Hasta La Ideas

The Srisangdao rice grows in Thailand in a controlled environment and every year only a limited quality is produced. Because of how special the rice is, the environment where it grows and how it is stored is given the utmost care making sure there are no chemicals hampering the quality. To showcase Thung Kula Ronghai’s efforts of growing this gorgeous grain, a designer reimagined the packaging as a tribute to the process with a purpose that went beyond preserving rice.

The packaging is created using chaffs, a natural waste product from husking, which very literally incorporates the process which the designers wanted to celebrate through this product. The box has simple yet meaningful art surrounding the Srisangdao rice – it is die-formed with an oversized rice grain embossed on it which is the main artistic element. The grain graphic is complemented with wave-like lines and smaller embossed design of the crop in full bloom. The designer has also burn-stamped the logo of the rice mill from the Thung Kula Ronghai region on the box. A thoughtful detail that really completes the picture is the rice inside comes in a miniature sack just like the traditional one. All these pieces put together truly bring out the different elements of the rice’s identity and lifecycle.

What makes this organic packaging more interesting is the fact that it can be used as a tissue box after it has served its purpose of storing rice. It is completely eco-friendly as well as recyclable and generates minimal production waste. To see how a simple rice packaging can completely be reimagined and redesigned to tell a story while still providing value after its main job is done is an inspiration to continue being creative.

Designer: Somchana Kangwarnjit

Japanese culture has so many little practices that exude a sense of calm. My most favorite thing (besides enjoying a soulful bowl of ramen which I think is a form of meditation) is enjoying a warm cup of tea. There is nothing that can soothe you like a freshly brewed cup of tea and during these complex times I am definitely seeing an increase in the number of cups on my table so I started looking for a kettle and I came across the Seramikku.

When I saw it, I fell in love with the design of the kettle – it was a perfect balance of archetypal Japanese forms and minimalistic modern details. Its shape and texture are inspired by ‘Uwade kyusu’ which is one of the more traditional Japanese teapots known for their distinctive, almost floating, handles that hover on top of the lid. The designer has envisioned the Seramikku to be made from ceramic and iron with an electric heating base. Sadly, it is not for sale because it is concept design which a part of a Render Weekly challenge – yes, I had to look at it thrice because the detailing was so realistic that I wanted to believe I had stumbled upon my future favorite teapot.

I am going to go and brew myself a cup of Jasmine tea to recover from being in love with a design and then heartbroken by the lifelike render.

Designer: Shail Iyer

Dutch illustrator Ellis van der Does started on her creative journey when she was just 16 after deciding to enrol in a foundation course at the HKU University of the Arts Utrecht. At the time van der Does was in the Dutch equivalent of sixth form, and as the course was taught on Saturdays she could combine it with her regular studies easily. “I started the course without a plan,” she says. “But I just knew I really enjoyed making things.”

At the time, her understanding of illustration only stretched to cartoons and comics but towards the end of the course she specialised in visual communication, which was taught by one of the illustration tutors. “He showed us the variety of illustration styles and the ways of communicating within the medium,” explains van der Does. “After completing the foundation course I enrolled in the BA Illustration course at the same school.” After a gap year, van der Does came to London in 2015 to study on the MA Graphic Design course at Chelsea College of Art, and had remained there up until recently. She’s now back in Amsterdam working across an array of personal and commercial projects.  

With a diverse client list including Vice, Disney, BBC, Medium, Royal Academy of Dance London and Cambridge University, van der Does describes her style as graphic, colourful and full of texture. Often creating illustrations about people and the way we interact with the world around us, her work lends itself well to editorial commissions.

“Working on editorial briefs is a really fun part of the job for me,” says the illustrator. “Often these projects have a tight deadline and I really like the thrill of coming up with concepts quickly and developing the final work rapidly.” For van der Does, the more open the brief the better as it allows her to reflect a bit more on the topic and come up with more concepts for the art director. “It’s great to have a conversation together about what works best and some suggestions to make it even better before I start on the final artwork.” 

When starting a new project van der Does often writes down words linked to the theme in mind and then scribbles sketches using A4 paper and a fineliner pen. These early notions are often kept in black and white. “When I’ve settled on ideas I use Procreate to do the line drawings and also the colouring later on,” explains van der Does. “Then I move to Photoshop to add textures.” 

The varying patterns and finishes within van der Does’ illustrations provide depth to her 2D works and over the years the illustrator says her scenes have become more complicated, by using gradients and also adding in more animated elements into her practice. 

Though being freelance has provided the illustrator with a number of great opportunities, she says she found it difficult to know what to do, having not had any guidance while at art school. “I think it would have been great to learn more about the business side of a creative practice,” she says. “But most importantly to learn how to price and market your work. These are very essential skills and after graduating it took me a while to get the hang of it.” 

Since the pandemic began, the influx of jobs has been fairly quiet and van der Does has been spending her time doing more self-initiated work and learning more about animation. “Also I started working on a project with a friend before the pandemic, and as it’s a passion project for both of us we can now invest some extra time in it,” says van der Does. “But I’m also reading books, watching films and documentaries, and trying to stay active by doing at-home yoga.”  

ellisvanderdoes.com

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The year is 2200 and humans are split into two clans – the first clan believes in living with simplicity and letting nature heal itself (proof of which are the dolphins swimming in the canals of Venice) while the other half is where humanity struggles to exist without making a change to their behavioral patterns. Meet @inwardsound, an Italian 3D artist on Instagram who creates these surreal yet realistic views of our future, kind of like showing different versions of Earth in parallel universes where one twist in fate or act of man resulted in the new society that would be formed under their influence. Hauntingly beautiful, detailed and thought-provoking, each render here begs to ask the question – are you taking a step on the right path?

Living in cities, with homes that are so close by, we often know the person on the window opposite, they are practically our neighbors too! Habitat imagines a city where gravity is under control, so people reside on the land level and sky level (literally!) in this amazing view of what the world would be like if we run out of space in our cities. New York 2200 is here, and chances are, you will have a friendly neighbor above you as well!

Named the Hidden City, this render takes me to an alternate dimension where Inception meets overcrowding in a planet where humans chose not to improve their ways. Literally looking like a case of tunnel vision, the slightly submerged city and concrete landscape have taken over the majestic mountains in the distance, the Hidden City is humanity at its edge.

Any fans of the Philip K Dick novel converted to Amazon Prime series – The Man in the High Castle? This imaginative render feels like it belongs to the alternate universe described in the series (I have yet to complete it so no spoilers here!) but a more futuristic version of the same universe. Pagoda-inspired architecture stands tall in a dystopian setup, clearly establishing their dominance over the people. And the Avengers Infinity War-like alien spaceship hovers nearby, keeping the CNTRL HUB safe.

Be still my fiction-loving heart! J. R. R. Tolkien’s masterpiece ended with Sauron’s reign coming to an end, but imagine if he took over Middle Earth and led it into the future. The O-Towers here bring to my mind the eye of Saron, revised in a more modern avatar to keep scanning the world while their master rules with the Ring of Power by his side. I wonder who the new-age Frodo would be?

The city that stays green together, survives together. Green architecture is the need of the hour and looking at this render gives me some hope for the future. Eternal City here is a balanced ecosystem, where existing architectural structures support and nurture the plants growing on them and waterway is a common and accepted medium of transport in the sea-level rising waters.

There are islands and then there are floating islands. Fracture depicts a scene where these little bits of paradise look like green filtration/ cleansing pods that float through the center of the populated city, giving a breath of fresh air to those living in the dense urban situation.

Forgive me for the pop culture and series references, but these illustrations bring out my fictional flair! Altered Carbon altered my imagination of the future and the Upper City looks like the perfect place for the Meths to live in. Can’t you see them sit back and watch the general population live as they literally live above the less fortunate people? The Upper City concept seems a precursor to the time when the Meth’s build their homes in the sky. And truly, whether or not Altered Carbon materializes, I do see a version of the society where the rich live above the rest to not pay heed to their troubles.

Layers layer this society. Looking like an entryway to hell inspired by Dante’s Inferno, Layers showcases a society living in a socio-economic divide that, if history is a lesson, will keep getting harder to bridge.

Aptly named the Protected Area, this is maybe what our planet would look like if Tony Stark managed to get a shield around our world, safeguard us from those evil forces. Though Corona does look like a manifestation of Thanos right now, I wonder if these grids would be enough to save the plant from its real foes, humans.

The Trip brings to mind the Titanic’s worst nightmare! Because truly, what could be scarier than escaping a destiny of sinking to only catch fire later!

While in theory, this attribute doesn’t extend to smaller players defeating larger ones, the Crownes Chess Set’s nesting ability is more a portability feature. Made from 3D printed metal, the chess pieces nest within one another, like a Russian Matryoshka doll. After nesting the pieces within one another, the two largest pieces (the king and queen) snap together magnetically, forming a compact collection of same-colored chess players. The player-groups come in a rather delightful matte anodized aluminum finish too, giving the chess set a premium look.

The Crownes Chess set’s approach to gameplay sort of gets influenced by its nesting ability too. Given that pawns are fairly often the first to lose their lives in games of chess, their small design lets them easily nest within other players. The chess set comes with a checkered board, as customary, but also features a magnetic platform for the king and queen pieces that hold discarded players. Each platform can hold as many as 4 pawns stacked on top of each other, followed by 4 other larger pieces (the elephant, horse, knight, and then the royalty). During gameplay, discarded or defeated players can just be snapped magnetically onto these platforms for convenient side-storage, or for dramatic effect, can be ‘absorbed’ by the opponent! When the game’s over, the 32 total pieces on both sides get docked into 4 groups of 8, which you then snap together and roll up into the flexible board!

Designer: Etho LLC.