockheed Lounge (1985) made history last year as the highest price ever paid at auction for the work of a living designer.
Marc Newson
Jan. 25 - Mar 3, 2007
Gagosian Gallery
555 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011
gagosian.com
Eames Demetrios' latest project is the DAS FilmFest, a video webcast featuring a new short film about design, architecture and sustainability every week. This week is part 1 of 901: After 45 years of Working, documenting the Venice, CA workshop of his grandparents Charles and Ray.
In related news, the Eames Office has moved from Main Street to a new location at 850 Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, CA. A grand re-opening party will be held this Wednesday night from 6-9PM.
Posted by: Michael Doyle | Comments (0)
Bricks are boring? No way, the European Ceramic Work centre (.ekwc) features an upcoming exhibition featuring the exciting results of the Brick project that was carried out over a three-year period with architects, designers and artists reinventing the brick (as posted earlier). Photographed: Jan Schabert (architect, Germany), Christine Saalfeld (artist, Germany), Hilde Danielsen (artist, Norway), José Rojas (architect, Mexico).
Funky wallpaper is all the rage these days...but NICE's Hybrid prints take the cake. Hands down. No doubt. Using just one or a combination of the four designs in this collection, Hybrid prints meet at severed seams to transform your walls into a zoo of half-this, half-that, cross-bred creatures and curiosities.
thanks bodge!
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
Get a First Life is a "one page satire of Second Life." The spoof site offers a handful of loaded, snarky "features" and an option to purchase some novelty t-shirts.
"Go Outside. Membership is free."
thanks kris!
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Led by Simon Bruenner, Neues Licht is a Erlangen, Germany-based experimental lighting design studio. Their UFO fiber-optic chandelier has been selected as a part of the Designtalents exhibition at Imm Cologne 2007 and has also been nominated for a 2007 Inspired by Cologne award. UFO consists of 72 glass fibers that radiantly illuminate a clear floating base.
mocoloco via inhabitat
While others were staring at the white space in Naoto Fukasawa's cube a.k.a. ideal house, we browsed through the imm Cologne furniture fair to continue our way into the city centre for its contrasting PASSAGEN off-site program where more is more (right-side photos).
Stay tuned for our imm Cologne 2007 gallery update - especially those who missed out on Cologne's design delight due to Kyrill.
Posted by: Aart van Bezooyen | Comments (0)
NYC-based photographer Bill Sullivan's More Turns series is one of 3 intensive studies in situational photography, a specific style constrained by a rigid set of guidelines. For example, the image or photograph must be candid, the context of the situation must be clearly established, and the background must be exactly the same for every subject. Yielding an intriguing repetitious delight, More Turns explores the state of being of MTA subway passengers upon their exit via turnstile. Sullivan describes his process for this particular project:
I developed a situation so that various subjects could be defined by the constraints of exactly the same mechanical apparatus. The scenario consisted of someone passing through a subway turnstile. At the moment that the subjects passed through the turnstile, unknown to them, I took their picture stationed at a distance of eleven feet. I stood there turning pages of a magazine observing subjects out of the corner of my eye, waiting for only the moment when they pushed the turnstile bar to release the shutter.
thanks bodge!
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Via Treehugger, we introduce you to the HyperBike. (Actually, it's more powerful without the article in there.) So, via Treehugger, we introduce you to HyperBike. (Better.) If you follow the link, you will find a pretty image-challenged site, but don't let that slow your enthusiasm for a ride that'll get you to 50 MPG and gawks from everyone you blister past. Now, if someone can do the calculations on how many Kryptonites you'd need to secure this thing, we'd have a complete story here.
Seth Godin's essay on Web4 is an inspiring look at what the internet may hold for us in the not-too-distant future, told through a bunch of excellent, quick scenarios of how it might work. Here are a few:
I'm typing an email to someone, and we're brainstorming about doing a business development deal with Apple. A little window pops up and lets me know that David over in our Tucscon office is already having a similar conversation with Apple and perhaps we should coordinate.Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)I'm booked on a flight from Toledo to Seattle. It's cancelled. My phone knows that I'm on the flight, knows that it's cancelled and knows what flights I should consider instead. It uses semantic data but it also has permission to interrupt me and tell me about it. Much more important, it knows what my colleagues are doing in response to this event and tells me. 'Follow me' gets a lot easier.
Google watches what I search. It watches what other people like me search. Every day, it shows me things I ought to be searching for that I'm not. And it introduces me to people who are searching for what I'm searching for.
You'd be hard-pressed to forget last year's "eggvertising" hype, where CBS custom-printed ads for their network's slew of TV series on the actual shells of eggs sold at your local grocer. This might not seem so out-there once we become complacent with the omnipresence of "alternative advertising."
The "alternative media" category represented $387 million in spending in the United States last year, up from $24 million in 2000, according to PQ Media, a research firm. But the 2006 figure still represented a tiny part of out-of-home advertising, which generated $6.8 billion that year, according to figures PQ Media compiled for the private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson.Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)"If you reach consumers out of the house, they're more likely to act than if they're sitting on their couches," said Jack Sullivan, senior vice president and out-of-home media director at Starcom USA, an advertising agency.
Unbelievable how many toilets are in this group (atop is our favorite), Worth1000's latest is a contest to conjure Apple's Next Product. Now, these folks have Photoshop, but you designers out there have some serious 3D tools. How 'bout you get in there and render up some i! [b.boing]
The New York Times has an interesting article on ventrue capital, energy and China. Here's how it starts out:
On the vanguard of venture capital, the buzzwords of late have been "alternative energy" and "China." Are the two worlds about to collide? Seed investors are financing, or considering financing, start-ups in China that are developing equipment for wind and solar power, clean water and food alternatives and technology to promote energy efficiency. While this may seem to be an arbitrary combination of two of the hottest trends in venture capital--sort of like the first person who mixed peanut butter and chocolate--there is a growing number of investors who believe that the potential reward in China is worth the tremendous risk. China has voracious energy needs and "the most serious environmental problem in the world," said Jerry Li, a consultant in Beijing who matches venture capitalists with entrepreneurs. "There is a huge demand for investment" in alternative solutions, he said.
Read the rest here.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)As much as people joke about the US belligerently ranting about being #1 in just about everything...it's a fact that "we're #1" on the World's Most Innovative Nations list. The World Business/INSEAD Innovation Index 2007, researched by Professor Soumitra Dutta and sponsored by BT, ranks nations on innovation performance, focusing on institutions and policies, infrastructure, human capacity, technological sophistication, and business markets and capital. "Germany was a distant second, while the U.K., Japan and France rounded out the top five. The United Arab Emirates (#14) was the only country in the Top 15 that wasn't European, Asian or North American."
via business innovation insider
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)(Hey, man, that is exactly the headline that Virgin America is using, so don't shoot the messenger on this one)
Virgin America is showing their in-flight entertainment system, something we'll get to experience if the DOT ever gives them permission to fly.
The system offers
* a QWERTY keyboard
* Live TV (Dish Network)
* Pay movies
* Email/SMS/instant messaging/chat rooms, providing an airborne social network
* 3,000 mp3 tracks and 20 radio channels
* Open source video games
* food ordering from the seat<
As well as wireless broadband.
I'm not sure I want to go into a chatroom with the business dickhead in 23H and the vacationing senior in 13B, but it's a new idea. JetBlue has done some interesting symbolic things to suggest that passengers are "in this together" - so the emotional meaning of the social-network-of-strangers-in-a-metal-tube might have more impact than the raw functionality. I'd certainly try it.
Posted by: Steve Portigal | Comments (1)
Koln, Germany-based design studio Formstark, headed by Felix Stark, offers services in design consultation, 3D visualization, and prototyping. Formstark's comprehensive portfolio includes a varied selection of form, fun, and function including the Chroma ceiling light (left) and Cell portable fuel cell concept (right).
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)Give the people what they want! Business Week tallies up a nice list of 5 successful crowdsourcing endeavors: A Swarm of Angels, Crowd Spirit (check out the Core77 post), Marketocracy, CafePress, and Gannett. These 5 efforts show the diverse potential, not to mention efficiency and cost-effectiveness, that crowdsourcing offers.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)US House of Representatives has just passed the HR. 6, the "Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation Act," (PDF download) with a 264-163 vote. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi claims this bill promises to:
...[invest] in clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency by repealing billions in subsidies given to big oil companies that are raking in record profits. Specifically, the measure ensures oil companies that were awarded the 1998 and 1999 leases for drilling paid their fair share in royalties. It also closes loopholes and ends giveaways in the tax code for Big Oil. Finally, the bill creates a Strategic Renewable Energy Reserve to invest in clean, renewable energy resources, promoting new emerging technologies, developing greater efficiency and improving energy conservation.
via treehugger
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (3)
For parents who only want the best for their little ones...or who demand an impeccably designed home (that means absolutely no out-of-place "kid-looking" stuff), Modern Tots is a style safe haven. From designer toys and games to bite-size furniture way nicer (and maybe a bit pricier) than your IKEA collection, Modern Tots has got everything under the sun for the design-conscious demographic aged 0 to 13+. Modern Tots has just opened a new showroom space in DUMBO, Brooklyn.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)Take a gander at Jeep's digitally controlled waterfall recently seen at NAIAS and on tour from Detroit to Beijing. The 3,000 valve, 20-pump contraption cycles 1,000 gallons of water to a 24 ft. drop, programmed to take shape of the corresponding image inputs.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (15)
Here's a chance for you to get your greedy paws on something cool for free:
Readymechs are flatpack toys that can be printed out on 8.5" x 11" sheets and constructed by you...for free! All you need is double-stick tape, thick matte paper, and 10-15 minutes for build time.
Okay, okay, so the tape, paper, printer ink, and printer cost money...and time is money, but these sweet designs brought to you by FWIS, a graphic design group in Portland, Denver, and Brooklyn, are more than worth the expenses. Try and "collect" all 22.
thanks amit!
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)
Plastic Lab
Please add your city to your Coroflot profile, Japan
Featured Project : Ruled Line Manufacturer
Sooo Plastic Lab...what's up with with all the covertness? No real names? Not even a city? We'll forgive them for now on the account of their Ruled Line Manufacturer concept. The Ruled Line Manufacturer consists of a (I'm guessing "plastic" here) device made to hold a bunch of pens at an equal distance from each other and perpendicular to the surface. A sheet of scrap paper is then passed through underneath the pen tips to add new value to an otherwise used item headed for the trash bin.
Nozin Nasal Sanitizer is a "unique, safe germ fighting solution for use before exposure to areas that may contain hazardous germs such as crowded airplanes, trains, offices, gyms, hospitals, theaters and schools."
The sanitizer comes in either a bottle or as individual pre-loaded swab. Both options instruct you to swoosh a cotton swab full of "a proprietary formula of pharmaceutical grade ethyl alcohol, natural ingredients and plant-based compounds" all up in and around your nostrils to prevent a handful of contagious ailments. If fact, they even equip you with an online tutorial--Watch the lady stick Q-Tips up her nose!
I thought a couple germs here and there were supposed to be good for you... you know, build up the ol' immune system? Maybe Nozin marks the dawn of some cool new bacterial and viral mutations...yum.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
While perusing new and updated portfolios on Coroflot, we came across the "77 Chair" by Kevin McElroy. Was Mr. McElroy purposeful in making us blush? Or was this just a happy coincidence? Meh. Either way, we like your spirit Mr. McElroy!
Have yet to explore the fantastic world of Coroflot? No worries--sign up right here to post a portfolio or a job.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
If you're into sustainability and a real challenge, this competition is calling your name. The Lifecycle Building Challenge, presented by the U.S. EPA and its partners, are seeking lifecycle designs from both professionals and students (teams are welcome) in the following categories:
Building: an entire building
Component: a single building assembly or connector
Service: a tool, system, practice, or method
Lifecycle building is the design of building materials, components, information systems, and management practices to create buildings that facilitate and anticipate future changes to and eventual adaptation or dismantling for recovery of all systems, components, and materials.
As they say, stop what you're doing...and watch this right now.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (8)
More Bierut. Today, the "Doomsday Clock"--emblem of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, an advocacy group formed in 1945 by scientists from the Manhattan Project--was changed: The minute-hand was moved from 7 to 5 minutes before midnight. And that's getting pretty close. (Bloomberg story here.)
So certainly this called for a redesign, and the people up for the job? Well, Pentagram, of course. (Michael Bierut and Armin Vit did the heavy lifting.) Now, considering that Pentagram just redesigned Christmas (x.mas), and earlier, redesigned the bible (kinda awesome), we're wondering what they could possibly be thrown that'll give them a run for their money. (The Ten Commandments in Franklin Gothic? Too easy.)
Got a "Let's see Pentagram redesign THIS!" idea? Post it in the comments.
And then we'll get 'em to redesign our comments.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (3)
Michael Bierut's got a great piece on Quintessence (the book) and quintessence (the attribute?) in The It Factor. Here's a taste:
Predictably, many of the products are familiar from our childhood; kids seem to have a nearly infallible sense of what makes something the real thing. "A rule of thumb often useful in determining whether something is quintessential," wrote Edwards and Kornfeld, "is whether it resembles a child's drawing of the thing." This childlike sensibility holds true today. Mays said the New Beetle's circular shape had much in common with Walt Disney's drawing of Mickey Mouse; David Galbraith goes to far as to label the Zune "unsafe for children," imagining that any child unlucky to get one will be fated to get "the shit kicked out of him at school by mocking friends chanting 'Zuny Zuny Zuny.'"Hell of a taste, right? Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)
Make sure to check out and download Packet Garden, a most excellent info visualization freeware program developed by Julian Oliver who seeks to "provide an alternative and accessible approach to visualizing daily internet use," by way of this experimental artwork.
Packet Garden captures information about how you use the internet and uses this stored information to grow a private world you can later explore.Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)To do this, Packet Garden takes note of all the servers you visit, their geographical location and the kinds of data you access. Uploads make hills and downloads valleys, their location determined by numbers taken from internet address itself. The size of each hill or valley is based on how much data is sent or received.
The Hague, Netherlands-based design duo Bert en Dennis introduce one of their newest concepts, Hotcloth. It integrates heat and fire-resistant fibers (used by the actual fire department) into 3 areas designated by gas burner-like graphics where hot pots and pans can be placed without a trivet or pot holder.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
Leo Kempf's collection of Cardboard furniture pieces are sleek, modern, and make great use of the material both structurally and aesthetically. Incorporated detail elements such as color contrast, repetition, and negative space create a near-illusion of solid wooden craft from afar.
iProduct is yet another iSpoof on our iObsessed society. Humorous, yet true...we should all be ashamed of ourselves! But let's get real here. We'll eventually get over it and buy that iStuff when it's on sale or when something better has come out.
a boy and his computer via tamerakremer's flickr
Providence, Rhode Island-based product and furniture designer Ian Gonsher busts out a new line of illusion-like furniture that hovers somewhere between art and function. Table Displaced and Stool Displaced playfully challenge our usual perceptions of space, placement, and utility.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)John Thackara has posted the text of his Global Place lecture in Ann Arbor last week. (Well, he posted it on the internet, of course.) It's a quick, inspiring read, cherry-picking some faves from his book ("eight per cent of the world's total electricity supply is used to cool buildings in the United States" and "flat screens use five times more power than the bulbous ones they replace"), but then he sets up the thesis for the new design opportunity:
There's a truly gigantic design opportunity here. We have to re-design the structures, institutions and processes that drive the economy along. We have to transform material, energy and resource flows that, unchecked, will finish us.Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (2)In this new design space, the boundaries between infrastructure, content, equipment, software, products, services, space, and place, are blurred. Compared to physical products, or buildings, sustainable services and infrastructures are immaterial. They are adaptive in time and space.
So it's a huge opportunity, but a new kind of design practice is needed to exploit it.
Insight Product Development
Chicago, Boston, Raleigh, USA
Verdi Modular Landscaping
Insight Product Development's Verdi Modular Landscaping concept encourages an eco-sensitive domestic environment with pre-seeded, interlocking tiles and walkway tiles that integrate the reuse of rainwater and household gray water. Read more about it in our Studio Bullitts section.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
At last week's MacWorld, mophie collected product concepts from attendees at the trade show. Those were voted on, and three were selected as finalists. During the show they created prototypes and now are going to manufacture and sell the products.
CG kicked off this discussion by expressing his need for a sweet clock radio--snooze being a "must." Why does it seem like clock radios got the shaft as far as good ID goes? Regular clocks are doing quite swimmingly. If it's not straight up fugliness, it's usability, size or shape, fragility (for snooze slammers), or price. If you've got some suggestions, post them in our Cool clock radio? discussion right here.
hot tip from the one and only yo.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (3)
The Nintendo Wii has undoubtedly revolutionized gaming by utilizing motion-sensor technology with its quirky Wiimote and accessories...but exactly how does it all happen? The NYT posts a great click-through mini-guide that explains the inner workings of this Wiistery.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Game maker Pop and Co. introduces Making of a Brick, an interactive, playful and educational clip that illustrates the Lego-making process from plastic pellets to printing and packaging.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)There is a nice pair of design bookends in today's NYTimes, with Alice Rawsthorn's profile of Marc Newson's Paris pied a terre in the magazine, and RANDALL STROSS's persuasive treatise on Digital Rights Management and the iPhone. (Well, there's not much about the iPhone, but you probably had your fill through the week.)
From Smooth Move
Newson is also the reigning superstar of what the auction houses call "design art"--a name coined for limited editions of famously uncomfortable sculptural furniture. Last summer, a prototype of the 1986 Lockheed Lounge, a chaise he designed two years out of art school, set a record for the work of a living designer when it fetched $968,000 at Sotheby's. At last month's Design Miami fair, all 12 of his Chop Top tables sold out in 20 minutes--at a reported $170,000 a pop.
And from Want an iPhone? Beware the iHandcuffs
Even if you are ready to pledge a lifetime commitment to the iPod as your only brand of portable music player or to the iPhone as your only cellphone once it is released, you may find that FairPlay copy protection will, sooner or later, cause you grief. You are always going to have to buy Apple stuff. Forever and ever. Because your iTunes will not play on anyone else's hardware.Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)Unlike Apple, Microsoft has been willing to license its copy-protection software to third-party hardware vendors. But copy protection is copy protection: a headache only for the law-abiding.
Jessica Capshaw joins the cast of The L Word this Sunday as a hot industrial design student who becomes Bette Porter's teaching assistant. Drama, hilarity, hotness, and sexual tension necessarily ensue. If lesbian is the new black, then design must be the new lesbian.
If you ever wondered why certain plastics start turning that nasty shade of mustard yellow and what you could do to prevent your own future design icons from succumbing to the same fate, then read this nice writeup by Benj Edwards from the Vintage Computing and Gaming blog.
Posted by: Don Lehman | Comments (0)
Take a gander at Swiss experimental design studio Atelier V's eccentric collection of re-purposed objects and curious contraptions. Abwashhilfe dish-washing system and Fliegenfilter anti-insect helmet shown above.
thanks andrew!
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
iPhone skeptics will rejoice for this clever little eBay spoof on the biggest cell phone debut of all time. This is another great example of how Scotch tape can do anything.
thanks Kris!
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (7)
frogdesign has posted the video from last night's Design Mind event, where Valerie Casey led an excellent discussion with Eric Ryan, the co-founder of Method (the soap Method, lest there is any confusion). My favorite part of the conversation was Eric's riff about the extent of failure of their initial iconic product (above), what caused it, and how he sees it in context of the success they've had since then. He referred to it as a failure without explanation, and a quick person from the audience asked him to clarify, leading to a great story and some good perspective on where he (and presumably the rest of the firm) is coming from. Unfortunately, the streaming video tool frog is using doesn't show time code (or, for that matter, work with Firefox), so we can't tell you exactly where that bit took place. But the whole thing was good, anyway.
The Creative Generalist pulls out the best passages from Bill Taylor and Polly LaBarre's book, Mavericks at Work. Here's our favorite:
The skills we develop are skills we need everywhere in the organization. Why teach drawing to accountants? Because drawing class doesn't just teach people to draw. It teaches them to be more observant. There's no company on earth that wouldn't benefit from having people become more observant. --Randy Nelson, Dean of Pixar University [p.233]
There's lots more to read there, or, uh, you could just buy the book.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)
iPod accessories. iPhone worshipers. User-generated-content as a tradeshow gimmick. All this and more, with 100+ pictures from MacWorld in my flickr set.
You'd be hallucinating if you didn't expect the iPhone to make an appearance on our boards. Kinetik launched this discussion with a compliment. That flip got switched in a jiff. A few concerns included price, finish quality, tactility issues, and (ugh) Cingular. The string of snappy quips are quite entertaining to boot. Put your two cents into the Trash your iPods - the new king (iPhone) is here, in June board discussion right here.
hot tip from the one and only yo.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (3)
As Slippyfish was flipping through a DWR catalogue, he came across Yves Behar's super-hyped Leaf Light. Great quote from Slippy:
"My bullshit meter went off, and I didn't even have my Espresso Vivace yet."
So the battle starts...Is it truly as sustainable as it's pumped up to be? Or is it just a bunch of twisted up scrap metal with some LED's tacked on? Does this "special" stamping process really make an eco-difference? Hot? Or not? Aesthetics and "green" concept seem to be the major culprits in question, although most seem to agree that the unorthodox interactive elements are pretty sweet. Add your insight to the Leaf Light, Designed for the Environment? board right here.
hot tip from the one and only yo.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
Gatineau, Quebec-based lighting studio Aton Lumiere presents their debut lighting collection, Aer, which is available in floor, table, horizontal, mini, and candle versions. Aer's abstract negative spaces create a warm glow within the fixture while projecting elegant patterns onto its surrounding surfaces. These carefully crafted pieces are composed of an unglazed clay top and maple base.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Treleela is Ineeka's new boutique "tea experience" that not only yields a tasty cup of tea, but also involves a holistic approach to the tea drinking process. Ineeka's own family farms produce the 100% organic whole leaf teas with environment and sustainability in mind. The convenient "pochettes" make for a truly unique steeping method where the user places the wings over the sides of a cup, and then pours hot water over the opening.
hello delicious via js
Photographer Christopher Herwig's "The Soviet Roadside Bus-stop :
Departure from the common and boring , Next stop the wild and crazy" is a collection of photos that capture the country's style-diverse, yet deteriorating and displaced bus-stops dotting the land.
via reluct
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
We always get a couple of these clogger suggestions in our inbox around Valentine's Day gift-purchasing time. This year we'll tip you off on products by Lelo and JimmyJane. Lelo presents NEA Black Pearl Valentine, "a special edition pleasure object celebrating the essence of romantic love." Jimmy Jane's Little Chroma Quiver is specially decorated for V day while Little Gold offers up some high-life bling action for those who need luxury everything. So there you go--a few ways to spice things up on this upcoming Hallmark holiday...but we all know that a toasty pair of wool socks would be a more practical gift choice during a most chilly month such as February.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Studiobenben introduces the Geography + Information Postcard Set (series 1), encouraging the exchange of geographical stats such as Climate, Land + Water + Animals, Population + Lifestyle, and Industry + Resources via post. Tres creative!
The project aims to provide a format by which people can easily share information they may otherwise not include in regular correspondence. Through the use of observation, sketching and a bit of resesarch, peole can send a snapshot of their current environment and culture across the globe.Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Jim Carroll outlines "10 Great Words for Innovation," which are: Observe, Think, Change, Dare, Banish, Try, Empower, Question, Grow, and Do...think of it as an uplifting Tony Robbins lecture, but Cliff's Notes style, and targeted towards the biz crowd.
"Do" is a great one:
10. Do. Renew your sense of purpose, and restore your enthusiasm for the future by taking action. Too many organizations, and the people who work within them, are on autopilot. They go into work each day, and do the same things they did the day before, with the belief that everything today is the same as it was yesterday. It isn't.
Also check out Jim's 10 Innovation Killers, 10 Big Trends, and 10 Ideas.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)Manufacturers and educational institutions are now making R&D partnerships a near trend, as they fully realize the major reciprocal benefits. The Manufacturer posts a nice piece detailing such collaborative efforts where manufacturing companies save on cost while accessing valuable research and development from bright, young thinkers, and in return, students and schools reap access to the latest in technology and production.
The symbiosis between educational institutions and industry continues to develop in manufacturing. The traditional barriers and institutional silos are being broken down and redeveloped. In reality, both sides need each other. In an era of global competition, rapid product development requirements, cost pressures, evolving technology, and reduced employee levels, manufacturing companies are looking for partners to help them meet the needs of their customers. Colleges and universities can be those partners and help with developing new products and technologies, process improvements, or by providing their graduates with the necessary education and skills to make a difference in the workplace.Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Ivan Vartanian's new publication, Full Vinyl : The Subversive Art of Designer Toys, is a must-have for any pop-urban designer toy enthusiast.
Full Vinyl covers mass-produced popular favorites (such as Homies), sub-culture figures, Anime-inspired figures (such as Bome), category-defining "thingies", Hong Kong luminaries (such as Eric So and Michael Lau), figures based on the work of hugely popular artists (such as Gary Baseman or Yoshitomo Nara), and artists that take figure making to the next level (such as Shinichi Yamashita).
...and speaking of vinyl toys, don't miss out on our upcoming Offsite event in Portland, Oregon featuring UNKL Brand, creators of a few vinyl faves including HazMaPo, TinPo, and Sug.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Bicycle-bound hipsters who deem themselves to be true romantics are sure to flip (over their handlebars) for Marie Louise Gustafsson's crochet and epoxy Carrie bike basket. This product is now in development by Design House Stockholm.
via swissmiss
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Photographer Jonah P. Simon made it known to us just how much he loves his Blufoms:
"These shoes are the greatest thing ever!"
Pix of pair #234 here and here.
Do you love your blufoms? Holler about them to us right here.
Don't have 'em on your feet? Check out the official Blufom site to learn more and to purchase a pair--we might still have your size.
Machineart has applied conceptual styling to eCycle's hybrid motorcycle platform to present a complete package to those wanting to produce hybrid motorcycles, ATV's and similar vehicles. eCycle's platform is designed to be "rational, rideable, and beautiful in its naked state."
The motorcycle operates much like a hybrid automobile in which both the engine and electric motor operate efficiently together. The electric motor is used for torque demands such as acceleration and passing and the gas or diesel motor for cruising and charging the batteries.Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)
CES took a break from the technology tonight and turned up the music for one last hurrah. Slash (!!!) made a guest appearance at the Gibson stage, followed by Beach Boy Brian Wilson. Next door Yahoo! held a private event celebrating the culture of connectivity. Ironic?
Phone's, PDA's, DV's, and even plain old cameras where going off like crazy. Enough to make any person go blind. Or home. See you next year!
The Central Plaza was buzzing today at CES. Impressive inflatable structures housed the likes of Nokia, Microsoft, and AOL, attracting hordes of visitors.
Posted by: elle* | Comments (0)
redstr/collective
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Featured Project : Design Sickness Bags
You may have seen redstr's Design Sickness Bags before, but they're pretty sweet so we're exhuming them from the blogging graves for a second show. These limited edition, hand-screened bags symbolize a means to empower the consumer to form an opinion, recognize "bad design," and in turn, make a barfalicious statement to express just how terrible that design is.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
CES or CBS? Leslie Moonves, the CEO of CBS, ended day two with a Keynote presentation that focused on the future of programming and consumer technology. Or, er...should we say, how much did CBS pay to put on a 45 minute commercial? Though padded with a rockstar CBS line-up, the presentations were completely scripted and devoid of personality.
Posted by: elle* | Comments (0)
The robots came out in full force today. Honda led the way in performance with Asimo, presenting their newest robotic endeavor to an eager crowd. Less impressive in presentation, but literally mind-blowing was a partnership between Robotics TechZone and NeuroSky. Working together they created technology that translates brain waves into actions, i.e. the harder you concertrate, the more the robot moves. The idea was then translated into a video game -- no controls, only concentration to move the objects around the screen! Sounds like the next revolutionary therapy for A.D.D.
Posted by: elle* | Comments (0)
Mike and Maaike present a new line of Soft Laptop computer accessories targeted for home use as well as on-the-go. These products, like the soft case and angled stand, boast protection, portability, and comfort as well as a super-fun-time sense of style and color.
Today's a big day for Apple so we'll throw them another bone--just one more.
Sure, all iProducts look flashy and great, but the true beauty of Apple's success over the past few years lies within their understanding that consumers/users appreciate the "experience" and are quite design/tech savvy as of late. Apple (who has grasped the fact that users, however idiotic they may be, don't actually like feeling stupid) delivers an unbelievably high-performance, yet easy-to-use device. Competitive tech-brands are quickly following suit, riding those coattails, and putting the user first.
more at business week
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)
Thames21 is an an environmental charity working with thousands of volunteers every year to clean up waterways, canals, and rivers, remove graffiti, and create new habitats for wildlife. Their Taranchewer clean-up watercraft gathers surfaced, floating litter, having collected an astounding 100 tons of trash from the London Canal system over the past 18 months.
via treehugger
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
First of all, check out our hot new wide-screen blog for your viewing pleasure, featuring this enormous iPhone image to gild the lily just a bit.
Second of all, let's take a moment to agree that it is not the iPhone's killer good looks that take the cake, although it is certainly looking quite slim, trim, and smokin' hot. The insane multitouch interface (remind you of something?) is what's really getting our hearts racing and our jowls salivating...too bad we have to wait until June! (oh--and too bad it's on Cingular.Barf.)
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (8)
MoCo Loco posts a commendable North American International Auto Show Flickr set, full of futuristic concept rides like this Audi R8 prototype.
Check out these fantastic ID additions (part 1 of 3 shown above) by Retrodashmatic on YouTube! American Look by Populuxe reviews American Design circa 1958, where you'll definitely recognize some of your favorite mid-century classics. Refresh your memory of this historical advent where mega-style fell in love with new-fangled tech.
American Look part 2 of 3
American Look part 3 of 3
Toyota Roof Gardens has developed the TM9 self-watering turf mat, a system composed of 20 inch squares of grass on an irrigating base.
Green Geek notes: "Green roofs are a concept familiar to most people now, they've become very popular in recent years on many buildings. As with any environmental feature, there are costs associated with the installation and maintenance in order to enjoy the benefits of the green roof. This may change with a new product that makes adding a green roof as easy as laying carpet."
Time to throw in a little extra for the gardener and find the appropriate garden furniture.
Posted by: Aart van Bezooyen | Comments (0)
ShowStoppers was the hottest spot on the strip tonight, showcasing technological standouts to an enthusiastic crowd at the Wynn. Hilarious veterans from Wow Wee Ltd brought back the singing Elvis head, while Hobbytron.com helped me learn to shoot an Airsoft rifle powered by compressed gas - exactly what the Police train on! Lightsnake provided more entertainment by introducing the greatest generic cable. Able to plug into any instrument, Lightsnake makes recording live music one step easier. They also showcased a blogging kit, complete with microphone, voice lessons, and software. How could they forget the NoDoz?
But the true ShowStopper was Jawbone, Aliph's hottest product, and Yves Behar's lastest brain child. This wireless headset uses military-grade technology to get rid of nasty background noise, while remaining lightweight, comfortable, and beautifully designed. Minimal push-button operation is intuitive and effective. Behar himself was supposed to be in attendance for this evening's festivities, but word on the street is that a Baby Behar is expected any day now. Congratulations Yves! We'll refrain from the jaw-breaking puns and wish you and Aliph continued success.
Posted by: elle* | Comments (0)
Day One of CES started off with all the adrenaline and theatrics one would expect from Vegas. After hurdling massive flight delays last night and mob-sized crowds this morning, the Convention Hall offered welcome distraction. Personal, entertaining, and automated seemed to be the hot topics of the day. Intels mind-blowing display of multi-core processors and software was a true crowd pleaser. Enabling displays like the Personal Media Creation Booth where participants could perform and create music video -- I am so going back to make mine tomorrow!! -- Intel also raised the bar on integrated home technology. Think the fridge door is just meant for magnets? Their tactile screen technology could transform this appliance into a hub of information and exchange.
Photo: An appealing design (left) with a 'cute' UI (right)
How to adjust the volume...? Jasper van Kuijk takes a look at the Thomson radio that is designed, or as it says on the device 'art-directed', by design-guru Philippe Starck. He appropriately notes: "I once read the UI design mantra: 'Cute' is not a good adjective for systems." More user friendliness and frustrations at the product usability weblog
Posted by: Aart van Bezooyen | Comments (2)If you can't get enough of CFLs, TreeHugger's Lloyd Alter's got a great post about Seth Godin's recent challenge.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)
Sadly today is my last day in Bangkok but I did manage to visit the Thailand Creative & Design Center yesterday for a preview of their design directory & resource website to be launched early next week. Barely a year old, the TCDC's commitment to empowering the Thai creative industry is impressive featuring a world class design library that would make any designers heart skip a beat. You could easily forget that the internet ever existed and get lost in this staggeringly comprehensive book, magazine and film collection. We will keep you posted for the launch of lockstockandbarrel.com.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (2)
Bbarn kicked off this Sirius discussion by paying a compliment to Sirius' Sportster 4 satellite radio unit (pictured above)...only to be questioned and berated (would you expect anything less from our b boards?) by other discussion members. So far, two major issues are:
1. It's a bit fugly, especially for the 4th time around...and the usability is questionable to boot.
2. What's up with satellite radio anyway? How does it measure up to other personal audio options?
So folks, feel free to jump right in and lend your thoughts to this discussion.
hot tip from the one and only yo.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
Seoul, Korea-based design studio Antclub just sent in this great alternative to the traditional greeting card, which in most cases, instantaneously turns into a fly swatter, gum scraper or trash. Antclub's thoughtful Flower design possesses a lot more staying power. It's a flat, die-cut template that the giver easily constructs into a geometric blossom-like structure. The recipient then unfolds the flower to reveal a hidden message (of looooove).
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)
Design & Emotion has just posted a great interview with Teague president and CEO John Barratt, who has "guided Teague in building and strengthening partnerships with some of the world's leading brands. The result of these collaborative partnerships is design work that has been recognized with a growing roster of international design awards." Here's a nice insightful peek into what Barratt elaborates on deeper into the interview:
Emilie's on the floor at the CES, and will be back with lots of product goodies. In the meantime, here's what the registration scene looks like.
Winding Road sent Seyth Miersma out to capture the most intriguing sights of Detroit's latest North American International Auto Show, which to Mr. Miersma, turned out to be all the fabulous seating. Flashy automotive concepts were flanked by designer bum-resting stations galore--good enough to test drive, I'm sure.
thanks chris!
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Bike messengers as fashion icons? Not a new phenomenon, of course, but what happens to the ideals within a community when their symbols (of identity and authenticity and insider status) appeal to a larger group?
Posted by: Steve Portigal | Comments (3)
The bicycle messenger's identity begins, unsurprisingly, with the bike. And no bicycle is more emblematic of the devil-may-care lifestyle of couriers than the brakeless, fixed-gear track bike. ...Taken purely as a fashion accessory, the track bike must rank somewhere between cigarettes and high heels as a health hazard to its operator."They're dangerous," says Larry Morris of nonmessenger -- or "fakengers," as he calls them -- track bikes.
OKAYstudio is a collective of six recent Product Design graduates from the Royal College of art: Tomas Alonso, Mathias Hahn, Peter Marigold, Oscar Narud, Hiroko Shiratori, and Jorre Van Ast, who's Clampology project was blogged here not too long ago.
OKAY will be showing their latest and greatest at Passagen programme, a major design event running simultaneously with the IMM Cologne furniture fair, from January 15 - 21, 2007.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)If you were heartened by the Times' piece last week on Compact Fluorescents, you'll be brought back down to earth with yesterday's more sobering assessment from William Hamilton:
When I found out last week that Wal-Mart, America's biggest company, was putting a push on compact fluorescent light bulbs, hoping to make them a new lighting standard at home because they use 75 percent less energy, last 10 times longer and would save me $30 over the life of each bulb, I thought to myself, what's not to like?
Well, fluorescent light's not to like, many people might say.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (3)
The Finger Trap is one of the laptop extensions designed at the digital media class at Berlin's Art University. The challenge of this short project was to rethink the laptop as a physical object with extended functionality, and cherish these qualities in a novel and refreshing way. Respect for the - "Ouch!" - prototyping work.
Core contributor Steve Portigal is quoted in Sunday's NYTimes Consumed column, which takes a look at Freecyle. A taste:
Save-the-earth types make up only a fraction of Freecycle users. Like any successful marketplace, this one works because it links people with widely disparate motivations. Some participants want to declutter. Some see it as akin to a charity. Some just don't want to lug items to the dump. And of course, many people are looking for free stuff. As Freecycle has become a bigger and bigger de facto brand--Beal prefers "movement"--its sheer scale no doubt attracts people who aren't tree-huggers or "simple living' fanatics but just have some item they'd like to unconsume and in the process see what all the fuss is about.
And that Portigal quote? Well, that's what they make links for.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (6)The IDEA 2007 judging is based on the following criteria. These criteria are weighted equally by the judges as they deem appropriate for the category:
* Innovation: how is the design new and unique?
* Aesthetics: how does the appearance enhance the product?
* User: how does the design solution benefit the user?
* Environment: how is the project ecologically responsible?
* Business: How did the design improve the client's business?
* Design Research: What validation is given that the design solved the problem?
* (Research only): Rigor/relevance/reliability
* (Design Strategy only): Internal Factors & Methods, Implementation
Participant Qualifications - Open to designs and designers worldwide. - Open to students from NASAD and non-NASAD accredited schools and students from international industrial design programs. Student entries can only be submitted in the Student category, even if the design is in research, production or corporately funded.
Regular order deadline: February 7, 2007 11:59 PM PST
Regular entries deadline: February 9, 2007 11:59 PM PST
Late order deadline:February 14, 2007 11:59 PM PST
Late deadline:February 16, 2007 11:59 PM PST
Complete details from IDSA's website.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (1)
Hummel has released the 8.4 PIO FGX football boot— performance footwear that utilizes a unique combination of design and technical features to provide a truly personalized fit. Using a revolutionary new smart-foam material, the insole of the 8.4 PIO FGX can be custom molded to a player's foot using heat, ensuring maximum comfort and support. Get the whole scoop in our Studio Bullitts section.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Newly-sprouted French design studio Anna Gram has released their newest concept, Ceramic for Mix. The included ceramic ball replaces a traditional spoon to mix milk and sugar into hot beverages such as tea and coffee. The bottom of the clear glass is indented to hold the ball when it is not in motion.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)
Element Labs, Inc., with offices in the US and Germany, uses innovative LED video technology for various applications in entertainment, architecture, and signage. Two especially noteworthy products are the Stealth panel and Versa pixel.
thanks david!
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
This sweet pic of an "Apple Mini" can be found in Philapple's mac-centric Flickr set.
spotted at bii.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Natural Home posts America's top 10 eco-conscious, health- minded neighborhoods that "boast community involvement; shopping, libraries and schools within a walkable area; public transportation; and locally owned businesses."
Asheville, North Carolina's West Asheville neighborhood tops the list, with our very own Park Slope (pictured above) in Brooklyn swooping in at #4!
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)Richard at CPH127's got a great book review up on Made to Break, Giles Slade's hardcover on "technology and obsolescence in America." (The best is how it's paired in the "better together" Amazon pitch with "High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, and Human Health" by Elizabeth Grossman.)
The review's juiciest bit is "Like Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney fighting a Cold war in a terrorist world long after the Iron Curtain has come down, Slade persists in a world view that is decades out of date. That world simply doesn't exist anymore." But he follows it up with this fantastic paragraph, and then a lot more:
But a subtler point lost on Slade is that [planned obsolescence] doesn't exist because it doesn't need to. Another world has replaced it, that of voluntary obsolescence, which serves the economic purpose even better. Like the transition of Cold war to ad hoc terrorism, this shift is also one from top-down authoritarianism to decentralized action. The approach of planned obsolescence has so pervaded and framed our consumption mentality that we (as consumers) don't need to have products go out of style on a planned basis or have them fail on schedule for us to be more than happy to replace fully functioning products with new ones. This fact has saved Apple's bacon and made them the darling of Wall Street again.Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)
Genometri, a Singapore-based design technology company developing specialized form and color software, has just completed a project with client Trek 2000 on a series of USB flash drives harnessing the power of GenoForm form exploration technology. This technology enables designers to create product families efficiently and explore more design possibilities than what was possible.
Yet it's an amazing experience to take part in a briefing with Steve. [We're talking Jobs, here. No ego-post this time around]
Once you have your ironclad guarantee that Steve might come by, the management chain starts telling horror stories about how the best thing is for Steve not to come. That if he does come, he'll talk about whatever he has immersed himself in recently... That whatever Steve has to say might or might not have anything to do with what the customer wants to hear. For a salesman, that's disconcerting...
These antics are well-documented but aren't we enthralled by stories of people in power who are successful yet out-of-control? I'm thinking more Simon Cowell than Saddam, but YMMV. Posted by: Steve Portigal | Comments (0)
Before plastic was invented many products were created out of elaborate woodwork. The collaboration of Ecoasu Umajimura and industrial designer Takumi Shimamura blew new life into items out of thinned Japanese cheddar wood, introduced as MONACCA brand in 2003.
A good example of making an old material new again through a design impulse. Their efforts have been rewarded and we are happy to congratulate Monacca's wooden lifestyle for receiving the Good Design Award 2006 for their wooden bag.
Posted by: Aart van Bezooyen | Comments (0)
"A tape measure the size of a pack of gum. Just the right size for carrying around in your pocket, with a shape that makes you want to pull it out and use it."
Hope we'll see this concept into production, even if it's just to impress your colleagues. Find this concept and an additional impressive portfolio at Tokyo based plusminuszero
Posted by: Aart van Bezooyen | Comments (0)
Lotus has signed a deal with Brazilian microcar-maker Obvio! Automotoveiculos to develop two high-performance mini sports cars.
The cars, so far codenamed '828' and '012', will be ultra-lightweight - 750kg for the 012 and just 600kg for the 828 - and use aerospace-developed structural technology to make them strong and safe. Both models will be three-seaters, with the driver and passengers sitting three-abreast (as in the Matra-Simca Bagheera of the 70s), and will have scissor-opening doors, so they should look quite spectacular. Obvio! says, however, that they will be practical for everyday use as well as being fun to drive.
Read the rest here, link via Manuel Toscano.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (1)
More concept credit cards that you can't apply for at TechEBlog, hat tip Dave Tait.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (2)
Wondering what to do with that Christmas bonus? Start the year off with a clean conscience. Instead of sending Aunt Jean the next hi-tech gadget for her birthday, consider ChangingThePresent. This new nonprofit has finally figured out one-stop-giving for a generation of point and clickers. Everything from animal welfare to public broadcast is represented online. A fan of Russian culture? For a mere $125, the cost of month's salary for a Russian museum worker, one can fund a U.S. visa -- a gift that facilitates a young immigrant curator's residency and education in a major US cultural organization. A small step in preserving the education and preservation of Russia's cultural heritage. What more could Aunt Jean want?
Posted by: elle* | Comments (0)
The Asia Society, the NYC Chapter of the IDSA and the Confederation of Indian Industry bring "Design with India" to New York on the 5th of February, 2006. Here's a snippet from their website,
The ultimate objective for organizing a series of strategy sessions around the world is to identify an international panel of innovators and thought leaders, who will act as a think tank for inspiring people centered innovation in India and for integrating the creative talent and cultural resources of India with the global economy.Keynote presenter: Clyde Prestowitz Founder and President Economic Strategy Institute and author of the book, Three Billion New Capitalists: The Great Shift of Wealth and Power to the East.
Plus a panel of leading speakers from India and the United States.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (0)
Emmanuel Laffon de Mazieres
Auriac sur Vendinelle, France
Featured Project : Zero Gramme
Emmanuel Laffon de Mazieres' Zero Gramme concept studies optimal weight distribution and operational ergonomics of rolling luggage. Larger wheels situated along the profile supply more stability and a wider range of maneuverability than traditional cases with smaller wheels at the wide edge of the base. The square shape balances weight at the center requiring only a near-effortless pull/guide action from the user.
This super early heads-up is well worth marking down on your calendar. From May 4 - September 23, 2007, the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum will be showcasing Design for the other 90%, an exhibit that "highlights the growing trend among designers to create affordable and socially responsible objects for the vast majority of the world's population (90 percent) not traditionally serviced by professional designers." The exhibition will be divided into several dedicated sections including food, water, shelter, health and sanitation, education, energy and transportation, and will also display objects that benefit the large below-poverty level and natural disaster recovery demographics.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)It looks as if major retailers such as Costco and Office Max are taking detailed note of Target's in-house brand success (a.k.a. the "Target effect"), as they ditch the sketchy, bland stigma of the store-brand and begin to push their own cost effective, quality assured products as legitimate competitors to famous label products. Target's winning strategy combines economical production with current design, big names, and intelligent marketing, yielding a through-the-roof demand for these "generic" goods.
more at bw
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Laurent Perbos' "Aire" tennis terrain installation is a most excellent play on our visual perception of space.
via vvork
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
Blue Origin is a young, ambitious, and sustainability-minded effort aiming to lower the cost of spaceflight in order to offer the masses an affordable means of exploring the outer realms and beyond.
Accomplishing this mission will take a long time, and we're working on it methodically. We believe in incremental improvement and in keeping investments at a pace that's sustainable.
They are currently seeking hard working, technically gifted, team-oriented, experienced aerospace engineers or engineering leaders to join the team and make it happen!
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
We all know about these (which come in adult sizes, although they seems to be a kid-dominated trend), however Smarter Products has released Rollies, which allow you to coast around in the footwear of your choice. These illuminated skate attachments adjust to fit any shoe and come with a built-in generator--no batteries necessary. Whether or not you want to be ridiculed in public...that's entirely up to you.
via red ferret
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
FLEX/the INNOVATIONLAB, in conjunction with DJPA, has designed and developed the new 33cl beer bottles and crates for Grolsch. This improved bottle design continues to reflect the Grolsch brand while better accommodating the bottle return process.
These photos from Superamit's Flickr pool show some cool details of the massively gigantor windmills to be erected on Illinois' McLean Co. farmland--one of many wind power projects currently in construction across the country. McDanerson and Amit recently returned from a holiday in Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois...with a healthy earful about these controversial plans. From Obama and Durbin concerned about military interference, to gripes about preserving historical farming traditions, to a flurry of local concerns such as fluctuations in property value, this hometown has been torn between economic/ecological promise and any possible repercussions.
Wind power was, not too long ago, mostly a major interest topic tossed about on the design and tech blogosphere, with reports of interesting projects in places like Scandinavia or Canada. Apparently, it has quickly infiltrated the most common of our nation's households in a big way--especially in middle America to say the least!
thanks McDanerson & Amit!
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (1)
The Greatest Canadian Invention will be announced this evening on CBC. Yes, we Canucks love to tell Americans about Pam Anderson, Mike Myers, Neil Young, and Hayden Christensen, but now we we are armed to point out Java, the instant replay, instant mashed potatoes, keyframing, the Blackberry, and the zipper.
[via my Mom]
The New York Times looks at the continued progression of homespun images (emphasis on the spun) into consumer packaging. They call it greenwashing, but is that too harsh? Design elements evoke cultural and emotional responses. Should designers and marketers play into those or is that manipulative? The article takes a pointed POV that may outrage us as consumers but caution us as designers/marketers/storytellers...
It's only a matter of time before Cap'n Crunch shows up in a hemp jacket, raising money to save the manatees.
Posted by: Steve Portigal | Comments (1)
sdesignunit is a Seoul, Korea-based product design firm with a nice range of curious goods racked up in their growing portfolio. One of their most insightful studies are these power plug solutions. One concept shows plugs with integrated sockets for stacking, eliminating the need for cumbersome power strips. The other design provides an individual on/off switch at the plug site. This gives the user another option when delegating power to a variety of devices that are clustered at the same source.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (3)
Kevin McCullagh takes on the current backlash against design--from charges of "too much fluff" all the way down to "too much stuff." And everyone--including designers, editors, and advertisers, are getting in on the act. Here's a snippet:
There's a storm brewing in designland. A backlash is gathering momentum, and what's more, some of its chief dissidents are design's leading lights. Philippe Starck sheepishly peered out of the cover of December's Icon magazine, under the 'I killed design' banner. In an Observer article a few months earlier Stephen Bailey, the fiery British design critic exclaimed "When I hear the word 'designer', I reach for my chainsaw."Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (25)
Alex Terzich takes us past the paneling and under the hood of Cooper-Hewitt's 3rd Annual Design Triennial. Here's a taste:
By veiling its generative logic and sidestepping the pitfalls of pigeon-holing (e.g., Should the iRobot Roomba represent transformation or emulating life?), the curators produce a show that is challenging and muddled for an entry-level audience wanting a coherent narrative about the current state of American design. For a designer, though, the result is an inspiring kind of free-range zoo where distant species of products are left to mingle, cohabitate and interbreed.Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)
Nico Macdonald provides a comprehensive review of the recent Competitiveness Summit at the UK Design Council. Here's a quick taste:
Innovation "will dictate the economic prosperity of nations," Cox observed, but the weakness of the UK is "not being able to take full advantage of this." We produce people in art schools who don't understand the language of the business world, he noted, and business people who don't understand how to manage innovation. How can we combine their skills?Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (1)
In comparison to junior high, geek is actually quite chic these days. PopSci has compiled a great collection of the top 20 all-time favorite on-screen nerds--the big and small screen stars that all of us real dorkbots truly related to back in the day. Among our favorites are Wargames' David Lightman, Data from the Goonies, and of course, Beeker! (snarf...pushes up glasses, adjusts pocket protector.)
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Coop Himmelblau's current Akron Art Museum expansion project is the result of their winning entry from the museum's call for designs a few years back. PSFK snagged a peek over the holidays and took some nice snapshots, revealing the intense juxtaposition of olde and neue. This 20 million dollar expansion began in June, 2004 and is scheduled to open this coming summer.
No need to call the cleaners. This splat is an actual product by design GO! The colorful splats out of rubber can be used as doorstops or bookends.
via Samsung
Posted by: Aart van Bezooyen | Comments (4)
Carleton University School of Industrial Design is hosting the 29th Annual Design Seminar on January 12th and 13th. The topic is "balancing the equation between technology, people and design," and will include both local and international design professionals, as well as the fourth-year industrial design students. (Do they have their own separate ID's? Yowza!)
Confirmed lineup includes:
Keynote - Isao Hosoe
Wearables & SuperPowers - Adrian Chan
The Circuit of Life - Anne Galloway
ARTech - Heidi Overhill
Get all the info at the site.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)
Jouko Karkkainen, best known for his textured plywood products and large-scale installations, has taken a compact turn with a positive eco-impact. Tree Seedlings are containers made of curly birch, pine, alder, spruce or aspen. Each cube is made from the wood of the same tree that the contained seed will grow into. The entire cube is buried, eventually rotting and exposing the seed to the vital elements necessary for growth.
via treehugger
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)
Jeremy Faludi's got another awesome overview of materials design up at Worldchanging. This time, he writes about "Metal vs. Plastic"—breaking down the pros and cons of aluminum, steel, titanium—even touching on annodizing and powder-coating. Here's the intro:
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been doing some green product design advice & research for a startup doing a consumer-electronics device. This post compares the impact of aluminum to two other metals, as well as plastic, and talks about the options for coating/finishing the metal.
and here's a fact-packed para on the former:
Anodization is a microns-thin layer of oxidation on the surface of the aluminum. It involves some nasty chemicals (depending on the color, these can include sulphuric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, nickel acetate, and others; some use hexavalent chromium, but we will definitely avoid that), but small amounts of them (because the oxidation layer is so thin). The coating is non-toxic to the user, the concern is the waste and worker safety in manufacturing; any decent modern plant has emissions/effluent controls, but it would be better not to use toxins in the first place. The main advantage of anodization is that it does not hurt recyclability of the aluminum--it is such a thin coating (and even that coating is mostly aluminum itself) that anodized parts can be thrown right in with bare parts in recycling plants, and their value as scrap is just as high as bare aluminum (according to the three recyclers I talked to).
Now that's some info for ya. Read the entire article here; Go back and read his piece on plastics here.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)
Stuart White's "Mass Production Pencils" is a geometric huddle of IKEA pencils formed in such a way to make "mass-produced prints."
via vvork
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Shown above are two stunning images from Trazy's Zoomified Flickr set. The top image shows scotch tape torn from the dispenser and the bottom image captures Velcro being pulled apart.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
UNIQLO shows off their playful side with Mixplay to promote their "15 color parker," which I believe could translate to "15 color parkas." Choose from a selection of parka colors, dancers, and musical sounds to create your own on-screen hipster jam sesh party.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
The newest issue of WIRED prods at our geek fantasies of human perfection and a semi-cyborg existence. Read all about implants, surgery, gene enhancement, your best health, physical regiments, and even how to build a better baby.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Jill Fehrenbacher has reposted her Archinect manifesto on Inhabitat, and it resonates nicely with many of the objections we hear about ID education. Here's a sample:
What could possibly be so painful about having to address real world problems? The design world often acknowledges that constraints foster creativity, and that the groundbreaking design work is frequently born out of limited budgets and tight spaces. Real-world constraints force designers to be focused, resourceful and inventive – qualities necessary in fostering innovation. This rule applies as much to the constraint of sustainability as to economic or spatial constraints. Therefore I would argue that the constraint of “sustainability” should ultimately foster creativity and will make architecture better – not worse. Sustainability should be embraced as a design challenge, not shunned as just one more boring / mundane thing to worry about.
Her stats at the top are sobering too:
-Buildings consume 40% of the world’s energy every year.
-Buildings generate almost half of the carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming.
-40% of landfill currently comes from construction waste.
Rob Walker's got a nice Consumed column this past Magazine on everyone's favorite as-seen-on-tv icon. It's really a piece on language, but the knife and its history figures prominently. Oh: Don't forget about Rob's Blog: Murketing.
In the annals of completely ridiculous advertising, the original commercial on behalf of Ginsu knives has a special place. More than a quarter-century later, anyone old enough to remember it and many people who aren’t old enough to remember it will know the highlights — the guy karate-chopping a tomato, the knife sawing neatly through a tin can and the kind of hard-sell language we tend to associate with the most blatant forms of hucksterism. It’s a knife that will last forever. It’s a product no kitchen should be without. It’s the most incredible knife offer ever. And after the superlatives, the inevitable: But wait, there’s more.Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)
Michael Barbaro breaks down the various advantages, issues, and resistances to the great CFL conversion, with attention to the might that WM is bringing to the table.
Light-bulb manufacturers, who sell millions of incandescent lights at Wal-Mart, immediately expressed reservations. In a December 2005 meeting with executives from General Electric, Wal-Mart’s largest bulb supplier, “the message from G.E. was, ‘Don’t go too fast. We have all these plants that produce traditional bulbs,’ ” said one person involved with the issue, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of an agreement not to speak publicly about the negotiations.
The response from the Wal-Mart buyer was blunt, this person said. “We are going there,” the buyer said. “You decide if you are coming with us.”
Now that's some Walmart Effect. [Link]
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (2)
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