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May 31, 2007
Office On The Go
Since I can't afford the real office I want, I'll settle for a Cloud, that is an inflatable meeting room made from rip-stop nylon. Included is a silent fan (oh really?) which inflates the entire room in 3 minutes.
I'd have one of these bad boys in my backyard, that is if I had a backyard. Better yet, let my dog use it as his mansion. Now, where am I going to get $4,999.00?
Thanks Jeff
Posted by tranism at 3:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Rocking Is A Group Activity
I have no idea where I would put this but I want it! It's a rocking bench big enough for several people. There's a detachable lamp which I wouldn't use but OMG I really want a rocking bench! Only obstacle is the €895 price tag. I know that's a lot so I'm not even gonna bother with the exact US dollar exchange rate.
via bltd
Posted by tranism at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
May 29, 2007
Google Street View
Google Maps is testing a new way to view maps by integrating live shots at street level. It's called Street View. So far, only the big cities like New York, Denver, Miami, Las Vegas and San Francisco are up and running but fret not, more cities will be added soon. When you map a Street View enabled city, a person icon appears. Drop him anywhere to see a live picture of that area. You can move up and down the street and even rotate the your perspective horizontally. This combined with GPS navigation would be awesome. Com'on Google, if anybody can do it, it's you!
On a side note, I just called my friend to tell him I'm looking at his house.
via Lifehacker
Posted by tranism at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
May 28, 2007
New BMW Headquarters
Years in the making but the new BMW headquarters in Munich Germany is almost complete. Designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au, the new complex is across the street from the Munich Olympia Parkway complimenting the organic fluid designs already prevalent in the neighborhood.
Covered in twisted steel, glass and solar panels, the new headquarters will not only act as a base for all things BMW but house a premiere dealership where customers can not only buy BMW but also live it.
Renderings of the completed building after the jump.
Posted by tranism at 6:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Liberty For A Positive Flow
This is bloodly brilliant (yes I'm British today), called Liberty for a Positive Flow - one of the many design entries in the So Watt! environmental design competition. As we move into an era where environmentalism is finally on the discussion table of every industrialized country, one question often asked is how do we get the masses involved? Design studio Encore Heureux's answer is to retrofit a windmill onto the iconic Statue of Liberty. Let Lady Liberty not only represent freedom but also blaze new paths forward for a better future and provide clean energy to the city she gates.
via them hot boys at Gearfuse
Posted by tranism at 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
May 25, 2007
Truly The World's Thinnest Notebook
Did you know Intel has design chops? The chip company not only makes most of the tech that goes inside this lappie but also wanted to push the envelope of how thin you could make it. Enter Ziba Design and Intel's very own engineers. They rose to the challenge and exceeded it.
Code name "Metro", the notebook is less, LESS than 0.7 inches. That's even thinner than the new Motorola RAZR when closed. Not only that, it's also the lightest weighing in at 2.25 pounds. There's no moving parts inside so battery life is an astounding 14 hours. But what about features? Surely something this svelte has no wireless capability. WRONG. Not only does it sport Wireless but also WiMax which is the next generation of wireless protocols. When open, the Metro very much resembles a Macbook Pro with its backlight keys, side speakers and single trackpad.
The only downside? It runs Windows Vista. Hit the jump for more pictures.
via Business Week
Posted by tranism at 5:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
May 21, 2007
Beijing Olympic Medals
After a global competition resulting in 265 proposals from all over the world, the Beijing Olympic Committee announces the XXIX Olympiad medals.
Each medal sports the Beijing Olympics logo inlaid with Chinese jade. It's the first time jade of this caliber will be used for an Olympic medal making them the most expensive Olympic medals in history.
Man the Chinese are going all out for the Olympics. First the insanely beautiful and huge Olympic buildings, the most exquisite Olympic torch I've ever seen and now these medals. Simply gorgeous. I can't wait to see what they have planned for the opening ceremony.
via Core77
Posted by tranism at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Gorgeous Sustainable Wood Desk
I am absolutely in love with this desk. It's called the Knu Desk #4 made by the Industrial Woodworking Corporation. The organic shape, the sustainable wood, the simple chrome legs with a foot rest! GOD how I love foot rests. The only thing I don't love is the price, $1460.00. Ouch! Soooo, anybody wanna buy me one?
Posted by tranism at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Helix Skyscaper
Riddle me this, what takes the form of a transverse wave? A Helix! Okay now what if we applied that shape to a building? What would it look like? How would it function?
It's an interesting design question that could cause in paradigm shift in building design. The degree of incline would be so slight, people inside would have no idea they were moving from floor to floor. It would probably feel like a really long circular hallway. This design characteristic would eliminate the need for stairs. The building would be 100% wheelchair friendly since it's just a rising slope. Structural rigidity would be improved since it's just a corridor wrapped around a central core but there are some problems with this design.
The taller you build, the longer it takes for someone to get to the top. Sure you could build an elevator but since there are no defined floors, elevators would have to be redesigned. An alternative is to use moving walkways but that would still be a slow climb to the top. The second problem is levelness. What happens if I drop a ball. Even at a slight 14º grade, the ball would roll and provided there are no obsticles, keep rolling. That pretty much applies to anything with wheels.
However there is a huge advantage in using a Helix. The shape inherently holds a lot of volume without much mass. That's why our DNA strands are helices. Following DNA as an example you could place two helices into a building that intertwine. They would never touch and the overall mass of the building would stay the same. Imagine that? Apple and Microsoft could exist in the same building without ever seeing each other.
via absidea
Posted by tranism at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Visually See The Effects Of Smoking
That's the idea behind Fiona Carswell's Smoking Jacket. The smoker exhales smoke into a special area in the collar. The smoke then gets channeled thru a series of tubes into plastic lungs on the front of the jacket. Over time, the lungs will turn yellow and stain. If you don't smoke, the stain and smoke will eventually dissipate.
The whole design uses visceral communication to remind smokers what they're doing to their bodies, an alternative to using patches, pills and chewing gum.
via WMMNA
Posted by tranism at 6:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Oh Hell, It's A Smell Phone
Designer Kimberly Hu proposes an interesting idea. What if cellphones could emit smells uniquely tagged to each person in your contacts list? Does that make the experience more emotional? Her Nokia Scentsory concept explores just that. Made from a flexible thin LCD material that unfolds like a paper airplane, the Scentsory concept attempts to bridge the cold design of an electronic device by using odor as a conduit.
I still don't understand why I'd want to smell the person I'm talking to but there's one point in her design that's sorely ignored. HELLO, it folds into a paper airplane! How cool would it be to pass that around? Totally gives new meaning to, "can I check your phone out?"
via Gearfuse
Posted by tranism at 6:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
A Killer Whale Inspired Bathroom
The K-Whale bathroom is a slick organic design exercise inspired by the friendly to humans but mean to fish Killer Whale. It features sweeping lines that appear to be molded from a single piece of material cleverly using color and negative space. The best part is the name of the company, Manworks. Isn't that just simply delicious?
via Notcot
Posted by tranism at 5:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
May 16, 2007
Slideon Personal Media Player, Cute Ghost Included!
Designer Ian Murchison noticed how the mobile phone market was suddenly shifting to sliders and thought, "hmm, what if a personal media player utilized the same design". As he worked away furiously in the night, a ghost came to him and inspired the Slideon.
Okay I totally made that up but Murchison did design a PMP player based on mobile sliders called the Slideon. The pictures are pretty self explanatory - smooth clean design, screen on top, basic nav controls down below, flash based memory and audio jack for recharging. I just can't get over how cute that ghost is. I want one!
via Yanko Design
Posted by tranism at 7:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
May 15, 2007
You Spin Me Right Round Baby Right Round
I'm getting dizzy just thinking about this. The Windscraper by architect David Fisher is a tower based around a concrete center core. Each floor sits on its own ring and can independently rotate with some wind assistance. The combined turning motion of each floor is enough to power the entire building and 10 other similarly sized ones.
I'm not sure how this would affect people inside but if I remember correctly, if an object is massive enough and slow enough, you can't feel it moving.
Video after the jump.
via Techeblog
Posted by tranism at 2:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
May 9, 2007
Seating With A Split Personality
My boy Thomas Mylonas is at it again. Introducing the Lund by Dot Kite Lab. The design is a unique play on proportions with a large gap between the left and right sections. Knowing me I'd probably be mean and cover up the gap with a pillow - just waiting for that moment when someone falls thru. Of course, I know Thomas wasn't thinking that.
"Lund is a modern, sophisticated yet reassuring seating element with an understated feeling of luxury in a vaguely contemporary mood. A new cleanness of subtle lines, of perfect proportions emphasized by the high quality fabrics for the seat and organic forms for the frame. Lund is available with seat wooden frame covered with stress resistant polyurethane foam at varied densities and high quality fabrics or leather."
So Thomas, when am I getting one? :)
Posted by tranism at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
May 8, 2007
Skin a Scion
Ever wanted to customize your own car with a killer paint job? I know I have and still do.
Nows your chance with a contest sponsored by Toyota and Deviantart.com. They're running a contest where you submit your custom paint job of their Scion line to the website galleries. The only stipulation is that you have to be a member of the website, but don't fret; Basic membership to Deviantart is free and you get access to quite a lot of functionality on the site.
The rules? There are none!
You get to choose from the 5 different models of the Scion lineup.The images are provided or you can use your own photo/image of the Scion cars. Deadline is August 7th, 2007.
The prize, either a Scion (xB, NG xB, xD, xA or tC)
You can find information on the contest here.
Posted by stone at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
May 4, 2007
Mother Nature Designs To Be Totally Unique
That's the law of nature - organic design is so varied, no two objects are identical. Even in clones, you can never get 100% duplication. In Branko Ludovic's latest book entitled "nonobject", he discusses why future consumer electronics should explore and embrace varied organic design.
"Each natural 'product' is a unique specimen; nothing else compares to one, after another, after another. Imagine if the manufacture of consumer electronics afforded such diversity! Imagine if consumers had the pick of an endless array of devices, each one its own distinct shape, size and color while keeping the internal components the same... The state of things now: sameness sits on assembly lines; sameness lives on shelves; sameness is in hands of consumers. Need it be this way - where color is the only distinguishing feature? Why not tackle design in more interesting ways? Rather than considering a product as one of many, diversify the multiple existing molds and consider product a little more freely. Need each be a clone of the other? Why not envision production methodology anew, as a result of more organic processes? Just imagine: a near future where we still make a single product in large volumes, but we do so more randomly, intuitively, eclectically. This way, with advanced manufacturing techniques, consumers are offered more choice within a single product category."
So what do you think? On the surface it seems reasonable. To be able and buy an MP3 player like the Pebble and know that nobody else has the same exact one is tantalizing. Unfortunately our manufacturing processes have developed to master duplication not variation. We would have to develop whole new technologies in order to keep the consumer electronics peripherals market going. For example, an organic case for a Pebble MP3 player might just look like a silicon blob. Slip your Pebble inside and the blob molds to its shape. Fascinating!
via Gizmodo
Posted by tranism at 5:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
May 3, 2007
Vote For My Nokia N76!
Hey people, remember how nice I was to invite a whole mess of ya'll to Joost? Well now I ask you guys to help me out. I've entered three designs into the Nokia N76 design contest. Contest ends August 11th and the top 10 phones will be made by Nokia. Just click on the images above and that will take you directly to my page where you can rate my design. Give me 5-stars and help me win!
Please tell all your friends. Regular updates after the jump.
UPDATE 1: The grey is in 15th place.
UPDATE 2: The grey is in 17th place. Please vote!
UPDATE 3: The grey is in 11th place.
UPDATE 4: The grey is in 6th place. The white one is in 7th place!
UPDATE 5: The grey is in 5th place. The white and red have dropped way below.
UPDATE 6: The grey is in 4th place.
UPDATE 7: The grey is in 8th place.
UPDATE 8: The grey dropped to 45th. Help me out people!
UPDATE 9: I'm back up in 5th place. I love you guys!
UPDATE 10: Dropped to 42nd place.
UPDATE 11: In 6th place.
UPDATE 12: 346th place. Help me out people.
Posted by tranism at 4:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)