Hasta La Ideas

The fact that it’s mid-December already, means two things. The holidays, and the new year. It’s a time to get together with family, friends, and even co-workers to share the warm feeling of joy that beats the cold temperatures of wintertime. The YD Holiday Gift Guide is our way of spreading the joy too! We’ve got a selection of products we love (and that we know you’ll love too), to own or to gift to a loved one. They’re sure to enrich lives, bring about smiles, and make the season of giving truly a remarkable one! A very happy holiday season from the YD family!
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01. Pantone Formula Guide (Color Of The Year 2019 Edition) by Pantone
To normal people, you give calendars and planners around the new year. To designers, you give Pantone’s Formula Guide with the latest color of the year! With 2019 being all about happiness and optimism, Pantone’s Color of 2019 is Living Coral, a beautiful, heartwarming shade of, let’s say red. The Formula Guide comes in two booklets, with coated (glossy) and uncoated (matte) hues listed on each. Aside from the regular Formula series of 1,867 solid colors, the Color Of The Year edition even comes with the additional 112 colors of the new year, and even access to Pantone’s Color Manager Software that lets you have digital access to the hues for use in your work!

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02. Ember Connected Copper Mug by Ember
Nothing’s more magical than a mug that heats its contents on its own. The Ember Temperature Control Mug, a product that we love, now comes in Copper too! The mug lets you pick a temperature through the Ember app and then it maintains your beverage at that constant temperature. It cools down drinks if they’re too hot, and heats up the beverage you left around at room-temperature, so just like Goldilocks (or in this case, Copperilocks), your drink is just right, every time! The mug comes with a completely waterproof design (it can be washed under running water or placed in the dishwasher), and hosts no controls. Just set the temperature through the app and the mug heats up if it detects liquids inside it. Click below to preorder the upcoming Copper Edition, or click here to buy the original edition.

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03. Yaktrax Summit by Yaktrax
Designed to be snapped on to your trekking shoes when you need every bit of traction you can get, the Yaktrax Summit looks bold, rugged, and like it can do the job. The Summit straps to any shoe (you buy it according to your shoe size), and secures itself tightly. The chains provide traction, but not as much as the 3/8” curved sawtooth stainless steel spikes that dig right into the ice or snow, making sure you’ll never lose grip. The rugged design and blue/black combo play well with the rough, snowy conditions in which the Yaktrax would be absolutely ideal. When not in use, the Yaktrax Summit fit beautifully into a drawstring bag that’s easy to carry them around without hurting anyone or damaging anything.

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04. Snowflake Multitool by HexFlex
What’s a more perfect wintertime holiday gift (even if it’s for yourself) than a snowflake-shaped multitool?! Designed to get you out of any fix, this snowflake-shaped, winter-appropriate multitool fits 14 different tools into its small form factor. Originally designed to be a snowboard tool, the HexFlex Snowflake Multitool comes made in stainless steel and fastens right to your keychain, allowing you to carry it around wherever you go, giving you the power to open stuff from bottles to boxes, and tighten or loosen screws and bolts whenever needed!

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05. Pet Holiday Keepsake Ornaments by Pearhead
Remember in your childhood when you’d string together popped corn and wrap it around your tree? Or you’d make ornaments out of papier-mâché and revel in nostalgia as you took them out each year to place on your Christmas tree? The Pet Holiday Keepsake Ornaments are like the same thing, but they involve your pet too! Take the quick-drying putty and use your pet’s pay to make an imprint on it and once it dries, voila! You’ve got yourself a beautiful little Christmas ornament with your pet’s touch to it! The ornament lasts forever and is a great keepsake to have with you for life!

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06. Stretch Expandable Trivet by Joseph Joseph
The ‘Stretch’ Expandable Silicone Trivet by Joseph Joseph is by far the most ideal gift to grace this list. Made with heat-resistant silicone, and an expandable design, the trivet occupies a small amount of space in the drawer when not in use. However, take it out for a feast and spread it across the table, and you’ve got ample space to place hot utensils from large casseroles to elongated gravy boats, to even multiple pots and pans on it, protecting the table and tablecloth from the heat. A perfectly large trivet for feasts, potlucks, and get-togethers!

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07. Porthole Infuser by Crucial Detail
The Porthole Infuser does exactly what you think it does. It allows you to make everything from infused cocktails, to syrups, to oils, dressings, or even cold-brewed artisan teas and coffees. Inspired by a submarine or ship’s porthole style window, the Porthole Infuser is a circular vessel with transparent panels on both sides, literally offering a window into the liquid infusion process happening on the inside. Go ahead, make yourself some incredibly heartwarming and life-affirming mulled wine to sip in the chilly weather!

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08. Zippo Hand Warmer by Zippo
Zippo’s Hand Warmer literally puts the feeling of sitting near a bonfire, in your pocket! This flame-less catalytic heater fits on your palm, emanating heat for 6-12 hours (depending on the size). Hold it in your hand or stash it in your pocket to get the cozy warmth that’s comparable to placing your hands near the fire. The Hand Warmer uses lighter fluid and a carbon felt filter to burn without a flame, emanating just the right amount of heat to give your fingers the warmth it needs in the cold winters!

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Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis has created 10 resin fountains to celebrate fashion brand Fendi‘s decade of participation at Design Miami.

The Italian house marked its 10th anniversary at last week’s fair with The Shapes of Water, an installation that included Marcelis‘ fountain designs that all relate to the company in some way.

“Using water as a design tool, the designer magnifies its delicate beauty by realising 10 fountains inspired by 10 of the most iconic symbols of the historical Roman house,” said a description from Marcelis.

Fendi’s Design Miami booth comprised an entirely white room with an illuminated back wall, in which the water features were placed on travertine plinths at different heights.

Some of these bases for the warm-hued, cast-resin sculptures hid mechanisms that pumped water up through.

Examples included the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana fountain, based on Fendi’s headquarters in Rome. The arched colonnades of the 1943 Mussolini-commissioned building, which the brand moved in to in 2015, were replicated across the sides of the resin design.

“Marcelis has realised a similar structure adding an evanescent aspect, descending from the grandeur of the original construction,” said the project description.

Fendi‘s “double F” logo – created by Karl Lagerfeld in 1965 during his tenure at the company – was punched into a horizontal slab of yellow resin, with water resting in the carved void.

The same mark appeared in the centre of a cube-shaped block, where the two internal, vertical letters were filled with bubbling liquid.

A tall design carried a gradient that blended from yellow to red, mimicking the sunsets in the Italian capital, while water cascaded down its slightly slanted front.

Fur and leather patterns, for which the brand is perhaps best known, were recreated as textured motifs across fountains named Labirinto, Astuccio and Tegole.

Others, including Selleria and Intarsi, were based on the hand-craft and manufacturing processes used to make Fendi’s garments and accessories.

In celebration of another 10-year anniversary, Marcelis also created a cast-resin version of the brand’s Peekaboo bag, which was displayed on a bed of water at the entrance to the Design Miami booth. The fair took place 5-9 December 2018 in Miami Beach.

“It is through clean and soft lines and the use of ethereal materials such as polished resin and water in contrast with the historical travertine stone, and warm colours reminiscent of the Roman skies, that the fountains of Sabine Marcelis represent the perfect fusion between the historical, creative and aesthetic legacy of Fendi and its courage to provoke,” the brand’s statement said.

Fendi was founded by Adele and Edoardo Fendi in 1925, and the house has since grown to become one of the world’s most famous luxury labels. Recently, the brand’s ties to fountains include its efforts towards preserving Rome’s iconic Fontana di Trevi and others across the city.

Marcelis has previously used resin in a project for another fashion brand. Earlier this year, she cast the material to recreate Burberry’s signature tartan pattern for a set of displays at Opening Ceremony stores in New York and Los Angeles.

The post Sabine Marcelis installs 10 Fendi fountains at Design Miami appeared first on Dezeen.

Toy elephants modelled on a design by Charles and Ray Eames are among 15 presents we’ve picked out for children to round off our Christmas gift guides for 2018.

Eames Elephant by Vitra

This bright elephant is the first serial production of the plywood toy that American modernist designers Charles and Ray Eames created in 1945, but never put in production.

Featuring the exaggerated trunk and curving body of the original design, the contemporay animal has now been sized down and made in colourful polypropylene by Vitra.

Shop Vitra now ›

Mini Modern Colours 2.0 by Arckit

Next generation’s architects can get to grips with model-making and learn modernist design principles with the Mini Modern Colours kit.

Like all of the products by architectural model kit manufacturer Arckit, which have been hailed as “posh Lego”, it is assembled from modular components that connect without glue, offering a less messy alternative to traditional constructions.

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Assembly Square by Lego

A town awaits to be assembled from this intricate Lego set, which comprises a music store, dental office, a dance studio, and an apartment with a rooftop terrace and barbecue.

The Assembly Square kit, which features 4,002 Pieces, is the 10th addition to Lego’s Creator Expert Modular Building series, following a Parisian restaurant, a diner, a detective’s office and a brickwork bank.

Shop Lego now ›

The Napper by Bearaby

This chunky knit blanket is ideal for cuddling up little ones for afternoon naps, or extra warmth for deep evening sleeps.

Beararby designed the hand-woven throw to be heavy weighted in order to help induce dozing, while the thick threads come in a range of colours to suit a variety of interiors.

Shop Bearaby now ›

Printed Organic Cotton Trousers by COS

COS has proven that any age can be fashionable with the Printed Organic Cotton trousers in its kids and babies range.

The fashion brand – which is better known for its minimal garments for adults – has used soft organic cotton-jersey and decorated it with a spotted pattern. The bottoms are pull-on to make them easy for the adult in charge and feature a gusset for added comfort for the little wearer.

Shop COS now ›

Alessini by Alessandro Mendini

Geometric shapes and stripes in bold colours adorn this playful mini table-set to spice up children’s meal times.

Designed by by Italian architect and design Alessandro Mendini for Alessi, the series includes a plate, bowl, cup and a round tray. Accompanying cutlery is shorter than usual, with bulbous handles to help with gripping.

Shop Alessi now ›

Parrot Mambo Fly

Budding photographers will want to get their hands on this minidrone, to capture images from the above. It syncs to a smartphone application so that photos can be downloaded straight away.

The Parrot Mambo Fly can be flown on autopilot or though the app, which also manages other settings, such as adding a cut-out system so it stops on impact and checking battery life.

Shop Parrot now ›

Nutty Squirrel Balance Game by Janod

Colourful blocks cut into hazelnuts are intended to be stacked on top of a squirrel’s back as part of this wooden game.

The aim of the game, created by toy brand Jando, is to get the balance just right.

Shop Janod now ›

Organic Cotton Top by Arket 

H&M offshoot Arket has cut this striped, long-sleeved top from organic cotton fabric to make it soft against a baby’s skin.

The bold garment has a rounded neck with a pop button, and slits at the ends of the sleeves, to make it easy to pull on and off.

Shop Arket now ›

Duotone cars by Ikonic Toys

Dutch designer Floris Hovers’ Dutone cars for brand Ikonic Toys comprises six vehicles modelled into playful wooden toys with mini wheels.

Each is cut from blocks of beech wood and coloured in two tones – including clashes of red and green, turquoise and burgundy, as well as pairings of orange and blue hues.

Shop Ikonic Toys now ›

Pia Panda by Donna Wilson

Designer Donna Wilson took cues from children’s drawings to create the friendly and playful outline of arms, legs and ears to form this cuddly panda toy.

Black and white lambswool is stitched together to form the body and detailed with hand-stitched eyes and a nose.

Shop Donna Wilson now ›

Crew by Studio delle Alpi

Five shapes resembling wild animals – including a crocodile, giraffe and elephant – slot into this wooden puzzle created by Studio delle Alpi for toddlers.

Neon pink lines pattern the surface of the Crew toy, with small wooden handles attached to grab each figure.

Shop Studio delle Alpi now ›

Painted Oak Songbird – Ruth by Kay Bojesen

The face of this wooden bird twists in various directions, adding fun to this toy that Danish designer Kay Bojesen created in 1950.

The head, beak, breast and legs of the Songbird are each painted a different colour, creating a bold contrast of yellow, red, pink and green.

Shop Kay Bojesen now ›

The Carousel of Animals by Gérard Lo Monaco 

Add drama to bedtime stories with the pop-up book by Argentinean illustrator Gérard Lo Monaco.

The book opens to reveal stripes that mark out the colourful roof of a carousel. Inside, turned pages reveal a different animal, ranging from an orange kangaroo with a kid in its pouch, jumping pink pigs and a purple hippo.

Shop The Carousel of Animals now ›

Electro Dough by Technology Will Save Us

Kids can make dough light up and buzz in this playful kit by Technology Will Save Us.

A dough recipe, and a gluten free alternative, is included in Electro Dough, along with a bunch of crocodile clips, red and green LED lights, switched buzzer and switches to jazz it up.

Shop Technology Will Save Us now ›

Note: entries in Dezeen’s 2018 Christmas gift guides have been paid for or include affiliate links.

The post Dezeen’s Christmas gift guide 2018: kids appeared first on Dezeen.

No matter how good we are at something, there’s always room for improvement. Think of any professional project team that you have participated in recently. Chances are good that, like most modern project team, your group relied heavily on content collaboration to get work done. Chances are also good that, while your content collaboration strategy worked, improving it could have boosted your team’s productivity and creativity, leading to a better result overall.

The quickest way to take your content collaboration game to the next level is to pinpoint your team’s bad habits and replace them with good ones. In this article, we’ll cover how your team can:

– Annotate shared documents effectively
– Organize shared folders and files
– Keep important project data from getting lost or forgotten

Annotations are a great way to further your team’s discussions, but only if you do it the right way.

Bad Habit #1: Vague or Ineffective Annotations

Content collaboration platforms offer project teams plenty of advantages, and everybody seems to have a different opinion of which advantage is the biggest. No matter how you slice it, this major perk is somewhere close to the top of the list: content collaboration makes annotating your team’s shared files with comments and suggestions super easy.

The only downside is that not everybody knows how to leave effective comments on shared files in documents. Ensuring that your annotations truly contribute value to the project takes a little bit of practice, but it ultimately makes your team’s communications more effective and helps you achieve better outcomes.

How to Fix It 

If your team has a bad habit of leaving vague or ineffective annotations, improving your content collaboration can be as simple as adopting these simple strategies:

Use detail. Two word annotations aren’t super helpful. Whether you are commending a colleague’s work or offering a suggestion to help them improve, make sure you explain as thoroughly as possible. Including detail creates clarity, and clarity is key to effective annotations.

Maintain a growth mindset. This is especially important if you’re offering up some constructive criticism. Always find a way to look towards future opportunities for improvement in your annotations rather than simply criticizing the work in front of you or work that has been done in the past.

Use annotations to start a conversation. The biggest benefit of working in a group is that it allows you to build on each team member’s unique skills and experiences. If something in the file or document seems like it could be improved, but getting more people involved in the process of determining exactly how it can be improved is good way to go. The more brain power you have behind a solution, the stronger it will ultimately be.

Staying organized is always important, but it’s particularly important when you’re working collaboratively.

Bad Habit #2: Inconsistent File and Folder Organization

It’s no secret that projects tend to take on a life of their own after you kick them off. In a lot of ways, that’s awesome—it means your team is likely going to end up with an innovative, nuanced, and effective finished product. However if your team doesn’t set up (and stick to!) a clear file organization system from the beginning of the project, keeping track of all of your files and folders can quickly become way more time-consuming than it needs to be.

How to Fix It

Don’t want to waste time sifting through files and folders until you find the right one? Keep your collaborative efforts organized from the get-go with these tips:

Group files by category. When you walk into a grocery store, you can pretty quickly find what you’re looking for. Why? All of the bread items are in one section of the store, the dairy products in another, the frozen TV dinners in another. That makes it easy to quickly get to the general area you need. You can use the same tactic to organize your shared files and folders also—make your highest level folders broad categories like HR, Clients, Products, Digital Initiatives, etc.

Don’t be afraid of subfolders, but also don’t go crazy with them. Subfolders are a quick and easy way to organize shared files, but having 15 levels of folders to navigate before you hit your actual files simply isn’t practical. Try to limit your organizational strategy to 3 levels, at most.

Build a naming convention that will grow with your project. Some ways of doing this include using YYMMDD format for files that include dates (so that the project has room to grow over multiple years, if necessary) and using sequential numbering (001, 002, 003 instead of 1, 2, 3).

Documenting your team’s meetings is more important than you might realize.

Bad Habit #3: Skimping on Documentation

Everybody’s been there. You have a meeting on something super simple and straightforward, so you don’t take any notes. Then later in the week, you’re frantically emailing a coworker for meeting notes because you forgot that one essential detail you swore you weren’t going to let yourself forget. When you have a lot going on (and we all do), keeping all of the information you need in your head can be tough.

How to Fix It

Proper documentation is a simple way to save yourself and your team from unnecessary stress and project delays. Follow these tips to make sure your team’s documentation is up to par:

Make it digital. Create a folder in your shared storage space for documentation, and commit to keeping it organized. This way, everybody always has access to your team information.

Take notes before, during, and after meetings. Meeting agendas are essential if you want to make sure your team hits all necessary points during a meeting. Meeting notes help you recall the flow of your conversation and trace the development of ideas. Taking some time after the meeting to jot down a recap of decisions made and tasks assigned helps keep everyone organized and accountable. At every stage, documentation is essential.

Establishing an effective content collaboration strategy is easy when you break these 3 bad habits.

Content collaboration is a key part of any modern project team’s strategy. Taking advantage of these simple tips and tricks will help your team break its content collaboration bad habits, be more productive, and ultimately produce better content.

What are your team’s content collaboration best practices? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!

This is a sponsored post for Dropbox. All opinions are my own. Dropbox is not affiliated with nor endorses any other products or services mentioned.

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