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The Mehrzeller (multi-cell) caravan concept from Graz, Austria takes faceted design to whole new level. An online application generates the design based on a customers specifications resulting in no two caravans exactly the same—just incase driving this polygon camper on the autobahn doesn't express your individuality enough.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (5)
The latest 1 Hour Design Challenge ends tomorrow night, and it only takes an hour to enter and win! So fire up those tablet, get out those Prismacolors, and get in this. Guest judges are Bopanna Ulliyada, Chris Chung, and Ryan Henbest from Timbuk2, and 1st prize winner will receive a Custom Timbuk2 bag, with custom fabrics and trim!
>>See ALL the entries so far and add yours here.<<
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)
Protect The Human is a new open community site created by Amnesty International UK. Amnesty International is a movement of people from around the world standing up for humanity and human rights.
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (1)
Crain's has been doing their 40 under 40 since the early 90s, but our vote for most interesting stories of young entrepeneurs goes to MIT Technology Review's slightly younger and smaller TR35--a selection of 35 technologists, scientists and inventors doing some genuinely game-changing work. Obvious highlights include Jack Dorsey of Twitter fame and JB Straubel who made the Tesla Roadster a reality, but some of the lesser-knowns have perhaps even more remarkable things to offer: Michelle Chang, for example, a researcher at Berkeley, is coaxing microbes to synthesize fuel and pharmaceuticals, while Harvard's Robert Wood shows off some utterly convincing robotic flies; the smallest yet devised.
Detailed PDFs of each subject are available, and unusually detailed for this sort of feature, including profiles, images, technical briefs and video.
Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (0)
This two-day international design policy conference, which will take place in Turin, Italy on 6 and 7 November, will provide a global platform for the high-level exchange of ideas, insights and best practice from the many different countries developing, launching and maintaining effective design policies. An international line-up of speakers and panel members drawn from governments, industry and design will address strategic and tactical issues on design policy in developing and developed economies. Keynote speakers include Peter Dröll, Head of the Business Unit in Innovation Policy for the European Commission; David Kester, the Chief Executive of the UK Design Council; and Yrjö Sotamaa, President and Professor, University of Art and Design Helsinki, Finland.
The design policy conference coincides with the 'International Design Casa' - a series of international exhibitions and events at various venues across the city of Turin (opening on 5 November), and an extravaganza of contemporary arts, highlighted by the international Artissima arts fair (opening on 7 November) and the Daniel Birnbaum curated exhibition 50 Moons of Saturn. Make sure to stay until 8 November for the Contemporary Arts Night.
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)
Since the first use of tools to achieve goals, design has been born as a response to problems and needs. Sadly, since we now live in a thoroughly designed world, many of our problems are themselves secondary consequences of prior acts of design. Collecting striking photographs with interviews and original essays, Actar's latest book/magazine hybrid, Verb: Crisis, edited by Mario Ballesteros, Albert Ferre, Irene Hwang, Michael Kubo, Tomoko Sakamoto, Anna Tetas and Ramon Prat, addresses architectural and design responses to the problems of our modern age.
Nowhere is the collision between man-solution and self-induced problem clearer than in the book's opening aerial time lapse photographs of Dubai. In only a few years, a fully completed city seems to have risen from the desert, grown only from oil, money and hope. Yet behind all of the investment, buildings like the Burj Dubai stand as a monuments to disequilibrium. As is done in each chapter, descriptive prose and photographs are followed by philosophical inquiry. Boris Brorman Jensen observes that Dubai's very existence attempts to answer the question of whether a city can be created from scratch, and its success or failure will be born out over time. While Dubai works as a microcosm illustrating the ability of human beings to manage their environments, later chapters explore cases of varying scale: from single building housing projects to massive plots like the Fresh Kills landfill.
Posted by: Robert Blinn | Comments (0)
Droog Design have given their website a much welcome overhaul, it's hard to remember the last version but it was a little too designed with individual hyperlinks on every word in a sentence--very annoying. This one is a huge improvement and does a much better job presenting their impressive collection of work and designers.
Check out photo's from their exhibition A touch of Green in Milan earlier this year here.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)
With the rising costs of fuel, airlines are taking extreme measures to lose weight. Many companies in the States are persuading passengers to travel light by charging a fee for additional checked luggage. Air Canada's regional carrier Jazz is taking it one step further and removing life vests to lighten the load.
Safety cards now ask passengers to use their cushion as a flotation device in the event of an emergency. While their rationale makes sense, we'd rather see design improvements like Marc Newson's thinner seats for Qantas and maintain our illusion of safety for a little longer.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)
The entries are coming fast a furious now for the latest 1 Hour Design Challenge: Back-to-school Bag.
Picking a few recent highlights, from top-to-bottom are LT21's Hard Shell SquatPak, elliotts21's Le Mondrian, and Bbarn's Campus Media Bag. We also dig Savage's ModPac, nourmalaeb's Velcrometre (LOVE the name!), and idfarmer's totally awesome Nomadstic!
There are 3 days left to enter your design--we intentionally scheduled this to give you the whole long weekend if you're in these parts--and it only takes an hour to enter and win. So fire up those tablet, get out those Prismacolors, and get in this. Guest judges are Bopanna Ulliyada, Chris Chung, and Ryan Henbest from Timbuk2, and 1st prize winner will receive a Custom Timbuk2 bag, with custom fabrics and trim!
>>See ALL the entries so far and add yours here.<<
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)
Admit it--when you hear the words "copyright violation," the first place you think of is China; you probably don't think of, say, Home Depot.
Well, check out the two lamps up top. Recognize 'em? Can you even tell 'em apart? Here's the deal, from an NYC tipster:
Right now the Home Depot on 23rd Street [in Manhattan] is selling an almost exact copy of the Starck-designed Miss K Lamp by Flos. Only [Home Depot's version] is missing the half-chrome plating on the inside of the shade, which is the whole concept of the original design, and the plastic quality is substandard. Also the chrome "collar" is el cheapo and has no engraved branding on it as with the Flos lamp. The price? Only $21.97! About 1/10 the price of the Flos lamp. From three feet away, they are all but identical.The [Home Depot] lamp is actually produced by Hampton Bay, who should really know better than to pirate intellectual property. It is one thing for companies to knock off vintage design classics, but for a supposedly legitimate company to out-and-out copy a design currently in production by a living designer like Starck is really over the top. For shame!
thanks Bradley!
I have to say I don't love this guy's font, but it's a cool way of thinking about hand lettering. And further proof that architects really just wish they were graphic designers... (BURN!)
For more handwriting tips, check out Matthew Frederick's 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School. Crushing on the chick with a pocket full of Microns and an Eames chair tattoo? Write her a love note she'll appreciate. Frederick's tip: write in highlighter, then outline the letters in black pen. So classy.
Posted by: William Bostwick | Comments (7)
A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:
salon
Ask the pilot: Who cares what planes look like?
wired
Gadget Designers Push the Limits of Size, Safety
brooklyn eagle
Pratt Design Student Recruited To Steer GM Into a Green Future
medical news today
Medical Design: Burnt Kids' Pain Lessened By Distracting Device
scoop independent news
Eco-coffin designer awarded again
spiked
The rise and rise of 'anti-design'
washington post
'iPhone Girl' Finds Fame And Fear On The Production Line
PureAustrianDesign have relaunched their website just in time for Vienna Design Week. Anyone familiar with the PAD exhibition platform that regularly tours the international design circuit will know these guy's are instrumental in fostering home grown Austrian talent, other countries looking to promote their own design culture should start taking notes.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)
Scribemedia's got a nice video with Simone Giostra, who's company Simone Giostra + Partners (along with Arup, natch) designed the 20,000-square-foot LED wall powered by solar energy. The GreenPix Zero Energy media wall covers the facade of the Xicui entertainment center--not far from the Bird's Nest--absorbing solar energy during the day and using it to power the display at night. And if you thought the olympic's opening ceremony was all about "people as pixels," this video takes on the question "what happens when you don't have that many pixels" to begin with? Well, you stand further away, of course.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)A bit late on this, but make sure you don't miss Steve Portigal's 4th column at Interactions Magazine, discussing the challenges of delivering design research insights to clients, and the need to take time so that they're wise, appropriate, and meaningful. Tough to pick just one sample from the article, but here's a nice bit on the notorious focus group:
Last summer I sat in on a focus-group-like session. We were at the end of a long table of people whom we had met in various observations and interviews throughout the previous week. One of the clients who had commissioned the work was sitting at our end of the table and operating the video camera--no small task, with about 12 people engaged in conversation. At one point she turned to me and asked: "We don't need to get this stuff right now, do we? Nothing's happening, so I can stop recording?" Surprised, I encouraged her to keep the video rolling. Editing in-camera may have worked for Hitchcock, but it's absolutely not the way to go for any sort of user-research process. It's not that each moment in such a session is dripping with raw data that will strongly inform any recommendations, but rather that you don't necessarily know the value of what's happening in the moment that it's happening.
Request the PDF of Hold Your Horses here.
The excellent Portigal Consulting blog here.
This isn't strictly design-related, but it's interesting nonetheless.
I've got a buddy who writes for the newswires, where it's all about getting breaking news out first. So when they get a whiff that something might happen--say you hear a rumor that a certain CEO has contracted a fatal illness--they'll often pre-write the news of it and put it on ice. When the event comes to pass, they plug in the numbers and post it.
Well, apparently Steve Jobs' obituary (17 pages long, for chrissakes) was written by the staff over at Bloomberg, and Wednesday someone accidentally hit the "Publish" button. The mistake was swiftly retracted, but not before Gawker cut-and-pasted and reposted the whole thing.
For the record Jobs, thank God, is absolutely fine.
One of the most controversial events on the international creative awards calendar, the results of the 5th Annual Chip Shop Awards were recently announced at the Edinburgh International Festival.
The term 'Chip Shop Advertising' is UK slang that describes work that is more about winning plaudits for its creators, than business for clients. Attracting the sort of creations normally banned by conventional award schemes, the Chip Shop Awards aims to celebrate raw creativity that has not had a chance to shine in the past in the same way outlandish fashion not suitable for the High Street is celebrated on the catwalk.
More after the jump.
Innovative User Interface Designer
Nokia Research Center
Palo Alto, California
The newly formed Innovate Design Experience Animate (IDEA) team at the Nokia Research Center in Palo Alto is seeking talented designers to define and carry out research, design, and development focused on
innovative user interfaces for mobile devices, and services to accompany them.
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)One of the most encouraging trends in African development work over the past few years has been an increased focus locally maintainable technologies. In contrast to some of the debacles of the 70s and 80s, in which NGOs and foreign aid groups would swoop in, build a road, hospital or dam, then swoop back out again, dooming the project to disrepair within a few years, projects that are constructed and maintained by local craftsmen are gaining a lot of attention.
A recent example, via the always amazing Afrigadget blog, is the Elephant Pump, a fantastically effective, fantastically low-tech method of getting water out of the ground, and alleviating the significant burden of long-distance water fetching that inhibits development in much of the world. The pump, based on a long-established Chinese design, is constructed from locally fabricated parts, then built on site in less than a day. The video here shows one example, in Malawi, that costs less than US$500 to build, and goes together in four hours.
It's not the only locally appropriate pump system out there either. In the past decade or so, several such designs have started making their way across the continent, including the Afripump and the partially IDEO-designed MoneyMaker. Proof that good design can be more than just pretty. It can be beautiful.
Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (0)
We've blogged this "competition" before, but we just got tipped that Architecture For Humanity and Lulan Artisans' project, End Human Trafficking: Sustainable Livelihoods, is only 150 votes from the next round! (Amex will fund 5 winning projects to the tune of $2.5 million--1st prize gets 1.5M, then 500K, then 300K, then 2 at 100K.)
Here's some info on the impact the project will have:
We currently support over 650 weavers, spinners, dyers and finishers using a holistic approach to produce eco-fabrics in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and India. Our goal is to increase the number of artisans to over 6,000, thus expanding our reach to more weaving families and communities. We will work with international and local architects to build inventive, replicable off-the-grid weaving centers. Each building design will be shared through Creative Commons licensing so more communities can benefit.
>>Nominate this project and get them through to the next round
View the top 50 projects here.
Lots of NYTimes today, but this is too short and too sweet to miss. (Though it's an insane infraction to blow the punchline in a headline. My bad.)
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)
From the Coroflot portfolio of : Joshua Longo ( Brooklyn, NY )
Featured Project : Shelburne Museum Exhibition
Joshua Longo made his debut at BKLYN Designs last year, and he now has a show in the Kalkin house at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont: Longoland: It May Be Contagious May 18 - October 26, 2008.
Longoland: It May Be Contagious is the second installment of Shelburne Museum's Emerging Designer Series. This season Brooklyn plush artist Joshua Longo lets his imagination run wild in Adam Kalkin's shipping container house on the museum grounds.Longo transforms the interior gallery space into an imaginative environment - Longoland - inhabited by quirky plush animals and furniture inspired by Longo's playful and off kilter take on the ordinary.
Way to go Joshua! More picks after the jump.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (2)
The Draganflyer X6 UAV RC Helicopter is a surveillance nut's dream come true. The compact 'copter flies steady with its three rotors, enabling the on-board camera to record smooth video of whatever it's surveilling.
While the device is cool, it isn't new; two years ago the brainiacs at MIT came up with the Swarm Health Management Program, whereby craploads of these UAV's are networked into surveillance teams that can track moving objects and hand tasks off to each other, rather like a zone defense in basketball.
The MIT footage features an older quadrotor design and their apparent sentience is well-creepy; it's not embeddable but you can watch it here.
via makezine
A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:
design taxi
Museum of Fine Arts Houston Celebrates 10 Years of the Design Council
businessweek
Antenna Design: Bridging Art and Commerce
leds magazine
90% of OLED thickness is glass? Not anymore: Vitex and Novaled to cooperate on OLED thin-film encapsulation
marketwatch
Upcoming Mechatronics 2.0 Expo in Detroit
scoop independent news
Integrating sustainability into business decisions
manila bulletin
Philippines can't compete with Chinese mass production, so looks to design and handicrafts instead
hpc wire
Product testing: software simulations vs. physical testing
A Times article details how ID superstar Marc Newson, who also serves as creative director for Australian airline Qantas, has designed the cabins for Qantas' A380. And while the spacious A380s are rightly called superjumbos, the devil lies in the details:
...the design language of the Qantas A380 is defined less by what the passengers see than by how they feel. Given that flat beds, cashmere blankets and other airline "innovations" are instantly copied by the competition, Mr. Newson has tried to distinguish Qantas's superjumbo with intelligent detailing derived from the old-fashioned design process of analyzing every component to identify how it could best be made and laid out with the latest technology.Giving economy passengers an extra inch of leg room is a prime example. The seats in first class are 6.5 inches wider, and those in business class 20 inches longer than the ones in Qantas's 747s. But the airline was stingier with extra space in economy and premium economy. The only way to compensate was by making the seat backs slimmer. Mr. Newson's team did so by developing a lightweight carbon-fiber shell with Recaro, the German manufacturer, which used similar technology in seating for race cars.
Unlike other "flying palace" designs typical of the A380s, Newson's design is more stylistic/futuristic than pure luxe. Read the article here, and see how Newson's done everything from considering the shape of the plates to quieting the cries of babies.
Creative Senior Manager : Design For All & Sustainability
Target Corporation
Minneapolis, Minnesota
If you have knack for spotting a brilliant idea in its infancy, and a genius for nurturing the idea to its fullest potential, here's your opportunity. This position plays a key role in defining and communicating Target's key differentiators: Smart design and designer partnerships, enhanced by a commitment to sustainability and an understanding of our guests' need for value. Your keen eye for crisp, intelligent advertising will oversee campaigns that inspire consumers through broadcast, print and new media; your responsibilities will include being a visionary for the Target brand.
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (2)Weekly finds from the 3D world
Rhino
RhinoCAM 2.0 now available in Beta
RhinoScript.org - a site for the free sharing of scripts for Rhino users
Gallery of Rhino models used in film and set design (check out the Gotham City dump truck from The Dark Knight)
Autodesk
Autodesk introduces Flexible Software Delivery
Inventor
Do not taunt the Navigation Bar
Pro/Engineer
A short Intent Manager tutorial
Using 3D Annotation: PDF tutorial
SolidWorks
Simulation Tabs in SW 2009
General 3D CAD
Berkeley team develops interactive tool for exploding 3D views
The Register reports that an astute Finn is offering a bastardized version of Google's search engine that ignores sites served up by Google itself.
"Inspired by a recent New York Times piece that questioned whether the Mountain View search monopoly is morphing into a media company - which it is - Finnish blogger Timo Paloheimo promptly unveiled Google minus Google. Key in the word "YouTube," and the first result is Wikipedia."
According to The Register, Google minus Google is built with the Google Custom Search Engine and "conveniently filters out domains such as YouTube, Blogger, Gmail, Knol, Orkut, and - most importantly - Jaiku. In other words, it removes Google's conflict of interest."
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)
When choosing a vehicle, women want design options that offer flexibility, allow them to connect to the outside world and offer more storage space.
These are some of the key findings from a study conducted by Johnson Controls in the United States and Europe, in response to the recent women-focused trends and market indicators highlighting the increasing buying power of women.
The company will utilize the data to inspire and drive industrial design and new product development that meets the evolving needs of women.
photo: Johnson Controls
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)
It kind of looks like something from Quake: The Shooter fire extinguisher concept fires CO2 bullets rather than foam, meaning you get to terminate the blaze with extreme prejudice. Only thing this baby's missing is a bandolier for the bullets. Designed by Eunjung Kim, Yangwoo Kim & Junyi Heo.
via yanko design by way of dvice
A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:
designweek u.k.
U.K. Department of Health: Design Bugs Out
irish times
Renault takes a step backwards, introducing a new SUV
manila bulletin
The Philippines: Interior design students 'hit' the runway
india p.r. wire
India: City based Ticket design's Ticket to success
dvice
Next hands-free input device: your tongue
c scout japan
Tiny island + urban tourists = experiments in cashless society
marketwatch
The Female Perspective on Cars: Study Investigating 'What Women Want' in Vehicle Interior Design
The Third Line, one of the UAE's most avant-garde art galleries, is bringing a multi-disciplinary exhibition titled Roads Were Open/Roads Were Closed starting September 6 to October 2, 2008, that explores conflict in the Middle East beyond the stereotyped propaganda and prejudice through artworks and a series of movies that will play at the gallery as well as Cine Star cinemas at Mall of the Emirates.
Roads Were Open / Roads Were Closed is an interdisciplinary exhibition which maps varying approaches and practices around the experience, perception and memory of conflict-related trauma. Works by Fouad Elkoury, Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige, Tarek Al Ghoussein and Laila Shawa (whose " Weapons of Mass Destruction" is featured above), will be featured along with a panel discussion with the artists, and a series of films shown over the duration of the exhibition
more after the jump
From Wright student Paolo Soleri's "arcology" (architecture + ecology) cities to Japan's Mega-City Pyramid, from floating city concepts to Dubai's proposed Ziggurat, have a look at some big thinking on alternate ways for metropolii and nature to co-exist.
via drb
Apparently, now is a very bad time to visit the Bay Area:
via current
Retrothing's got a post up lamenting the death of the Automat, that low-hassle, tip-free dining experience of the past. But the Automat is still around, albeit in pockets: the Netherlands has got their FEBO chain, and NYC is home to Bamn on St. Mark's.
Hit the jump for large pictures, and remember a time when your food wasn't brought to you by a frustrated, Shakespeare-trained actor who despises you.
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (4)
Two from Reuben Miller:
You've all seen that wooden LED clock; now check out the Maple cell phone designed Hyun Jin Yoon and Eun Hak Lee. It took Silver at this year's IDEA awards and we're dying for it to go into production.
Those of you that watched Monday's video of Japan's Good Design Expo might have been wondering about the Segway-esque machine people are seen zipping around on. It's the Winglet, Toyota's answer to (or rip-off of?) Dean Kamen. Video:
Anyone who's ever taken a color theory class at an art school knows that you can create harmonies and tensions simply by juxtaposing specific hues. And all the nominees' stylists employed this to full effect...
more after the jump
Posted by: toolgirl | Comments (1)
Industrial Design Manager for Consumer Major Appliances
General Electric : Consumer & Industrial Appliances
Louisville, Kentucky
Generate new product features and appearance concepts that maintain product leadership position with specific focus on areas of visual brand character, perceived quality, usability, and relevant value-added features... Represent the end-user from development phase through production... Drive innovative productivity improvements to increase competitiveness...
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)
Imagine if you took today's best graphic designers and set them to work producing not advertisements or marketing brochures, but propaganda to promote American values. Starting in the mid-1930s, during the Great Depression, that's precisely what happened when the federal government tapped the nation's unemployed commercial artists for the Works Progress Administration poster division. Working out of nearly 20 regional workshops, they designed posters to promote safety, good health, community involvement, and other social values.
Utne Reader has a slideshow of some of these posters and many rare ones reproduced in a new book by Ennis Carter- Posters for the People (Quirk Books, 2008). Here's a snippet on Carter herself,
Carter, 42, was working as a young organizer for the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group in the late 1980s when she found herself, out of necessity, making her own posters for events and rallies. It was the age of Kinko's, and Carter mastered the art of photocopy-style guerrilla poster-making. Along the way, she became captivated by the power of graphic design to communicate social messages and gradually shifted the focus of her work in that direction. In 1996 she founded Design for Social Impact, a low-cost graphic design agency for public interest organizations.
text and photocredit: UtneReader
image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Brooklyn-based product design outfit MAKE have a sideline project called CAKE which serves as an outlet to realize their self-initiated products. The latest addition to their collection is the octopi cup made from stoneware re-interpreting the classic mint julep cup.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (2)
From the Coroflot portfolio of : Peter Castellucci ( Cranston, RI )
Featured Project : Garbage Lamp
When you're done drinking, light up!
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)
Wired catches up with extreme x-ray photographer Nick Veasey who works with industrial x-ray machines typically used in art restoration, electronics and the military.
Working with high doses of radiation isn't always easy. To minimize a patient's radiation exposure, medical x-ray techs grab their blurry stills in a fraction of a second; Veasey needs to bombard his subjects with ionizing radiation for as long as 12 minutes to get crisp shots. So to capture human forms, Veasey works with either skeletons in rubber suits (normally used to train radiologists) or cadavers that have been donated to science. When a corpse becomes available, he has at most eight hours to pose and shoot before rigor mortis sets in.
Veasey's book simply titled X-ray is due in October and he's currently building a $200,000 studio with 35-inch-thick, lead-lined concrete walls which will let him see through almost anything.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)
Having a quick-release strap on your messenger bag could be good if you're a frequent brawler; and for the less violently-inclined, it's just plain ol' neat. Flickr user L. Marie, through comprehensive photo instructions, shows you how to mod yours here.
A 30" LCD; we all want one, but will it change your work habits? Kevin Kelly thinks so:
The first thing I noticed was that the number of times I printed out hard copies of documents went down. Before, I would print copies of diagrams, specifications, and other reference material so that I could easily refer to them while working. Now I have space on the screen to have these visible. I wouldn't say I've made it all the way to the "paperless office," but it's gotten a lot closer.Within a few days of using a large screen I began to experience a much more significant effect, though: when more of the things I needed to look at were already in view, the amount of time spent on visual context switches went down. Having more documents in view not only reduces the time consumed by the switch, but also the "recovery time" needed to remember what I was doing. A related time savings is that when a document I may need to switch to is visible, it takes less time to realize that I need it.
The display fills a lot more of my visual field - so much, in fact, that it took me a week or so to get used to how far away the left and right edges of the screen were. In the end, I found that this made it a little easier to concentrate (since my attention was less often directed toward wherever I'd been keeping the notes that wouldn't fit on the screen).
I found that once I got used to the idea that most things could be expanded to a size that required no window scrolling, I began to "think big" about a lot of things: my spreadsheets got bigger, my diagrams got bigger - and more unexpectedly: the size of the kind of thing I thought I could handle got bigger; and because I was much less often having to chop things into smaller pieces so that they could fit, things got simpler.
Less paper consumption, easier to concentrate, bigger thinking? What's not to like? Prices are dropping, too....
Other than with graphics and modeling programs, it's rare that a piece of software gets designed specifically with the needs of designers in mind, but UK-based ProofHQ looks to be bucking this trend a bit. The first online collaborative tool we know of made specifically for creative professionals, ProofHQ is essentially an elegant replacement for the endless stream of emails, YouSendIts and FTP transfers most of us use to review and approve design documents.
Much of the functionality of the application is pretty familiar: anyone who's used Basecamp, Campfire, or even Google Apps will recognize the project-oriented sign-in system, and mark-up tools are reminiscent of Acrobat.
What sets it apart, though, are the details: multi-page files can be uploaded and reviewed; navigation and version tracking is clean and intuitive; file support includes several different image types, including native Photoshop; and specific views are maintained when switching through versions and pages, allowing easy comparison with minimum fuss. They've also gone out of their way to make it as flexible as possible, allowing ProofHQ documents to be embedded in websites, blogs and Basecamp sessions, and providing a Flickr-like drag-and-drop uploading client.
According to CEO Mat Wilkinson, support of additional file types is next on the agenda, including some 3D formats (eDrawings and Acrobat 3D, maybe?), saving us some huge headaches down the line.
Demo movies here.
Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (0)
As someone who's lived in no-shoes-allowed-in-the-house Asian environments, I love the idea of the bottom of your shoes being a cleaning element rather than a filth-attracting dirt magnet; at the same time I realize these $8.95 Slipper Genie Microfiber Cleaning Slippers are completely dorky. But I feel it's a step in the right direction, no pun intended.
via as seen on tv
You can put this on the shelf right beside your new state-side Muji CD player. Australian designer John Van Den Nieuwenhuizen (now based in San Francisco) offers up The Hidden Radio, a quiet little concept with some poetic ergonomics:
The product attempts to be silent both visually and functionally by having the cap in the downward position. By lifting up the cap the user proportionally increases the volume. The further the cap goes up the louder the sound gets. To tune the radio you simply rotate the cap and receive feedback of tuning quality via the LED on the front.
Learn more at hiddenradio.johnvdn.com.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:
spring fair
Design festival and mag tap 15 grad designers
jec composites
DIY Car
reliable plant
Manufacturing: Mistake-proofing product design
nyt tech
Turning Point for Touch Screens
marketwatch
New Website to Assist Die Casting Product Designers
the auto channel
AvtoVAZ at the Moscow International Automobile Salon
inside retailing
Finding The Trends Before They Affect You
It's hard to breathe new life into something as old and ubiquitous as Coke, which is not to say people aren't trying. Five years ago Coca-Cola's design chief David Butler was given the mandate "We need to do more with design. Go figure it out," and since then he's been discovering the difference between great ideas that will never make it and doable ideas that humbly solve existing problems. Read the full tale here.
via businessweek
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Sara Huston's work nicely subverts our expectations about the behavior of objects--here, furniture--but still provides the function we look for in the end. Above is the Lifestyle Coffee Table (which she will customize to your favorite magazines), and below, the Expectation 5 cupboard, which, I suppose, is really a shelf...or a drawer. Well, you get the idea.
Here's Sara in her own words:
I allow for signifiers of use, such as a door, shelf, or a drawer, with these elements becoming just enough information for the viewer/user to relate to. Through this denial I start to uncover ways furniture communicates and challenges viewers/users to question their expectations of something they are familiar with. The viewer/user then can begin to locate meaning because of this familiarity and start to make sense of the piece. It is important to me that my works challenge how people see art and design and the differences or similarities they have, they can begin looking at both in a new way.
See more of her work in her Coroflot portfolio or at sara-huston.com.
Scientists are now building a new kind of robot capable of self-assembly and doing tasks too difficult or too dangerous for human beings.
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)
Gabe White of Small Surfaces blog points us to this slideshow of concept mobile phones emerging from an unusual partnership between Yamaha and KDDI.
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (0)
Product Designer Bags
Crumpler
Zurich, Switzerland
You will be expected to start off your Crumpler experience by an intensive 6 month work training in Vietnam, during which you will integrate into our Ho Chi Minh City team. Your job will be to develop and design new products for Crumpler's various lines. Mainly bags, but maybe also some apparel, shoes
and other special projects.
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)
Since opening the doors at their new location last year, Portland's Museum of Contemporary Craft has been falling over itself trying to become the design museum so many of the residents of this quietly design-obsessed town desperately want. Case in point, the upcoming ManufRactured show, opening this coming Thursday the 28th.
Curated by former ID Magazine editor Steven Skov Holt, among others, the show gathers together 16 artists and designers who've been doing curious things with repurposed materials over the past few years. Some recent high-profile projects will be on display, including Cat Chow's zipper dress, Dominic Wilcox's War Bowl, and at least one of Jason Rogenes' fantastic styrofoam packing insert lanterns (example shown above); admission is free.
Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (0)
Stuart Langfield recently completed these bumpers for MTV, perfect distraction if you're looking to avoid working for another minute.
Credits:
Design & Direction - Stuart Langfield
Animation - Jennifer Mackie & Stuart Langfield
Sound Design - Andrew Langfield
via notcot
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)
The exhibition 'From Now To Eternity' Plastic in design, aims to both celebrate and debate the ubiquitous use of plastic in design. 10 contemporary designers and design collectives were commissioned to rethink issues surrounding our growing mountains of discarded plastic.
Featuring: Committee, FAT, Hiroko Shiratori, Raw Edges, Rolf Sachs, Stuart Haygarth, Tom Price, Tomoko Azumi, Troika, WOKMedia.
From Now To Eternity
Sept. 19 - Oct. 19, 2008
Biscuit Building
10 Redchurch Street
London
Open
Wed-Fri: 2-6pm
Sat-Sun: 12-6pm
Photo: Lighting installation by Stuart Haygarth, LDF 2005
Wallace & Gromit have had a make-over and picked up a bit of modeling work to promote the soon-to-open Harvey Nichols store in Bristol. We're sure this will be a popular choice as no-one celebrates quintessential Britishness better than local claymation artist Nick Park from Aardman Animations.
Wallace wears an Alexander McQueen navy cashmere and silk suit, Dolce & Gabbana fitted white shirt and a Giorgio Armani tie. Gromit sports a navy silk Paul Smith scarf. Did Wallace lose weight for the shoot?
via style.com
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)
Can't wait for these to go into production, as I'm really sick of messing around iCables... The Holedar Earphones by Yoonsang Kim is a concept design that should garner lots of attention not just in terms of innovation, minimalism and function but also for the drop dead killer looks.
The unique shape serves several purposes. It fits snugly in your ear, easily loops together around your neck when not in use, and prevents bacterial growth which is 700 times more concentrated in regular ear buds. More after the jump!
Posted by: toolgirl | Comments (10)
'Design thinking' is becoming very popular indeed. Now MAYA Design, the acclaimed human-centred design consultancy, is in the process of preparing the launch of a new company specifically devoted to the emerging need for design thinking in organizations.
The initiative is led by Chris Pacione, who was previously in charge of interaction design and customer marketing at BodyMedia, Inc., a company which he cofounded.
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (1)
Breaking the stereotype of organic clothing as crunchy, casual wear, the cutting-edge Danish fashion label Noir has just announced its plans to make its international debut with a stand-alone store in Dubai.
Noir not only purchases goods that support sustainable businesses in developing nations such as Uganda (about 70 percent of the line was made from certifiable materials), but they are also developing a collection of organic cottons to launch it's forth-coming sister company, Illumanati II later this year.
More after the jump.
It's only been a few days but already we're seeing some hot design action happening in this month's 1 Hour Design Challenge: Design a Back-to-School Bag.
Above designs (from top to bottom) are DesignUgly's sweet and clean rendering, personpeoples4444's super-economical Belt Bag, bak2_ID's design to with a detachable lunchbag, pinkygrl02's LaptopToGo, and jknodell's "School is hell" Student Field Pack.
We also love b.lutjens' convertable MitosisPack, mikeserafin's locker-savvy burlap number, and ineo's magnetic fasterners aimed at avoiding the dreaded Velcro "BRRIIIPPP" right in the middle of class!
There's a full week left to enter your design, and it only takes an hour (hell, that's all your allowed!) So get out those markers and enter to win! Guest judges are Bopanna Ulliyada, Chris Chung, and Ryan Henbest from Timbuk2, and 1st prize winner will receive a Custom Timbuk2 bag, with custom fabrics and trim!
>>See ALL the entries so far and add yours here.<<
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)
An idea that started way back in 1994 and sadly never went anywhere is designer Alexandre Verdier's Westfalia Verdier Solar Power vehicle. Like VW's fabled Magic Bus, Verdier hoped to build a culture around a recreational vehicle that would attract the countercultured. Features of the VSP:
- Rooftop sun-tracking solar panels- Pneumatic suspension for better stabilization in a stationary position.
- Sliding half-door on the passenger side with integrated folding staircase
- Passenger seat that mechanically transforms into stairs to provide access to second-stage area
- Swivel cooking range enables both indoor and outdoor cooking
- In the second stage area, a dividing wall with a sliding door and multiple windows
- Multimedia computer
The design won Germany's Caravaning Design Award in 2006...and promptly dropped off the face of the Earth. Their poorly-done media kit, filled with grammar errors, typos, and bad layout, serves as a reminder that these days, having a good concept without the business acumen behind it just isn't enough.
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (1)A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:
dexigner
Portfolio 08: Industrial Design in Mar del Plata
financial times
A look at industrial design partnerships Fredrikson Stallard, Pearson Lloyd and Barber Osgerby
news blaze
Samsung Launches Innovative "Imagination Icon Series" Cultural Initiative
marketwatch
I.D. Magazine Selects Davison's Wrist Therapy Brace for Award in Annual Design Review Competition
marketwatch
VSA arts Hosts 2008 Educational Conference on Universal Design for Learning
psfk
PSFK Talks to ID-inspired Sci-Fi Sculptor Leeroy New
You need to watch the video to fully appreciate the true weirdness of Nervous Squirrel's second-gen Furby Gurdy. Feeling inspired? checkout the complete project documentation here.
via engadget
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)
Kate Rutter (Adaptive Path) recently started the blog StickyNote Ninja which is entirely dedicated to this handy and simple tool.
via DdUX
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)
The latest addition to UK duo Mixko's playful line of products is a series of ceramic vases taking the form of an elbow & knee. They're currently exhibiting in Cornwall and next week in Moscow. The vases will be available at their online store shortly.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)
As rumors of the supposedly forthcoming HTC Dream Android--an alleged iPhone killer--continue to circulate, Ziff-Davis' Jason Perlow (of the Tech Broiler) expounds on what his ideal handheld device would be.
My true "Dream" device would be a lot closer to the "Global Link" handheld in the late Sci-Fi series "Earth: Final Conflict", for those of you dorks that remember it.
Click here to read his entire (lonnnng) laundry list of desired features, or tell us: What would your ideal handheld do? Or have you got something close already?
Video coverage is now available of Japan's recent Good Design Expo 2008, sponsored by the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization.
Good Design Expo...enables a wide range of visitors to get to know design, through programs that give a real sense of designers' presence in a variety of fields. The programs feature all kinds of products from businesses and designers in Japan and overseas, architectural designs from throughout Japan, designs used in advertising and communications, and futuristic design suggestions.
And yes, coverage is in English, with subtitled designer interviews.
via p.r. inside
Trend & Color Designer
The Timberland Company
Stratham, New Hampshire
Based on the Timberland palette put together key color combinations that should run through all categories. Work with product teams (women, men, outdoor performance, kids) to create color palettes specific to their needs based on the "Timberland" palette... Study periodicals, trend books, art books and fashion sites to gather relevant and supporting information and images for the season. This is an ongoing process that is updated throughout the season...
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)A lovely piece to end last week or start this week from Armin at SpeakUp. Here's a taste:
And, as we all know, experience is everything. Hiring a recent graduate with no experience is always a conundrum for employers: Will it work out? How much time will be spent on training? How much money spent on fixing mistakes? And on, and on, and on. What many employers forget is that, once, someone had to give them the opportunity. And that's where the following phrase resonated: "Young designers don't lack experience, they just lack opportunity [...]." --Bob Aufuldish
Read the rest here.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)
New York Mag's got a sneak peek of the spaces where Jet Blue passengers at JFK can soon grab some munchies and pass the time during those inescapable delays. These culinary destinations look, oh, just a tad snappier than most other airport eateries, but it would be an injustice to Saarinen's resurrected Terminal 5 to have anything less. You can even scan the menus which, of course, are devoid of price listings as of now.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)In addition to flip-down or back-o-the-headrest screens, PSPs, and DS Lites, Chrysler customers now have the option of distracting their little ones with Wi-Fi connectivity in new 2009 models. It's impossible to picture every driver resisting the urge to surf 'n drive, but Chrysler claims these particular internets are specifically tailored for children in the backseat and even provides "instructions" for proper use. Criticisms are a-plenty including this snappy comment by J. R. Peter Kissinger, president of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety in Washington, in the NYT article:
"I can picture two teenagers in the front and the passenger pulls up a YouTube video. I can't imagine the driver saying, 'I'm going to pull over and stop so I can safely watch what you're laughing at.'" Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)Saturday, August 23
Alice Rawsthorn, design critic of the International Herald Tribune, has written a nice short essay where she tries to define the very concept of contemporary design practice, and brings in some interesting examples in the process.
She structures her argument in four sections:
- Design and things ("the process of conceiving and creating things in the hope of making life easier and more enjoyable")
- Design and formulas ("designers are now also working more flexibly by developing formulas to produce things that can be interpreted differently by different people, rather than finished objects")
- Design and behavior ("design's potential to regulate our behavior" which also covers social design or service design)
- Meaningless design ("the use of the word 'design' as a marketing ploy")
>> read article
Photo: a low-cost Ceramic Water Purifier from Potters for Peace, a U.S. nonprofit network, republished in the International Herald Tribune
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)Saturday, August 23
Martyn Perks, a UK design consultant, and a writer and speaker on design, IT and business, is going after the current design and sustainability trend, which he calls "anti-design", arguing that "designers who focus on producing only meek and sustainable things are denying their own creativity and impact on the world."
In the process, he lambastes the new UK Design Council three-year national strategy, the Designers' Accord and Core77's very own Allan Chochinov:
"What underpins the general shift towards green design is a widespread sense of guilt and self-doubt felt by many designers about blighting the world with too much stuff. The paradox is that the big idea they turn to for salvation - environmentalism - means that rather than endeavouring to produce something new to solve the problem, one that makes use of the best possible processes, ideas and resources, designers will attempt to regain a sense of purpose and credibility by preaching to the rest of us to lower our horizons." [...]"Isn't design always about making an impact? Not according to the green-design movement, or the 'design deniers' who argue for placing limits on human ingenuity and creativity. Put bluntly, they want less of it, not more. Of course, there is no ignoring climate change. While the science, causes and effects are by no means given (as discussed many times on spiked), placing limits on ingenuity will itself deny us imaginative and mature solutions. The greening of design will only contribute to more climate change panic if our hands are tied in finding the best means to deal with a warming world." [...]
"And amongst all the debate about limits, there is something else under attack, something distinctively human that is tied up with the idea of the designer: the degradation of objectivity." [...]
"Every so often, moments do arise which push the boundaries a bit further, or if you are lucky, by a long way. That's called innovation. And when it occurs, it must be seized upon. However, the greening of design 'thinking' only seeks the opposite effect: the deliberate curtailment of that freedom to think. The designer makes a virtue out of doing less and thinking small. This is 'anti-design'. Holding back ideas inevitably means crap solutions. And that affects us all."
>> read article
photo: Core77
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (6)Saturday, August 23
Stanford University and the Hasso-Plattner-Institute (Potsdam, Germany) on Tuesday announced a $16 million research partnership in which they will investigate "design thinking," a methodology that melds an end-user focus with multidisciplinary collaboration and iterative improvement to produce products, services or experiences.
Science patron Professor Hasso Plattner, 64, is co-founder and chairman of the supervisory board of the global software company SAP.
>> article | German press release
via Design Observer
photo: Hasso-Plattner-Institute
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)Friday, August 22
We featured a high-tech swimsuit earlier that is boosting the performance to today's swimming athletes. This suit ("Germination Day Eight") by LucyandBart won't make you swim faster at all - their way of enhancing the human body is more about low-tech.
LucyandBart is a collaboration between Lucy McRae and Bart Hess described as an instinctual stalking of fashion, architecture, performance and the body. Lucie and Bart share a fascination with genetic manipulation and beauty expression. With their project Evolution they are searching for low-tech prosthetic alternatives for human enhancement.
P.s. We spotted their work in the latest GUDBERG magazine which reports about the upcoming Design Hotels Future Forum (October 15-17, Berlin) which will be exploring the relationship between the human being and design.
See more "bodywork" after the jump.
Posted by: Aart van Bezooyen | Comments (2)Friday, August 22
The always excellent DeputyDog shows us some of the coolest things we've never heard of--like this prototype 1950s-era inflatable escape airplane. The idea is that you airdrop it to a soldier stuck behind enemy lines; he blows it up (using a compressor, not his mouth), hand-cranks the engine into life, and it's up, up, and away.
Alas, the program was ultimately scuttled due to technical difficulties of the sort that will kill you.
In the same entry, DD also discusses the "Fulton Skyhook," which you've no doubt seen in the new Batman movie (but if you're Gen-X or older, you saw it in Thunderball first). The video is unbelievable:
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Friday, August 22
If there's one thing we love, it's neatly-stowed gear. Camera bags provide some of the most comprehensive, modular, protective and well-thought-out storage around; M-Rock's new 525 (pictured above) is a good example of this, and will be available come September.
They're also offering the 526, which is like the 525 but with a telescope handle and roller wheels for those long jaunts through the terminal.
Bargain hunters take note: now that the 525 is the new hot camera bag, M-Rock's unloading the 524 (pictured below) for ten bucks less than its successor. On top of that, M-Rock is currently offering 15% off on all bags.
via cnet
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (2)
Friday, August 22
A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:donga
Innovative Designs Changing Face of Seoul's College Campusesjewish chronicle
96-pages of Jens Quistgaard's salt and pepper millscanada
Raymond Loewy's jag: a "rare misfire"sheffield telegraph
Sounding off on Sheffield's "Sugar Cube" car park designchosun
Design Industry Rises as New Driving Force for Koreas.f. moma
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
SFMOMA's Architecture and Design Department: "246 and Counting" exhibit runs through Jan. '09
Friday, August 22
Germany's BrainLAB AG has installed its first Digital Lightbox radiology system in a Munich hospital. Doctors will be able navigate and zoom into X-rays, medical images and data via the enormous multi-touch screen; it's like a huge iPhone, but hopefully you won't have to wait in line for this one.
via ubergizmo
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Friday, August 22
Now here's a nice set of process images to start off your Friday. Christoff Niemann, an illustrator and award-winning graphic artist, takes us step by step through the job of turning the tiled surfaces of his family's Berlin home into pixelated artworks, via careful tile color selection. Christoff, who writes the Abstract City blog for the NYT website, really did some homework on this one, examining artworks from Titian to Warhol, pixelating them to check appropriateness, and commenting on the results.
Best part, of course, is the finished product: The NYC subway map gets installed in the kids' WC, but if you want to see what they did with the master bath and shower, check the link.
Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (0)Friday, August 22
No one would blame you for calling it the SpringBoard, but the SoulArc Board is a brand new skateboard with a rigid top and below-deck composite spring that provides the action and feel of surfing (and shredding). A result of a class project at Kendall College of Art and Design, the board is the brainchild of Mitch Mulder, who partnered with Salvaore Vilardi to bring the board to market. It'll be introduced in a couple weeks at the Action Sports Retail trade show in San Diego at the Surf Expo in Orlando. (The name comes from the surfing expression "soul arch"--being one with the wave.)
Comments Mulder, "I've been making boards for 8 years and got sick of riding planks. With this board, you can ride in places you typically can't ride." And what does it really feel like? "You've gotta ride it to really understand it," answers Vilardi. Well, that Core77 address is easy to ship to, guys.
Here's the official word:
At the heart of this revolutionary design is the SoulArc performance spring. The performance spring absorbs and transfers energy in a manner similar to carving a wave. Extensive adjustments to size, shape and material selection have produced this latest generation of the SoulArc performance spring. The smoothness and feel of this ride is unmatched, as each directional movement interacts with the spring to provide a corresponding and complementary reaction. The end result is a board that provides a uniquely exceptional ride.Then some of the rigor:
Each performance related variable was considered. Extensive ergonomic testing was performed to determine the optimal board height. Quantifiable variables included ground distance, lateral flex and vertical flex. These quantifiable variables were then analyzed and compared to qualitative measures that included ride feel, torque response and general overall ride ability.First samples of the device are going out right now. If you want to try to get your hands on one, hit the website.
Tons more pics and video of the board in use after the, uh, jump.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (10)Friday, August 22
He's either preparing for a severe oil shortage, waiting for a spike in the commodities market, a crusader against theft or a protector of cast-off bikes. Bike theft is an issue that strikes close to home for me (too many times!), and Igor Kenk, the owner of a Toronto used-bike shop, has got some 'splainin to do!
Posted by: StuCon | Comments (1)Friday, August 22
[from left, Dave Franchino of Design Concepts, Larry Keeley of Doblin, Dave Tait of Emerging Futures Lab and Maria Blair of the Rockefeller Foundation]Continuum have just completed their report on the recent Design for Social Impact Workshop hosted by the Rockefeller Foundation at their Bellagio Conference Center and have it available for download from their website. Here's the intro,
How can we unleash and leverage the power of the global design community on some of the world's most intractable problems? How can we increase the collaboration between the design industry and the the social sector? And do so in a systematic and sustainable way? The Rockefeller Foundation engaged Continuum to lead a conversation with some of the world's top designers to explore questions like these - questions with big implications for the industry as a whole. Call it Design for Social Impact.Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (1)Thursday, August 21
From the Coroflot portfolio of : Hugh Thomas ( LA, CA )
Featured Project : Whippet Chair
Great for those dinner party existential conversations, or just for gawking at. Check out some detail pics after the jump!
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Thursday, August 21
First seen on RandomGoodStuff and now running the blogs like wild you-know-what is this ingenious fire extinguisher device in the form of plastic silk flowers. (Can I say that?) The best part of this invention is that the flowers magnetically stick to your fridge so you've got some rescue where you need it.
When placed over an oil or grease fire, the flowers work by melting into a film that stops the burning. Hmm. No doubt it'd be tough to clean that "film" up, but better than shopping for a new house, of course.
Buy 'em here.
(Polite, very un-frantic video of the device up ahead.)
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (2)Thursday, August 21
A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:news wireless
FuChat: the next generation cordless phone with the filthy named.n.a. india
Tata Elxsi to set up design studio in UKearth times
Wipaire: Autodesk's August 2008 Inventor of the Monthgourmet retailer
Accent on Design Award Winners Announced at NYIGFdexigner
LG goes NY with new U.S. Design Centerp.r. web
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Burnes Home Accents' Eco-Design Strategy
Thursday, August 21
Like a somnambulist under hypnosis, I anxiously nodded in agreement in my sleep yesterday morning as WNYC ran a story close to top of the hour. I was sure that the male broadcaster was talking about how design practices were being superseded by "innovation" practices in the business world in a re-hash of Rick Poyner's article in the April issue of ID, Down with Innovation. But when I went to their website upon waking, the only thing I found was this feature (presented by a female narrator) about "crowd-sourcing" (what business speak) or community-based design.
Using the business models of RYZwear and Threadless T-Shirts, the feature goes on to explain how community based design is the next step in the post-industrial revolution.
More after the jump
Posted by: toolgirl | Comments (1)Thursday, August 21Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)
Did anyone bust out an iPhone response yet? Wait for it...Thursday, August 21
Dean of Constructed Environments
Parsons The New School for Design
New York, New YorkThe Dean will be responsible for bringing together the seven degree-programs within the unit and play a significant leadership role within both Parsons and the larger New School University.
The seven degree programs are: Master of Architecture, Master of Fine Arts in Interior Design, Master of Fine Arts in Lighting Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Architectural Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Product Design, and Associates Degree in Interior Design.
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Wednesday, August 20
THEME:
Back to School Bag!DOORS OPEN:
Wednesday August 20, 2008
12 PM PST (7 PM GMT)DOORS CLOSE:
Monday, Sept 1, 2008
9 PM PST (4 AM GMT)BRIEF:
It's back-to-school time...back to lugging books, art supplies, sports gear, and kegs around campus. Core77 is firing up this month's 1HDC just in time for the daily grind of school. We want to see what kind of over-the-shoulder carrying mechanism you can come up with. Knapsack? Shoulder bag? Book bag? Messenger bag? Hybrid? You tell us! We've enlisted the talents of the Timbuk2 design team to guest judge this month's gig. So pull that Rocko Ruler and Prismacolors out of your ratty backpack and take an hour to put your work up in front of the Timbuk2 crew and all your peers for the chance at this month's bragging rights and a sweet custom Timbuk2 bag!CRITERIA:
Judging will be based on quality of presentation, strength of concept. (You need to execute your design in only 1 hour--on an honor system.)PRIZE:
1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will be featured in the Core77 October Newsletter, on the Core77 Blog, and bragging rights. 1st prize will receive a Custom Timbuk2 bag, with custom fabrics and trim!Jury:
Winners will be selected by the Timbuk2 Crew and Core77 Admin. From Timbuk2: Bopanna Ulliyada, Senior Designer; Chris Chung, Head Developer; and Ryan Henbest, Marketing. Community discussion is encouraged to help ensure that the best designs win.>>> Click Here to Enter Your Submission <<<
Posted by: core jr | Comments (1)Wednesday, August 20Weekly finds from the 3D world.
Rhino
BoxEdit plug-in enables numerical manipulation of objects based on bounding box dimensions
Rhino 4.0 SR4 released (from Aug. 11)
Flamingo 2.0 released (from Aug. 7)Pro/Engineer
Brand new (and excellent) Advanced Geometry tutorial covers patterns, warps, surfacing and variable section sweepsInventor
Using Adaptivity to drive dimensions in multi-part modelsSolidWorks
Poll: Do you model top-down or bottom-up?
The big flap about changing SW subscription fees (starts on Aug 18, but the debate is ongoing)General CAD
Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (0)
Will switching CAD systems wreck your workflow?Wednesday, August 20
Rafael Morgan's "UnsTable" gives the illusion that this piece of furniture may fall down, but in reality--and this isn't exactly giving away the recipe for making the Statue of Liberty disappear--each of the legs conceals a fixed metal bar, covered by movable cubes.
We've covered Rafael's work here a couple times before--The Hope Table, and the Light Drop. Some nice touches of wit and delight.
Hit the jump for an animated gif of the table in action!
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (2)Wednesday, August 20
via swissmiss
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (4)Wednesday, August 20
Director David Rowe's film Fast Friday documents the rise of Seattle's fixed gear scene, named after the monthly bike meet started by clothing designer Dustin Klein. Catch it at the Bicycle Film Festival or pick up a copy here.
via highsnobiety
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (2)Wednesday, August 20
Here's three toilet/bidets with standout designs, from trendir: the Balena 8000 wall mounted from Geberit, Hidra's Hi-Line, and the Crystal bathroom from Olympia. Maybe it's time to replace your old American Standard--heck, even the toilets in prison have better design than those!
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (1)Wednesday, August 20
Commissioned by owner Young J Song, product designer Sam Buxton, in collaboration with textile designer Emily Hiller, has knitted a new-look interior for the Bordello Bar in London's Soho.
Buxton's designs run through the bar's two main rooms, entrance area and stairs, the walls of which are covered with red curtains of hand-tied netting. According to the designer, the seating and lighting were integrated to make it appear as though the interior is constructed from a single surface. Together, the wall hangings and a sculptural installation in the bar's main room contain 2.5km of knitted, hand-knotted and woven cord.
more after the jump
Posted by: toolgirl | Comments (0)Wednesday, August 20
We've been big fans of TechShop, the Bay Area-based open-membership fabrication space, since running into them at Maker Faire earlier this year. In addition to hosting an immense array of tools for making just about anything, they've really put some effort into offering interesting, useful and affordable classes on everything from laser fabric-etching to MIG welding.
This latest one kind of puts them in a whole new category though: for the first time, this September 13 and 14, TechShop is teaching you how to build your own Combat Robot. Really.
Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (0)Wednesday, August 20A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:
dataweek
Unifying ECAD and MCAD designdexigner
Great Response to the First International CAT-iq Student Design Competitioncourant
From Ivory Towers, A Design For Affordable Housing In New Orleansdigital world tokyo
Sony affiliate to mass-produce FED displaysjapan times
Gamers can tap into their neural impulsese.f.y. times
Autodesk Inventor's Preview Version Now Availabletextile web
3D Composite Fabrics Provide Product Design FlexibilityPosted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Wednesday, August 20
What's amazing about this 30-story behemoth, the world's largest digging machine, is that it's self-propelled; hit the jump for a look at the monster treads. I guess when you have something the length of 2.5 football fields that's nearly 50,000 tons, Vito's Towing isn't gonna be able to move it around for you, so you're better off giving it its own motor. Hate to think of the mileage this thing gets.
Designed by Krupp in Germany.
via geekologie
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (1)
Wednesday, August 20The tagline is "Make a positive impact on the world. Your ideas, your decision, our money." As a crowdsourcing initiative, this is potentially an interesting idea. Lots of the entries are a bit pedestrian and paint-by-numbers, though, and a bit of a chore to slog through. Still, check out the Future Feerless Females Project, and, dear to our hearts of course, The Hatchery (for industrial designers!)
Voting ends September 1st.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (1)Wednesday, August 20
Ever wondered what it's like to receive the Microsoft Surface table, how about two of them. Australian digital agency Amnesia shared their experience unboxing the crates that weigh in at about 125 kg (275 pounds) each.
via engadget
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)
Wednesday, August 20
This simple but clever jig is for sale on eBay until the 23rd, and anyone who's ever seen a key-copying machine or a pantograph will appreciate it. Hook your router up to one end, "trace" a completed guitar or shape on the other, mill carefully, and voila: you've just made a 3D copy without investing in CNC.
via makezine
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (1)
Wednesday, August 20
Kinda looks like a modernist pinata, doesn't it? That there is a pendant light made out of drinking straws, and it's not hanging in some gallery with a hefty price tag; it's a DIY project from Addicted 2 Decorating. Straws are made to suck, but this design doesn't.
via curbly
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Wednesday, August 20
Sr. Watch Designer
Fossil
Dallas, TexasFossil is searching for a watch designer to work as part of the DKNY team to develop watch design which meets creative, financial, and timeline goals as defined by the Ladies Dress category. Further design, technical and communication, relationship skills and watch knowledge...
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Tuesday, August 19
It looks like Duracell wants to take on MagLite with their new superbright LED Daylite flashlight.
Besides a sturdy all-weather design, the Daylites feature TrueBeam technology that uses "both a lens and a reflector to capture and project up to 100 percent of the light," which they claim significantly enhances brightness. Plus, a 3:1 zoom eliminates the annoying dark spot typical of most flashlights.After a quick scan of CNET's hands-on review, it seems the product is solid enough but the price point on the Chinese made Daylite will have to drop significantly to compete with the U.S. made MagLite. Thoughts?
via gizmodo
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (2)Tuesday, August 19
Prolific ideas man John Nouanesing is back with 7 new concepts including Fenêtres 3.1, a real version of Windows for the home--loving the code blinds. Nouanesing plans to put the Paint Or Die But Love Me table into production with a selection of products to be announced from his ever-growing catalogue.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)Tuesday, August 19
After almost a decade, MUJI's iconic wall-mounted CD player has finally been released in the States but is it too late. Granted it will be considered a design classic in year's to come but when Naoto Fukasawa created the minimal CD player in 1999, the first iPod was still 2 years away from hitting the market and the world was a very different place for gadgets. Still, it might give you something to do with the CD's you couldn't part with on eBay.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (1)Tuesday, August 19
From the Coroflot portfolio of : Dann Spann ( Boston, MA )
Featured Project : mirror light
Common conception: don't stare at the light. But as far as this design is concerned, I can't help it, I can't help it. For more "reflections" click here.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Tuesday, August 19We still love the iPhone, but it's good to see some sharp observers calling some of its advertising to task. This simple, clear video shows the ad side-by-side with the reality, plus some brief comments. And no, there is no iPhone on earth that works as quickly and smoothly as the one in those "Twice as Fast" ads, despite all the noise being made about how quick the thing is.
Conclusion: "I like Apple products, but I dislike being misled by deceptive advertising more."
via Good Experience and 37signals
Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (1)Tuesday, August 19A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:
int'l herald tribune
"Partly Sunny: Designs to Change the Forecast" exhibit near DNCdigital cad
Design Teams Worldwide Explore New SolidWorksvoxy
Award Winning Workspace Built On Research Into How People Workyahoo asia
Herman Miller Allies with Posh Office Systemsboston.com
Star Wars toy designer Mark Boudreauxdaily yomiuri
Mini notebooks taking big byte out of Japanese marketpink tentacle
Stretchable circuitry for soft machinesPosted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Tuesday, August 19
The ultimate father & son project, this industrial sized quadcycle called The Dogsled was built for negotiating Burning Man with people power.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)Tuesday, August 19
The Green Media Show coming up at the start of October in Boston is shaping up to be a great event, tackling big questions with a lineup of great session speakers like Marc Alt and Chris Hacker and keynotes from Lester Brown, Don Carli, and Joel Makower. Here's some of the pitch:
Our context is making sustainability work for business leaders, brand owners, communication professionals and other stakeholders along the communication value chain. Thought leaders will delve into communication supply chain analysis and triple bottom line management. We'll address risk and cost reduction, environmental restoration and explore how to protect brand equity, create trust and grow shareholder value by aligning communication supply chain practices with the principles of sustainability.SustainCommWorld is offering Core77 readers a significant discount to the event. Hit the jump for details.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Tuesday, August 19
The guys over at MNCP Tech have a tutorial for how to get a nice, spraypainted mirror finish. It's intended for PC cases, but you students could just as easily apply the techniques to produce some kick-ass results in modelmaking class. Check it out here.
via toolmonger
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Tuesday, August 19
Designer Michael C. Place (Build) is featured producing an original handpainted artwork in the latest Pritt correction roller TV commercial called 'MyStyle'.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)Tuesday, August 19
The shortlist for the Interior Motives Design Awards 2008 has been announced. The IMDA gives awards for excellence in automotive design, across eleven categories.
Finalists for this year's prizes will be announced on October 3rd. In the meantime check out last year's winner, Slovakian designer Matus Prochaczka, concept pictured above. For more cool shots of his Mag-Lev concept, click here.
via design east
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (2)
Tuesday, August 19
This is by far the neatest, most clever take on the ice cube tray we've ever seen. The IceOrb, comprised of an outer mold and an inner bucket, uses the "Eureka" water displacement method: Fill the mold with water, then insert the inner bucket to squeeze the water up into the mold. After it freezes, you can empty the ice into the inner bucket and keep making more. You can also stick entire bottles into the whole kit 'n caboodle to keep them frosty.
Check out their site for a demo video.
via cool hunting
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (3)
Tuesday, August 19
In case you are holidaying in Liverpool this week, Sven Konig (DK/Swiss) famous for developing the technology and concept behind live audiovisual software sCrAmBled? HaCkz! will be at FACT, the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology, for an intimate masterclass.
Operating at the edge of copyright infringement and filesharing, Konig reveals the true nature of online video by breaking their code and dissolving the images into pixelated compositions. He has presented his work across the world captivating audiences with his concrete audiovisual memo! Artists, filesharers and YouTube viewers can hear about re-interpreting their favourite video producing glitchy digital masterpieces and performances of their own.
Details are
20 August
6.30pm-9.00pm
Places are £10.00/£7.00 concessions and can be bought at the FACT shopFor more information see the FACT website.
photos Sven Konig
Posted by: toolgirl | Comments (0)
Tuesday, August 19
Interaction & Print Designer
Dwell
San Francisco, CaliforniaDesigner will split their time between designing web-based projects of all types for Dwell.com, and creation of print-based sales and marketing materials for all other Dwell brand platforms.
Must possess strong typographic skills, a thoughtful approach to design, must be detail-oriented, self-motivated and organized. Must have the ability to take initiative and ownership of projects, be able to take the ball and run with it. Must be collaborative, and have strong communication skills.
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Monday, August 18
Taking your work home is nothing new, but taking your home to work? A new furniture company is trying to do just that. Coalesse, part of the Steelcase family, is launching a new lifestyle of work -- one where offices are places of life, community and nuances. Partnering with the likes of Carl Hansen & Son (Denmark), Walter Knoll AG & Co. (Germany), Viccarbe (Spain), and PP Mobler (Denmark), as well as drawing on Steelcase's brands (Brayton, Metro and Vecta), the Coalesse collection offers beautifully executed alternatives - albeit at luxury price points - for the cubically challenged.
We've got some choice snaps from our recent tour of the showroom in the Chicago Merchandise Mart after the jump and must admit the detailing and craftsmanship are to die for, but we're still unsure of how the corporate world will respond to all this. Sure, design-y types get it -- beautiful, well made (and locally made! more on that soon) furniture deserves to be part of all our work-spaces, but with price points well beyond the reach of "normal" budgets, this collection seems to demand big corporate clients to succeed.
Posted by: elle* | Comments (2)Monday, August 18Could this
have been prevented by this?
Maybe not; that iPhone looks like it was destroyed during a crime of passion.
Anyways, back to that second photo. Researchers at Clemson University have devised a bulk production method for coiled carbon nanotubes. The tiny springs are "smaller than human hair by a thousand times," yet provide shock protection when bunched together in sheets.
What does this mean for consumers? It means you could conceivably buy a thin sheet of the stuff, similar to that film that comes on your new cell phone's screen, and stick it onto an object for a layer of effective but ultra-thin cushioning. I will also stuff a couple dozen of these sheets down the back of my pants for the next time I go snowboarding.
via gearlog
[Top photo by magerleagues]
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (1)
Monday, August 18
Occasionally you'll see, in any part of the world that has a system of government-funded public works and subcontractors, some structure that seems to use wayyyy more construction materials than were necessary. Locals will tell you the story--"Oh, the Councilman's brother runs a concrete company," hence there's a new public square slathered in concrete, while said Councilman's brother is driving around in a new SUV.
Japan's "tetrapod beaches" are a good example of this kinda thing:
Hit the beach anywhere in Japan, and you are likely to see endless piles of tetrapods - enormous four-legged concrete structures intended to prevent coastal erosion. By some estimates, more than 50% of Japan's 35,000-kilometer (22,000-mi) coastline has been altered with tetrapods and other forms of concrete. Critics, who blame the tetrapod invasion on decades of excessive government spending designed to bolster the construction industry, argue that in addition to posing a danger to swimmers, surfers and boaters, tetrapods actually accelerate beach erosion by disrupting the natural processes that shape the coastal environment.Pink Tentacle has amassed all of the Flickrites who've captured the tetrapod beaches on film/pixel. Even cooler, one of them managed to find and shoot the molds they use to make some of them:
[Top photo: kodama]
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (1)
[Second photo: seotaro]
[Last photo: toru aihara]
Monday, August 18A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:
art daily
Joe Colombo: Design and the Invention of the Future at Kunsthaus Grazmarketwatch
GE's Universal Design Targets Aging Baby Boomersindustrial i.t.
The Netherlands' Shapeways: Rapid prototyping for the masseskansas city
"Architecture School" documentary brilliant by designfeel the planet earth
Cifial Design Award seeks innovative design solutions for social and natural environmentsdesign taxi
German Kitchen Manufacturer Poggenpohl Intends to Expand Greatlypackage design mag
New package design trends: how companies borrow ideas/technology from other categories/industriesPosted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Monday, August 18
There comes a time in every designer's career when we're faced with seemingly insurmountable problems: the suddenly crippled development budget, the last-minute change from the capricious client, the psychic competitor who came out of nowhere to beat us to market.
But how many of us have had to fix a race car's blown cylinder with a plastic flag, hm? Or distract a bunch of pursuing Afghani soldiers with nothing more than a Swiss Army Knife and a book of matches? Reading through the long and passionately curated Wikipedia entry "List of problems solved by MacGyver" really helps put things in perspective. That mullet-sporting genius solved so many problems with such grace and charm, there's sure to be something to inspire or comfort any designer in their hour of need. For example:
Episode 1x01: MacGyver plugs a sulfuric acid leak with chocolate.Posted by: core jr | Comments (1)Episode 1x05: In order to fix a piston connecting rod for a water pump, MacGyver makes an arc welder out of a generator, some jumper cables, and two half dollars.
Episode 2x01: MacGyver builds a telescope using a newspaper, a magnifying lens, and a watch crystal.
Episode 2x10: MacGyver builds a mortar out of a muffler, a small amount of gas, stuffing from a seat cushion, and a steering wheel knob to stop pursuers.Episode 2x12: To throw his opponents off balance, MacGyver builds bombs out of swamp gas, bamboo shoots, and mud.
Monday, August 18Posted by: Steve Portigal | Comments (0)
When you're paired with Cameron Diaz to close out the next season of Sundance Channel's Iconoclasts! Way to go, Architecture for Humanity's Cameron Sinclar, we know it's not simply because you share the same first name.Monday, August 18
I'll say it: I am sooooo sick of overpriced design. I am so sick of seeing beautiful things that only rich people can afford. The "industrial" in industrial design implies mass production, which in turn implies it's for the masses, no?
Dror Benshetrit's Pick Chairs are an undeniably clever design that hangs flat on the wall when not in use. These "space savers" are also priced at $1,630 a pop--does that make sense? As FunForever wryly observes, "if you had the money to buy these chairs, you'd be able to afford a bigger apartment."
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (11)Monday, August 18It's no Olympics opening ceremony, but this insanely well-choreographed display of Italian motorbike policemen from the 1950s is completely surprising. As anyone who's visited Italy can attest, "order" is not the first thing you think of when remembering say, Roman traffic; the MotoGuzzi riders here will have you in awe of their capabilities.
Great Italian Motorbike Display - Click here for more blooper videosvia metacafe
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (1)
Monday, August 18
This neat-looking device looks like it has something to offer humanity; unfortunately, it's actually just a countertop pizza maker.
Unsurprisingly, the Stonebake Pizza Oven is sold out in the U.S. of A. Would-be pizzamakers will have to get their fix by ordering from the U.K. site.
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)Monday, August 18
Travel and Day Bag Designer
Tumi
South Plainfield, New JerseyExceptional conceptual and hand-sketching skills along with 3D cad and/or 2d program experience are required along with the ability to handle multiple projects in-house and with outside design firms. You will be expected to communicate concepts and details through verbal and written presentations, drawings and rough models. Domestic and international travel required.
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Monday, August 18
Chris Gray's truck tarp design was selected as the winning entry for FREITAG's Design-A-Truck Contest. With over 3000 submissions from 70 countries, choosing one was a tough process for the judges. The tarp has been printed and will go on the road for the next 5 years to age authentically and then will be made into a special limited edition collection of FREITAG bags.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (1)Sunday, August 17In Digital Designers Rediscover Their Hands, some of the action takes place literally in our backyard as the article name checks our coastal hamlet of Montara, CA as well as our colleague Mike Kuniavsky, all in the consideration of designers developing (or rediscovering) their manual skills, as a way to stimulate the thinking part of making. See also Kinesthetic Learning.
Mr. Tulley's transformation highlights a little-noticed movement in the world of professional design and engineering: a renewed appreciation for manual labor, or innovating with the aid of human hands.Posted by: Steve Portigal | Comments (0)Using computers to model the physical world has become increasingly common; products as diverse as cars and planes, pharmaceuticals and cellphones are almost entirely conceived, specified and designed on a computer screen. Typically, only when these creations are nearly ready for mass manufacturing are prototypes made - and often not by the people who designed them.
Sunday, August 17
One of the most interesting exhibitions at this year's Sydney Design Week is WORKSHOPPED, an annual design event now it's eighth year presenting furniture and objects from 32 young designers. Thanks to Leanne Gibson for sending us photos from the opening night. Pictured above: exhibitors Akira and Toshi, Angus McDonald and John Madden's 'Ferdinand Rocker' and opening remarks from Michael Young.
WORKSHOPPED 08
August 13-23, 2008
Chifley Plaza, CBD
SydneyClick through to view more photos.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)Saturday, August 16Posted by: al dean | Comments (0)
Autodesk just launched the Plastic Features Technology Preview on Autodesk Labs which adds a load of plastic part design tools for Inventor, so thin wall parts are easier to build and there's a bunch of features such as grills, rests, bosses, snaps, lips, grooves and fillets. Autodesk has been working on this technology for the last couple of years, and even drafted some of the guys from ImpactXoft to work on some clever bits to better handle thin wall parts. Is anyone using Inventor for industrial design I wonder and does the AliasStudio connection make it more interesting if you don't?Friday, August 15
Coffee MakerJason at 37Signals has posted a selection of disassembled appliances that are beautifully composed and kinda hypnotic to look at. The photo's are from Brittnybadger's Flickr set, and there's more there to check out.
ToasterPosted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (2)
Electric Knife
Friday, August 15Been making the rounds since it hit the web sometime last month, and while it's not necessarily the funniest lampoon of the corporate "creative" process, it's certainly one of the most cutting. Proposing the scenario of a company asked to design the first STOP sign in a signless world, and following the process from there, this might be the best argument we've seen yet against feature creep and design-by-committee.
Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (1)
Via Ugly Doggy, Update or Die, and several dozen other sites.Friday, August 15Perfect Friday afternoon entry, but Victor...more please! It's so great!
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)Friday, August 15A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:
the globe and mail
The Bauhaus in Peterboroughindia times
Dell's laptops: 19 hours of battery lifeengadget
Dual-display laptop design has wingsfibre 2 fashion
Color Concepts – theme of AATCC (textiles) Design Competitionchattanoogan
Smart Furniture Studio Ribbon Cutting Is Aug. 22n.y.t. tech blogs
David Pogues Gadget List of 2008reuters
Material Bends, Stretches And Conducts Electricity?Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Friday, August 15Fellow ID'ers, beware: Dutch website Redesign me is trying to replace us!
How it works: product manufacturers pay RedesignMe to establish "RDM Challenges," through which a new product concept is presented and the site's 1,000 or so active members are asked to react to it.Beginning with an initial proposed concept, users are free to modify the current design or upload their own ideas, using any combination of comments, sketches, pictures, mood-boards, movies, prototypes or total redesigns.
Ideas generated on the site are then used as input by the manufacturer's R&D team or professional designers, who decide on the final concept. Ultimately, the companies hope, the result will be products that are better aligned with what consumers really want.
RedesignMe founder Maxim Schram explains: "In response to the launch of our website last year, a lot of manufacturers called us to ask if we could help them get input from consumers.
"They wanted to ask the community questions and were willing to pay for it. A couple of months later we did a pilot with Vodafone Group where we asked our members to redesign a mobile portal. The results were spectacular. Back then we gave away prizes for the best designs, but now with the RDMs we can reward even the slightest creative input."
In exchange [for their services, users] are rewarded with RDMs-RedesignMe's online currency, which is convertible into products in the online RDM Shop such as mp3-players, game consoles and gift cards.
Okay, so maybe they're not really replacing us. But admit it, for a second you were scared. And the company's creepy motto, "Redesign me: Where everybody is a product (re)designer!" almost made me spit coffee all over my laptop napkin.
via marketing web
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)Friday, August 15
When the co-host of a new TV show centered around conceiving of, designing, and testing prototypes of robots, gadgets, machines, and other things wears a T-shirt that says "It was on fire when I got here," you know you're in for a treat.The Discovery Channel will launch Prototype This! on October 15th, featuring hosts Terry Sandin, Zoz Brooks, Joe Grand, and Mike North.
Sandin: "The show's machinist/fabricator/animatronics host."Brooks: "Has a Ph.D. in robotics from MIT's famous Media Lab...he's the team's software specialist."
Grand: "The team's electrical engineer and self-styled 'hardware hacker,' a member of Make magazine's technical advisory board, he also runs his own product development and design firm, Grand Idea Studios."
North: "He's got a Ph.D. in material sciences, with a specialty in biomimetics."
Alas, industrial designer Scott Summit was subcontracted for a couple episodes, but is not a permanent host. Click here to read details about the show and their Pyro Pack project, pictured above.
via cnet
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Friday, August 15
I'm sure you think cranking out daily blog entries is easy, but let me tell you punks something--we take most of our meals at the keyboard. As I type this my "5" key doesn't want to go down all the way, because there's some piece of Chipotle something-or-other wedged under the little bastard. So yeah, when I saw this silly keyboard napkin, my first reaction wasn't laughter; it was desire.
via tech digest tv
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (1)
Friday, August 15
As industrial designers, we can't help but be fascinated by airline interiors; trying to stuff all of those disparate parts into a cylindrical tube makes it the sausage of the design world.
For those looking for design inspiration or doing research into said interiors, a great place to start is the awesome Airliners.net: Hundreds of high-quality photos show you what carriers all around the world are doing with the insides of their planes.
The photos are best seen large and can't be displayed in our web template, so please click the following links to see some of the best pics directly on their site:
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)Friday, August 15
Senior Furniture Engineer
Blu Dot Design
Minneapolis, MinnesotaWe are searching for an individual with extensive technical furniture knowledge and great project and people management skills to facilitate the execution of our award-winning designs and ensure the highest product quality. The ideal candidate will transition into a managerial role by building and managing a complete technical team consisting of furniture engineers and CAD technicians.
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Thursday, August 14
Jason Bacon, co-founder of consultancy Big-Giant and urban vinyl powerhouse UNKL has interviewed a lot of designers, and does a great job of identifying what a good interview looks like in the creative professions. And what a bad one looks like too:Q: Is there a particular "tell" that signals a good or bad fit?A: I think the biggest tell for a bad fit is when a designer piles on a ton of excuses while running us through their work, or frames up a project with a comment about how bad or difficult the client was, or how stupid the project itself was. It happens a lot more than it should. I think you can identify challenges within a project, but good designers know how to turn negatives into positives.
Read full interview
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)
More Creative SeedsThursday, August 14
The Dymo DiscPainter feels like a toy; and by that we don't mean it's chintzy, we mean it's fun. Pop a (white) CD or DVD into the drive, set your photo up with the included software, hit "Print," and watch it spin your image onto the disc through the window.
The diminutive machine has a footprint not much bigger than a DVD case, and the discs come out surprisingly quickly, perhaps a minute or two. It's easy to set up; we were printing about five minutes after popping our tester machine out of the box. The software is simple to use and best of all, lets you see exactly where the photo will end up on your disc's borders. You can also re-scale and tweak your images. Price is sub-$300.
The default print quality is 600 d.p.i., and while the DiscPainter can handle gradients okay, it seems to really pop best with blocks or waves of color (think grafitti or rave flyers) and is also capable of astonishing fine-line detail. Hit the jump to see larger photos of the discs we printed as well as stats on the machine.
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (2)Thursday, August 14If it's lunchtime where you are, take a break from random YouTube plundering and check out Lifehacker's assortment of how-to videos. You've probably seen a few of these already, but you've probably seen that Simpson's episode already too.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (1)Thursday, August 14A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:
thomasnet
Software automates product design data exchangedesign taxi
ICSID Presents: City Move - An Interdesign Workshopmarket watch
Price Pfister's New Design-Centric Kitchen Fixturesbusinessweek
"Design is the engine that can transform a company into a powerhouse of nonstop innovation"the star
Bond Bryan architects win Bradford District Design Awardsthe auto channel
Aston Martin Unveils Beijing 008 installationearth times
Autodesk Revolutionizes Plastic Part DesignPosted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Thursday, August 14
Every article you read about the functionality of the iPhone talks mostly about the software; so it's nice to see a write-up focusing on the physical aspects of the phone. The amusing Five Toolmonger Uses For Your iPhone have you using the thing as a carpenter's square, a straight-edge and a bubble level (admittedly via software), making this the only multi-tool you can use to order pizza midway through the job.
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)Thursday, August 14
Wearing sandals in summertime New York City is like falling in love with the bad girl from a country music song: It feels so right, but it's oh so wrong. The stifling heat makes open footwear feel fantastic, but the amount of disgusting crud you can step into between Columbus Circle and Canarsie will make you wish you had "coverage."
Now you can have it both ways with the Nat-2 shoe, designed by Germany's K&T. The only thing between your feet and open-air freedom are a zipper, and you can buy interchangeable tops in case you don't like the metallic-spray-paint look in the photo above. Pop the tops in your bag, put some Brenda Lee on the iPod and go.
via reuben miller
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (1)
Thursday, August 14
Now that's a fresh-looking auto concept. Jai Ho Yoo and Lukas Vanek, two third-year design students at the Istituto Europeo di Design, came up with this design for the BMW ZX-6, under the following brief:
[Design] the BMW of 2015, [interpret] the language evolution and the trademark essence, in view of the company's future perspectives.Vanek and Yoo are students at the Turin branch of the unfortunately-acronym'd I.E.D., which also has locations in Milan, Rome, Venice, Florence, Barcelona, Madrid, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro.
More concepts from the kids from Turin can be seen here.
via car body design
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (8)
Thursday, August 14Posted by: al dean | Comments (2)
PhotoView 360: Quick Rendering for SolidWorks Models from Solidsmack on Vimeo.
SolidWorks has just released the beta code for their new rendering tool. Josh over at SolidSmack has a good guide to what it can do and the video above shows his first attempts with the system. Essentially, PhotoView 360 is based on Luxology's Nexus real-time rendering engine and provides SolidWorks users with a very slick workflow for creating renders that look pretty cool for a first pass attempt. Research I did last year showed that there's a huge bottleneck with most rendering tools, relating to all those favourites of scene, material/texture and lighting set-up. PhotoView 360 strips out the RealView graphics from SolidWorks models and uses them as the basis for rendering - the Appearance settings are also matched, so the scene and lighting set-up is eased. you load the model (into a standalone app), change materials if you need to and the system streams the image in. Materials are linked, so you if you edit them in PhotoView, they can transfer back to SolidWorks to maintain the same look and feel. For those with HyperShot experience, the workflow is similar, but it, as yet, doesn't have depth of field and all those little tricks that HyperShot has.Thursday, August 14
Senior CAD Golf Club Designer
Acushnet Company
Carlsbad, CaliforniaYou will be: Working with minimum supervision, conferring with engineers on unusual matters. You will use Unigraphics to conduct a wide variety of complex design tasks in the creation/production of new golf club designs, prototypes, and/or fixturing and tooling. May be assisted by entry or intermediate level personnel.
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Wednesday, August 13Brett Lovelady, founder of ASTRO Studios in San Francisco, has just launched a new, separate company to produce professional gaming products. With ASTRO's 14 years of hardcore video gaming experience (having designed hit products such as Microsoft's Xbox 360, Hewlett-Packard's Blackbird Gaming PC, and the premium line of Alienware Gaming PCs and laptops), ASTRO is deep into the space, and noticed that there wasn't a brand focused on high performance products for pro gamers...and their gaming lifestyle.
In this video for Core77, Brett talks about the new company, ASTRO Gaming, and tours us through their first products--the A40 Audio System--comprised of a design-forward headset & Mixamp. The two products have reset gamers expectations (pardon the pun), and are helping to to take pro gaming to the next level.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (6)
Wednesday, August 13Weekly finds from the 3D world.
SketchUp
SU Podium rendering engine now available for Mac OS XInventor
Inventor Plastic Features Technology announced (with video introduction and preview download)
AliasStudio Direct Reader Add-in for Inventor (from April 2008)Pro/Engineer
Gary Lamit releases new book and tutorial for Pro/Engineer Wildfire 4.0SolidWorks
PhotoView 360 (Gabi Jack)
PhotoView 360 (Ricky Jordan)
And more Photo View 360 (SolidSmack)Bunkspeed
HyperMove animation software announced at SIGGRAPHHardware
Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (0)
NVidia introduces new Quadro FX mobile GPUsWednesday, August 13
We've heard about it time and time again: "What happened to American Design?!" The lack of international presence and consistently "good" work has prompted many debates recently, but a few New York based designers are planning to change all that. Spear-headed by Brooklyn-based designer Kiel Mead, an American Design Club is in the works. Functioning as a forum for American Designers to create, exhibit and potentially sell work, the club will launch its activities with an exhibition on Sept. 25th at Character in New York City. The call for submission is presently open until August 27th, 2008. Entries should address the theme of "Outside" and preferably be small and sell-able.
For submission guidelines and entry forms email info[at]americandesignclub.com.
NOTE: The exhibit is open to any designer working in America. (Lil' secret: their dream is to get Alaskan submissions. Seriously.) So get crackin, you far-off states!!
Posted by: elle* | Comments (1)Wednesday, August 13A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:
open p.r.
Industrial Trade Portal Worldwide Industrial's Directories now have Request-for-Quote functionalitymarketwatch
Autodesk's 10-Year Anniversary Release of Maya Softwareforbes
Chinese Brands Go For Global Goldtoyota press room
Design Ins and Outs of Toyota's New Venzafortune blogs
Dell's redesigned comeback machinemedia newswire
Architecture for Humanity Selected as Design Patron Award Winner in Cooper-Hewitt's Ninth Annual National Design Awardsthe home
kitchen trendsPosted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Wednesday, August 13
Granted this has nothing to do with current-day industrial design, but this photo was too good for us not to post: It's GE's 1978 "Widescreen" TV and VCR combo. The thing is so large, ostentatious and outmoded we're sure Kim Jong Il still has one of these sitting around somewhere.
We also love how televisions used to come wrapped in fake wood; apparently the design conceit was that GE had somehow carved the thing out of walnut.
via retro thing
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (1)
Wednesday, August 13
This is pretty radical: An eco-friendly dome house concept that doesn't even mention Buckminster Fuller's name. Available in Japan for prices starting at $41,000, the polystyrene houses can be built from five basic components and are designed to resist earthquakes and typhoons. Check out the vid:
And look how quickly they go up!
via pink tentacle
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (4)
Wednesday, August 13
John Muhlenkamp and Spencer Nugent, uber-contributors to Core77, have launched IDSketching.com, a new site featuring videos and video tutorials on everything you need for design drawing, sketching, and rendering. The site is really well put together, with tons of content already up, and a sweet "sketchbook" section that should inspire novice and pro alike.
This thing comes just in time for the start of the new school year, of course, so if you're a teacher, send out the link; if you're a student, well, you might just want to keep it to yourself.
Congrats to John and Spencer on the site!
Posted by: core jr | Comments (1)Wednesday, August 13As cool as it is, we don't like this first robot, Boston Dynamics' "LittleDog," which scuttles around like it's looking for prey:
We're much more keen on the Hexapod Robot CNC Router, because he stays put (at least in the video) and performs some handy-dandy ID functions.
via geekologie and winchymatt
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Wednesday, August 13
littleBits coffemaker from ayah bdeir on Vimeo.littleBits is an opensource library of discrete electronic components pre-assembled in tiny circuit boards. Just as Legos allow you to create complex structures with very little engineering knowledge, littleBits are simple, intuitive, space-sensitive blocks that make prototyping with sophisticated electronics a matter of snapping small magnets together. With a growing number of available modules, littleBits aims to move electronics from late stages of the design process to its earliest ones, and from the hands of experts, to those of artists, makers and designers.via makezine
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Wednesday, August 13
Spotted on Inhabitots yesterday and running the blogs (albeit slowly), the World's Smallest Solar Racing Car measures 33 x 22mm, and "will also work when close to a strong artificial light source." Now, we're not saying that you could drive this around by shining a flashlight on it, but we're not saying we wouldn't try it either.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)Wednesday, August 13
Project Manager
Smart Design
San Francisco , CaliforniaThe ideal candidate is a self-starter and has a proven track record in the fundamentals (communication skills, managing change orders, adhering to the overall timeline and budget, billing, etc. ) as well as client-facing experience. With these fundamentals in place the Project Manager(s) at Smart Design focus on overall client service and relationship growth with the goal of establishing steady workflow for the organization.
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Wednesday, August 13Matt Balara interviewed eleven "smart people" at Reboot10 in Copenhagen, Denmark, asking the same question: what does design mean to you?
Check them out: Marston Alfred (founder of Sugar Stats), Kars Alfrink, Julian Bleecker (member of Nokia's Design Strategic Projects Studio and co-founder with Nicolas Nova of the Near Future Laboratory - video also above), Cennydd Bowles (user experience designer at Clearleft), Stowe Boyd (blogger and consultant at /message), Andy Budd (user experience director at Clearleft), Howard Rheingold (writer and founder of Social Media Classroom), Eckhard Rotte (developer at Neuland), Tobias van Veen (visual designer at info.nl), Thomas Vander Wal (consultant at InfoCloud Solutions), and Vinay Venkatraman (senior interaction designer & project manager at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design),
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)Wednesday, August 13
Doubtfully the next musical Wii wonder, but hey, you never know. Allen Salkin reports on the popular rise of the ever so delightful ukulele in this NY Times article.
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)Wednesday, August 13
Philips' Lifestyle Incubator has announced its latest project, the Shapeways Creator. In addition to recently-launched Shapeways, a new web-based platform and global community for 3D-design and production, the Creator Engine allows those unfamiliar with software in the third dimension to alter existing designs, which include just a fruit bowl and light-up word thing, for now.
For the first time,consumers without 3D modeling skills can shape, mash, imprint anddesign their own 3D products in just a few mouse clicks at Shapeways.com. From lamps with a personal message to fruit bowls linking back to memorable moments, the Shapeways Creator Engine has a beta library of predesigned product templates which is expected to grow rapidly over 2009.Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (2)Wednesday, August 13
At first glance the Bang-go cap may seem silly, but you won't think so once it's worn.Oh really? That's cool--we'll take their word for it. Part visor, part baseball cap, the Bang-go head covering contraption saves your bangs (hipster bang-laden guys, this includes you) and your, uh, dignity from that major embarrassment otherwise known as flat, sweaty forehead hair. If you want to obliterate pesky hat-head to boot, ditch the cap and rock it visor-style. The sun's harmful rays no longer have to stand between you and your perfect bangs.
via bellasugar
Posted by: Jeannie Choe | Comments (0)Tuesday, August 12
Via Inhabitat, a new take on the old idea of wind-powered transport. The AEOLUS race, to be held in the Netherlands later this month, pits competing single-person land yachts against each other, with the requirement that they sail directly into the wind. The vehicles are therefore quite different from the sail-powered craft of old, using wind turbines to harvest energy and translate it into torque on the ground.
A group of students at Stuttgart University called Team Inventus have been documenting their 9-month process of building such a craft (pictured above), and it's quite a thing of beauty. Featuring a 2m wind turbine and carbon-fiber construction, the craft weighs in at less than 100kg, and the videos are fascinating, if a bit over-produced. Here they introduce the fully assembled, though not yet functional, Ventomobile -- keep an eye on the blog for further developments:
Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (0)Tuesday, August 12
In good company with another famed site's relaunch this week (gratuitous use of the word "beta" on that one--unless it's the word-of-the-day), IDEO has revamped their online presence in the first overall site overhaul in 7 years. Led by core-fave Valerie Casey, the site plasters up its wares not unlike the post-it note sessions it's famous for. Indeed, comments Casey,
For me, the greatest achievement of the new IDEO.com is that it really manifests IDEO's culture--transparent, messy, highly creative. We are a family of observers and collaborators, builders and storytellers. For us, the site represents an opportunity area that we call 'networked culture,' by connecting people to content and each other in a dynamic way that builds communities, culture, and capabilities both online and offline.There's a ton to explore here: The Focus pages take IDEO's areas of expertise and mix in proprietary content with links to outside resources; IDEO To Go is a tool for visitors to compile a customized information packet; the Culture section is fed continuously by the firm's 550 people (Yowza!) with observations and insights--check out Blinks.
Finally, be sure to take a wander through the now-rendered-prosaic Featured Work section. Easy nav, great slideshows, and a dashboard stat line that makes us feel a bit better about how many conference calls we indulge in.
Bonus: Take a peak at the firm's sweet 1996 homepage background tile below--a nice technical drawing riff on Paul Rand's logo. (In those days, you got to choose between "shocked" and "basic" versions of the site.)
Posted by: core jr | Comments (3)
Tuesday, August 12Posted by: al dean | Comments (2)
It seems that SolidWorks and Luxology are working together to create a new rendering solution. This follows some news broken by Rob Rodriquez but confirmed by the folks at Luxology today. What is it? It's called PhotoView 360 and it's a quick and nimble rendering system that I'm told gets you results quick, very quick indeed. I'm also told that there's very little in the way of interface. This all sounds uncannily like HyperShot but I'll reserve judgement till I get a little peak at it tomorrow. The new tool is built on Luxology's Nexus rendering and modeling engine, which for those interested in architectural design, Bentley Systems has just adopted for Microstation too.Tuesday, August 12
Dino Makropoulos' inventions bring woodworking skills to the masses.
The very best product designs enable masses of people to either a) do things they couldn't do before, or b) do things they did do before, but in a better way. Ex-carpenter Dino Makropoulos' designs for the EZ Smart Woodworking System, which can be used by both professionals and average consumers alike, satisfies on both counts."The idea," Dino explains, "is to make [the process of building things] better, easier, faster, and safer."The EZ System is rather vast, so for this article we're going to focus on one of its main products, and one that we feel even a casual DIY-er would find extremely useful: The Smart Guide System. This simple but ingenious tool, in conjunction with a circular saw--any circular saw--puts the power and accuracy of a table saw in your hand, minus the danger. It enables even the clumsy or inexperienced to cut wood with better-than-factory edges, among other things. What used to be tricky, dangerous, or two-man operations become, with the Smart Guide System, something one person can easily accomplish, in less time.
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (2)
Tuesday, August 12
Ex-carpenter Dino talks to Core77 about jobsite creativity, designing better products, an almost-fatal woodworking accident, and two old Tonys who called him stupid.
Core77: Although most of the people we interview have backgrounds in industrial design, yours is in carpentry, which gave you the background to design the EZ Smart System. How long did you do carpentry for?
Dino: Twenty-five years total.What types of projects did you work on?
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
I specialized in projects with historical restoration, special moldings, restoring fire damaged houses; we'd have to to duplicate existing designs and moldings--you couldn't just go to the store and buy replacements. You're forced to invent, you're forced to create, you're forced to make things different. Especially with old houses, you have to be very creative to bring it back to the original look and the methods that they used to use. You cannot use the same methods all the time but you have to find different ways, so that's what we did.Tuesday, August 12A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:
hamptons.com
"Steampunk Art And Design Makes Hamptons Debut"new hampshire public radio
Innovative Designs for Impoverished Communitiesprocess and control today
Lean Products service shows manufacturers how to drive out product costbusiness daily africa
When a product's design is key to the customer's pocketmacnn
More iPhone Nano rumors, this time with patent drawingskeene state college
Keene State College Proposes New Major in Sustainable Designmarketwatch
Top 10 "Bring YOUR 3D into Reality" Finalists to be Featured at SIGGRAPHPosted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Tuesday, August 12
Some call it vibes, others say "it's in the air," but over at Coroflot's Creative Seeds, Carl Alviani investigates what it really takes to stay creative as the only designer in the office. Read a tidbit here:
One outgrowth of the recent vogue for design thinking is to further spread creative professionals out, at the expense of the traditional studio and the benefit of cross-pollination. Where a design-oriented company might once have pooled creative staff, clustering them by shared discipline, now they're more likely to be placed physically nearer the directors, engineers, marketers and managers with whom they share a project or product line. This integrates the creative process more tightly into the overall project, goes the theory, fostering better communication and allowing disciplines to learn from each other."But that's not a studio, really, that's an office," replied Jamian Cobbett, a senior designer at Nike, when I discussed this trend with him last week. In his 12 year career (which includes time at Kodak, Ziba, and Electrolux as well), Cobbett has worked in both offices and studio environments, and sees an immediate distinction between them.
Speaking from personal experience, the difference between the two is obvious the moment the door opens. A studio is continuous; an office is fragmented. A studio is plastered with current work on public view; an office plays it close to the vest. A studio changes appearance from hour to hour; an office maintains its composure. For creative professionals shifting from the former to the latter, the culture shock can be overwhelming.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)
photo: Vlad GerasimovTuesday, August 12
From the Coroflot portfolio of : Alistair Bramley ( New York, NY )
Featured Project : Interzone
Finally, something the iphone doesn't do, yet... "Interzone aims to build on the work of Sensor Planet: a Nokia Research Center initiated program on large-scale sensor networks that is interested in combining the physical and the virtual worlds through new ways of sensing." This project is a sensor that would work in conjunction with a mobile phone to provide information to the user about local air quality. Now get out of town!
Posted by: core jr | Comments (2)Tuesday, August 12A wooden gun that fires rubber bands:
Single-shot not your style? This one's an "automatic" machine gun:
Still not enough? Try the Gatling Gun:
And at the top of the firepower pile, there's the Disintegrator mini-gun. We're hesitant to include this video because it is so poorly edited that it's rather lame, but fast-forward to 1:55 and 3:20 to see the highlights.
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (1)
Tuesday, August 12
Industrial Designer
Research In Motion
Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaAs part of the Industrial Design team, the Industrial Designer develops product concepts for BlackBerry smartphones. The Designer will produce simple, stylish design ideas, incorporating innovative thinking and creativity. The Designer carries the concept through production, maintaining the quality and intent at all times. Attention to functional and aesthetic detail and the ability to grasp, break down, and refine complex solutions quickly are valuable skills.
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Tuesday, August 12A continuation from yesterday's story on Nokia's new video conferencing pet. Now with video and tongue-in-cheek dialogues between Finnish researchers.
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (1)Monday, August 11
The Financial Times ran an article yesterday on happiness, arguing that if we all found it tomorrow, our economy would soon be in big trouble:
"Within weeks, the high-tech industry, which feeds on the creation of new and unfulfilled desires, would be in difficulties; the fashion world, which survives by persuading us that our perfectly good jeans are either too baggy or too tight, would start to flounder. The luxury goods industry would surely follow; new cars would be next. Before long, we'd be in a full-blown recession. Give it a decade and we'd be back in the Dark Ages.""So we should be careful what we wish for," says the article's author Stehen Cave. "Perhaps there's something to say for dissatisfaction."
In Enough: Breaking Free From the World of More (Amazon), journalist John Naish concludes "that we are not designed to have happiness as our natural default state."
Or as Antonio Dini wrote in this review (in Italian): "Happiness, the nirvana of senses and aspirations, kills creativity and innovation that are born from needs and wants." In Naish's words: "Dissatisfaction is the driver of human endeavour".
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (2)Monday, August 11
The BMW Group's process of designing a new vehicle and finding the ideal shape is based on a concept of keen competition.
In the development of each new model, several design teams compete with one another in their design of the exterior and interior in a truly creative contest.
>> Read more
via dexigner
photo: bmwblog
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)Monday, August 11A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:
improve skills
To boost industry, U.K. to launch new Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design in September '09india times
A look at Design Icon Shiro Nakamura of Nissanfreep
Homeowners' trend: innovative bathroomsfor construction pros
Komatsu Dozer Recognized for Design Excellencedesign week u.k.
Store design, not price cuts, will beat the retail downturnfinancial times
"Designart:" small but powerfulars technica
new "invisibility" material? Well, not quitePosted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Monday, August 11
Spotted on b3ta, Symmetry Explorer let's you search flickr images and automatically mirror them for your viewing pleasure. Could be a nice creative tool for designer types.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)Monday, August 11
Now that books are giving way to e-books (admittedly, extremely slowly), forward-thinking libraries like Berkeley's in California are lending out other physical objects. Like...tools!
Tool Lending Library offers thousands of tools free to Berkeley residents and people who own property in Berkeley. First time borrowers must present photo ID, a Berkeley Public Library card, and a recently received utility bill their name. Berkeley property owners who do not live in Berkeley must present their property tax bill. These policies are strictly enforced.It's a DIY'ers dream come true--screw guns, cement mixers, ladders, tile-cutting saws, you name it, all for free! If Home Depot and Lowes are smart they'll put the kibosh on this right quick.
(Incidentally, the photo up above is not from Berkeley's collection--we were Googling for a good photo of tools to post here and came across the Sears Craftsman 1470 pc. Professional Tool Set. That, friends, is what $8599.90 worth of tools looks like.)
via toolmonger
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (2)
Monday, August 11
Olympics souvenirs have finally transcended keyrings and 'fridge magnets: Lenovo's Olympic-themed flash drives let you store your sensitive information on equipment made by a company...endorsed by a Communist regime that likes to censor information. Oh, the irony. This is like buying health shakes from America.
Does anybody remember when we Americans sold the Chinese a luxe politician's airplane, and loaded it up with spying equipment that they discovered? Wonder how long it'll be 'til they get around to returning that favor.
via wired
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Monday, August 11The stark videos of Brandon Morse present the viewer with excercises in tension, set tableaux in which structures morph and twist under physical constraints. Stripped-down architectural forms that ought to exhibit the rigidity of highrise buildings instead engage in a tug-of-war, the result of a string simulation distributing kinetic force through a network of nodes.
>> Read more
via Eyebeam reBlog
video: Brandon Morse: Procedural animation
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)Monday, August 11
The July sales figures are in, and U.S. automaker General Motors lost $15.5 billion last quarter. It's hard to believe a company in as much trouble as GM was once a globally-respected industrial force, and yet they were. Uh, like fifty years ago.
Here to remind us of that: This year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance auto show will feature rare concepts from Motorama, GM's traveling propaganda show from the '50s. Up top is a Buick Wildcat with an awesome inside-out front fender. Hit the jump for large photos, or check out the NY Times' killer slideshow and article.
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)Monday, August 11
iPhones: So difficult to come by...so easy to destroy. God only knows where he found so many to photograph, but Flickr user magerleagues' got more shattered iPhone dreams than you can shake a warranty at.
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)Monday, August 11
There are (and gonna be) lots of these riffs out there, but Core-fave Marc Alt sends in the above 2 pics from his recent trip to Beijing. (Also don't for get this from over the weekend.)
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)Monday, August 11The European Union has it's own YouTube channel, and one short film really stood out. It's about careers in research, and it's too good to resist.
via Demos
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)Monday, August 11
Graphic Designer : Basketball
adidas
Portland, OregonKey Accountabilities: Create graphics for a variety of product ranges, primarily Apparel and Footwear. Manage a calendar and workflow to meet deadlines and expectations as well as attending scheduled meetings. Collect relevant information needed to design truly international t-shirt, apparel and product graphics. This to include all possible sources to gain this information: Consumer research; focus groups, athlete interviews and general observation...
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Monday, August 11
Jeppe is a Nokia prototype that explores how we might accept a different breed of video communication in our homes that's more compelling and breaks the mould of the traditional PC/webcam scenario.
The prototype has been designed by the Nokia Smart Spaces Lab to be a social robot creature that's treated more like an electronic pet than a rolling slab of soulless hardware. Jeppe is loaded with a two-way video camera, a digital compass sensor and sound sensor. The idea is that Jeppe encourages more relaxed "passive conferencing", so video chat becomes more like an activity you simply do when it feels right rather than a formal task.
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)Monday, August 11
Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky, of AirBed & Breakfast (which we've highlighted before), show up in the Wall Street Journal this morning in an article around small business and political affiliation. Here's the start:
San Francisco entrepreneurs Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky are ardent supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. They've attended his rallies and have an Obama '08 poster hanging in the hallway of their apartment, and Mr. Chesky has donated to the campaign.But when running their start-up, AirBed & Breakfast Inc. -- a Web site that helps travelers find locals willing to rent them a spare bed -- they keep mum about their politics. In fact, they've approached both presidential campaigns in hopes they will promote their site to supporters trekking to the national party conventions.
"We're agnostic" when it comes to the business, says Mr. Gebbia, 26. "I think it's important to keep our own political beliefs separate from the beliefs of the company, because our mission is to bring people together."
Read the rest here. (All CritBuns jokes are banned in the comments, please.)
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)Monday, August 11
The speed and immediacy with which emails are delivered is one of the technology's best selling points, but a project by a group of British artists at Bournemouth University is challenging the notion of how best to communicate electronically.
Created by Boredeom Research,the Real Snail Mail project, which will be part of the SIGGRAPH 2008 Slow Art Exhibition in August, uses snails kitted out with RIFD chips as "delivery agents" of electronic messages. Users of the service send a message via the Real Snail Mail Website which is routed to a holding tank at the speed of light to await collection by one of three snail agents.
more after the jump.
Posted by: toolgirl | Comments (0)Monday, August 11
"Ceramics and Sound" brings together the works of artists and designers who have been working at the European Ceramic Workcenter. The exhibition is on show at the Neues Kunstforum in Cologne (July 12 - August 9) and showcases sound installations, ceramic sculptures, experiments and prototypes.
>> view gallery
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Sunday, August 10
If you're like us and can't get enough of male models gazing pensively into the middle distance, fatigued by thoughts of oaky casks, Objectivism, and pipe tobacco, you'll want to head over to Esquire's Fashion Layout featuring a smattering of (dude) RISD graduates, each having shrugged off their black turtlenecks and rimless specs for the not-likely-in-their-expected-pay-grade duds by Vuitton, Prada, Armani et. al.
Posted by: Steve Portigal | Comments (0)Sunday, August 10
The Financial Times salutes the designers who focus on the 'supernormal', even as what they refer to as 'designart' makes too much noise and often drowns out the quality work quietly going on around the world. Here's a snippet,
A few years in, it is clear that designart, despite its bulky name, is here to stay. Larger manufacturers might be holding discreet credit crunch meetings but the panic has yet to trickle down to affect any tightening of purse strings when it comes to big-name creatives making lavish design. Yet, the often overpowering noise of designart does tend to drown out much other design. Which is why Wallpaper* has taken this opportunity to salute the designers that have trodden a more functional path: one that hasn't necessarily brought them fame, stardom or column inches but whose pieces are quietly being seen and, more importantly, being used every day.[photocredit: Financial Times]
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (2)Saturday, August 09
Desperately hoping not to become known as the "disposable phone company" BIC, wellknown makers of disposable razer blades, lighters and ballpoint pens have just launched the first 'off the shelf' mobile phone in France.
The BIC phone will cost 49 Euros (US$78) and is capable of just making phone calls and sending text messages. It comes with a SIM card, 60 minutes of free calls, a phone number included in the packaging and a fully-charged battery. Extra minutes can be bought through the use of a mobicarte and works the same way as most pay-as-you-go schemes. The phone will initially only be available to buy in France.The BBC has a video announcement while others wonder how the phone will be disposed and whether there are any recycling facilities. A disturbing product to join the "throwaway and replace" category, although one could muse on the benefits of catching a lobbed iPhone 3G...
Posted by: Niti Bhan | Comments (0)
[photocredit Geek.com]
Saturday, August 09
If you watched it, you know it. If you missed it, take a look and tell us what you think.
Posted by: shaggy | Comments (5)Friday, August 08Via the always fascinating Afrigadget, a Kenyan solution to a problem even more severe in urban East Africa than in the US: car theft. According to the story on Kenya Television News, a young man named Morris Mbetsa, with no formal training beyond a high school diploma, has invented a system that will alert the user via mobile phone if his or her car is started. Then the owner can decide whether to call the cops, kill the cars engine by sending it a code, or listen in on the presumed theives' conversation.
The video's just two minutes, but totally worth watching: first, to hear what has to be the clearest diction from a newscaster ever, and then toward the end, to listen to Morris slip into a fantastic Swahili/English hybrid description of the system's workings ("Na halafu, unaweza ku-confirm au deny," etc.)
Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (1)Friday, August 08
China's internet access has been plagued with stories of restricted browsing, missing articles and even bloggers who can't publish to their personal sites.
The Freedom Stick gets around this problem. This €20 ($30) USB dongle is pre-loaded with software which will secure the communications of any computer it is slotted into. Made available by Germany's Chaos Computer Club, the stick uses the TOR (The Onion Router) network to cloak your connections, routing traffic around the world through anonymous computers, thus avoiding detection.The name is a little antagonistic but that's the point, you can actually achieve the same hack with a software solution. Still how bad can getting detained by Chinese customs over issues of censorship really be.
via wired
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (4)
Friday, August 08
Nike converted an amphibious armor-plated war-truck from 1959 into an extreme sports mobile HQ for Mountain Dew's Action Sports Tour.
The 8-wheeled ill-mobile is capable of crossing deserts, climbing mountains and taking the team to any secret spot. Racks for bikes, surfboards, wakeboards, skateboards, mean going anywhere for any scene. Rails to grind are featured on both sides, and a quarter pipe folds down for impromptu sessions. The stereo system requires 2 car batteries, a set of jumper cables and a little luck, but once it's blasting, it's like a stick of dynamite in your eardrum.It's been picked up everywhere (that was the intention after all), via dvice.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (1)Friday, August 08
Industrial Designer
Propane Creative
Atlanta, GeorgiaCandidates must be motivated, independent and ready to rock. Skills required: Strong PhotoShop rendering techniques, compelling sketching with either a wacom tablet or traditional pen and paper. Nice to have: SolidWorks and 3D rendering experience.
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Friday, August 08
Vectortuts has a step-by-step tutorial on creating a camera lens in illustrator, this might pedestrian for some but given the number of devices that now include a camera, it's a useful skill to master. There's also a great article on maintaining rhythm and flow in character design when translating sketches to vector art.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)Friday, August 08
Continuing our fascination with imagery created from physical artifacts, this bus shelter ad for the Treasury Casino in Australia was made from 7563 pieces of dice. Gives a new meaning to dot rendering.
via notcot
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (2)Friday, August 08We're a bit late on this but given that racing power tools has not been recognized as an Olympic sport--yet, we thought we'd give it a mention.
The Seattle Power Tool Race & Derby is an event where you modify a "power tool" into a racer and then compete against other people who have done the same.check out the flickr pool.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)Friday, August 08
I think we finally found our company car, only 77 will be built for a mere £1 million each. Based on a carbon fiber chassis with an aluminum body, the One-77 will be powered by a hand-built 7.0-liter V12 and customers will be able to customize their supercar order.
via autoblog
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)Thursday, August 07
As advertised, Le Corbusier Le Grand weighs in at a whopping 20 plus pounds and measures 19.6 by 14.3 by 3.9 inches with over 600 pages. It stands (or lays) as a comprehensive archive of the work of Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, otherwise known as Le Corbusier and arguably one of the most important modernist architects of the twentieth century. While I briefly wondered if the enormous dimensions were intended to be reflective of the architect's Modulor system of proportions (they were neither 3:4 nor the 4:5 of the Modulor, but closer to 5:6), the scale of the book more than reflects the enormity of Le Corbusier's ambitions and output.
Posted by: Robert Blinn | Comments (4)
Brimming with photographs of projects and crisp pictures of tattered notebook pages, Le Grand seems to compile every document from Le Corbu's life, leaving the reader with the impression that they've uncovered some lost shoebox of memories, and maybe a level of detail that they don't quite deserve to visit. I was unaware, for example, that Le Corbusier may have had an affair with Josephine Baker, or that his right thigh was savaged by a propeller blade in the Mediterranean. Those seemingly tiny details humanized an imposing historical figure. Stumbling into a casual photograph of a middle aged and pantless Le Corbu with visible leg scarring and hairless buttocks ... well, somehow it seemed that both he and I may have been victims of an unwanted intrusion into his private life. While many books have revealed the ideological themes of his manifestos or his constant ongoing struggle with politics and the press, the comprehensive scale of this tome illuminates the sorts of dark corners of life where the stark realities of human existence, foibles and all, tend to hide. Le Corbusier Le Grand works as a giant book full of little revelations.
Thursday, August 07
Air purifiers traditionally fall into one of two categories, the ugly sibling of the beige window mounted AC or the dorky neighbor of external desktop speakers. Korean company Coway set out to break this pattern with the Daan air purifier, a cylindrical unit styled to look more at home amongst contemporary furnishings.
The air purifier separates into 3 units that can be carried into other rooms and placed onto independent stands, it also features a mood lighting function--not a bad thing. There's no word on pricing at this stage.
via engadget
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)Thursday, August 07
Here's the first in our promised Ettore Sottsass Quote of the Day series:
I believe sensoriality is the most primitive, the most immediate thing. If I want to retread hypothetical origins, I must concern myself with the senses.Posted by: elle* | Comments (0)My childhood was sharply affected by the presence of what is summarily called Nature; by the smells and colours of the seasons, by the noises of water, of the wind, of rocks crashing down the Dolomites...During my childhood I had a vast sensorial landscape.
For me that experience of childhood and adolescence was decisive, leading me to think that the way you really interpret the world is mainly through your senses. Clearly, the senses are never pure, there is no pure sensoriality. Sensoriality in the moment it exists already has a form, a culture if you like.
Thursday, August 07
The always insightful Jan Chipchase has a short and amazing essay up at Receiver, Vodafone's blog on user experience and mobile technology, and it manages in just a few paragraphs to make not one but two startling but hard to refute arguments.
First, a fresh perspective on user research in developing markets. There have been two common viewpoints on this topic for a while now: either a)it doesn't matter that much, because most of the money is still in the hands of the developed world, or b)it's going to matter soon, because the developing world is growing and adopting technology rapidly, and we're fools to ignore such an opportunity--and anyway, it's the nice thing to do. Chipchase offers a third that trumps them both:
Today over 3 billion of the world's 6.6 billion people have cellular connectivity and it is expected that another billion will be connected by 2010. But what is often overlooked is the disproportionate impact of mobile phones on different societies, which is one of the reasons why, as researchers, we increasingly prefer to spend time in places like Cairo and Kampala: there is simply more to learn.Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (0)Thursday, August 07
One of our favorite blog entries from (gasp) 2004 was this item showing how to use your old CD spindle case as a bagel holder. Today, Lifehacker points us to an update of the hack, along with a few other uses. (The toilet paper dispenser gets our runaway vote, but that tissue color is kinda yuck, right?)
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (2)Thursday, August 07
Art students the world over will be kicking themselves for not thinking of this first, Armin Heinrich's "I am Rich" iPhone app sells for $999 US and does nothing--nothing at all--except remind people how obnoxiously
stupidrich they are!Featured in yesterday's design snacks
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (2)Thursday, August 07
From the Coroflot portfolio of : Rachel Gottlieb ( Providence, RI )
Featured Project : Simplicity to Complexity-Form Studies
This is what your professors mean when they say, "Sum it up in a couple sentences or less, please." Rachel asks, "Are simplicity and complexity different things or is one based upon the other? Is it possible to generate a complex system from simple forms? I investigated how elemental geometric forms that are understood as simple could be combined into increasingly complicated objects. All based on the grid, repeated wood forms are joined with elastic to create fluid forms from rigid lines. Interaction with the objects creates further complexity as each user can redefine the object's meaning." End of problem!
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Thursday, August 07
Featuring an embed Coleman cooler and ergonomic handle, Rob Pfischner's "Trochotote", spotted on Coroflot.com, will help you trudge up those Southampton dunes the summer (pull), or clear the way on a crowded SoHo street on a Saturday afternoon (push).
And we've gotta note that with huge respect for the BoP and to Emily "H" Pilloton (we're obviously huge fans), this device is definitely the HippoRoller for the first world types.
Make sure to check out Rob's process photos on his portfolio page; lots more pics after the jump.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (4)Thursday, August 07
Coinciding with the opening of Sydney Design 08, the Powerhouse Museum presents their annual selection from the Australian International Design Awards. Also on display are some favorite award-winning products from the past to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the award
Powerhouse Museum
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)
From August 8th, 2008
Hours: 10.00am - 5.00pm daily
500 Harris St, Ultimo
Sydney
Thursday, August 07
Artist Mark T. Smith was selected as an official 2008 Olympic artist by the U.S. Olympic Committee, Steven Heller catches up with him to find out what it's like to work for a client of this magnitude, the kind of guidelines that come with this responsibility and where to draw line on compromising personal values.
I had complete freedom to design the image. Because of the consistency and quality of my images, I am always called on to "do what I do"--most commercial projects that I participate in have a larger amount of input in terms of imagery from the client.Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (1)...That said, if my artwork were censored, I would have to rely on the voice of the global free press to assist my efforts to have a well-earned place at the event.
...I believe very strongly that the United States and the world must continue a dialogue with China. It is precisely because of this that events like the Olympics are of the utmost importance. It starts dialogues where there was none, or it can offer a safe topic to start a deeper relationship between nations with conflicting interests or large cultural gaps.
Thursday, August 07
Packaging Designer
Godiva Chocolatier
New York City, New YorkSome responsibilities include: internal contact with Marketing and Cross-functional teams to external contact with Printers, Separators & Illustrators. One must demonstrate an awareness of packaging, fashion, and promotion trends. Only those candidates who best meet our needs will be contacted.
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Thursday, August 07
Air-purifying concrete paving stones are to be tested on a road in the small Dutch town of Hengelo. Researchers at the University of Twente in The Netherlands have developed a new concrete with a titanium dioxide-based additive, it binds nitrogen oxide particles emitted by car exhausts when exposed to sunlight converting them to harmless nitrates. The best bit, a single shower of rain washes everything away making it ready to filter again and again. If only Beijing had got wind of this earlier, they might have been a step closer to deserving the title "Green Olympics".
via gizmodo
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)Thursday, August 07
Driving Innovation's latest issue features the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games with an interesting article on how technology is affecting today's sports performance.
Multiple world record holder Michael Phelps (photo) makes a good example with his faster than ever LZR Racer swimsuit by Speedo. Michael is not the only one, out of 17 world records that were beaten between February and April 2008, 16 went to swimmers who had adopted this famous suit.
Today's impact of technology is not only dazzling athletes but also the International Swimming Federation (ISF) who has to deal with claims of so called "technological doping". Just like athletic performance, technologic performance requires years of "training" and development to result in something state of the art - but when done, it catches us by surprise!
Driving Innovation is a bi-monthly magazine by PlasticsEurope on the impact of plastics innovations on our daily lives. You can download the latest issue here.
Posted by: Aart van Bezooyen | Comments (0)Thursday, August 07
Very sad news reached the Italian design community today. Andrea Pininfarina (51), the dynamic and driven CEO of the world famous Italian car design company which designs Ferraris, Fiats and the Ford Focus, was killed in a traffic accident this morning near Turin, Italy.
First reports indicate that he was on his way to work on his Vespa scooter, when he was hit by a car. He is survived by his wife and three children.
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)
Wednesday, August 06
São Paulo based Isay Weinfeld's mobile bar (2006) folds up into a neat compact unit like an airline food trolley for stowage. A quick scan of the website's menu reveals that his architecture practice does a lot more extra curricular activities than just furniture, could be an interesting internship to apply for (last menu item) if you're looking to spend some time in Brazil.
via notcot
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)Wednesday, August 06
We got a little package from Alessi this week -- a small, carefully designed book with accompanying dvd. Described as "What is Design? The answers are provided by five masters in the 'Design Interviews' collection," it naturally was popped into the 'ol disk drive with hesitation. Another boring PR stunt?
Not at all.
For 20 minutes or so, this "volume" featured Ettore Sottsass' musings on design - why he does it, what it means, where it belongs in the world -- many of his thoughts, listened to in the midst of an overly-produced, overly-disposable world, rang of timely pertinence.
Drinking from a paper cup is totally different than drinking from a glass. If people drink out of a glass, it's because it is a little heavier than a paper cup, because it's more fragile and you have to respect this fragility, because the fragility makes you hold it in a different way. And because when you lift it to your lips, it has no taste that might adulterate the taste of water and so on. Therefore you experience all sorts of minor sensorial emotions, so when you drink from a glass you are aware of drinking because the object encourages you to realise that you exist...when you drink from a paper cup you drink quickly and throw the cup away, your life did not exist in that moment. You consume it without knowing it.I have always been concerned with not being aware that one is living, and I want to feel that I am really living, dramatically living.
Sottsass' got tons more juicy quotes in there. And since this dvd isn't available to the public yet, it may just be worthy of a quote-a-day. Hmmm...be on the lookout.
Posted by: elle* | Comments (3)
Wednesday, August 06
On 17th March 1861, after the struggles marking the period of the Risorgimento and the success of Garibaldi's 1000 men, the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed with Torino as its first capital.
Now Italy is planning to celebrate its 150th anniversary as a united nation. Turin and Piedmont are preparing a grand international happening, which provides an opportunity to take a look at the future of Italy (including a promising exhibition on the future of mobility).
The slogan of it all: "Experience Italy".
Experience Italy is the grand event that will be held in Turin from March 17th until November 20th 2011. Expos, shows, conferences and performance will evoke the past, invite debates on the present and encourage experiments for the future of Italy. Offering people new opportunities to experience to the full the best our country has to give, is today the best way to bring about the formation of a new Italian identity.An experience of landscapes, people and projects. An experience of the past, the present and the future. An experience of democracy and culture. An experience of science and research. An experience of history and memory. An experience of a city, a region, a nation; an experience of globalization. An experience of everyday life, the Made in Italy and the Italian Style. An experience of knowledge and awareness. An experience of otherness and identity. An experience of passion and innovation.
An Experience of Italy.Knowing some of the people involved in the organisation, I am sure it is an event to look forward to. The Italian version of the site is a real blog, with very regular updates and many possibilities to comment.
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)Wednesday, August 06
Dvice points us to a new kind of artificial cornea developed by researchers at Stanford University published in May this year. The polymer-based cornea has not been tested in humans, but has shown promise in animal studies.
Developed by chemical engineer Curtis W. Frank, PhD, the cornea is made of two interwoven polymer gels, similar to the materials used in soft contact lenses. One layer is exceptionally strong while the other is able to absorb a tremendous amount of water. The result is a transparent, highly permeable substance with a water content similar to that of the natural cornea.It's estimated that 10 million people worldwide suffer from blindness due to corneal disease. It's still early days though, the search for a safe and effective artificial cornea goes back as far as the French Revolution.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)
Wednesday, August 06Weekly finds from the 3D world.
AliasStudio
HDR environments rendering tutorialInventor
Two tutorials on creating and editing iPartsSolidWorks
Generating a generic PCB component assembly using design tables
SW 2009 enhancement highlightsPro/Engineer
Programming your 5-button mouse for optimum workflow in Wildfire 3.0 (registration required)Multiple Packages
Using and learning CAD in Second LifeCATIA
Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (0)
Video Tutorial: CATIA start to finish in 15 minutes
Wednesday, August 06
RKS, the Southern California-based ID consultancy, has just announced the launch of their new C2 ventilator, designed for Hamilton Medical. Based on recent studies from the Yale School of Medicine that emphasize, "the role of psychological factors [play an even bigger part in recovery] than expected," the C2 ventilator uses friendly shapes and minimal design to create a softer, more humane experience for the patient and visitor. Ravi Sawhney, RKS founder and C.E.O. noted,
When you see someone you love hooked up to these huge, industrial-looking machines, no matter what doctors say, a piece of you starts making funeral plans. That feeling can't help but affect everyone in the room.It's always a welcome change to hear a design process inspired by emotions rather than dollars, and from the looks of this lil C2, we can't wait to see what the friendly futures of hospitals will look like...
See more images after the jump.
Posted by: elle* | Comments (0)
Wednesday, August 06A bite-sized list of what's happenin' now:
p.r. newswire
Friendster for artistsnews medical
Not for the squeamish: ShangRing - innovative circumcision deviceswiss arts council
India's N.I.D. mounts "Design from Switzerland 1860 - 2007" exhibitselector
Nylon manufacturer: 25% recycled content available in more than fifty coloursgifts and tablewares
Prominent U.S. Retailers to Lead Panel at 2008 Housewares Exec SuperSessionthe register
The dumbest iPhone app ever: "I Am rich"Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Wednesday, August 06
Who doesn't like a news story told in photographs, Boston.com's The Big Picture published a killer set of images (27) of the nearly completed Large Hadron Collider (LHC) located in Geneva, Switzerland. Spanning 27 Kilometers (17 miles), the photos are from The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) taken at various stages during construction.
via design observer
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)Wednesday, August 06
Geekhouse bikes have refined a powder coating technique that let's you apply digital graphics to the bike frame and rims. With a long-time passion for designing frames, the original manufacturing was outsourced but the newest line of frames from Geekhouse are both designed and hand-crafted in their new workspace in Allston, MA.
via coolhunting
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (1)Wednesday, August 06
via Design Observer
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)Wednesday, August 06Like many of us, Seattle Pi's Lawrence W. Cheek has been getting burned by poor product design, and is sick of it. He turned to Drew Carlson and Jerry Yamamoto, the industrial designers and founders behind Seattle's Slipstream Design, to figure out why bad design plagues us.
Their findings, in a nutshell:
- Product developers don't necessarily investigate how people use things in the real world.
- Consumers aren't demanding the right things.
- Feature creep has reached epidemic level.
- Novelty is masquerading as good design.
- So why buy a briefcase from a knife maker?Of course, reading the bullet points alone won't do you (and the consumers you design for) nearly as much good as reading the entire article, here.
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (1)
Wednesday, August 06
Belgium's Design Museum Gent has mounted a "Design from Fifties & Sixties" exhibit that will be up until mid-October:
A great deal of 1950s and 1960s design has passed the test of time extremely well and even grown to icon status. In the fifties, the Italians developed a style of their own whereas Scandinavian designers were inspired by plastic arts. The focal point, however, lay in the U.S....Unfortunately DMG's website is completely fugazi, so info on the exhibit is light; for a more informative read, check out ArtDaily's write-up.
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (0)
Wednesday, August 06
For yet another example of rising oil prices influencing product design, look no further than the recently-announced results of the One Good Chair design competition, put on by the Sustainable Furniture Council:
...as the price of oil has skyrocketed, suddenly what makes a piece of furniture green is changing. Now, designers must consider how much energy it takes to manufacture a piece of furniture, as well as take into account the amount of fuel it will require to ship a piece of furniture....[Winner Jessica] Konawicz, a graduate student pursuing her masters degree in industrial design at North Carolina State University, created a fluid, flowing design made with a mold, similar to mass-produced plastic lawn chairs. The only difference: Konawicz's chair is made from a material that comes from the fruit and leaves of the Pandamus tree instead of plastic, which is made from petroleum.
Konawicz said the material is similar to fiberglass, but it's eco-friendly because it's biodegradable. (Konawicz said rainwater will not harm the chair, but prolonged exposure to sunlight will affect the plant-based material.)
"A lot of chairs I've seen have been made out of PVC, and they've said it can be made from recycled PVC itself or it can be recycled, but really recycling is a whole other process that is not earth friendly. You have to go through a lot of energy to get it recycled," Konawicz explained. "With this process... when you're done with the chair, it biodegrates into the earth. So there's no waste and it doesn't harm the earth at all, and I thought that was impressive."
Click here for the full article.
via furniture style
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (6)
Wednesday, August 06
"Hey, Li, this new translation software is awesome! We can hook it up to the large format printer and make banners! Best of all, we don't need to look the words up in English anymore!"
via college humor
thanks Nick!
Posted by: hipstomp | Comments (2)Wednesday, August 06
So, we got word that a good fraction of Ranjit Bhatnagar's Electric Junk Guitar Workshop last week was made up of Core readers (like, one third of the class!), and that just makes us grin. But not half as much as this one-and-a-half minute video of several anonymous students rocking their one- and two-stringed creations live for the camera at workshop's end. Superfluous and cacophonous, yes, but also inspiring and adorable.Bhatnagar, incidentally, informs us that he will be doing a full term class at Parsons this fall, and is looking for a venue for the end of term show. Anyone in NYC who knows of a likely space and was charmed by the above showcase should contact him through his website, moonmilk.com, or just check it out anyway for a look at some pretty absurd sonic and kinetic sculpture. Homemade guitars, it turns out, are just the beginning.
Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (0)Wednesday, August 06
Senior Branded Environment Designer
Ziba Design, Inc.
Portland, OregonThe right designer lives and breathes three-dimensional space through sketching, drawing, model making, prototyping, etc. If you can capture the essence of a brand in an experiential space and understand the importance of authentic design, we want to hear from you.
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Tuesday, August 05
Celebrating 30 years of the iconic Lego minifigure designed by Jens Nygaard Knudsen, iconeye put together a gallery of highlights showcasing many of the personas from over the years. We'd love to see more characters from the day's when they looked like members of the Village People.
...since 1978 the design has only been modified by a matter of millimetres. Each body is three bricks high and comprises eight parts. It's designed to hold a Lego brick in its hand, and to plug stand or sitting on top of other Lego elements. The figures were totally asexual until the first female figure, a nurse, arrived in 1980.click through to see our favorites:
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (0)Tuesday, August 05
For carrying such a provocative (to some) name, the Shit Box is actually a pretty clever idea. There have been plenty of examples of cardboard furniture popping up in the last few years, but this may be the most appropriate use of the material we've seen in a while: it ships flat for easy portability, maintains enough structural integrity for repeat uses, and recycles at the end of its useful life, making it simpler, cheaper and less icky-seeming than existing semi-permanent options on the market. Built by the similarly cheeky-sounding Brown Corporation, ships with ten "poo bags," and "doubles as a handy stool."via Design Observer
Posted by: Carl Alviani | Comments (1)Tuesday, August 05
Cows and more cows! 2008 is turning out to be the year of bovine-methane-manipulation (poor things!) But things might be looking up for our fat-boned friends with the introduction of the Ear-A-Round, stereo earphones that transmit sounds directly into the cow's ears to guide its movement. Researchers are currently working on developing the prototype which has, as a goal, to "give farmers a much finer control of pastures, finer management of where animals are and a better use of the land," not to mention finding "out what the animals do all day." (Ahem....rock out to Madonna?).
Here are some choice sound bites from the lab:
The technology won't eliminate the need for cowboys; instead, the focus is to shift their labor from physical to cognitive.Ranchers and cowhands will no longer have to spend time building and repairing fences.
[Lead researcher Dean M. Anderson] has sung his song during training exercises to get the animals to move. If they pause for longer than a few seconds, he will use the song cue to get them moving again.
If the sound cues fail, the headset can give a small electrical shock to move unresponsive cows.
[Andersen and his partner Daniela Rus] also plan to test other sounds as possible cues, including naturally repulsive sounds for cows such as barking dogs and hissing snakes.
Oh...you poor cows...What will they think of next?
Posted by: elle* | Comments (1)
AP Photo/USDA Jornada Experimental RangeTuesday, August 05
As it seems like everyone in New York is moving to San Francisco this year and vice versa, PSFK share this video from their recent investigation into what fuels creativity in the Bay Area.
Posted by: squee.gee | Comments (1)Tuesday, August 05
ETech, the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference, goes green with its upcoming conference about "the tech of abundance and constraints".
We live in two worlds: one filled with abundance and the other with constraints. Each has its own favorite -- or essential to survival -- inventions and directions. Each has been deeply affected by technology.The abundant world has access to the Internet and other educational tools, to the latest advances in medicine, to culinary choices from around the globe, and up until recently, access to "plenty of" energy. This abundance can lead to waste since most everyday objects are easier and cheaper to replace than fix. But sometimes this excess can lead to creation -- a reinvention of waste -- as we see in the pages of Make magazine.
The constrained world has to make do with what's available. Why scrimp and sacrifice for a computer when most people have mobile phones with an SMS server that can do the job just fine? With limited food, water, fuel, medicine, it's the people and their ideas that are often the cheapest part of the equation. Their technology looks to collaboration and connection with fewer resources -- almost the opposite of the industrialized world which seeks to make each individual as effective as possible.
What technologies cross the divide? How do the two interact and cross-pollinate?
Alex Steffen of Worldchanging is excited and so are we.
photo: ETech
Posted by: Mark Vanderbeeken | Comments (0)Tuesday, August 05Spotted on kottke.org, this clip from the BBC's documentary on Stewart Brand's How Buildings Learn is all the design thinking you'll ever need.
Posted by: Allan Chochinov | Comments (0)Tuesday, August 05
Sometimes we get mail here at Core 77. Real mail. The snail kind. And sometimes that mail is just too good/weird/bizarre/indecipherable to keep to ourselves. Couldn't resist posting this lil' guy that arrived without a return address just 2 days ago. Go ahead, readers, let your comments fly...
Are there Designs of Industrial Nature involved in the defence industry? What is that job market like? Any "I.D. with clearance" postings?- AN
P.S. I look forward to your response. : ) Preferably in a blog post.
The best part is yet to come - check out the front of this postcard after the jump...
Posted by: core jr | Comments (9)Tuesday, August 05
Nicely populated for the past couple of weeks and ready for launch, core-fave Jill Fehrenbacher officially cut the ribbon on Inhabitots today, a green website for the littlest set. Congrats to Jill (with a baby just weeks away now) and best of luck on both of the new launches!
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)Tuesday, August 05
Carlos Sastre just spent 3 weeks of his life cycling over 3500 Kilometers (2200 Miles) to win the 2008 Tour de France. How better to celebrate with him than to spend an hour to design a spiffy new cycling shoe? That's right, this month we asked Core readers to design the next greatest cycling shoe. We even got Bill Cass to join the judging crew. He works for Nike designing cycling shoes for guys like Mark Cavendish and some guy named Lance Something-or-other. The results should make any pro proud.First place:
Garmin-Chipotle American team, by fede21us (top)Second place:
Classic International Bike Shoe, by beartoe (middle)Third place:
Padilla Shoe, by cpvt1987 (bottom)Honorable Mention:
Barloworld Cycling Shoe and Crampon, by tbaker (after the jump)Get the inside scoop on Bill Cass' thoughts on the next page...
Posted by: core jr | Comments (1)Tuesday, August 05
It's hard to decide whether Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec deserve to be praised more for their design or for their already prolific careers. Design has a long history of creative duos and pairings, from Charles and Ray Eames to Isamu Noguchi and Kenmochi. The brothers Bouroullec have already been more prolific than Noguchi in the industrial design arena, but their monograph feels almost premature since they're both barely past thirty. Many modern designers become famous for one mind blowing piece, but the Bouroullecs have instead created seemingly hundreds of variations out of a softly colored, gently curving palate. Some of their designs, like their consoles for Cappellini, have an almost shaker sensibility. Combining beautifully shot product photos (including piles of unproduced prototypes and process) with short accompanying text pieces, their monograph, now out in paperback and affordable for back-to-school giftbaskets, provides a careful record of their output while at the same time failing to illuminate one unspoken question: How did they get so successful so fast?
Because each chapter is arranged topically, their progression from struggling beginnings to design acclaim isn't spelled out as a clear narrative. Instead the reader has to read between the lines (or pictures, so to speak), to understand their journey. What is clear, just as it was for the Eames's is, that for them to be successful so many times, they must have prototyped endlessly, once again illustrating that there are no short cuts in design. Less clear, however, is how an aspiring designer can emulate their careers.
The Bourellecs state, "We've never manufactured anything ourselves. As far as we're concerned, design is a two-handed business, in which we do the designing, and someone else does the manufacturing." The accompanying text for their ceramic work, for example, begins straight off with more collaboration -- this time with Claude Aiello, a practicing turner. How Ronan cultivated that relationship, or induced a seasoned ceramicist to work with him on the project is never quite explained. Later, when they speak of laser cutting their "Cloud" and "Brick" dividers, it's immediately understood that they have manufacturers and sales channels lined up, because they've already become known and successful. The transition between the two remains elusive. That said, I know a lot of people who spent a great deal of time making models, and are now having a very hard time selling them.
Perhaps Ronan's first meeting with Giulio Cappellini when he presented his "Disintegrated Kitchen" was their most important sales meeting. It seems that everything since came so easily. But the truth is far more complex, and the days and hours of work and sketching they put in comes through in the volume of photographs within. In their work and their success, these two brothers amply illustrate that the old aphorism that luck is when preparation meets timing. Precisely how they turned that first success with Cappellini into a meteoric career remains frustratingly elusive, but one thing is abundantly clear: I'm sure it wasn't as easy as they made it look.
Posted by: core jr | Comments (0)
