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JUNE 30, 1999
> Eames Chair Free For All
A Michigan court recently decided against design. The decision is technically against the manufacturer Herman Miller, but the precedent could go against any designer. Herman Miller has been attempting to defend its sole claim to the classic Eames Chair, the familiar one in upholstered bent wood with ottoman. The company lost. Herman Miller was the chair's original manufacturer and developed the design with Eames. While the design had been discontinued for some time, the issue has suddenly become germane because there is a growing demand for the chair. However, many other manufacturers have copied it. It is reported that the judge determined that, since the chair was known as "The Eames Chair," it was not uniquely licensed to Herman Miller. As a result, it appears that other manufacturers are now free to imitate and revise the design as they wish.
> A Profit is Not Without Honor Save in its Own State
The Supreme Court decided this week that states are immune from patent infringement. While patents are strongly protected on other fronts, the State itself has been given the liberty to use otherwise protected work - research, inventions, and designs - at will. Patents, trademarks and copyrights are all free to any State entity at this point. Universities, in particular, since they are intellectual centers run by states, are a logical means of exploiting this potential. Corporations, for example, frequently fund University research, and it is now conceivable that under this or a similar cloak, for-profit entities can leverage the State immunity. The rationale for this decision is an interpretation of State's rights that would only have been possible in this conservative court.
> Fluorescent Tubes No Longer Dumpable
The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to ban the dumping of fluorescent tubes in a vote this week. The rule would mostly affect large organizations which buy lighting in large volume. Fluorescent tubes contain mercury, and have until now been disposed of in landfills. Recyclers and environmentalists have been fighting for restrictions on the approximately 600 million tubes thrown away each year.
> Two International Green Product Events
Brussels, from the 12th to 13th of July, will be the location for the 4th International "Toward Sustainable Product Design" Conference. This event, at the Centre Borschette, is supported by the European Commission (EC DGXI) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Day one is on "Strategies for Eco-Product Development," and day two on "Sustainable Solutions 2020." For the full program, fees and registration schedule, see www.cfsd.org.uk/tspd4.html The conference is put together by the Centre for Sustainable Design (CSID).
In London, if you combine passion for ecology with European travel, you may attend "Eco-design and Supply Chain Management," on June 28th. (DT! Conference Centre, 1, Victoria Street). The event is intended to:
-Provide best practice examples of how companies are managing eco-design through supply chain management (SCM)
-Provide a platform for discussion on eco-design and SCM
-Review recent research on eco-design and SCM issues
This conference will launch the ETMUEL project (Eco-design and Training for Manufacture, Use and End of Life for SMEs). There will be presentations from DTI (UK), Varian Medical Systems (UK), Philips Consumer Electronics (the Netherlands), Lucent Technologies (the Netherlands), e(c)oncept (Germany), Brunel University (UK), SAT (Austria), UMIST (UK) and CfSD (UK).
The delegate fee is 15 UK pounds and will need to be paid before the event. For further information or to register, please fax Russ White @ CfSD on 00 44 1252 892747 .
JUNE 24
> Three Prizes to One Design at Neocon
Ayse Birsel, with her firm Olive 1:1 (formerly Olive design), has spent much of the last two years developing a new furniture system for Herman Miller. Those of us in design have translated "furniture system" and "contract" furniture to civilians as "cubicles," but Birsel may make that change. Her new system is based on a 120-degree angle, which opens the network to a new world of shapes and interrelationships that is more complex and organic than the familiar cube. Not only is the basic form rethought, but these angled walls are now covered with easily customized fabric, so a new degree of flexibility appears there as well.
Think of 120 degrees...it's part of a hexagon, and leads clearly to opportunities for equilateral triangles - the equilateral triangle of the Masonic eye on the dollar bill, perhaps. Neocon, the big contract furniture
event, is in Chicago, kind of the middle, the center in a way, of the country; and the showing was private, only to special initiates from the press or clients. Could this be this a mystical development in office furniture? Is it any wonder that this three-based system won not two, not
four, but three awards? It was foreordained. They were: "Best of Competition"; "Gold, Best Furniture System"; and finally, "Most Innovative" products.
The line will be available to the public in Spring of 2000.
> Machine Tool Orders Fell in April
In April the dollar value of orders for machine tools fell 10%, which considered to be a sign of weakness in the manufacturing sector. This drop is in comparison to the March figures, but in comparison with the figures for April 1988, tool orders are down 44 percent. This data is prepared by the Association for Manufacturing Technology and the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association. Don Carlson is president of the manufacturer's group, and is quoted in the New York Times as expecting a stronger market in August.
> Guilt of Vehicle Designers Assuaged by Chevrolet Sedan in Recent Testing
The highest rating for driver and passenger protection in a front impact crash test was recently given to the 2000 Chevrolet Impala midsize sedan. The testing organization was the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which included the 1999 Honda Acura RL sedan in the tests. They also tested Mazda's 1999 Protege and Toyota's 1999 Camry Midsize sedan for side impact crashes. The results are announced as part of a Federal New Car Assessment Program on the Safety Administration's website.
JUNE 17
> IDEA 99 Awards Announced
Business Week's June 7th issue announced winners of the 1999 Industrial Design Excellence Awards. Thirty-six out of 1,131 entries were selected for the Gold award, with 60 silvers and 68 bronze awards. For more information, see hard copy, or www.idsa.org.
The Gold prizes are:
• Business & Industrial Products
• SoftBook, SoftBook Press, IDEO
• V-mail Camera, Philips Design, in-house
• Hot Plug Hard Drive Tray, Compaq, in-house
• Smart Glas Display, Pixel Vision, Product Insight
• i1000 Multi Service Wireless Communicator, Motorola, in-house
• WAVE Work Assist Vehicle, Crown Equipment, Ergonomic Systems Design Inc.
Consumer Products
• Flexible Footwear, Flexible Footwear, in-house
• Dish Drawer, Fisher & Paykel Ltd., in-house
• Tropicool Personal Fan, Holmes Products Corp., Insight Product Development LLC
• Benwin "Executive" Multimedia Speakers, KQuest/Benwin, RKS Design Inc.
• iMac, Apple Computer, in-house
• EKCO Clip'n Stay Clothespin, EKCO, in-house
• OXO Good Grips Soap Pump Palm Brush, OXO International, Smart Design
• TRIAX Running Watches, Nike Inc., Astro Products Inc., and Nike
• Craftsman Low Profile Detachable Vacuum, Sears, Roebuck and Co., Emerson Tool Co.
• Tonka Joe Workshop PC Playset, Hasbro Interactive, Klitsner Industrial Design Inc.
Design Explorations
• Trail Tag, Patagonia, Carr & Lamb Design
• Nissan Sport Utility Truck, Nissan, in-house
• E-TRANS "The Mouse," ALZA Corp., GVO, Powderjet Corp.
• Next Generation Reach Truck Design Research, Crown Equipment Corp., Ergonomic
• Systems Design Inc., and Crown Equipment
• IBM Electronic Newspaper, IBM, Better Design Solutions, and in-house
Environments
• Tommy Boy Music Offices, Tommy Boy Music, Turett Collaborative Architects
• Micaëla, Micaëla, Eight Inc.
8 Sony Electronics Comdex 98 Exhibit, Sony, Mauk Design
Furniture
• Escale, Beth Owens, Haworth Inc.
• Kart, VECTA, 5D Studio
Medical and Scientific Products
• Hi & Dri, DriDent, Microplas Inc.
• PharmASSIST, Innovation Associates, Steiner Design Associates and R&D Design
• Sovereign Medical System, Allergan, Designworks/USA
Packaging & Graphics
• WAVE Operator Manual, Crown Equipment Corp., XXL Design
• New Leaf Gravity VITA BIN, New Leaf Designs Inc., Worrell Design Inc., and in-house
Student Design
• KIDCOM, Nokia Mobile Phone, Chueh Lee, Art Center College of Art and Design
• "Vivace" Conference Chair, Art Center College of Design, Cecilia Volcoff-Kasher and Arsenio Garcia-Monsalve,
• 10th Mountain Patrol Pack, University of Cincinnati, Kurt Hickey
• Nimbus Meteorological Park, Art Center College of Design, William Tan
Transportation
• R 1200 C Motorcycle, BMW AG, in-house
> Fans of Domesticity: Roy McMakin Exhibition at Seattle Art Museum
Roy McMakin, founder and designer of the firm Domestic Furniture, is exhibiting his design-related artwork at the Seattle Art Museum. The exhibition, open June 3rd, is centered on an interpreted apartment within the galleries. McMakin began Domestic in the early nineties with droll conceptual perversions of the most vernacular American furniture. That made his firm into the design equivalent of a cult film. His fans include the new Getty Museum, where he was commissioned to do the furniture for the offices.
> Ghana Goes Design: Is a National Industrial Design Center Viable?
The International Development Association of the World Bank has funded a team to investigate a possible national industrial design center in Ghana, Africa. The center would spur economic development by adapting local products for export markets. The International Development Association is working with Plan Consult of Ghana, which has formed a team headed by Danae Loran Willson, IDSA. Willson, of New York, is Associate for Industrial Design at Roz Goldfarb Associates, and is on the faculty of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. This phase of the project, awarded May 28th, will last four months.
> Manufacturers Now Have Help Managing Equipment Costs
A new service is being offered as a collaboration of David Harris, IDSA and ZMI corporation. In this system, proprietary applications of neural net software help manufacturers anticipate and avoid failure in critical equipment. The company intends to develop custom solutions for companies faced with rising maintenance costs. Contact them at zmi@dhadesign.com or Harris Associates, 312 829 5560
JUNE 10
> Michael Lax Dies
A product designer's product designer, Michael Lax died on May 28th at 69. He brought a Scandinavian sensibility to America's 1960s. One of his best-known designs was a teapot of enameled cast-iron with a bent teak handle made by Copco, which he designed in 1962. Another honored piece of his is the Lytegem lamp, from 1967, which the Museum of Modern Art has in its collection. The Lytegem now is almost a definition of 1960s design, in the form of a sphere on a cube, joined by a chrome arm. He had studied design in Finland on a Fulbright in 1954, and came back to an American market that was eager for Scandinavian style. Russel Wright, hired him then, and he worked for Wright until he went out on his own to freelance. He joined Copco in 1960. His work made Michael Lax was a star of his generation, who shaped the American landscape.
JUNE 2
> Dolly, aka First Among Products, Has Obsolescence Built In
Perhaps it takes too much of what belongs to science, but, from the commercial end anyway, Dolly the cloned sheep is a new product. And a fine one too: cloning a farm animal is at least as original an idea as the walkman, and comes into a much more bankable market.
Yet this week it was discovered that Dolly the product may have an extraordinarily effective system for creating her own obsolescence: her genes are older - shorter, actually - than a naturally born sheep's would be at the same age. Does this mean that Dolly will die before she reaches old age? Will her designers rush up with a quick chromosome-patch, claiming she was only beta? Tune in next month, and in the meantime, be careful where you leave your DNA...
> Pots and Pans Join Crystal and Porcelain
Last week the Irish firm Waterford Wedgwood PLC announced that it is buying All-Clad Metalcrafters Inc of Pennsylvania. Waterford Wedgwood is the maker of the fine china and glass stemware that classes up, well, possibly your mother's home - very formal. Both the glass company (Waterford) and the porcelain company (Wedgwood) have roots in their own renowned craft workshops. Nevertheless now they are international, and are together entering the high end kitchenware market. All-Clad has long made pots and pans for professional chefs, but recently, and successfully, entered the home market.
> Good News/Bad News
If you do, or would like to, run a design firm, it is important to be able to
get information on how other people run the business, and that information is not easy to get. The good news is that the "Association of Professional Design Firms" has gathered this data. In an announcement in the current issue of the IDSA's Design Perspectives the Association describes its 1998 Firm Performance Survey which provides "comprehensive financial and human resource" information for the graphic and industrial design professions. It includes an analysis of balance sheets, profitability, labor, salary ranges, benefits, etc. The bad news? $150. (call 415 561 2733)
JUNE 1
> A Poke in the "Public Eye;" New York Times Supplants Thoughtful Design Column
"Public Eye," a column running on page two of the New York Times' Thursday "Home" Section, has been replaced by a gardening question and answer column. The May 20th issue is the first one to appear without the design column. For several years design writers Phil Patton and Karrie Jacobs have alternated on the "Public Eye" pieces, covering, among other things, the design of currency, the role of electronic news zippers in cities, and the vocabulary of blenders. In these pieces the writers took the deep, smart, critical view that we expect (but don't always find) in our design magazines. It is valuable to design that the New York Times dedicated regular mainstream space to this kind of thinking, and it is a terrible loss to us that they have backed out. Designers, readers, advertisers, & cranks: complain to the New York Times Home Section editor, B. Graustark.
> SEGD Announces its 1999 Design Awards Program Winners
The Society for Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD) announced 19 winners in its annual Design Awards Program. This year, in addition to familiar kinds of signage projects, two reports were also award winners, including a student project that examined how the sense of touch helps define our experience of the spaces around us. The winners are:
• Chicago Parks Wayfinding and Signage, Two Twelve Associates, New York
• Farnsworth Art Museum: Identity and Environmental Graphics, Arrowstreet Inc., Boston
• Hall of Biodiversity, Ralph Appelbaum Associates, New York
• Kidpower! A Science Playground, Chermayeff & Geismar, New York
• Universal City, Selbert Perkins Design Collaborative, Boston and Santa Monica
• Auckland City Art Gallery Signage, Peter Haythornthwaite Design, New Zealand
• Brooklyn Museum of Art, Pentagram Design, New York
• New York Public Library Jill Kupin Rose Gallery, Chermayeff & Geismar, New York
• The Moveable Museum, Lee Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership, New York
• Briggs & Riley Prototype Store, Gensler, San Francisco
• Donut King, Lorenc Design, Atlanta
• Sony Playstation E3 Exhibit, Mauk Design, San Francisco
• Murals at 22nd and Walnut Streets, Susan Maxman & Partners, Philadelphia
• Grand Central Construction Barricades, Two Twelve Associates, New York
• Laredo International Airport, HOK Graphics, Dallas
• Witnesses, Community Architexts, Chicago
• An Introduction to Hidden-Image Murals, Piotr Adamski, New York
• Dallas Fort Worth Signage Masterplan, Carol Naughton + Associates, Chicago
• Please Touch, Elizabeth Hiller, Springfield, VA
> Eight Wait for 24: Jerwood Prize Shortlist Announced
That's eight finalists waiting to learn which one will win £15,000, or about $24,000 offered in the Jerwood Applied Arts Prize. The British Jerwood Prize is for furniture design, and the finalists are: Jane Atfield; Robert Kilvington; Mary Little; Michael Marriott; Guy Martin; Jim Partridge; Simon
Pengelly and Michael Young. The winners will be announced in London on the sixth of September; in the meantime their work will be on view at the Crafts Council in London from August on.
IN THE MAGAZINES
JUNE 30
Well, there hasn't been much in these pages on the topic of cars and transportation design, so here goes: We missed alerting you to this gem at the start of the month, but Time's article on the Nascar phenomenon and superstar Jeff Gordon is now on their website. The writing is delightful, and the subculture sounds unreal. | Time on the web
We haven't actually read the cover story of the new Wired magazine, 'cause, well, we're scared to. But add this to your list--maybe you're taking a flight somewhere, and you're really anxious to feel a couple hours worth of envy. Anyway, here's Generation Equity. Will we ever see those stock options? | Wired, July, '99, p. 112.
And, after you're done with the previous article, flip quickly to "A Queasy Feeling: Why can't we cure nausea?" for the feeling you're likely to contract. | The New Yorker, July 5, '99, p. 34.
If you've been following the developments in Kosovo, you should be interested in the one page on rebuilding homes in the region, with a particularly fascinating sidebar on the two emergency-shelter rebuilding kits being distributed by the United nations High Commission for Refugees. | The New York Times Magazine, June 27, '99, p. 18.
Product design->p.o.p. design->cosmetics! If you've just got a minute to kill in the checkout line, DO NOT MISS this piece in the National Examiner (but don't let anyone see you in the act)! 25 Stars Without Their Makeup. You won't believe it. | National Examiner, July 6, '99, p. 12.
JUNE 24
For all the hours and hours you spend staring at palettes, menu bars, and other assorted screen items, wouldn't it be nice to know the people and the story behind their development? Here's an insightful article on Andrei Herasimchuk, Adobe’s senior user interface designer, and how all those Photoshop, Illustrator, Pagemaker, and other Adobe packages got to look the way they do. Lots of before and afters too, making us almost nostalgic for the palettes we used to suffer through! | Design Graphics (Digital Publishing), Issue #46, June ’99, p. 42.
Still not sobered up to what the internet is going to do to your business? Well, you can either be cheered on or scared witless by this latest of wake-up calls. They even put it on the cover. | BusinessWeek, June 28, ’99, p. 78.
A fascinating piece on color--focusing mostly on its origins in nature, and moving through some odd but interesting cultural and scientific uses. Be sure to check out the spread on pp. 78-79, which in itself is worth the price of admission. (Hey, you should be subscribing to this book anyway!) | National Geographic, July, ’99, p. 72.
If not exactly rigorous, this one-page comparison of the leading razors for women might just be enough to coax you into a smoother, closer experience. | Jane, summer ’99, p. 98.
JUNE 17
Time was we used to wait by our mailbox in anticipation of ID Magazines Annual Review for product, but this year's Interactive Media Design Review looks to feature some unbelievable winners…who won. | I.D., June '99, p. 58.
All children love to blow bubbles, but it's just possible that some of those children, fascinated by patterns in nature, grow up to be industrial designers. And now the search is over for the perfect, homemade, bubble recipe (along with some nifty wands.) Don't want to go to the newsstand? Okay: "10 cups water to 4 cups liquid dish-washing soap plus 1 cup Karo corn syrup." Thanks to you-know-who. | Martha Stewart Living, July/August '99, p. 68.
Unlike most Palm owners, we have a love/hate relationship with our PDA. Let's hope MacWorld's rundown of the latest MacPac software conduits gets us more excited. (We know…remember to write "v" backwards.) | MacWorld, July '99, p. 80.
"Decorating for Dummies (with good taste)" is the title of New York Magazine's six-page survey of some of the coolest online furniture and accessories outlets. From target.com to Sid Dickens's wall tiles (Core was hip to the latter way back in July, '96.) | New York Magazine, June 21, '99, p. 42.
A brief, insider's story of anti-virus software, virus doctors, players, and products. (We've always been meaning to check out this magazine!) | Brill's Content, June '99, p. 66.
JUNE 10
Now that the two-plus megapixel digital cameras are taking hold in the marketplace, perhaps it's time to snag up one of the cheap, 1-megapixel cameras for an extra in your bag. Here's the rundown on pricing and features. | PC Magazine, June 22, '99, p. 41.
"Tips from your shop (and ours)" gives the modern woodworker lots of neat tricks, but our favorite--and simplest--is on page 34. How to store different grits of 5" sanding disks? In a soft, CD organizer, of course! | Wood (from Better Homes and Gardens), August '99, p. 22.
This very-cool time-lapse array of shots (May 17, 1922 to Feb. 22, 1923) showing the building of the Yankee Stadium is sure to put a smile on any fan's face. | Sports Illustrated, Jun 7, '99, pp. 6-7.
We've never seen one of Daniel Canegar's photo projections, but several are printed here to give us a nice taste. The piece on page 17 is an industrial designer's dream. | Aperture 155, Spring '99, p. 10
If you're truly sick of the "best" lists at the close of this millennium--and a whole lot more are sure to come--check out Time's 100 worst ideas of the century. (We like spray-on hair and Crystal Pepsi.) | Time Magazine, June 14, '99, p. 37.
JUNE 1
A galaxy map pieced together by the Automated Plate Measuring Galaxy Survey will be worth tacking up on your cubicle wall this month. How big is this universe? We’re not sure, but you are here. | Scientific American, June '99, pp. 38-39.
Some nice pics of the winners from Publish magazine design awards, with cool graphics and packaging in particular. | Publish, June '99, p. 60.
And speaking of awards--and you don't need us to remind you--it's time for BusinessWeek's infamous "The Best Product Design Special Report" issue. This annual always seems to show up a bit too late with product standouts that we've already known about for some time. No complaints? How 'bout the copy on the contents page: "Design Awards--The spiffiest designs of the year for business and consumers." Yup. We like spiffy.
Two new typefaces from Emigre, Vendetta and Cholla, show up in their latest magazine, and besides great names (as always) the fonts are pretty darn sweet. (Cholla in particular is sure to please the new media/ cyber-crowd. Do they still say "cyber"?
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