Colorado’s Olympic museum debuts its ‘abstract flame’ logo

The 60,000 square foot museum, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, will be home to various pieces of Olympic paraphernalia when it opens later this year.

This will include the scoreboard from the 1980 Winter Olympics, held at Lake Placid, and gymnast Shannn Miller’s sparkly scrunchie – which she wore at every major competition.

To create the museum’s logo, the studio brought together the colours of the Olympic rings in a series of stacked stripes. They form a diamond shape which references the 10,000 similarly shaped panels that cover the façade of the building – each of which is unique.

According to C&G&H, the logo is intended as an abstract version of the Olympic flame. It’s accompanied by a sans serif wordmark.

It certainly achieves out what the studio aimed for – something that’s reminiscent of the games, while still individual to the museum.

But given the rich history of Olympics’ graphics and design, there’s a sense that maybe C&G&H could have pushed this just a little further. Perhaps a touch of the mad energy of the London 2012 logo wouldn’t have gone amiss.

usopm.org; cghnyc.com

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London Shuffle Club’s identity is all about the Miami pinks and blues

London studio A New Kind of Kick designed the club’s graphic language, having been briefed to create something “more grown up” as the club moved from a seasonal pop-up to a permanent venue. It also needed to reflect what Design Director Robert Loeber describes as the “social abandon” of the sport.

“The design strategy grew from the proposition of ‘For Fun. For Glory’,” he explains.” An irreverent nod at the competitive spirit that takes hold and allows us to let ourselves go.”

The studio developed a set of patterns and other graphic elements, loosely based around the game itself. The smiley face is a nod to the shuffleboard ‘biscuit’ or puck, as well as the stick that’s used to push it around – known as the tang. It appears in a series of social media animations, posters, and also merch for the club.

There’s an undeniably kitsch feeling to the identity, which Loeber says ties into the game’s reputation. “It’s known as something you do on cruise ships, especially for seniors,” he explains.” We wanted this sense of glory coming through, like it has an established history, which led us down the more retro feel on typography especially.”




londonshuffle.com; anewkindofkick.com

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The role of museums during the pandemic

One way that museums have been acknowledging the monumental impact of Covid-19 is through collecting the creative work that’s been made during this time. CR speaks to the institutions making it happen

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Veronica Toppino's social distancing hats are an expression of shielded extravagance

Veronica Toppino's social distancing Structure hats are an expression of shielded extravagance

Veronica Toppino looked to historic examples of social distancing in fashion design when creating her Structure hats, which aim to help people feel shielded while still maintaining “extravagance”.

Toppino, who is an Italian costume designer and milliner, created two hats comprised of large, bent aluminium structures. One is covered with stretched fabric, while the other is kept bare.

The hats aim to make people reflect on the role of functionality in fashion during the current coronavirus pandemic, specifically how clothing and accessories can play an important role in social distancing.

Veronica Toppino's social distancing Structure hats are an expression of shielded extravagance
One of Toppino’s Structure hats is made from bent aluminium covered with pink, stretched fabric

“Protection is one of the principal functions of dress,” said Toppino. “We usually ignore that because we rather prefer to think about style and glamour.”

“But as we are living in a strange time where social distancing has become a buzzword, the question arises: how dress can help protect us?”

“In this time of crisis, wearing a mask makes us feel protected and safer, regardless of whether they are useful or not,” she continued. “Face masks have become a fashion accessory that signals others to ‘stay away’.”

Veronica Toppino's social distancing Structure hats are an expression of shielded extravagance
The hats serve as a visual reminder for people to social distance

The Structure hats take cues from the oversized, broad-rimmed hats that were fashionable during the 18th century, as well as the steel-cage crinolines used underneath skirts that were popular in the Victorian era.

Rather than ordinary hats, Toppino considers her designs to be large, structural accessories that can help the wearer to keep other people at an arm’s length.

With a wide brim of around 45 centimetres, the hat works to create what the designer calls a “protective orbit” around the head.

Veronica Toppino's social distancing Structure hats are an expression of shielded extravagance
Toppino took inspiration from 18th century broad-rimmed hats and Victorian crinolines

“If we look through history, fashion enabled social distancing through the ages,” said Toppino. “Clothing has long served as a useful way to mitigate close contact and unnecessary exposure, whether the space created helped solve a health crisis or keeping away unwanted attentions.”

“In the past, maintaining distance – especially between genders, classes, and races was an important aspect of social gatherings and public life,” she added. “Social distancing wasn’t only used for isolation and health, but primarily was about etiquette and class. And fashion was the perfect tool.”

Crinolines, for example, were used to maintain distance between people in crowded public spaces, the designer explained, used to keep “pesky suitors” away.

After crinolines, women continued to use fashion as “a weapon against unwanted male attention”, said Toppino, in the form of items such as hat pins and oversized hats.

Veronica Toppino's social distancing Structure hats are an expression of shielded extravagance
The second hat, designed for men, comprises the same aluminium structure but with no added fabric

Toppino designed two Structure hats, one intended for men and one for women. The women’s hat features a curved, symmetrical structure made from bent aluminium that has been covered with pink silk, and finished with a layer of see-through powernet fabric.

The men’s hat, on the other hand, features the same voluminous structure but with a rougher surface finishing and no added fabric, leaving the aluminium bare.

Veronica Toppino's social distancing Structure hats are an expression of shielded extravagance
The Structure hats are a continuation of Toppino’s thesis project, for which she created a giant wearable head

The hats are a continuation of Toppino’s thesis project that she completed while studying costume design at the London College of Fashion, which saw her use the same see-through, structural design to create a performance piece in the form of a wearable oversized head.

Research and design platform Livable also created a wearable frame that resembles 19th-century crinolines. Its rattan design is worn over the head and body to encourage people to keep their distance during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Called Well-Distance-Being, the hourglass-shaped design consists of two cages that rest on the user’s shoulders – one section facing upside-down to shield the neck and head and another facing downwards to cover the body.

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Wearable Tech designs that help you achieve a healthy lifestyle

Wearable design – the term brings to mind bionic body enhancements or maybe a vibranium necklace that transforms into a suit? (Admit it, Black Panther’s tech rivals that of Iron Man and this is coming from a hardcore Iron Man fan). But the reality is, we don’t truly realize how many wearables are already a part of our lives! From the smartwatch to the Bluetooth headset that is almost synonyms with a corporate bigshot, wearables have already integrated themselves into our life. So why not embrace the innovation and let them make our lives easier? The wearable designs showcased may not make you Iron Man but will surely make you feel you have your own Jarvis!

Calling it the ATMOBLUE, Leandro and his team developed an entirely new category of wearables that could actively purify the air of 99.9% of particles, pioneering a technology that made them sort of the Tesla of face-masks, as opposed to the N95 which only filtered 95% of the air. The mask featured “positive air pressure” which helped keep out germs and contaminants by making the air pressure inside the mask greater than the air pressure outside. Built-in fans pushed purified air right into the insides of the mask, allowing you to breathe normally, and one-way outlets got rid of the humid air, so your mouth never felt wet and sweaty.

Students at the University of Chicago developed a unique, wrist-worn bracelet that can remotely scramble all sorts of microphones in a working radius of a few feet. Just wear “The Bracelet of Silence” and switch it on when you want a private conversation, and its multiple ultrasonic sensors disable nearby microphones, preventing them from being able to hear anything you say. The wearable comes with an array of 24 ultrasonic transducers that jam microphones in ALL directions. When worn on your hand, the jammer uses your hand’s movements to increase its range and eliminate audio blind-spots, effectively jamming all sorts of microphones (even ones hidden from view).

Literally the size of a quarter, the Dab by Adam Miklosi is an unobtrusive Holter ECG/EKG that rests comfortably on your chest, constantly reading your heart’s movements. Designed to be minimal, non-invasive, and simple, the Dab tries to bridge the gap between medical appliances and wearables. Its tiny yet classy design sits on your chest via a gel patch, while the electrodes capture your heart activity. The Dab’s dry-electrodes allow it to be used and reused, unlike disposable electrodes that lead to large amounts of medical waste. They constantly measure one’s heart activity (requiring periodic charging via their wireless charging hub), and keep logs of accurate readings, quietly sitting on your chest while you absolutely forget that they’re even there in the first place!

Piece of Time by Ben Koros is a wearable device, which can be worn as a pendant necklace, bracelet, or basic clip, will sync with your calendar wirelessly. Its discrete lights give you a visual countdown to the next important event. A simple glance down or look in the mirror will remind you and help you stay aware of upcoming tasks and other occasions.

The OrCam MyEye 2 feels a lot like what Google Glass should have evolved to become. I’m talking about ditching the holographic crystal and focusing on the camera technology, combined with Google Lens’ identification algorithm. Designed to be a small, retrofittable wearable camera that attaches to any pair of spectacles, the MyEye 2 can identify objects in front of it and read any text within its frame. The MyEye 2 is more assistive tech than consumer tech. It helps people with low visibility to ‘see’ things by actively translating text and identifying objects. Just point at anyone or anything and the MyEye 2 picks up your gesture, analyzing what (or who) you’re pointing at. If you’ve got a text in front of you, the MyEye 2 begins reading it out, allowing you to easily read fine print like newspapers, menu cards, and ingredients lists without worrying about straining your eyes. The tech works for humans too, allowing you to point at familiar people and have the wearable identify them for you.

The Circular Smart Ring by Amaury Kosman connects to your phone via Bluetooth, giving you all your data in a neatly collated dashboard. During the day, the ring captures your activity, blood oxygen levels, energy levels, calorie burn count, among other metrics, while at night, the ring ambiently tracks your circadian rhythm and records your sleep quality, heart-rate variability, sleep disturbances, REM cycles, and sleep and wake times. Using pretty state-of-the-art data processing and machine-learning technology, the ring, its app, and the app’s assistant Kira help you collectively better understand your health and give you bespoke advice on how to improve it.

Rather than put on an uncomfortable set of specs that nobody wants to wear, FITT360, designed by Junse Kim of LINKFLOW is a neckband wearable that rests comfortably on the shoulders to provide not only forward-facing photography but a panoramic view of the world around the wearer! The first of its kind, it captures the entire 360° so you can truly relive the moment you’re in. Equipped with Bluetooth and SNS, you can live stream your experiences or save up to 90 minutes of recording time and export it in 360 or 2k photo/video later.

Braille opened the door to literacy and enhanced independence for those with visual impairments. Similarly, the FingerReader by Suranga Nanayakkara aims to do much the same thing without the limitations of raised-dot reading. Adapted to fit on the hand and index finger, this wearable device makes it possible for users to point at any sign, label, banknote, or page in a book and instantly understand what’s in front of them. Equipped with a specialized scanner, words and sentences are detected and processed using computer vision algorithms so they can be spoken in real-time. Used in tandem with traditional Braille training, it has the ability to take an individual’s independence to the next level.

Meet the VOIXATCH by designer Young Kwon Oh. If that name mildly confuses you, you’re not the only one. VOIXATCH is basically a pretty sensible amalgamation of the three products that we got duped into paying truckloads of money for. It’s a smartwatch that does practically everything your phone does… and guess what. It has a Bluetooth headset docked right into it that you can detach and use to make calls and possibly even listen to music. VOIXATCH is basically what happens when good technology meets good intentions. Grabbing eyes as the first smartwatch with a built-in Bluetooth headset, the VOIXATCH helped unveil a world where watch and earphones were part of a tight ecosystem as one single product that did practically everything your phone could, without you needing to take your phone out.

LEX gif

The Lex by Astride Bionix sits on your person (strapped around your waist and thighs), weighing just over a kilogram thanks to its aluminum construction. However, designed to bear extreme loads of weight, the Lex can take over 120 kilograms of weight without breaking a sweat. The aluminum legs can be deployed using a simple push, and then just lean back while the Lex falls into position, giving you instant seating anywhere you go. When not in use, the legs slide up into their designated zones, allowing for full freedom of movement while even letting you carry a backpack.

Balconies cover facade of The Somos hotel in Medellín by A5 Arquitectura

Colombian practice A5 Arquitectura ran steel balconies and staircases up the front of The Somos hotel so visitors can enjoy the year-round good weather in Medellín.

Located in the fashionable El Poblado district of the Colombian city, The Somos has a sunken bar below ground level with stepped outdoor seating opens to the street.

The Somos by A5 Arquitectura

Above, boutique hotel rooms and dorm-style accommodation are reached via balconies linked by a black steel staircase zigzagging up the exterior.

A5 Arquitectura designed The Somos to fit snugly between two existing buildings, using the space to the front creatively to allow guests and patrons to enjoy Medellín’s reputation as the city of eternal spring.

The Somos by A5 Arquitectura

Putting the stairs on the outside frees up the internal floor space to maximise the room sizes.

The designers took inspiration from the city’s housing blocks, where individual apartments are often accessed by stairs on the facade of the building.

The Somos by A5 Arquitectura

“The stairs are not designed as an enclosed and decoupled space, but as a collective balcony which ascends over the street,”A5 Arquitectura.

“This in turn offers the guests the possibility to walk the building and at the same time enjoy the spring Medellín weather.”

The Somos by A5 Arquitectura

Black steel treads and perforated metal screens contrast with the vibrant greenery of the plants growing up from angled planters on parts of the staircase.

The stairs zigzag between half landings, forming eight levels up the four-storey building.

The Somos by A5 Arquitectura

In the sunken lower ground level, the coffee shop and bar is open to both hotel guests and visitors. Concrete outdoor steps leading down to the bar next to amphitheatre-style seats and podium-style tables.

To enter the hotel, guests walk up a staircase to the lobby area where there is a reception desk and seating. The first floor is occupied by a dorm room and a king-sized suite, and the top floor has two more private rooms – a king and a double.

The Somos by A5 Arquitectura

Wooden floors brightly-coloured pipes and exposed brick walls add to the industrial-chic aesthetic. Murals and a mosaic-tiled floor decorates the lift shafts that also runs between stories.

Planted balconies also cover the facade of a hotel in Vietnam designed by by Vo Trong Nghia – the Dezeen Awards 2019 architect of the year.

Photography is by Luis Bernardo Cano.

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The Rimac Scalatan is a stunning concept car with a 3D-printed chassis that ‘breathes oxygen’

Built for the year 2080, the Rimac Scalatan concept by Max Schneider gives us a unique window into what our world and the transport industry could look like over half a century from now. Known for their advanced hypercars powered by cutting-edge innovations and technology, Rimac’s brand image literally screams futuristic… and the Scalatan concept capitalizes on that, with a combination of features that make it incredibly enticing. The car comes with a stunningly aerodynamic carbon-nanotube graphene outer surface that sits coolly on top of a generative-design chassis made from 3D-carboprinted titanium graphite. This organic looking chassis gives the car its structure and strength, while also being hollow on the inside to store the car’s lithium-oxygen batteries. These batteries react with oxygen (from air that passes through the chassis as the car drives) to produce lithium oxide that’s converted into energy… in short, the Scalatan actually BREATHES air like a living organism.

The Scalatan champions renewable energy like all of Rimac’s hyper-mobiles… the concept runs on air-powered lithium-oxygen batteries, but also features a unique induction-charging aero-fin base that has the capability of charging itself through the road as it drives, a feature that supports the Li-O batteries by offsetting some of the car’s energy demands and pulling electrical energy right from the induction-ready road. The car’s wheels embrace futurism too, and while the chassis relies on being hollow to allow air to fill it up and charge the batteries, the wheels don’t share the same distinction. The Scalatan’s airless wheels (like most of the car) come 3D-printed too, using a unique lattice structure to absorb shock, just like air-filled wheels; while resisting wear-and-tear and being completely puncture-proof.

Schneider’s design process for the Scalatan involved a two-pronged approach – A future study, to understand how a car in 2080 would be built and how it would operate, as well as a detailed study of Rimac’s own design language, in order to help the car capture the Croatian automotive company’s brand DNA. The Scalatan, in that regard, does a pretty remarkable job of showcasing future technologies while entirely embracing Rimac’s design playbook. It comes with the unique cutaway shape in front of the rear wheel, a detail that’s common to all of Rimac’s cars, while going for the sleek headlights, and amping up the beauty with edge-lit floating taillights that look mesmerizing from any and every angle. The Scalatan, like all of Rimac’s cars, also packs doors that give you a dramatic entry and exit to and from the vehicle. The doors form a part of the car’s front surface panel, and open upwards from the front, instead of from the side. This reveals the car’s aggressive chassis, almost like a predator revealing its teeth before it attacks its prey. Gaps in the side of the chassis (as well as the front) allow you to enter the car’s interiors, which seat the driver and passenger one behind the other in a 1+1 arrangement, much like a fighter jet… which seems like a pretty apt metaphor for a car that’s designed to absolutely ‘take-off’ on roads, leaving nothing but a cloud of dust behind. If the future is even half as cool as Max imagines it to be, I have a vested interest to live till I’m a hundred.

And there’s even a Hyperloop-enabled version of the Scalatan that you can see on Max’s project page.

Designer: Maximilian Schneider

Make 3D Digital Clones of Any Space With Matterport Capture

Whether for interior designers or security personnel, detailed renderings with customizable features

California-based software company (and camera producer) Matterport specializes in capturing 3D data and content. They pioneered the sector with the release of the Pro2, a camera with dimensional accuracy within 1% and capable of shooting in 134-megapixel format. But, up until this month, this technology could only be accessed on a professional level, for those with the proper camera equipment and varying levels of 3D rendering software. Now, Matterport’s free iOS app, Matterport Capture, lets individuals of all photography skill levels, snap, compress, and share 3D clones of any space with ease.

The 3D capture system offers end-to-end assistance. Opening the app, you’re prompted to sign in. Users must register with Matterport to access the camera system, but the login also acts as a hub for your saved projects. Once past this process, you’re introduced to the creation stage. An addition sign in the bottom right corner acts as the trigger—pressing it activates a new project, and you’re asked to input (optional) information like address, showcase name, description, and any internal ID or indexing system. Then your camera opens. The app guides users through this process, placing markers in the field of view to follow around the room—in the same style as taking a panoramic photo on an iPhone.

Once a shot is complete, it’s saved within the app and available to explore, upload, edit, or redo entirely. The best results are achieved using a monopod or tripod, and in a space with proper lighting. But, even the worst images taken on an iPhone mark a turning point in this industry. Never have these capabilities been accessible for millions from their smartphones.

“We have finally opened up the software to the biggest class of devices out there,” CMO Robin Daniels says. “Which suddenly unlocks the ability for a billion people or more to be able to do these very comprehensive 3D scans of an environment. Of course, you’re not going to get the same level of fidelity on a smartphone as you will on a camera that’s purpose-built, has depth-detection, the LiDAR-detection, but the quality is far good enough for a small space—maybe a room or an apartment and so on.”

The Matterport Capture app can be a useful tool for various professional pursuits—from documenting an interior designer’s work to creating a gallery show for an artist’s paintings. Users can recreate a physical space within the digital world and still allow for the same maneuverability you’d be granted had you physically been in the space. Plus, there are capabilities within the Matterport scans that allow users to assign tags to items within the rooms—providing visitors the opportunity to shop a given item (in a space like their own) or leave feedback on a particular feature (if collaborating on the given scan). Further, a measuring tool allows users the ability to record the dimensions of a piece of furniture or a doorway within the 3D clone.

“The possibilities this opens up if you’re a gallery, a small cafe or studio, are endless. And we’ve traditionally served a certain audience, one that’s centered around transacting—whether it be renting or buying properties or interior design and so on. But what’s so exciting about this release, and the smartphone version, is that it opens up endless possibilities, things we haven’t even conceived yet,” Daniels says. “A lot of companies are going to use Matterport to maintain their businesses but a lot of companies are trying to start using it to get in front of brand new audiences that they never could attract before.”

Images courtesy of Matterport

Tour the Victoria University of Wellington Masters Roadshow at the Core77 Student Showcase

The School of Design Innovation aims to enable students to imagine, challenge, create and participate in the creation of new ways and new futures. This gallery illustrates student work from the three Masters’ programs offered – Masters of Design Innovation, Masters of User Experience and Masters of Design Technology. The body work presented here is a limited representation of work done by the 2019 and 2020 graduates, some still to complete. Their work approaches design criticality, with experimentation and research at the heart of their ambitions.

Below are a few sample projects from the show:

Circular economy furniture design by Steven Almond

Type 1 diabetes self management exploration by Maddy Hazleton

A case study of the relationship between humans and things by Liu Yanxiao

See hundreds of more student projects at the Core77 Student Showcase

This electric q-tip gently cleans the wax from inside your ear

No larger than the size of an electric toothbrush, the Clean focuses on personal hygiene by allowing you to clear your ear canals of dirt and wax. The handheld device comes with a design that allows you to use it on your own, without external supervision. Its silicone body is soft, malleable, non-toxic, and easy to clean, while the rotating head at its tip features a helical pattern that rotates to gently push out any wax inside your ear without hurting you.

The Clean’s unique design makes it more effective than a q-tip. Its rotating head burrows wax away and out of the canal, and makes sure you never accidentally push wax INTO your ear… all while being incredibly easy to clean once used. You can take a wet-wipe to it or even use hot water to sterilize the tip, allowing you to use it multiple times, unlike cotton buds which need to be thrown away after a single use.

Designer: Nate Shirley