With the introduction of the Wraith earlier this month in Geneva, the Rolls-Royce line-up became a family. According to Design Director Giles Taylor, the Wraith is the masculine brother…
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Superior mousetraps have their public health benefits, but they’ve got nothing on condoms. Reinventing the modest but life-saving device (some 15 billion are produced each year) is among the latest round of “Grand Challenges Explorations,” an initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has previously thrown its substantial resources behind design-minded projects such as rethinking the toilet and, in parternship with IDEO, a human-centered approach to poverty-related challenges. Grand Challenges Explorations is ready to award $100,000 grants to anyone–students, scientists, entrepreneurs–with a transformative condom idea:
We are looking for a Next Generation Condom that significantly preserves or enhances pleasure, in order to improve uptake and regular use. Additional concepts that might increase uptake include attributes that increase ease-of-use for male and female condoms, for example better packaging or designs that are easier to properly apply. In addition, attributes that address and overcome cultural barriers are also desired. Proposals must (i) have a testable hypothesis, (ii) include an associated plan for how the idea would be tested or validated, and (iii) yield interpretable and unambiguous data in Phase I, in order to be considered for Phase II funding.
The entry process is as streamlined and agile as the grant-making program itself: simply complete the two-page online application. Puzzled by prophylactics? Check out the other new Grand Challenges topics, which include increasing interoperability of social good data and labor-saving innovations for women smallholder farmers.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Product news: Swiss designers Big-Game will present new products including a coat hanger, a tray and a hammer in Milan next month.
Called Everyday Objects, Big-Game‘s show at Galleria 70 will feature Cargo, a collection of items for Italian brand Alessi that were inspired by the aesthetic of Swiss toolboxes from the 1930s. There’s a pair of small trays for storing anything from tools to stationary, plus a hammer with an ash handle.
For Japanese brand Karimoku New Standard, the designers have produced the Castor table to match their earlier Castor chair and stool.
The Castor tables come flat-packed and once assembled can be easily stacked. The round legs sit level with the tabletops at each rounded corner, so the tables can still be placed side-by-side.
Also on show at the exhibition will be Beam, an aluminium and ash coat hook that borrows its form from the peg rails in American Shaker houses. Beam is designed for Danish brand Hay.
Previous Big-Game projects featured on Dezeen include a series of cork toy boats launched in 2011 and the Bold chair from 2007 (below), which will also be shown as part of the Everyday Objects exhibition. See more design by Big-Game on Dezeen.
Everyday Objects will take place at Galleria 70, Corso di Porta Nuova 36/38, from 9 to 14 April.
Photography is by Michel Bonvin.
Here’s some more information about each product from Big-Game:
BIG-GAME presents new everyday objects for Alessi, Hay, and Karimoku New Standard.
BEAM coat hanger, prototype for Hay
We were always fascinated by the peg rails found in American Shaker houses. Instead of hiding the mess, they somehow make it manageable. So when we were asked to think about something that could be in entrances, we readapted this idea with a metal profile. You can slide in the amount of hooks you want. It can be short or long depending on where you want to put it. You can also leave a note on it.
CARGO box, prototype for Alessi
A while ago, we were asked by Alberto Alessi to design “anonymous Swiss objects”. As a reference, he gave us the classic 30’s Swiss metal toolboxes.
Our idea was to make some universal plastic containers with a wooden handle, bringing the functionality of toolboxes to the home. The CARGO boxes can be used to store all kinds of things, from stationery to sewing gear, tools to kitchen stuff.
CARGO hammer, prototype for Alessi
As a part of the series, we also made a simple hammer (everybody needs one at home).
CARGO catch all, prototype for Alessi
Along with two boxes and the hammer, the CARGO series also includes a circular catchall tray inspired by the traditional Japanese wooden carrying boxes called okamochi.
CASTOR chair, product for Karimoku New Standard
To design the CASTOR chair, we were inspired by the ergonomics of the wooden chairs that you find in old Swiss cafés that are famously very comfortable. It’s made in Japan from solid oak by a company called Karimoku New Standard. The wood comes from trees that have irregular shapes and generally end up as paper pulp. The company’s motto is: An object made of wood has to live at least as long as the tree it was made from.
CASTOR tables, prototype for Karimoku New Standard
Part from the chair, the CASTOR family also includes a stool, a bench, a shelf, and two tables. The tables are designed to be flat packed. Even though the feet are on the outside, the round edge has just the right dimension so you can put two tables together. We made them compact, as we wanted them to fit into various sized interiors, as well as cafés and restaurants. The tables stack, and the rectangle is twice the size of the square, so it’s easy to assemble them in various configurations.
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by Big-Game appeared first on Dezeen.
Carlos De Carvalho et Aude Danset ont imaginé cette vidéo d’animation 3D appelée « Premier Automne ». Dans cette magnifique création de 10 minutes, Abel, enfant de l’hiver rencontre Apolline, enfant de l’été. Tous les deux, poussés par le désir de se connaître, vont apprendre à faire des compromis pour se protéger.
Photo by ElectroSpark
As we saw in Chevy’s old-vs.-new crash test, older doesn’t always mean safer, depending on the variables in a car crash; but looking at photos like the one above, it’s hard to deny that we really used to overbuild things. The A- and B-pillars on that ’69 Catalina don’t look all that thick, but as you can see, they didn’t crumple.
The photo is from ElectroSpark Studios, run by a Florida-based designer who’s made it his mission to “[Bring] you photos and ephemera liberated from the attics, garages and closets of America’s mid-century vacationers,” as he writes. “Most photos are from original Kodachromes for which I have a particular fondness of.” His Flickr photoset called Vintage Transportation is a pretty awesome browse—while it’s got plenty of cars in it like Remarkably Retro, he’s also got trains, planes and boats.
Photos by ElectroSpark
Speaking of planes, the Pontiac photo above reminded me of something else I’d seen:
That there is an astonishing reminder that America used to make ridiculously tough products: During combat in 1943, this B-17 Flying Fortress suffered a mid-air collision with a German Messerschmitt over Tunisia. The left horizontal stabilizer was completely ripped off, and as you can see, the fuselage itself was nearly torn in two. Take a closer look:
The mid-air photo was taken by a U.S. airman in a neighboring plane, who had seen the damaged plane start to go down… and then come back up, and fly level. He probably couldn’t believe his eyes. Despite the damage, the pilot flew the plane 300-something miles back to base in Algeria and landed it safely.
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wants a Model Maker & Prototyper
in Redmond
Do you love making appearance models and working prototypes? The Surface team at Microsoft is looking for a model maker / prototyper to join their team and help create the next generation of interactive devices for their platforms.
The job calls for someone who can do it all—from traditional methods of casting and finishing to 3D Printing using Pro/E. If you’re the kind who prefers the shop to the office then this is your call!
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When back to back meetings happening on two different sides of the world is a common work scenario, private jetting serves as more than an opulent way to get around—it becomes an essential way to save precious time. Not only can these aircraft…
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Yes, it does rain more often than not in the Pacific Northwest, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get out and enjoy the wilderness. To outfit all-weather adventurers this spring, Seattle-based hat brand Coal teamed up…
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We’ve got another remix to end the week on Dezeen Music Project and set you up for the long Easter weekend. Brighton-based DJ and producer Wilf Mason has sent us his chilled-out house reworking of Fiction by The xx.
You can listen to all the other remixes we’ve featured on Dezeen Music Project here.
About Dezeen Music Project | More tracks | Submit your track
The post Dezeen Music Project: Fiction (remix)
by Wilf Mason appeared first on Dezeen.
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