Sportswear company Adidas looked back to the 1930s at Arsenal’s Art Deco crest when designing the London football club’s 2020/2021 home shirt, which the team will wear for the upcoming FA cup final.
The home kit, featuring Arsenal‘s traditional red and white colours, will be used by the men’s and women’s teams in the upcoming 2020/2021 Premier Leauge and Women’s Super League respectively.
The men’s team will also wear the shirt in the FA Cup final on 1 August.
The shirt’s designers at Adidas looked back to the 1930s and the Art Deco style that was prevalent at the time for the kit’s design, as this was an extremely successful period for the club.
Arsenal won England’s First Division – the country’s top league at the time – for the first time in the 1930/31 season and were crowned champions a further four times during the decade.
The shirt’s red main body is covered with chevrons in recognition of this period. The form was taken directly from a stylised A on the crest, used by the club between 1936 and 1949, known as the Art Deco badge.
“Paying homage to Arsenal’s geometric crest which the club used from 1936 – 1949, the chevron graphic on the home jersey is inspired by the A within,” explained Adidas.
“It is also a nod to the layout of the tiling on the floors of the East Stand’s famous marble halls – the historical home of Arsenal before its 2006 move to the Emirates Stadium.”
A stylised version of the club’s canon logo has also been placed on the back of the neck as an additional reference to Arsenal’s history.
“The back-neck sign off also references the original crest, with the chevrons facing both east and west, representing the past and present of the club’s iconic cannon emblem,” added Adidas.
Graphic designer and writer Anoushka Khandwala continues our series exploring what creatives would change about their industry following this enforced period of lockdown and reflection
When it comes to holiday getaways, everyone loves the idea of lounging about in a nice cabin surrounded by nature at its best. Whether it’s in the middle of a forest, by the sea, or on a snowy mountaintop, one can never say no to cabin vacations! Architects and designers have been innovating the basic concept of a cabin itself, creating luxurious and cozy holiday destinations. So, we’ve curated a collection of comfortable cabins that will help you reconnect with nature and yourself!
Italian architects Massimo Gnocchi and Paolo Danesi probably also can’t wait to enjoy some downtime and therefore created the Mountain Refuge to express their desire for travel. The cabin was designed as a ‘refuge for the mind’ and radiates warmth and coziness that relaxes you instantly. The visual aesthetic and interiors have been carefully crafted with earthy tones and natural materials. The sweeping polygonal windows let you soak the nature in even if you don’t step outside. It lets in ample sunlight and makes the otherwise small space, spacious. Since it is so compact, the furniture has been kept minimal (in terms of size and design) and the one accent piece is the suspended fireplace which completes the perfect cabin picture. Already pinned this to my board!
The Livit Studypod is a futuristic black-box style cube that you can place anywhere you want and focus on your work, study or even health! This composite cube structure works as your bedroom, home office, or study table and is designed for outdoor use. Easy to place on your backyard, garden, or anywhere with a view, the black-tinted hardened glass window gives an unobstructed view of your scenery. Since the cube is a closed structure, it keeps you safe from the weather across the year. Measuring 2.15 x 1.8 x 2.1 meters, this cube is perfectly sized for you to style it for your comfort, improving your headspace and keeping you stress-free. The pod does weigh 700 kilos but it also comes with optional wheels that let you move it and settle down for a quick change of scenery! The pod has oak flooring, a detachable desk, a power outlet, four downlights, and natural ventilation to keep the place airy.
UK based Studio Koto has unveiled a series of multi-functional modular cabins to join the need for work from home setups. The angular, geometric form of the cabin makes it easily stand out, amplified by the use of dark wood for the exterior. The cabin boasts a large, irregularly shaped window on one side that gives the user sweeping views of their surroundings. ‘We want to disrupt how we see the conventional work office and have created a truly inspiring space that enhances the landscape giving people privacy with direct access to nature.’ said Zoe Little, founding partner at Koto.
AYFRAYM cabin’s A-shaped design at first glance brings to mind childhood memories of fairytale settings, with a modern twist that makes this three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a vaulted kitchen a must-have for a weekend getaway! ‘Everything starts with the box of plans’, the company explains. ‘In other words, there will never be an AYFRAYM that is built, without first purchasing our plans so that the customer has access to all the right specs and information necessary to build one.’
This Birdbox by Livit is actually a prefabricated shipping container-like cabin that offers one-of-a-kind escapes to lush destinations surrounded by nature. The cabins are simple, rectangular structures with huge circular and oval windows to give you a larger than life view of nature. Just like the exterior, the interior also has minimal decor which makes for a cozy space with a queen bed and a handful of chairs. There’s also a separate “Birdbox Bathroom” which features a black tint one-way glass floor-to-ceiling window. These box cabins are designed to be dropped in places with a minimal footprint that brings you closer to nature while providing comfort and shelter.
The classic Volvo 240 was wedged into a quintessential cabin. The designer merged the car with an adorable little red and white Winter Cabin, perfect for those family getaways during the winter vacations. However, this version of the car comprises of two Volvo 240s combined together, creating an inverted mirror image. It’s a winter wonderland with an automotive twist!
Made so that it can be the extra room your house needs (now that everyone’s stuck indoors), the Workstation Cabin is an insulated and soundproof room that can easily serve as a “workstation, a meeting room, a kids playroom, and a perfect hiding place if you are looking for a quiet space to read, relax and exercise”, according to the designers. After work hours, the cabin could even be converted into a makeshift bedroom for a night-out among the stars, or even for guests! Hello Wood Studios built the private retreat with the ability to later add extra features like heating/cooling, mood-lighting, in-built sound system, TV-screen, and WiFi setup, and can be assembled on your lawn/backyard or even on a terrace!
Finnish designer Robin Falck created an A-frame mirrored holiday house, ‘Nolla’. Literally meaning ‘zero’ in Finnish, Nolla was designed by Falck for Finnish renewable energy company Neste’s ‘Journey to Zero’ campaign, in an effort to build a world with minimal emissions. Functioning entirely on renewable energy, the cabin is located on the Vallisaari island, near Helsinki. It has been built entirely using sustainable materials such as local plywood and pine. In an attempt to encourage visitors to maintain a ‘zero waste lifestyle’, every element has been designed with the hope of not leaving behind any carbon footprint. Covered by mirrors and supported by wooden stilts, it excludes modern commodities. Nolla is powered by emission-free solar panels, and a Wallas stove that runs on Neste’s MY renewable diesel is provided for heating and cooking purposes.
The LUMIPOD is a series of prefabricated cabins that are installed 1000m above sea level in the French Alps (here is when you start planning your post-pandemic getaway) so you can only imagine how pristine the views are. To do the French Alps justice, the design team built the structure with one aim – giving you a fully immersive experience of being in nature with a luxurious upgrade. The most unique feature about this cabin is its LUMICENE windows – the curved window provides a 180º view and makes you feel like you are in a snow globe. The window is set in aluminum frames sliding between two rails so you can blend the indoors and outdoors by simply opening the window.
Architects Anthony Hunt and Luke Stanley have created their own version of a ‘Little House on the Prairie’ in Australia. This hut at Kimo Estate is an A-shaped construction that is bright and cozy inside built by this two-person team. As per the designers, “the hut’s form was inspired by a classic ‘A’ frame tent, which simultaneously provides both refuge from, and connection with, the natural environment.”
While social distancing remains the logical path to keep ourselves safe in this pandemic, we can build our bucket lists and save up for the time the world will be free and available for travel or just take off in a tiny home!
Design graduate Dmytro Nikiforchuk has created a range of sex toys for the elderly, including a tickling thimble and an ear trumpet for listening to a lover’s heartbeat.
The young designer chose to focus on the more mature user because they are often left out of the traditional 18 to 49 age bracket for the design and marketing strategies for sex toys.
“Most ‘classic’ gadgets are designed to meet the needs of the ‘average middle-aged user’,” Nikiforchuk told Dezeen.
“Instead, I believe that in the production process of any item should focus on specific consumers considering their age and needs.”
The kit contains four sensory toys made mostly of steel
Dotyk consists of a translucent plastic tube that contains a steel ear trumpet, a magnifying glass lens with a metal handle, a tube formed of two steel nozzles connected with a sponge, and an over-the-finger gadget with interchangeable attachments.
Each object is designed to be used by a pair of lovers to stimulate their own and each other’s senses of sound, smell, touch and sight.
Prompt cards help turn the toys into a flirty game
Nikiforchuk designed the sex toys for the kind of sensory foreplay that could help partners to reconnect and rediscover each other’s bodies. The objects are designed to be accessible for older people experiencing restricted mobility.
Dotyk comes with circular prompt cards that users can follow as a game in a process of intimate flirtation.
An ear trumpet-style device lets users listen to a partner’s heartbeat
Informed by medical devices such as stethoscopes, the headset toy allows the user to place the funnel end against their partner’s chest and listen to their heartbeat.
A smelling tube allows a couple to sniff each other or tease one another by spritzing their perfume in one end. Nikiforchuk said the device is designed to be a playful combination of an exploratory elephant’s trunk and a gas mask.
Two tubes and a sponge can be used to explore smell together
A device for stimulating touch slips over a finger like a thimble and has different attachments to produce a variety of sensations.
Metal bearings can be used as a massager, or a wooden pointed wheel can be run across the skin to create a pinching sensation. A silicon cone-shape imitates the feel of a fingertip, and a tuft of horsehair can be used to lightly tickle.
A thimble-style toy has different attachments for touching
Nikiforchuk combined the shape of a magnifying glass with medical scissors to create an easy-to-hold visual intimacy tool.
Users can choose between using a magnifying lens, a mirror, a coloured glass disc that acts as a filter, or a faceted piece that produces a kaleidoscopic effect.
A coloured lens can change the appearance of a partner’s body
The kit and all its component parts are deliberately ambiguous in shape, rather than overtly phallic. This design decision was motivated by a combination of wanting to make the toys both unintimidating and enjoyable to look at.
“When it comes to things like sex toys, it’s important to remember it’s about discretion,” said Nikiforchuk.
“So I decided to make them in this style – minimal, restrained and simple in a positive sense.”
Nikiforchuk deliberately made the toys discrete
Although Dotyk is aimed at the more mature user, Nikiforchuk said that anybody could enjoy it.
“I think that younger users can also use my product to diversify their sex life,” he said.
“My project focuses on establishing closer contact between partners. Therefore, if the partners have jointly agreed that this product can help them, then why not try.”
Dotyk is designed as an aide for foreplay and physical intimacy
Contemporary sex toy designers are moving away from the traditional, penetration-focused models, with many experimenting with more ambiguous and sensory-focused designs.
How much can you take away from something before you’ve taken away too much? The MINUS Calculator is a great example of a no-frills design that’s so incredibly simplistic, it seems like a monolithic slab of plastic, but it’s a sleek, minimal-yet-fully-functional calculator.
Making a product better isn’t always an additive process, it’s sometimes also subtractive. The MINUS calculator doesn’t come with buttons, color-coded keys, or even a screen for that matter. Everything manifests within the slick, monotone block that is the MINUS. The numbers are bas-relief molded into the calculator’s front panel, and a powerful LED screen shines through the panel’s translucent plastic. The only break in the calculator’s surface is in the top left corner, where the “=” button sits. The MINUS calculator also comes with a battery gauge built into its side, and a proprietary magnetic contact-pin charging port at its base that lets you snap the charger to it whenever it’s low on juice.
ARTSTHREAD is partnering with i-D Magazine to create an online Global Design Graduate Show 2020 with entries being collected through July 31. The show came about as a proactive response to the Covid-19 health crisis as a way for recent graduates to get exposure and make connections in lieu of cancelled year-end shows and internships. The competition is open to all students graduating in any under- or post-graduate art & design degree over the academic year 2019-20, and the winners will be showcased online this September.
According to ARTSTHREAD Creative Director Jens Laugesen the goal of the competition is to “turn the negative narrative of the disruption into a positive opportunity…by uniting the industry leaders and media to help showcase the diversity of the graduates’ creative work next to their peers from around the world.”
A wide range of global creative brands have also come on board as sponsors and judges (ed. note: I am one of the judges). The shortlisted creatives will be judged and mentored by leading industry figures and featured on globaldesigngraduateshow.com, a new digital platform. A global audience will be encouraged to view the work and vote for their favorites through August and September. Category award winners will be announced in September during an event to be confirmed at Somerset House during London Fashion Week and London Design Festival.
The program is open internationally to all art and design undergraduate or postgraduate students graduating in the academic year 2019 – 2020. There is no fee to enter, and the deadline to submit your work is July 31, 2020. To enter visit artsthread.com/GDGS20.
Named after the Japanese word for furniture, the Kagu is a clever, versatile, foldable chair that folds down into a low, coffee table or a floor-sitting table. Designed by India-based Viswak Raja, the Kagu solves multiple purposes in a single, simplistic design. Made broadly from two wooden units hinged together at a single point, the Kagu folds up to either become a sturdy chair, or collapses downward to turn into a table that sits just a little over a foot off the floor. Raja’s hinge placement allows the angled seating surface and backrest to become collinear, becoming a broad table with a split surface and a gap in between that’s wide enough to route your laptop and smartphone charging cables through! Neat, eh??
I don’t mean to get too philosophical here but cameras are essentially eyes. They capture whatever they’re looking at, and the subject in front of the camera helps determine the camera’s role. Sounds confusing? Well, the camera plays the role of an artist if it’s capturing landscapes or portraits. It plays the role of a security guard if it’s mounted on the ceiling of a bank or a supermarket, and of a nanny or babysitter if it’s inside a nursery room. The way a camera is envisioned is loosely based on the role it plays, but the minute you realize that it’s just a pair of eyes, you begin looking at the camera slightly more humanely. You possibly end up anthropomorphized it a little.
CareVision’s entire approach has been to break that barrier of a camera being perceived purely as technology. The tiny hand-held video assistant comes with what they call EI or emotional intelligence, that allows the camera to behave less as surveillance tech and more as an actual caretaker. The CareVision is small, portable, and captures what you want it to. It bridges the communication gaps between parents at work and children at home by encouraging video conversations. It captures and records special moments, almost like a second parent who cares, and acts as a facial recognition device that can recognize you and your family as well as alert you when someone unfamiliar gets captured in its frame. The CareVision isn’t a CCTV camera or a webcam. It’s an extra pair of eyes that was designed to be a part of and take care of your family.
The CareVision comes with an on-board AI chip that runs its features without relying on the cloud. The camera uses local storage to capture media and provides free cloud storage too, allowing you to access recordings from anywhere in the globe and view them in full detail from a smartphone app. You could either be monitoring your children or elders at home, or leave the CareVision running when you’re not at home to monitor your house. The CareVision’s wireless nature lets you carry the camera to any room in the house or even outdoors, letting you keep tabs on the kids while they’re swimming or playing. All video gets recorded locally and can be viewed on the CareVision’s app. The camera performs time-lapses and facial recognition too, alerting you in case it notices anything or anyone suspicious. If it does, the camera’s speaker triggers an alarm as a deterrent. Conversely, the CareVision camera even sports a button that lets you video-call people with the app, allowing parents to have conversations with their kids remotely. All video communications are end to end encrypted too, giving your personal life a layer of security.
The two features that really set CareVision apart are its wireless nature, and the fact that there are no additional payments for cloud video storage. The CareVision camera can be carried around wherever you go, broadcasting from practically anywhere, making it great for giving to kids when they go camping, or placing in your office to enable streamlined communications. Designed to be effective, lightweight, and extremely easy to use, the CareVision can even be operated by the elderly, allowing you to periodically check up on them and have video conversations too… and yes, the camera even works at night!
CareVision – EI (Emotionally Intelligent) Home Camera
The CareVision lets you protect, connect, and check-in with loved ones using patented “virtual presence” features that make caring simple.
CareVision is Perfect For
– Kids at Home. Review activity at home with Smart Motion Time-Lapse and Face Log. – Kids at Play. Know your child is safe at play with Live Window updates and Livestream. – Babycam & Elderly Care. Use Face Log and No Motion to get alerted when there’s no motion. – Nannycam. Check-in with your babysitter with time-lapse and Livestream. – Pets at Home. Calm your pet with voice and review activity with time-lapse.
Artificial Intelligence
CareVision has specialized hardware and accelerated Computer Vision Logic so it can do things like tell a person from a thing and even recognize individual faces.
Emotional Intelligence
Never miss a moment with patented features that maintain “virtual presence,” even while you’re away, with innovative summaries that make what matters most to you easy to find and review. Plus, always check-in and connect with your loved ones with stay connected features for a unique level of comfort and interaction.
Motion Based Time-Lapse to DVR – Review points of interest by switching from time-lapse to DVR to watch in detail.
Face Log Summary – Logged facial expressions take you to the exact moment the expression was recorded to watch in detailed DVR.
Real Time Communication – Connect in full HD with peer to peer livestream and two-way audio with no noticeable lag.
Alert Button – Press to alert parents/loved ones in case of emergency or for urgent assistance.
Panic Alarm – Triggering a panic will sound a loud siren in the camera for 10 seconds and an alert notification will be sent with event video.
Home Alert – Get alerted as soon as your child/loved one reaches home for peace of mind they arrived safe and on time.
Live Window – Monitor remotely with updated live snapshots on your smartphone instead of viewing full livestream to save on bandwidth.
Onboard Battery for Primo Portability
Have peace of mind—untethered—with CareVision’s built-in backup battery. Place it anywhere in the house (no power cable required), take it to the office or while you travel, and since it’s also dust and waterproof you can even use it outdoors.
No Cloud Fees
CareVision is architected to be cloud light. Other cameras charge monthly subscriptions for cloud storage and video services, but they deliver all the above features locally on the AI chip without charging any cloud fees—even when there is no internet connection. When the connection is back, you will get notifications about alerts and see the related videos.
Rhode Island School of Design president Rosanne Somerson has announced a series of initiatives to address the racism that has “pervaded systems and structures at RISD for decades”, following pressure from students and staff.
Somerson revealed the school’s plan to tackle racism in an open letter sent to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) community, following a call for the school to do more for social equity and inclusion amid racial unrest in the US.
“As the leader of RISD, I take responsibility”
“Over recent weeks BIPOC [black, Indigenous and people of colour] students, faculty, staff and alumni have voiced outrage about RISD’s multiple racist issues centered around deeply embedded practices and structures as well as how white voices and Western perspectives dominate our curricula,” Somerson wrote.
“Unfortunately, these issues are not new; they have pervaded systems and structures at RISD for decades, largely unchanged,” she added. “As the leader of RISD, I take responsibility for having allowed a culture to continue to exist that does not fully live up to our values.”
RISD, a private art and design school in Providence, created its anti-racist plan in response to issues highlighted by the student-led RISD Anti-Racism Coalition (risdARC) and a group of BIPOC faculty members.
“We are committing to a new set of actions to inspire a better RISD”
The letter highlights four key aims: cultivating an ever-more diverse community; expanding and diversifying curriculum and pedagogy; implementing research on issues of social equity and inclusion in art and design; and embedding anti-racist and anti-discriminatory infrastructures.
RISD president Rosanne Somerson penned an open letter in which she took responsibility for allowing systemic racism to continue
“Today we are committing to a new set of actions to inspire a better RISD – a RISD where students, faculty and staff of all races, ethnicities and cultures are supported, nourished and honored without the impediments of systemic racism,” Somerson said.
RISD plans to create a created a faculty-led Social Equity and Inclusion (SEI) committee that will spearhead change.
RISD to improve the diversity of school body
Ambitions include expanding the diversity of the school body by cluster-hiring 10 new faculty members that specialise in issues of race and decoloniality in the arts and design, and increasing the number of students of colour.
Changes will also be made to the school curriculum, such as requiring students to take courses on issues related to social equity and inclusion, engaging the non-Eurocentric world and developing courses on systemic inequity.
The school also plans to bring in a new interdisciplinary course focused on decoloniality and race in art and design by fall 2021 and hire two SEI research and teaching fellows.
Other aims include repatriating work in RISD Museum “with problematic histories” and using the majority of its budget to acquire works by underrepresented artists. The school has also created an Office of Discrimination Reporting.
RISD anti-racist initiatives follow others in architecture and design
Somerson’s plan for RISD comes amid a greater focus on racial inequality in architecture and design, sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody in May this year.
Over recent weeks BIPOC students, faculty, staff and alumni have voiced outrage about RISD’s multiple racist issues centered around deeply embedded practices and structures as well as how white voices and Western perspectives dominate our curricula. Unfortunately, these issues are not new; they have pervaded systems and structures at RISD for decades, largely unchanged.
Artists and designers are vital contributors to local and global communities, and as such it is our responsibility to be fully committed to building more democratic and equitable practices. Those practices must first be amended in our own institution. As the leader of RISD, I take responsibility for having allowed a culture to continue to exist that does not fully live up to our values.
This plan is a commitment to action, and its initiatives are in response to the student-led RISD Anti-Racism Coalition (risdARC) and the group of BIPOC faculty that has been working passionately to instigate much- needed change at RISD. Together, their demands have deeply informed our planning.
Today we are committing to a new set of actions to inspire a better RISD – a RISD where students, faculty and staff of all races, ethnicities and cultures are supported, nourished and honored without the impediments of systemic racism. RISD must reflect the complexity of the world and demonstrate the critical role of artists and designers in advancing change.
Each action outlined here will lead us on a progessive path forward. Yet this set of initiatives is just a beginning. We must and will take many more steps to fundamentally advance change. To that end, I am fully empowering Senior Advisor to the President and Associate Provost Matthew Shenoda with additional, meaningful authority to oversee this transformation. We will work closely together in partnership with Provost Kent Kleinman, the deans, the full Cabinet and our faculty, students and staff to ensure that SEI’s work impacts every aspect of RISD.
We repeatedly heard from our community that the most definitive transformation we could make would be to increase the diversity of our faculty and that of their scholarship and pedagogy. I am pleased to announce that through the support of one of the largest gifts in our history, RISD will launch a cluster-hire initiative – the hiring of multiple scholars based on shared, interdisciplinary scholarship and research interests. This will bring 10 new faculty members to RISD in academic year 2021/22 with expertise in issues of race and decoloniality in the arts and design. This initiative will launch a fundamental transformation toward diversifying and expanding our curricula. Additional details regarding the gift and the cluster hire will be announced soon.
We are committed to consequential, scaled change. Evolving our college, museum and community is not just about eliminating racism; it is about being proactively anti-racist. These next steps for moving RISD forward are just that: critical next commitments. They should not and cannot be viewed as a simple checklist with a near-term endpoint. In the past few weeks we have heard from numerous voices that make clear the complexity and interrelationships of these issues. These will require ongoing, full-on efforts to make substantive, meaningful and durable change. This is the beginning of that change.
Three sneakers reference Nike’s Space Hippie effort, but remain true to their iconic silhouette
The 100-year-old Chuck Taylor All Star remains not only Converse‘s most popular offering, but also one of the most universally recognizable sneakers. The brand’s desire to develop the shoe with more sustainable materials could have comprised the classic style, but designers decided to “preserve the DNA of the world’s most iconic sneaker”—a brief that seems simple at first, but proves more difficult as you attempt to reimagine the design with all-new materials. Their efforts leverage the Space Hippie toolkit developed by parent company Nike and manifest as three colorways of the new Chuck Taylor All Star Crater, available to order tomorrow. We’ve been wearing a pair for the last week and enjoy them even more than the originals.
These three new releases retain the toe-cap, foxing tap and pinstripe, and remain similar in look and feel to the Chuck Taylor’s canvas iteration. Their uppers comprise varying percentages of recycled polyester and recycled post-industrial textile waste scraps and a new eye-row—a stretch of fabric that outlines the laces and their eyelets, made using less material. Best of all, the sneaker sits atop “Crater Foam,” a featherweight and incredibly comfortable sole made from 12% Nike Grind rubber.
At launch, the All Star Crater will be made from 40% recycled source material and its appearance (with speckled patterning and appropriately pieced together components) matches. It’s a welcome addition to Nike and Converse’s roster of releases ushering the companies closer to their Move to Zero goal, an ambitious quest for zero carbon and zero waste.
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