If you’ve ever owned an expensive pair of headphones, you’ll have noticed that all your music sounds good when it plays through them. Cheaper headphones usually don’t have balanced sound, making them good for only one or two genres of music. Now here’s something worth thinking about. What if you had different headphones for different types of music? Bass heavy headphones for your dance music, mid-range for pop or rock, and a good deal of treble for classical. Owning three headphones would be a bit annoying, wouldn’t it? Well, Krome compresses three headphones into one with its modular design. The outer frame comes with three pairs of audio drivers that you can easily switch between so you have a completely tailor-made music experience. The Wob Wob driver in silver takes care of your bass heavy tunes. The golden Rock drivers deliver a clean mid-range and nice highs, so that you hear the distorted guitars and vocals with ease. Te Rose Gold Hi-Fi drivers have a well-rounded balanced sound that is perfect for lossless audio, especially classical music. Isn’t that just cool?! Imagine being able to identify people’s music tastes by looking at which audio driver they use. What a neat way to listen to music AND socialize!
Who better to report on the imminent redesign of Philippines daily newspaper the Daily Inquirer than a reporter from that publication? As Juliet Labog-Javellana notes at the top her article, the man tasked with overseeing that transformation, New York-based Dr. Norman García (pictured), has over the years been involved with hundreds of media brands.
This, though, is the 69-year-old’s first project in the Philippines. García first visited the Inquirer newsroom in April of 2015 and is back there this week ahead of Thursday’s scheduled launch:
“Many well-designed newspapers have ceased to exist, while many not-so-beautiful newspapers continue to thrive. Why? Because the content has been essential to the lives of its readers,” Garcia said in an interview for this article.
“My background and training are those of a journalist. So in each project I have emphasized the importance of the good story, with design there to package it and to make it more accessible,” he said.
García, 69, blogs actively and enthusiastically about his various projects. He will be sharing several posts this week in advance of the Oct. 6 unveil. He also, for the Inquirer write-up, highlighted his all-time favorite project. Hint: It’s a newspaper in South America.
Snap judgments play a heavy role in the world of cycling. And now, Warwickshire, UK—based agency DCA Design has a proposal to give cyclists even more necessary information to make decisions quickly and safely. Their proposal for Optic, the winner of……
Basée à Bordeaux, l’artiste Juliette Clovis crée des bustes féminins en céramique semblables à des androïdes, à des extra-terrestres voire des créatures fantasmagoriques tout droit sorties d’un conte pour enfant. À découvrir dans la suite et sur son site.
There was nary an Arduino in sight at Electro Craft, a dense London Design Festival exhibition in the heart of Shoreditch Design Triangle. A showcase of design at various points where arts and crafts meet technology, the jam-packed show gives a first impression of overstimulation, with nearly 30 projects — often characterized by lights, sounds, movement — into the modest gallery space.
Rive Roshan – “Circadian Tapestry” – The textiles slowly “scrolls” as an abstract representation of the passage of time.
Of course, the sense of creative and sensory surfeit may well have been initiator Tord Boontje’s goal. Liberated from client briefs and manufacturing constraints, the designers in Electro Craft are largely lucky ones who take a hyphenated designation; designer-makers, -authors, -artists and -craftspeople abound. Technological though they may be, the projects have less to do with products by Apple and Google — in an introductory essay, Professor Gareth Williams cites Peter Behrens and AEG as the progenitor of packaging innovation for mass-production — and more to do with applying craft processes and the DIY spirit to the inescapable sense of connectivity in contemporary life.
Inasmuch as each and every project demanded a modicum of attention from the viewer, Electro Craft succeeded in Boontje’s mission statement to “give a flavor of wonderful work in the area of electronics.” If the specular backdrop — crinkled sheets of mylar — unfortunately felt less like a futuristic funhouse than being inside a bag of potato chips (er, crisps), it was worth spending some time to savor the exhibition as food for thought.
Here is a selection of projects in Electro Craft, all of which are catalogued on the exhibition website. Those of you in London can also check it out in person at 23 Charlotte Road, London, EC2A 3PB, where it is on view until October 15, 2016.
Wonseok Jung – “The Time Belt” – The designer, who studied Robotics Engineering at the RCA, scaled up the micro-processor component into a wall clock.
Poetic Lab – “Silo Clock” – After a year of development, the functional kinetic sculpture is in production via Poetic Lab’s sister company Beyond Object.
Now that cycling is officially the greenest and most hipster mode of transport, we should tech it up a bit. DCA Optic is a helmet for bikers that gives you an augmented reality cycling experience. The Helmet comes with two cameras mounted on the front and back that not only monitor traffic, but also guide you through obstacles, allowing you to optimize your ride time and effort. The cameras also actively record data, for surveillance purposes. Who needs one of those stunt cam GoPros when your helmet not only protects you, but records everything in first person! Plus AR? Massive win!
The Optic is a Best of Best Award winner at the Red Dot Design Awards 2016.
O+ est une organisation artistique. A l’occasion de la journée internationale de la paix, elle a présenté une installation composée de colombes en origami fait en papier recyclé. Cette oeuvre a été réalisée par 4 artistes : Raja Elhasi, Mohammed Omar, Ali Abulgasim, Nosiba Elsabri. Elle est présentée au coeur de Benghazi en Libye, dans une maison endommagée par la guerre. Les photos de cette installation artistique par Ali Algargouri sont à découvrir ci-dessous.
Dezeen promotion: the programme for this year’s Istanbul Design Biennial has been announced, featuring over 70 projects that explore the relationship between design and the human species over the last 200,000 years.
The third Istanbul Design Biennale has unveiled its full programme of events and exhibitors, which includes Art Fiction by François Dallegret
Entitled Are We Human? The Design of the Species, the third edition of the Istanbul Design Biennial will run from 22 October to 20 November 2016.
All of the projects, including A Minor History of Cyborg Man by Lydia Kallipoliti and Andreas Theodoridis, respond to the theme of Are We Human?
The show is curated by husband-and-wife duo Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley. In an exclusive interview with Dezeen, the pair –who teach architecture at Princeton and Columbia respectively – said they have planned their show as “an attack on good design”.
Over 70 projects will explore the relationship between design and the human, like Welcome to the Anthropocene by Globaïa
The exhibition will explore four themes: the body, the planet, life and time. It will include over 70 projects by exhibitors from 13 countries, including designers, architects, artists, historians, archaeologists and scientists.
Joyce Hsiang and Bimal Mendis’ City of 7 Billion will also be showcased
Contributors include architect Stefano Boeri, artist Tacita Dean, digital design studio Marshmallow Laser Feast, “body architect” Lucy McRae, architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and sculptor and photographer Thomas Demand.
“Designing the Body section of the biennial explores all the different ways in which the human body itself is an artefact that is continually reconstructed, from the unique way our hands work to the latest research on the brain,” said the organisers.
Marshmallow Laser Feast, Analog, FBFX and Duologue will showcase their project Memex
“Designing the Planet presents a series of projects that ask us to rethink the human design of vast territories and ecologies,” they continued. “Designing Life looks at the new forms of mechanical, electronic and biological life that are being crafted.”
“Designing Time presents a new kind of archaeology ranging from the deep time of the very first human tools and ornaments to the ways in which social media allows humans to redesign themselves and their artefacts in as little as two seconds.”
Daft Punk by Mauser will feature under the Designing the Body section
The exhibition also features three initiatives, including The Open Call for Videos, which has received over 200 submissions from 36 countries, and the Superhumanity collaboration with E-flux that will present more than 50 international writers.
Domi Mora will showcase Manchas Mies, alongside a variety of other contributors that include “body architect” Lucy McCrae
The Turkey Design Chronology project, which is an inventory of design and working library created by an interdisciplinary group of experts in Turkey, will also be showcased.
Politico is bringing its Off Message and Nerdcast podcasts to Panoply, a podcast network.
“This partnership will make it easier for our listeners to tune in each week, as well as for new listeners to discover our compelling content,” said Politico president Poppy MacDonald, in an announcement. “Panoply will help to ensure we’re well-positioned to continue to grow our podcast audience.”
Off Message is hosted by Glenn Thrush, and offers a behind-the-scenes take on the presidential campaign trail. Nerdcast also features coverage of the presidential race and “backstage dope on how politics really works.”
What’s lunch without a little design challenge? Last week 250 of us gathered in sunny downtown Los Angeles for the 2016 Core77 Conference. After hearing a morning of talks on storytelling and human-centered design in the age of technology, we gathered for a lunch break in the Vibiana courtyard for a little head-to-head design competition.
Each attendee was presented with a notecard outlining one of three design challenges. Each person was encouraged to sketch, sculpt or explain an awesome product concept solution in under an hour. Not only did everyone rise up to the challenge, they went above and beyond!
A view of the Idea Wall in situ
We gave the conference three different prompts to tackle of their choosing. Out of all of the submissions, we chose ten of our favorites, handing out a Core77 Designing Here/Now book featuring Core77 Design Awards winners. Here are a few of our favorite responses to the three design prompts:
QUESTION 1: To reduce food and environmental waste, propose a creative solution for edible food packaging that can both prolong the shelf life of food and reduce landfill.
The Edi-Pak by Ben Anik, Olivia Lee and Dipti Sonawane
This clever solution to edible ramen packaging really caught our eye with its thorough model and descriptive instructions. The concept includes conventional outside packaging that incorporates your silverware. The outer sheath protects a compressed shell made of a mix of different herbs and spices. Inside this shell rests the noodles, which can be dropped into a boiling pot of water—shell included—making for a completely edible package concept.
Locking Coconut Husk by Liam Gee
This interesting solution inspired by the shape of baseballs combined both the organic with the technical by utilizing coconut fibres treated with honey and egg that can encase a complementary snack inside.
QUESTION 2: Imagine a useful work robot friend for the year 2056—what does it do and how does it look?
The Jesterbot by IBM Design’s @whereismeersman + the Emotional IQ Robot by Peter B
A common concept we saw in the work robot categories were bots that helped extend one’s own consciousness, one being the “Jesterbot”—this little guy would hypothetically absorb many different cues from you and your environment to help you decide what needs to get done for the day. Another winner was a robot that learned to acquire emotional intelligence over time in order to help you with complex human-to-human problems you may be challenged with on a daily basis.
Uni-Courier by Jeff Brummer
We couldn’t help but notice this concept was probably inspired by the audience anticipation of the upcoming Hyperloop presentation that followed our lunch break—the “Uni-Courier” is a great concept for a robot that could help deliver packages to different recipients quickly and easily using the power of propulsion technology.
QUESTION 3: Create a shoe that end users can grow, hack, or DIY using future technologies. How does technology allow consumers to improve their mobility or fulfill everyday needs?
Mystique by Frog Design
Frog Design really went all out with their submission, providing us with both a detailed explanation as well as some exploratory models. Their shoe concept incorporates different ‘modes’ for one pair of shoes with different terrains (looks like there’s an everyday, hiking and even an ice skating mode!)
Shoe Platform by Joel Fariss and Sabrina Dorsainvil
We were thrilled to see participating designers in this lunch challenge throwing out ideas that felt truly radical and thoughtful. The designers behind this shoe concept really turned the idea behind on the prompt on its head by proposing a digital solution that allowed consumers to have full control over the final form of their shoe, including customized arch support as well as a large number of stylistic choices for a hyper-personalized product.
Join in on the fun: do you have a good solution to one of these prompts? Share your idea with us in the comment feed below!
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