Dell trying to design their way out of the box
Chances are if we're playing the word association game and we say "Dell," you're not going to respond with "lust." But the manufacturer of formerly beige creations is hoping to change that up by going from boxy to foxy.
Last year Michael Dell announced the company's new design philosophy of "product lust," and now Ziff-Davis' Larry Dignan checks in on the new designs, with a photo gallery and an analysis of whether Dell has improved their design capabilities.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Creating the garden of globalisation
Daniel A. Becker's Barcode Plantage project creates unique trees from the information stored in barcodes. An international code database on the internet provides details on the manufacturer and the country of origin of the product, the data is then analyzed to define positions, curves and the colors of the tree structure. As the algorithm is simply interpreting the data, there is no random aspect to the appearance of each tree.
The project adds a layer of transparency to the source of our products and was selected as the Grand Prix winner for output 11, which will be published later this year.
>> More tree visualizations here.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Japanese Shipbuilder finds Architectural Niche
PingMag MAKE caught up with seventh generation shipbuilder Kazushi Takahashi, a natural opportunist whose advice to business success is loaded with battle survival metaphors and he has recently turned his hand to architecture.
The surface of the Gundam inspired Jimbocho Theater building in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo is welded together without using a single bolt. He has completed a number of unusual projects applying shipbuilding technology and construction methods.
Architecture is about straight lines and structural dynamics, while ships are about curved lines and fluid dynamics. Plus, another difference is that carpenters and architects can't make boats, but shipbuilders can make both ships and houses. But the basic science behind it, the arithmetic and physics are the same. That is the common thread between them.
Checkout the interview for the back story and few points of wisdom.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
New Article up at Coroflot's Creative Seeds: Seven Ways to Make Your Business Card Stand Out
Over at Coroflot's Creative Seeds blog Carl Alviani covers everything from letterpress to cleverness in a comprehensive article on business cards:
Hand Stamped "...you can make a new card out of anything printable, from plain white paper to the backs of photos, bits of wood, coffee cups, people's wrists, whatever. In a more abstract sense, there's something wonderful about reducing the card to its bare essence, kind of a graphic answer to the "People don't want lamps, they want light" conundrum -- people don't want business cards, they want information, and here it is, in its most elemental form."Way Too Clever
"This fortune cookie "card" would remind us of some of the tragic gimmicks our studio mates came up with when they had more enthusiasm than skill, back in school days -- except that it's fantastic..."Extra Wordy
"Ever notice what someone does the second you give them your card? They read it. And then they flip it over, to see if there's something on the back that they can read. There's an opportunity here, if you're good with words; those brief moments after the exchange you've got someone's undivided attention. If you can provide something interesting and compelling to read that explains who you are, what you're like, what you're good at or what you're looking for, there's much impact to be made."
>> view article.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
WorldCard business card reader, Red Dot winner
Speaking of business cards, back when Palm Pilots (remember those?) were ascendant, we thought business cards would be a thing of the past and that we'd all be beaming each other our info via infrared.
Since that hasn't happened there's the WorldCard Ultra by PenPower, a handy-dandy business card reader that takes care of data entry for you. Stick a card in the slot, the machine does the rest. The Red Dot Design Award winner has multiple language support, and if you've got a Mac, it even drops the info straight into Address Book.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
New Nanopaper is Stronger Than Iron, Still Made of Wood
Nanotechnology, for all its recent growth and vibrant promise, still feels very sci-fi to us laypersons, what with all those buckytubes and nanoceramics. Lars Berglund of Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology, though, is bringing the nanotech treatment to thoroughly familiar, if not boring, material: paper. By processing wood pulp with enzymes and high-pressure microfluidic chambers, he's been able to create paper with dramatically finer strands, offering some impressive improvements in mechanical characteristics. According to the article in MIT Technology Review, this "nanopaper" is "stronger than cast iron and tougher than bone," featuring a tear strength seven times that of conventional paper, and the ability to stretch by 10% before failure.
Applications suggested include extra-tough filters, membranes, packaging, and mechanical parts -- making that paper-core messenger bike in Gibson's Virtual Light one step closer to feasible.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Battery Powered Suitcase
If you're a so called "travel warrior", then apparently the LiveLuggage power assisted (PA series) suitcase is for you. Weighing in at 10.6kg (23-pounds), the 12V NiMH rechargeable battery will provide you with 1.5 miles of assisted travel under a 32kg load. If you're thinking, hmmm... gonna have to get me 2 of these to compensate for the reduced packing space, at least you'll impress your travel partner with the savvy foresight to only pack the one recharging cord for both cases. With a price tag of $1,365 US, we're guessing the team at LiveLuggage missed the irony in the recent Derrie-Air prank.
via engadget
>> See this case in action.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Sol Focus: All That Silicon Valley Alternative Energy Investment Bears Some Fruit
We've been hearing about the boom in alternative energy research in Silicon Valley for a while now, but not so much in terms of actual marketable products. That may be changing, though, if Mountain View based Sol Focus is any indication.
Looking at the history of solar power, one of the biggest obstacles to its broad acceptance and application has been the high cost of manufacturing photovoltaic cells, and the relatively low output. Sol Focus has a solution that they think could revolutionize the industry, and it's so obvious you have to wonder why it took so long. Rather than make a large panel of pricey semi-conductors, they use comparatively cheap aluminum and glass mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto a tiny chip of photovoltaic, both reducing the cost of the unit, and increasing the efficiency of electricity production.
According to the company's website, these dished panels use 1/1000th the active material of a conventional panel, and will produce power as cheaply as conventional (fossil fuel) sources by 2010. As an added bonus, they also look much, much cooler than the typical shiny black slab, offering a gleaming sci-fi gorgeousness that we wouldn't mind on our rooftop one bit.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Seven cities that influenced design
Currently underway at the Istanbul Modern is "Design Cities," which "tells the story of contemporary design through the focus of seven key cities, in each case looking at their decisive roles in the development of design. While focusing on how specific moments in the history of cities contributed to the evolution of design, the exhibition investigates the ways in which design has shaped contemporary culture."
Co-sponsored by Vitra and featuring 109 works by 64 designers, the exhibit looks at London, Vienna, Paris, Dessau, Los Angeles, Milan, and Tokyo. Check it out here.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Kia's new Californian studio, and interview with chief designer Kearns
This week Kia Motors opened their Californian design studio in Irvine, with ex-GM'er Tom Kearns as chief designer.
Here's a link to an interview with Kearns, the man who penned Kia's Kue concept. Excerpt below.
Q: Other car companies rely on heritage, tradition and history to influence future designs. What are the advantages and disadvantages of designing for relatively new car company?A: One is that you have, as you say, a clean sheet of paper, and we can chart our own path from day one. I can guarantee you that a lot of designers at BMW, Audi or some of the other established brands with lots of history would love to have that. They're sort of handcuffed....
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Coventry University student work: Transpo' & Product
Speaking of transportation design, reader and prolific photographer Shaun Hutchinson shot and collated a bunch of photos from Coventry University's 2008 Transport & Product Design students, who "recently won the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher & Further Education for its work in Automotive Design." The photos are up as part of Hutchinson's "101 Reasons to Design" website, which has recently expanded to 144 reasons.
thanks shaun!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Photo by oskay
5 (Almost) Affordable 3-D Printers for the Home
Looking to do some rapid prototyping in your all purpose design studio/bedroom but can't afford to buy in, Scientific American found five 3-D Printers that might be able to help you out. Pictured above, Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories three dimensional fabricator prints large, low-resolution, objects out of pure sugar. To cut costs, the Evil Labs crew replaced the multi-thousand dollar laser with a $10 heating coil similar to what you'd find in a hair dryer--nice!
Fab@Home Model 1
Materials: Epoxy; chocolate; Boursin (a soft cheese)
Price: $2,400 - $3,600
RepRap Version 1.0 "Darwin"
Material: Biodegradable plastic or polyester
Price: $500 - $900
Candy Fab
Material: Granulated sugar
Price: Estimated at $500
Craftsman CompuCarve
Material: Wood; can handle acrylics and foam, too
Price: $1,899.99
Desktop Factory 125ci 3D Printer
Material: Nylon-based powder (laced with aluminum and glass)
Price: $4,995
via boing boing
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Subversive Bathroom Scales from Alice Wang
And finally, Alice Wang, a recent graduate of RCA, has designed a set of 3 cheeky bathroom scales that ease the ritual of weighing yourself (and maybe dieting, for that matter). In "White Lies," the further back you stand, the lighter you become on the digital display. Comments Wang, "The user can gradually move closer and closer to reality." In her "Half-Truth" scale, your partner becomes responsible for deciding whether to lie or come clean, since the display is on the front face of the device, out of the subject's view. ("Weighing scales can be harmful cause they don't have intelligence to judge when's the right moment to hit you with the truth.") Finally, "Open Secret" reveals your weight every time you weigh yourself by sending a text message to a desired mobile phone. Wang offers that "the receiver is then responsible to reveal the answer immediately, or the next time you two meet."
All of these projects were conceived as a reaction to Isaac Asimov's 1st law of robotics: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Here's more from the designer:
Artificial intelligence is a topic widely used in the media, however, exactly how far are we from such technology? Are these fears towards robotic developments necessary or purely irrational? What is it about these currently fictional characters that scare us? Are there existing domestic objects that already break this law? Weighing scales, although not performing physical harm, have been subtly damaging us psychologically. Should objects like these exist in a complex society like ours where people are more emotionally fragile?
See this and other work by Alice Wang at her site.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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.
