Greener Gadgets Design Competition 2009
Deadline is January 15! In association with CEA, Core77 hosts this year's Greener Gadgets Design Competition 2009, challenging designers to create the next generation of greener gadgets. Once again, finalists will be JUDGED LIVE at the Greener Gadgets Conference, this year slated for February 27th in New York City. Prize money is $3000 for 1st Place, $1000 each for 2nd and 3rd Places. Fire up those markers and tablets and get in the game!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Book Review: Manufractured, by Steven Skov Holt and Mara Holt Skov
Manufractured by Steven Skov Holt and Mara Holt Skov introduces injection molded plastic packaging into the arts and crafts debate that William Morris and John Ruskin championed over a century ago. The industrial revolution passed long ago, but the debate about whether mass produced products or handcrafted one-offs were better for society continues. Personally, I'll take my food containers without phthalates, thank you very much. I suspect the authors would agree, but the world is still littered with PVC and polystyrene parts, and that’s what Manufractured addresses. Kirill Shelayev shot and covered the Manufractured exhibit for Core77 at the Portland Museum of Contemporary Craft in Oregon where it will be showing until January 9, 2009, but for those of us who don’t feel like making the trek to the Pacific Northwest in January, the Skov Holt’s (apologies, but I’ll use "Skov Holt" rather than "Skov Holt and Holt Skov" throughout the review for simplicity) book Manufractured: The Conspicuous Transformation of Everyday Objects can stand in for the exhibit with thoughtful text and plenty of photographs.
In their introduction, the authors note that the end of the 20th Century seemed to toll the death knell for the Craft movement as even the Museum of American Craft became the Museum of Arts & Design in 2002, but that aside from changes in nomenclature the Craft movement remains alive and well in the post-Industrial age. Prior book reviews such as Desire and Process have echoed this claim: As mass production makes pristine industrially produced affordable to the general public, subsets of society will run counter to this trend, seeking legitimacy and uniqueness in hand crafted goods, complete with flaws. After an introduction spanning from Ruskin through Marcel Duchamp and on to the Droog collective, the Skov Holt's highlight eleven designers/artists/ craftspeople who've begun to use previously manufactured objects as their raw materials. Although my personal aesthetic favorite, Brian Jungen's installation Cetology, an apparent full scale whale skeleton made of hundreds of plastic lawnchairs rather than bone, was included in the introduction rather than the Manufractured exhibit itself, the subjects of the exhibition, from Cat Chow's dresses made of only fasteners to Devorah Sperber's Pantone cap pixilated art do not disappoint in their visual appeal.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Volkswagen Bio Runner Concept
Derek Jenkins, Patrick Faulwetter and Ian Hilton from Volkswagen/Audi Design Center California put together this concept for the Design Challenge Motorsports 2025 competition last month.
In the Bio Runner, the rider is positioned inside a protective cage on a motorcycle-like saddle with controls attached to the hands and feet. These controls manipulate all wheels via synthetic muscle-based suspension which offers unparalleled control and traction.
Checkout LA Auto Show's complete gallery of entries including hi-res images.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Nokia's 4-way Xmas patent
iPhone ShmiPhone--Nokia filed a patent on Christmas Day for a new type of communication device, one with a rather unusual form factor: It folds out into four distinct parts. Two of the parts act as a screen, apparently straddled by some type of flexible screen, while the other two serve as a keyboard.
There's no word on when this device would come out or what, specifically, it would do, but it will be interesting to see if Nokia can seize the design high ground and spawn its own wake of copycats.
via engadget
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Materiology
From the publishers of Frame and Mark magazines comes Materiology, the creative industry's guide to materials and technologies.
Targeted at architects and designers, this illustrated text book provides in-depth information about the characteristics and application possibilities of dozens materials and technologies.
Materiology is intended for all creative professionals who rely on materials and technologies -architects, designers, stylists, artists and the like, from students to experienced practitioners - and is written in a style that conveys a wealth of information in a language that's easy to understand. This book covers everything there is to know about materials and technologies in one single volume.
>> continue
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Decorative tile system by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec
Clouds by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec are an extension of the North Tiles they developed for Kvadrat in 2006.
The tiles are made of one element and are attached by special rubber bands. Creating your own piece is quick and easy, whether you want a simple design or a complex decorative screen or wall. You can easily arrange and re-arrange the tiles to reflect your individual style and bring new ideas into your home, time and time again.
According to Anders Byriel, CEO of Kvadrat, soft textiles are making a comeback in the public space and in private homes.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Kurrency: A lamp made out of dollar bills
Stuart Karten Design has created a piece of discursive design sure to hit home during these fiscally-obsessed months. Kurrency Chandeliers are hanging lamps are made out of paper money, available in dollars, euros, and pesos (no Monopoly version, yet). Here's the part you can take to the bank:
As US taxpayers become the owners of the economy's most toxic investments and the stock market continues its volatile plunges and surges, many Americans are tempted to store their money under the mattress. But we've devised a better idea: hanging your money above the dining room table.Kurrency is a new series of chandeliers made from genuine legal tender. "In today's economy, there is perhaps nothing so beautiful as cold hard cash," designer Stuart Karten says of the chandelier's materials. "But money is beautiful not just because of what it buys. Bills from all cultures display intricate artwork, unique textures and, most importantly, a beautiful translucency under light."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Creative solutions in tough times
Alice Rawsthorn reports in the International Herald Tribune on how, as the recession deepens, 'social' and 'service' design are becoming all the more relevant.
"The 20th-century notion of the lone "designer-hero" (there were depressingly few "heroines") shaping his projects from start to finish was always illusory, but the new approaches to design require far greater collaboration, not just with fellow designers but with experts from other disciplines like economists, social scientists, anthropologists and programmers too. Designers also have to make the leap from a material culture where their work generally had a definitive outcome, such as an object or image, to one in which they are applying design thinking to analyze problems and develop solutions that are neither visible nor tangible."
>> Read article
Photo: Freeplay Foundation / International Herald Tribune
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Hand-made toys Malawi style
Speaking of service design, Avik Maitra, a recent Masters in Architecture graduate from Colombia University has started making toys from recycled materials for children in Lilongwe, Malawi.
Last week, I talked with a specialist in early childhood development. She said that in the villages, boys make their own cars such as these, while girls pretend that corn cobs and bottles are dolls. Unfortunately, the cobs don't last very long, and the bottles can be sold to recyclers, making them too valuable to be used as toys. (To me, these improvised dolls are much more heartbreaking than the cars, which are simple but also kind of cool. Maybe that's just a personal bias, and I have yet to see the dolls, since they're mostly kept indoors.) Children will also sometimes use scrap bricks as building blocks.
Avik is documenting his 8 month research fellowship in Malawi on his blog where he's researching the architectural needs of local orphanages, experimenting with natural methods and design ideas for preventing malaria and developing a girls academy.
Avik has placed an open call to businesses and factories in Malawi and nearby to donate industrial leftovers for the development of architectural projects and toys.
via inhabitots
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A captivating force at RISD helm
A captivating force at RISD helmThe Boston Globe has published a long article on how John Maeda, formerly associate director of research at the MIT Media Lab and since six months president of the Rhode Island School of Design, is shaking things up at this venerable institution, by cultivating an open-source administration and openly-engaged student body.
"Maeda doesn't think he has all the answers. He thinks that everyone around him has the answers and sees his presidency - and the opportunity to empower the community he leads - as nothing short of a reestablishment of democratic principles."
>> Read article
Photo: Victoria Arocho for The Boston Globe
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
PAPIER bags by Stefan Diez
Stefan Diez's PAPIER bag series for AUTHENTICS are one of the more elegant use's of Tyvek we've seen in a while.
The idea for PAPIER came whilst considering the development of travel accessories for the extremely successful KUVERT bag series, which was also designed by Stefan Diez. Initial trials with various materials were not so successful, as they were not light or flexible enough. Which led to the idea of turning the actual paper prototypes into new products - but using strong, wear-resistant Tyvek, which look so much like paper, instead of paper.
The PAPIER bag series will be available in January 2009.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
CES 2009 Preview: Energizer Solar Recharger - even works for iPods
Not only does Energizer's Solar Recharger handle regular rechargeable AA and AAA batteries, it's fitted with a USB port for charging almost any USB powered gadget. Expected to retail for $49.99, the device will come packaged with 2 zinc-based rechargeable AA batteries. Considering this will shortly be on the market, it definitely ups-the-anti for anyone considering entering the Greener Gadgets Competition.
>> continue
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
An open letter to the New York Times
Cameron Sinclair, cofounder of Architecture for Humanity, writes back to the New York Times in response to an article written by architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff that he thinks reinforces the perception that architects are somehow not solving the real world problems faced by ordinary people when they decide to build. He disagrees. Here's a snippet:
This is the new architectural revolution, filled with pragmatic optimism and an understanding that designing for the other 98% is much more rewarding than responding to the desires of the few. And, it is already underway.Nicolai Ouroussoff "dreams" of re-hiring the biggest names in the profession to lead this revolution. To us, that's like hiring the designers of the Hummer to rethink our transportation and energy policies. It's not that they couldn't or wouldn't do the work (many already are), but why call on designers who spent the better part of their careers building ever-competing, energy-consuming, sky-piercing structures, when you could hire any of a myriad of qualified (if less well-known) firms already experienced and engaged in rethinking the built environment?
We encourage Ouroussoff and the New York Times to pursue a deeper examination of the changes taking place in the field of architecture. If President-elect Barack Obama and his administration truly want to reenergize this country with a New Green Deal they should engage those who are best equipped to deal with the challenges we face in the coming decades, not the past. We should hire the emerging professionals already practicing sustainable design and not just a few high-profile architects. Because for these professionals committing time to the projects that matter most is not a dream. They are already hard at work.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Kapero Office by N59 Arkitekter
I wonder if there's a no shoes policy for employees at the new Kapero office in Stockholm designed by Swedish architects N59.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Coming up in February: interaction'09 in Vancouver
IxDA Interaction 09 is set for February next year. Since "next year" isn't all that far away, at least temporally if not conceptually, let's take a look at the event.
Six keynotes: John Thackara, Genevieve Bell, Dan Saffer, Fiona Raby, Marc Rettig, and Kim Goodwin.
Two days of workshops including: So you want to be a Hardware/Software Interaction Designer, Drawing Ideas, and our Well, we did all this research...now what?
And then a huge number of sessions, parties, presentations and something called at Tangible Interaction Cafe (with a Microsoft Surface, the conference Segway of the new millennium). See the schedule here and see you in Vancouver next year!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Manufacturing Grace
And finally, when Grace Jones first broke onto the scene over twenty years ago, many thought of the gender-bending pop icon more as a Jean Paul Goude media creation and personality than a true talent. Indeed image has always been an integral part of Grace Jones' music career, her visual identity being almost as important as her voice. Now, the artwork for her latest album, Hurricane, brings new meaning to the the idea of dancing confectionary...
Collaborating with Tom Hingston Studio, Ms. Jones once again works the conceit of the popstar as visual commodity, in this case featuring life-size versions of herself made out of chocolate.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Special thanks to Niti Bhan, Steve Portigal, and Mark Vanderbeeken for their contributions to this week's newsletter!
Please share the Monday Morning Must Read with colleagues, clients and collaborators. Many email programs do not forward messages in their original format, so please use this link: http://www.designdirectory.com/blog/newsletter
Email us your feedback and comments. We are looking for stories, case studies and global news on where and how design can make the difference.
