Love this clever design for a Fire Extinguisher! It has several water bombs – or balls if you’d like to call them that, which can be used instantly for small fires. It’s definitely a radical redesign that I’m seeing for the first time. Several tweaks to it and you can have a brand new take on how to put out fires!
Designers: Zhang Zhicheng, Bu Jia, Bao Haimo & Xu Kun
– Yanko Design Timeless Designs – Explore wonderful concepts from around the world! Shop CKIE – We are more than just concepts. See what’s hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design! (Fire Bombs was originally posted on Yanko Design)
When I was still a motorist, I always owned small cars, and if I were to return to that mode of transportation, I probably will again. Maneuverability in NYC traffic and the all-important parallel-parkability are important to me, as is the fuel economy. But the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is revealing some ugly facts that I don’t want to confront.
I suppose it’s common sense that a smaller car has less mass and oughtn’t do as well as a larger car in a crash test, but seeing the actual footage is freaking terrifying. In the overlap crash test, where the barrier is offest and allows force to be concentrated on one corner of the car rather than distributed across the entirety of the front structure, the results look pretty grim:
If you’ve got a small car and want to see how your specific model did, the IIHS has posted their analysis and safety chart here, and they’ve broken the videos out individually here. Just be warned that you may not want to watch the latter.
Selçuk Yilmaz, artiste basé à Istanbul, a imaginé une incroyable sculpture de lion en utilisant pas moins de 4000 morceaux de ferraille. Cette superbe sculpture est intitulée « Aslan », qui signifie «lion» en turc, a mis près d’un an pour être construite et pèse plus de 250kg. De nombreuses images sont à découvrir dans la suite.
Squarespace’s $10 logo service has caused outrage among the design community on Twitter. But, Tom Actman argues, good designers should not be worried…
I saw the Squarespace Logo hullabaloo explode yesterday, but quickly tried to distance myself from it. This type of tech news story has, in social media terms, a two day lifespan; something that quickly annoys the majority until the next witch hunt begins on someone or something else.
In this instance, I felt that anyone marginally threatened by an online logo generator was likely in the wrong game. That certainly wasn’t me, so I was happy to move on.
But then I started thinking about the bigger problem here, and that unfortunately is designers themselves. Well respected creatives were openly expressing their disappointment of the news, as though Squarespace had let them down; as though Squarespace owed them something.
If you stand back to think about what Squarespace (and the Logo service) is, they’re under no obligation to seek the approval of anyone – they can do what they like, and have done. And good on them for it, too.
The issue for many it seems is that this new service cheapens their own offering, or somewhat undermines their own skills. Neither are the case. McDonald’s can comfortably exist alongside Michelin starred restaurant The Fat Duck. They both offer a culinary solution, but they’re not in competition with each other, or importantly, trying to be.
Squarespace’s Logo service isn’t in competition with the work of good designers. It’s merely a (pretty good) creative tool to help those visualise their own ideas.
Did Squarespace’s online web development tool put thousands of digital agencies out of business? A resounding no. And the same too applies to Squarespace Logo. This service after all operates in the $10 logo design market; a space hopefully very few designers are working in.
We’re in the time of the entrepreneur and everyone has a business idea. Some people have financial backing to bring their plans to life, and others don’t. Squarespace Logo exists for those who likely need a quick solution, or don’t yet have the budget to hire an experienced designer.
An important point that many seem to be missing is that this new service is actually getting design out in the open again. Branding is being talked about, better understood and appreciated.
I have two hopes for the outcome of this story (and people using Squarespace Logo):
1. The market gets saturated with bland and familiar logos, driving good clients towards great designers for better stand out.
2. Designers stop feeling insecure about those who are trying to move the industry forward.
I would ask that good designers continue to focus on doing brilliant work for brilliant clients, whilst at the same time better educating people in the value of design. There’s proven ROI in what we do, so look forwards to developing a service people can’t avoid using.
Clipart didn’t threaten the future of talented designers and agencies, and nor will Squarespace Logo. The next time such a story floods into your timeline, ignore it and concentrate on being a better designer.
Tom Actman co-founded design agency Mat Dolphin in 2009. See matdolphin.com. With Phil Cook he wrote about the agency’s experience of a low-cost logo design service in The £25 Logo, published on CR in 2012. Squarespace’s Anthony Casalena introduces the new Logo product at blog.squarespace.com.
This house in the Dutch city of Almere by Swedish architect Johan Selbing and Swiss landscape architect Anouk Vogel is completely covered in reflective glass to allow it to blend in with its surroundings (+ slideshow).
Selbing and Vogel designed the private house for a plot in an experimental housing development in Almere – a city that was only established in 1976 but now has over 195,000 residents – in response to a competition brief calling for a building that would relate to a site within a forest clearing.
The house’s simple boxy shape is constructed from an aluminium frame that supports panels of toughened mirrored glass, with a mirrored composite panel running around the top and bottom edges of the facade.
“The Mirror House is a private villa with a facade consisting entirely of reflective glass, which acts as a camouflage and an obstruction of the view of its interior,” explained the architects.
Doors sits flush against the facade and are only noticeable thanks to handles that project from the surface and a change in the ground level that rises to meet the height of the floor inside the building.
An entrance at the the side of the building leads into a compact interior with a home office at one end and master and guest bedrooms at the other.
Sliding partitions between these rooms and the open-plan kitchen and living space can be opened or closed to meet different requirements.
“Long sight lines in the interior make the house appear larger from the inside, and anchor it to its surroundings,” the architects pointed out.
Surfaces are covered in pale birch multiplex panels that compliment the light-filled interior and views of the nearby trees.
Built-in storage covers one wall and is punctuated by a secret window that looks onto the street but is invisible from outside.
Selbing and Vogel were one of twelve winning entrants in the design competition. They were invited to construct their building but had to source a client to pay for it.
“In dialogue with the client, the competition proposal was worked out to the smallest detail, taking a demand for optimum accessibility into consideration,” the architects added.
The Mirror House is a private villa with a facade consisting entirely of reflective glass, which acts as a camouflage and an obstruction of the view of its interior. The floor plan has been designed to be as compact as possible, with the possibility to adapt to different lifestyles. All interior walls are covered with a birch multiplex panel, whose warm appearance contrasts with the elegant and strict glass facade.
After De Realiteit and De Fantasie, the third edition of small experimental housing settlements in Almere has been launched under the title De Eenvoud. The brief of the competition called for an individual house with a strong relation to its surroundings. The twelve winning teams were given the possibility to realise their designs in an open area in the forest of Noorderplassen-West, but had to find the buyers of the houses themselves.
The Mirror House is a private villa with a facade consisting entirely of reflective glass, which acts as a camouflage and an obstruction of the view of its interior. The floor plan has been designed to be as compact as possible, with the possibility to adapt to different lifestyles. In dialogue with the client, the competition proposal was worked out to the smallest detail, taking a demand for optimum accessibility into consideration.
The original concept with a slightly raised floor (for a better view), sliding doors, built-in cupboards and a single-level layout, has therefore been further refined. Long sight lines in the interior make the house appear larger from the inside, and anchor it to its surroundings. All interior walls are covered with a birch multiplex panel, whose warm appearance contrasts with the elegant and strict glass facade.
Après un superbe projet d’illustrations, l’artiste belge Ben Heine revient avec un jeu de perceptions en 3D en n’utilisant qu’un crayon et une grande feuille blanche. Rien qu’en dessinant, l’artiste apporte une nouvelle dimension à une surface plane qui nous donne envie de plonger dans son univers en noir et blanc.
Every day at Unclutterer, we share tips, tricks, thoughts, and strategies for a clutter-free lifestyle. As 2014 begins, I want to step back and see the proverbial forest instead of the trees. Just what are the benefits of being organized? It’s potentially a long list, but I’ve narrowed it down to what has affected me the most. Read on for what I consider the benefits of an organized life, at home and at work.
Less stress. Above anything else, this is the number one reason I burn calories to stay on top of things. Here’s a great example: This year, I’m making a concerted effort to keep my office neat and tidy (I work from home and my office is also my bedroom). I added a bulletin board and have designated a home for everything: inbox, keys, wallet, office supplies, charger cables, and more. Now, when I need something, I know exactly where it is. This fact reduces stress and allows me to …
Relax more. I once saw a bumper sticker that read, “Organized people are just too lazy to search for stuff.” That’s cute, but I’d rather be the “lazy” one mentioned in the punchline. Less time spent running around means more time. Just, more time to do what I want to do, like …
Spend time with my family. Getting clean and clear professionally and personally means I’ve got more time to spend with the kids and my wife. For example, my workday ends at 2:00, just as I drive to the school bus. I know that I’ll be spending the next six hours with my family. That’s easy to do when I took care of all my work stuff before then.
I’m ready for a curveball. I’m sure you know how this goes: life throws a kink into the works that interrupts your plans in a major way. Being prepared ahead of time lessens the impact. For example, I have a designated “emergency” office and ultra-portable setup ready. That way, if my Internet connection goes down at home, or a construction crew sets up outside my window, I already know where I’m going to go to work and what I need to bring.
The overwhelming seems manageable. I never would have believed this if I hadn’t experienced it myself. I don’t care if you’re talking about work, the kids, or home management, but it’s a great feeling to have every project defined, and every action step that stands between you and “done” clearly identified. When I do this, I can look at a daunting to-do list and feel like I’m on top of it and capable of doing what needs to be done.
Improved health. The stress I mentioned earlier, which I feel when things start to get out of control, does not promote good health. There are numerous studies that demonstrate a link between sustained high levels of stress and a variety of health problems.
I’m a better example for my kids. There was a time when I spent most of my time behind my computer, working on this or that. I felt productive, sure, but I also worried about the message I was sending to the kids. Adults work all the time? My job is more important than them? I want my kids to become productive, contributing adults, of course, but I want them to enjoy life, too, and that absolutely includes time spent not working.
Fewer little jobs. There are four people in my house. If we miss a day or two of laundry, we’re behind. That means that, some day this week, someone has to spend an inordinate amount of time digging out from Mt. Clothing in the basement. However, just turning over a single load per day makes all the difference. Little things like making sure the kids put their hats and boots away each day after school improves our family’s ability to easily function.
Greater productivity. When you know where things are, what your goals are, and take care of the piddley busy work as it appears, you’ve got significantly more time and energy for the big goals in life.
An organized life takes some doing, and you’re going to slip up. No one is clean and clear all day, every day! But when you strive to do the best you can, you’ll experience the benefits listed above … and more. Here’s to an organized and rewarding 2014, unclutterers! May you experience the best of an organized life.
Started by the industrial design pioneer Walter Dorwin Teague in 1926, Teague is not exaggerating when it calls itself “the original design consultancy.” And it continues to innovate today, with offices in Munich and Seattle, a staff of 200 designers and clients like Kodak, Boeing and Microsoft. Alysha Naples, Teague’s interaction design manager, describes the firm’s work as looking five to ten years into the future of technology. For Teague’s designers, it’s not enough to ask what hovercrafts will look like in seven years, but also to anticipate the kinds of problems such technology might create. Naples is in charge of hiring, team-building and staffing projects for her team; when working for clients, she also acts as creative director.
Can you walk us through your process for hiring a new industrial designer?
There are two ways that we do new hires. One is through business planning. At the end of the year, we plan ahead in terms of what we’re going to need to keep doing the kind of work that we want to do. We ask ourselves, “Given the work we did last year, were we regularly short in a particular area?” During that process, we also decide if we want to grow a particular area or introduce a new one. And then the other way we hire is when people leave the company or get promoted into another role, and there is an opening that needs to be filled.
Once we decide we’re going to hire for a new job, we write the job description and turn it over to the recruiting department. Then the job is posted on our website and on all of the usual design places, like Core77. Then I review each application myself and will either reject candidates if they’re not qualified, or put them in a pile of people I’m interested in. From there, I do phone interviews, starting with the applicants who are the best fit or the most interesting. Before I do a phone interview, I ask our recruiters to do a phone screen. They’ll screen for things like your ability to work in U.S. We get a lot of really wonderful and qualified candidates from outside the United States, but we’ve had a hard time with visas; often, if it’s a position we need to fill right away, we can’t move forward if the candidate doesn’t have U.S. work clearance.
Phone interviews are a one-on-one between the candidate and myself. We talk a little bit about Teague, what it’s like to work here, who we are and what we do. Then I ask candidates about their interests and why they’re interested in working here, and I ask them to walk me through a project in their portfolio that they’re most proud of, or that came out closest to how they intended. After that I ask them to tell me about a project—often these aren’t in their portfolio—that did not go how they intended.
If I’m excited about the candidate at this point, the recruiting team will set up a group interview in person, and we’ll fly them out to Seattle if needed. They’ll interview with the entire team, plus a couple other members of the studio that I will pick specifically based on the position. I like to get a balanced set of feedback. Each of the different disciplines in the studio really brings its own lens, so it’s really nice to see someone through all of those.
La designer américaine Anne Patterson a fait une élégante installation pour célébrer les 100 années de musique à la « Grace Cathedral » de San Francisco. Une création visuelle avec une vraie correspondance entre son et lumière où des rubans servent de trompes-l’oeil pour symboliser des faisceaux lumineux.
by Heather Stewart Feldman Italian company Wood’d makes tech accessories and other objects from wood and leather, seamlessly blending modern aesthetics and processes with artisan woodworking skills and techniques. Determined to contribute to the future of…
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
Teague Labs’ 
Alysha Naples, Teague’s interaction design manager
