Hasta La Ideas

Beijing Design Week 2014: design studio Lava has created a set of symbols that take elements from both Chinese characters and Western graphics in the hope that they will be understood by people from both cultures (+ slideshow).

Lava‘s In a Simplified World system is designed to be used on signage around Beijing’s ancient hutong neighbourhoods, where the demographic of residents is increasingly diversifying.

Signs around Beijing are often written in combinations of Chinese, English and pinyin – Chinese written in the Latin alphabet.

The studio hopes that the new symbols could eradicate the need for this, reducing the size of intrusive placards and billboards.

Designers at Lava’s Beijing office researched the origins of Chinese characters, many of which are pictograms derived from images of what they exemplify.

“We started by looking at the traditional Chinese characters, how they build up,” Céline Lamée from Lava told Dezeen. “Then we looked at how symbols are used differently in the west and the east.”

They used this research to adapt and combine the characters with symbols commonly found on Western signage.

The result is a series of minimal pictures that all follow a consistent style, aiming to make them easier for people from all around the world to recognise.

“We want them to be as universal as possible,” said Lamée. “Some are really clear, while others are more abstract.”

Some of the new symbols are taken from international popular culture, like derivations of cartoons Hello Kitty to signify a cat and Miffy to represent a rabbit.

The team at Lava are currently experimenting with their writing, placing the signs around the hutongs on pieces of fabrics or as chalk drawings on the floor, and awaiting feedback from the residents.

“We put them on seats and walls, painting them with water so they’re temporary,” Lamée said. “The next step is to see if people respond to them.”

The designers have already created over 100 symbols and are continuing to expand the series.

“We’re going to develop them so we have more and more, finding out what is understood and what isn’t, and how to apply them in a nice way as we go,” said Lamée.

Lava, which was founded in the Netherlands in 1990, is presenting the project for this year’s Beijing Design Week, taking place across the Chinese capital until 3 October.

In a Simplified World is on display at the Quanyechang building, close to the Dashilar hutong – just south of Tiananmen Square.

It is one of several “pilot projects” initiated to sustain and improve this traditional residential area, as many others around the city have been destroyed to make way for urban development.

The post Lava combines western and eastern
symbols to create “universal” icons appeared first on Dezeen.

Nel maggio scorso i fazzoletti Tempo avevano lanciato un concorso tra gli studenti dello IED per disegnare una nuova serie di confezioni che reinterpretasse l’anima del brand: #PimpMyTempo Dell’iniziativa avevo già parlato su Elmanco, per invitare i lettori a scegliere la proposta preferita attraverso un contest online organizzato nella pagina Facebook di Tempo. Il 19 maggio è stata nominata vincitrice Nicoletta Santini, che si è aggiudicata un viaggio a New York per due persone e vedrà la propria creazione stampata su milioni di pacchetti di fazzoletti.

Il progetto di Nicoletta, intitolato “Decadi”, prevede 6 texture, ognuna emblematica di un decennio dal 1960 ad oggi: il periodo in cui i fazzoletti Tempo sono stati al fianco degli italiani. E’ un buon risultato, perché le texture grafiche sono piacevoli giocano in maniera intelligente con il nome e la storia del brand.
I nuovi pacchetti di fazzoletti #Tempo sono disponibili da settembre 2014 nei principali punti vendita…
Complimenti Nicoletta!

A winner of the Auto Design Prague: Talent of the Year Award, the Coupémotion concept follows in the footsteps of Bugatti’s “pur sang” design principle where lightness and modern aesthetics meet. To achieve this, it’s powered by 4 electric wheel hub engines which allow for both greater range as well as enhanced agility with each operating independently. As for styling, it harkens back to the original coupe where the passenger is fully enclosed while the driver is centered and partially covered.

Designer: Henri von Freyberg

–
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!
(Meet the eBugatti was originally posted on Yanko Design)

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This Tokyo shop by Schemata Architects features exposed industrial fittings and galvanised metal display rails that have been treated to produce a petrol-toned surface (+ slideshow).

Japanese clothing brand Cabane de Zucca commissioned Jo Nagasaka of Schemata Architects to redesign their retail space within luxury Tokyo department store Shibura Parco, to accommodate the addition of a new range.

Zucca Dayz is a new offshoot of Cabane de Zucca designed by Rikaki Nagashima, which aims to target a younger market and the brand’s next generation of clientele.

“When commissioned 
for the project, my initial thought was ‘Unbelievable. Can’t be true!’ 
because Cabane de Zucca Flagship in Omotesando was the shop I admired most
 when I was a boy fresh out of high school, although I was not a
 fashion-conscious type,” said architect Jo Nagasaka.

Nagasaka says he was influenced by the original decor of the shop that featured galvanised steel frames – an unusual choice of material for a shop interior at the time.

“The impression of the
 shop space still remains vivid in my memory,” said the architect.

“When I went to check the pre-renovated state of the existing shop at
 Shibuya Parco, the atmosphere of the shop had changed and it somewhat dimmed my
 memory. In order to regain the brilliant image, we resolved to design a
 space that is simple and sophisticated – and also stimulating our senses in
 a new way,” he said.

Nagasaka designed a new steel framework for the shop, differentiated from its predecessor by its chromate-treated finish. The treatment leaves a wash of petrol-toned colours on the surface of the metal.

Open-ended boxes and a raised platform used to display the products are constructed from the same material.

Clothing, spotlights and a set of curtains are hung from the structure; the latter encloses one of three fitting rooms located towards the back of the shop.

Two further fitting rooms and a stock room are located in a space boxed off by a white wall.

A “bulky” column in the centre of the space had previously been used to divide the brand’s womenswear and menswear collections. With the addition of the Zucca Dayz line the architect used the framework to reunify the space.

“Wrapped in the chromate treated steel frame, the central column is
 integrated as one of the spatial elements, creating continuity in the
 open shop space,” said the architect.

The architect has foregone a suspended ceiling to leave the ventilation pipes and workings of the building exposed.

Japanese designer Rikaki Nagashima, who is responsible for developing the Zucca Dayz brand, designed the products, packaging, graphics and
 display for the range.

“The proposed brand concept is ‘supermarket’, suggesting the products’ affordable price range, adaptability to daily-use, and familiarity,” said Nagashima.

Nagashima has incorporated supermarket motifs into the range, including a collection of printed T-shirts that feature women with slabs of red meat, fried eggs and slices of tomato omitting their faces.

The items are packaged in aluminium foil trays typically used for supermarket produce. These containers are sealed with barcoded stickers imitating supermarket price tags.

“These 
packages are simply stacked on top of each other, instantly provoking the 
semiotic image of a ‘supermarket’,” said the designer.

Photography is by Takumi Ota.

The post Schemata Architects refits Japanese clothing
store with petrol-hued display structure appeared first on Dezeen.

The Wondrous Water Towers of New York City by  Pop Chart Lab. Big pic!”This visual..(Read…)