Well whaddya know! No home button!

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Yes. I know. We ALL know. You know who released the latest you know what. But not everyone is so amped about the X! Those who find it a tad… redundant… might be more inclined to like the SAY2 smartphone.

What we know about the guts is this: 5.5” AMOLED display, 128GB memory, 8MP front camera, 12.3MP rear camera. Now let’s just get to the looks. It’s almost easier to talk about what it’s NOT. It’s not rounded. It’s not square. It doesn’t have a home button (BTW – that’s nothing new). It doesn’t have any irritating breaks in the frame or face. It doesn’t have any awkward bevel raise. What it is, however, is likable. Except for maybe that too-casual turquoise color. But, other than that, totally likable!

Designer: blueMap design

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Play your Spotify along with Vinyl!

I remember reading an article sometime back that had the headline “The MP3 is dead”, and I instantly thought to myself, “What in fresh hell”. I express this frustration because in just 26 years of my life, I’ve seen the Vinyl, the Cassette, the CD, the MP3 (or the digital download), and the online streaming service come and replace its predecessor. What I’m eventually left with is a collection of mediums and a library of songs scattered across several mediums. If I want to hear my grandfather’s old jazz collection, I need to go to Vinyl, whereas if I want to hear something contemporary, I either need to have a digitally downloaded file, or an internet connection to access the music online (with a paid subscription).

However, the two most accepted mediums today still remain the digital file (both online and offline) and the Vinyl. While the digital file is convenient in countless ways, it seldom matches up to a Vinyl’s reproduction of audio. Analog audio still remains ‘warmer’ and has a natural quality to it that sounds pleasing to one’s ears.

The+Record Player recognized the two superior formats and combines them into an all-in-one product. It’s a stellar record player, built with the highest quality materials (a Pro-Jet turntable featuring a carbon fiber tonearm and an Ortofon 2M Red MM Phono Cartridge), capable of 33/45 rpm vinyl playback. However, the record player also features wireless connectivity, allowing you to pair it with a Google Chromecast or an Amazon Echo, and giving you the power to stream online music through your vinyl player!

The+Record Player comes with its own high-fidelity speaker setup. Built with two 1-inch soft-dome tweeters and two compact long-throw aluminum-cone woofers, the speakers generate rich bass and silky smooth high-ends. Each speaker driver even has its own dedicated amplifier channel, with discrete sonic contouring, so your music sounds incredible, whether it’s coming from the vinyl or from your online music subscription service. While doing this, the player features state-of-the-art turntable isolation that prevents audio feedback and vibrations from the speakers affecting the turntable. This isolation allows the turntable and speaker to be placed close to each other ensuring the product remains compact, while even going on to deliver full-range audio that’s crystal clear and doesn’t compromise on the low-end bass-notes. The+Record Player even features a stereo-widening Wide Mode that makes you feel like you’re listening to music on two separate hi-end speakers rather than from the record player’s speakers itself. Plus, with Bluetooth capabilities and an Aux input, you can even choose to plug in or connect your own speakers to the+record player. To up the ante, the player even comes with a 2-way USB port that allows you to rip audio from your vinyls onto a laptop or computer! That’s just in case you’re one of those wireless audio evangelists.

The+Record Player like its capabilities boasts of a past meets present aesthetic. Using wooden veneers with a clean design language and a rather advanced control panel (and even a wireless remote), The+Record Player combines together vintage and minimally modern in a Scandinavian-esque package that looks great and sounds great no matter where it’s kept. Plus, you won’t have to worry about owning two separate machines to listen to Vinyl and to stream music online… plus with The+Record Player’s audio set up, you probably won’t be able to tell the difference between the two!

Designer: Alexander Åhnebrink

BUY NOW: $700.00 $1200.00

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In Maple Veneer

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In Walnut Veneer

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Pro-Ject Carbon Fiber Tonearm with Anti-Skate

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Award-Winning Ortofon 2M Red MM Phono Cartridge

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BUY NOW: $700.00 $1200.00

Now you can smell an internet data breach

Our nose, or even the mammalian nose, is a rather powerful indicator of danger. Animals have their ways of gauging scenarios based on smells, often sniffing out threats that are up to a mile away. The same goes for humans. No matter where we are, we instantly go into code-red the minute we sniff something burning. Be it anything from food to wire, to plastic, electronics, or other objects.

Imagine adding that sensorial experience to another type of threat. Our internet security. What if we could instantly perceive danger if we could smell something burning and immediately know our internet security was at risk? It involves tying our reptilian brain to something much more advanced. Dutch designer Leanne Wijnsma received a grant from the Dutch Cultural Media Fund to research and develop her project, the Smell of Data, in collaboration with filmmaker Froukie Tan. Wijnsma created a scent dispenser and a unique scent that indicates a data breach when released. Users connect their internet-ready devices to the dispenser via WiFi. The dispenser will recognise when the user visits an unprotected website or an unsecured WiFi network or hotspot and will release a puff of the Smell of Data as a warning signal.

The Smell of Data device doesn’t protect you from data breaches, but if paired with a decent security measures, could work towards indicating exactly when data breaches occur… and while being able to smell your internet ‘burning’ may not be the most effective solution, it’s a great example of design for the senses, linking the fight-or-flight part of our brain with a domain that’s very new, very virtual… and while the online security doesn’t necessarily pose a threat to a human’s physical well-being, being secure online is very slowly becoming just as important!

Designer: Leanne Wijnsma

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The laptop with a card for a soul

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As we come to terms with the fact that Intel has shrunk raw computing power into something that literally slides into your pocket, here’s one of the first and foremost products that teams up with Intel’s vision to provide a simple easy approach to computing that involves just swiping cards every time you want to upgrade.

The Nexdock is a hybrid laptop that uses Intel’s Compute Card to turn into a powerful machine with Intel’s magic at its heart. The sheer beauty of Nexdock is in the fact that it can limit itself to the bare minimum and therefore boast of an incredibly sleek design that relies on the Compute Card for its processing power. Basically just a touchscreen, battery, and Compute Card dock, the Nexdock is razor slim, with a thick base that houses a battery, the docking system for the card, and modules that allow you to connect cables and peripherals for the Nexdock. It even comes with a kickstand that allows the Nexdock to stand at any angle.

Not only does this make the Nexdock a laptop that’s as powerful as you want it to be (based on the Compute Card you buy), it also means that you’ll never find it going obsolete. The Nexdock’s life cycle could be as much as five times larger than the life cycle of the average laptop, because hardware upgrades can be done by simply switching Compute Cards… therefore making it a machine that stays with you for longer, and doesn’t end up in a landfill after a newer model is launched.

Designer: Emre Kosmaz (Nex Computer)

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Personified lace creations by Agnes Herczeg

Agnes Herczeg, l’artiste hongroise qui personnifie la dentelle. Son savoir-faire de la dentellerie et de la broderie lui permet de réaliser ces créations à la fois poétiques et délicates. L’artiste utilise des morceaux de bois qu’elle habille adroitement de dentelle colorée. Elle y façonne des personnages empreints d’une certaine sensibilité et d’une histoire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 









Mickey Mouse in an Impressive Anamorphic Artwork

Le collectif Truly Design, fondé en 2007 par quatre street artistes issus du graffiti, revient en France avec une toute nouvelle oeuvre. Leur création se porte cette fois-ci sur le célèbre personnage de Disney : Mickey Mouse.

Reprenant les codes graphiques de la plus fameuse souris de la planète : un grand cercle pour la tête, deux petits pour les oreilles, culotte courte rouge et chaussures jaune, Truly Design compose une anamorphose gigantesque qui joue avec les volumes et les perspectives. Monté sur dix panneaux de bois installés dans un jeu de parallèle, le personnage de Mickey haut de presque trois mètres se révèle à celui qui trouve le point d’observation précis.


© Benoit Florençon

Issus de la culture urbaine, les artistes du collectif n’hésitent pas à reprendre les codes du graffiti. Dans cette version street art, Mickey, imaginé par Walt Disney en 1928, arbore désormais une casquette à l’envers et quelques bombes de peinture, accompagnés d’une signature typographique à la manière de Disney.

Spécialisé dans la réalisation d’anamorphoses monumentales, le collectif est connu pour sa maîtrise de la composition d’illusion d’optique. Ils font une nouvelle fois leurs preuves à travers cette réalisation inédite qui offre au spectateur une immersion grandiose et colorée dans l’univers créatif de Mickey.


© Benoit Florençon

Pour découvrir une nouvelle facette créative de Mickey Mouse, rendez-vous du 6 au 26 septembre à l’entrée principale du BHV Marais, une opération inaugurée par We Love Art Agency, en partenariat avec Fubiz.


© Benoit Florençon


© Benoit Florençon


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© Truly Design






Colorful and Stylish Illustrations by Billy Clark

Diplômé de la Norwich School of Art, Billy Clark réalise des illustrations d’inspirations pop. Parfois simples, parfois complexes, celles-ci détonent par l’important panel de couleurs qui les constituent. Qu’il s’agisse de portraits ou de mises en scène d’objets, l’artiste arrive toujours à afficher une certaine cohérence dans ce qui s’apparente à un joyeux capharnaüm.










Twin Peaks Posters by Cristiano Siqueira

Cristiano Siqueira l’avait annoncé dès l’annonce du remake de Twin Peaks : chacun des dix-huit épisodes aurait droit à son poster. Pour l’instant, l’artiste tient promesse. Avec un style de dessin digne des meilleurs comics, l’illustrateur brésilien a rendu hommage à l’univers de la série créée en 1990 par David Lynch à travers une collection de seize oeuvres.















Design Job: Create Something New as Teague's Mechanical Designer in Seattle, WA

The Mechanical Designer works closely with TEAGUE’s mechanical and industrial designers, interaction designers, researchers, and strategists to create unique mechanical systems solutions for our clients in the transportation and technology industries. This role demands a passion for collaborative problem solving, as well as a strong foundation in mechanical design, along with expertise in product development.

View the full design job here

The Launch of Kickstarter Japan and the Projects You Can Expect to See

Yesterday, Kickstarter opened up its platform to Japan, further expanding its reach to welcome creators in the incredibly innovative country. Not only are they opening their platform, they are also making the backend experience easier for Japanese creators through offering customer service, the website and mobile app in Japanese. 

For the launch of the expanded platform, Kickstarter filled its roster with some rather exciting campaigns. Our favorites include those that rethink transportation methods and update traditional Japanese craft:

A snowboard accessory that transforms your board into a bike. Merging X Game sports seems to be a trend amongst transportation designers, and we’re along for the ride.

CrossHelmet is a smart motorcycle helmet with sound control and 360 degree visibility. We can’t help but picture the motorcycle gang of the future wearing these and communicating during rides.

These traditional Japanese woodblock prints depicting epic video game character battles brings together two things worth nerding out over—video games and process porn.

Given this taste of what we can expect from Japanese designers, engineers and entrepreneurs, we’re excited to see what the country brings to the crowdfunding table next.