Hasta La Ideas

An explosive year for iPhone apps, in the final days of 2009 we now have over 100,000 to choose from making it possible to do everything from dictating text to
learning about the Greek Gods right from our fingertips. While many offer valuable solutions for chefs or designers, some are just plain fun, such as 55DSL‘s digital take on the classic arcade game WhackAMole (pictured above). Cool Hunting highlighted several during 2009, but below we culled our favorites of those featured.

FlightTrack Pro

FlightTrack Pro syncs up with Tripit itineraries, keeping users in the know about gate changes, delays, cancellations and current weather conditions with its elegantly designed interface that displays details and maps. In addition, an offline mode affords viewing up-to-date information at 30,000 feet, keeping passengers informed even when already en route.

MyPantone

For color lovers or designers, myPantone gives users easy access to the Pantone color libraries, serving as an on-the-go color reference guide. The application not only makes discovering new hues a snap, it also affords the user the ability to create and share color palettes, while also saving and storing them for later comparison.

Zipcar

While a few glitches continue to plague it, the Zipcar app allows members to locate, reserve
and unlock cars in the fleet. The app sorts cars by hours of availability, type or model, and the device’s virtual key fob unlocks the designated car or truck from a close distance or honks the horn if it’s lost among a sea of parked cars.

Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meals

Boasting 50 new recipes, 21 technique teaching videos, step-by-step pictures illustrating the instructions and recipes, the app makes whipping up one of the Brit chef’s tasty meals a snap. Accompanied by a rundown of ingredients used, each recipe links directly to an interactive, sharable shopping list that sorts by aisle and provides a way to satisfyingly cross off items—it’s almost as good as having Jamie in your kitchen.

TED Talks

Aggregating the latest audio and video from the TED talks and conferences—the quarter-century old nonprofit based on Technology, Education and Design—the search function sorts through the hundreds of speakers and a bookmarking feature marks favorites.

Feeling guilty that the crop of new gizmos you received as holiday gifts means junking the old ones? Get thee to Greener Gadgets! Now gearing up for its third incarnation, the conference explores sustainable alternatives for the electronics we use daily, including those sleek portable devices that are to blame for the charger thickets choking your electrical outlets. The 2010 Greener Gadgets conference will take place on Friday, February 25 in New York City, and the organizers are now putting the finishing touches on the schedule. Among the confirmed speakers are keynoters Yves Behar, founder of fuseproject, and Robert Fabricant, vice president of creative for frog design. Other confirmed presenters include Treehugger’s Jaymi Heimbuch, Dwell senior editor Sarah Rich, and Jeff Omelchuck, founder of the Green Electronics Council and director of EPEAT, the global green certification program for electronics. Rounding out the schedule is a session that will feature the top entries in the Greener Gadgets design competition, which is accepting design-savvy and sustainable submissions until next Thursday.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Featured Forum Topic of the Day:
Economy and Freelance rates
by PackageID in design employment

I have noticed that there is work being done for much lower prices on the freelance end. It seems more and more clients are being able to find people that will do work for extreme prices that under cut the seasoned designers…I know that we have to change with the times, but how far do we take it?

>> Read and Reply

(more…)

If you’ve been following museum news at all in 2009 (especially here on UnBeige), you’d probably say the top theme has been that it hasn’t been very stable to work in the museum industry lately. Between layoffs, hiring freezes, and whole museums shutting their doors completely, one would say that the year wasn’t so kindly to museum employees across the board. So it came with some surprise to learn that maybe that assumption wasn’t 100% correct, at least if you take US News & World Report‘s “America’s Best Careers 2010” on its word, with its inclusion of museum curator among its top picks in the Creative and Service category. They predict that there will be thousands of new openings within the next few years, despite the blow suffered this year. We’re still not entirely convinced, but hey, here’s hoping for the best, right? Here’s a bit:

The number of curators is expected to rise by 23 percent, well above the average rate for all careers. Between 2008 and 2018, there will be 2,700 new positions added. However, some museums have struggled in the recession, which puts additional pressure on those who take these jobs. Competition for curatorial positions may be steep. Those who don’t rise to the top may seek related work as museum technicians, archivists, or researchers.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Ever seen a Christmas tree made out of meat, radioactive Christmas balls or festive superheroes with ‘needles of pain’? Hundreds of Christmas tree-like objects, sculptures, installations, graphics and videos were gathered at the sixth episode of the “Oh Tannenbaum!” Christmas tree exhibition between the 16th and 21st of December at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design. Core contributor Aart van Bezooyen traveled through Germany’s snow-white landscape to discover a colorful forest with tree-like objects, sculptures, installations, graphics, videos and a bit of Christmas magic. Enjoy and best wishes to all!

>> View Gallery

(more…)