Hasta La Ideas

Design studio Berg has announced a new product, the Little Printer, which will be available for purchase in 2012. According to Berg’s blog, the Little Printer “lives in your front room and scours the web on your behalf, assembling the content you care about into designed deliveries a couple of times a day”.

The film below shows the Little Printer in action:

Users configure the Little Printer from their mobile phones, and the product launches in partnership with Google, the Guardian, Nike, Arup and foursquare. The Little Printer will receive personalised information from these sites, and presumably other sources as it gets up and running. It is the first product that uses the ‘Berg Cloud’ technology, a new way of connecting and controlling wireless products in the home. The Little Printer wirelessly connects to a small box plugged into a broadband router, which is controlled by a mobile phone rather than a PC.

“We love physical stuff,” say Berg on their blog. “Connecting products to the web lets them become smarter and friendlier – they can sit on a shelf and do a job well, for the whole family or office – without all the attendant complexities of computers, like updates or having to tell them what to do.”

We’ve yet to see the Little Printer in action: judging from the film we do wonder whether a small paper print out will be able to contain the huge amount of news, opinions and ideas that come at us digitally every day. And people will undoubtedly flag up the question of paper wastage. But, having said that, paper still holds a huge place in our lives; as Berg puts it: “Paper is like a screen that never turns off. You can stick it to the fridge or tuck it in your wallet. You can scribble on it, or tear it and give it to a friend.”

More info on the Little Printer is at the Berg website, bergcloud.com/littleprinter/, where you can also join the mailing list to be the first to be informed on news about the product launch.

CR in Print

If you enjoy reading the Creative Review website, we think you’ll enjoy reading the magazine even more. The December issue of CR includes a profile piece on the independent creative scene in Liverpool, a major interview with Dutch book designer Irma Boom and a great piece on ‘Poster King’ Edward McKnight Kauffer. You’ll also find articles on Dentsu London, a review of the Walker Art Center’s Graphic Design: Now in Production show and a fascinating debate on the clash between design and advertising betwen Wally Olins and CHI’s Dan Beckett.

And if that wasn’t enough, the issue also includes a FREE paper toy for readers to cut out and customise.

If you would like to buy this issue and are based in the UK, you can search for your nearest stockist here. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 292 3703 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.