Hasta La Ideas

Dezeen and MINI World Tour: the next stop on our Dezeen and MINI World Tour is our home town of London. In our first report, Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs takes a trip through the east of the city and explains why the area has become such a hotbed for design and technology.

Starting off in Stoke Newington, a former village in the north-east of the city where Dezeen is based, Fairs follows the route of an old Roman road called Ermine Street to the city centre, passing through Dalston, Shoreditch and the City of London before ending up at the River Thames.

“These areas have come to symbolise the new creative economy of London,” says Fairs as he passes through Shoreditch, a former industrial district bordering the City of London where a proliferation of architects, designers and, increasingly, technology companies are based.

“They’re stuffed full of digital companies, technology companies, design companies; [there’s] a real focus of new types of creativity.”

Last year, Dezeen celebrated the rich diversity of design talent in the area as part of our Designed in Hackney initiative, which culminated in a day of talks and workshops with many of the borough’s upcoming creative companies.

“We plotted on a map all of the design studios in the area,” Fairs explains. “We found that the pins on the map were so dense you couldn’t see the map behind. It really felt that we’d discovered a critical mass of design talent that is unrivalled anywhere else in the world.”

There are a number of reasons why so many designers set up in London, says Fairs, despite the city being “really expensive, really competitive, really unfriendly to newcomers.”

“London is full of really amazing design schools, I think that’s a really important point,” he explains. “People from all around the world come to London to get their design qualifications; they make friends, they enjoy the culture and they stay and set up studios.”

Another major factor is money, Fairs claims: “There’s lots of money in London. That’s created problems – the property market has been going up non-stop – but it also creates wealth and wealth is the thing that turns the gears of creativity in many ways.”

The wealth of the city is most visible in the new skyscrapers being built to the south of Shoreditch in the City of London, where projects like Richard Rogers’ Leadenhall Building and Raphael Viñoly’s 20 Fenchurch Street, dubbed “The Cheesegrater” and “The Walkie-Talkie” respectively, are transforming London’s skyline.

“London used to be a place where world-class architects didn’t really feel like they could get any decent work” Fairs says. “But now London is really coming into its own.”

Of course, one of the main attractions of Shoreditch for the creative industries was that rents were comparatively cheap. Fairs says it is inevitable that young designers are now being priced out of the area, but is optimistic for the future of designers in the city.

“London is a big city,” he says. “People are already moving further to the east, to the south, crossing the river. London, I think, will always be able to regenerate itself.”

We travelled through east London in our MINI Cooper S Paceman. The music featured in the movie is a track called Temple by London band Dead Red Sun.

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creative economy of London” appeared first on Dezeen.

Automotive brand Nissan has unveiled the first smartwatch concept to communicate with a car, providing drivers with real-time information such as average speed and heart rate (+ movie).

The Nismo Watch will connect with Nissan‘s Nismo vehicle range, enabling drivers to keep track of their speed and fuel consumption to help improve efficiency.

Racing drivers will be able to use the watch to access performance statistics while on track. Data from the car and wearer will be transmitted to a smartphone app via bluetooth, where it will be stored.

The watch will also track and rate the user’s social media activity across Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram via Nissan’s Social Speed software.

“Wearable technology is fast becoming the next big thing and we want to take advantage of this innovative technology to make our Nismo brand more accessible,” said Gareth Dunsmore, the brand’s Marketing Communications General Manager.

The interface will be controlled by two buttons on the smooth band, which will secure to the wrist with a snap-fit mechanism and come in black, white, or a combination of black and red.

A lithium battery will have a life of over seven days and charge by micro-USB. Packaging for the watch will be made using rubber from racetrack tyres.

Nissan has also set up a mobile laboratory to develop and test additional features for its wearable technology.

It is hoped these new features will be able to monitor biometrics including heart rhythm intervals to identify when drivers are becoming tired, brainwaves to track concentration levels and emotions, plus skin temperature to record core body temperature and hydration levels.

The concept was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this week, close behind electronics brand Samsung‘s announcement about its own smartwatch.

Google is set to launch its Google Glass augmented reality eyewear in 2014, which the UK government wants to ban for drivers amid safety concerns.

Apple is also rumoured to be working on a smartwatch that might take the form of a slap bracelet with a video display patented by the company earlier this year. See more wearable technology »

Here are more details from Nissan:

Nissan enters wearable technology space with the unveil of the Nismo watch concept

Nissan launches first smartwatch to connect car and driver performance.

First smartwatch concept to connect driver and car Nismo Watch showcases Nissan’s intent to deliver biometric data that enhances driver performance and efficiency Nissan is investigating heart and brain monitoring technologies for future wearable tech.

Nissan will become the first car manufacturer to create a smartwatch designed specifically for drivers of Nissan Nismo cars. The Nissan Nismo Concept Watch will be the first smartwatch to connect a driver to the car and will provide drivers with real-time biometric data.

The watch, unveiled today ahead of its display at the Frankfurt Motor Show (10-22 September 2013), is Nissan’s first step into wearable technology and epitomises its “fan first” approach to performance.

The Nissan Nismo Watch will allow drivers to: monitor the efficiency of their vehicle with average speed and fuel consumption readings; access vehicle telematics and performance data while on track; capture biometric data via a heart rate monitor; connect to the car using a smartphone app via Bluetooth Low Energy; receive tailored car messages from Nissan.

Gareth Dunsmore, Marketing Communications General Manager, Nissan in Europe, commented: “Wearable technology is fast becoming the next big thing and we want to take advantage of this innovative technology to make our Nismo Brand more accessible. On track, Nissan uses the latest biometric training technologies to improve the performance of our Nissan Nismo Athletes and it is this technology we want to bring to our fans to enhance their driving experience and Nismo ownership.”

Earlier this year, Nissan launched the Nismo Lab – a bespoke, mobile laboratory that features the latest, advanced biometric training tools such as brainwave technology and JukeRide – a cutting-edge performance analysis tool, that captures live biometric and telematics data from the race cars and Nissan Nismo Athletes during races. Nismo’s vision is to take these digital age technologies and make them available to athletes from other disciplines and to Nissan owners through future wearable tech.

Three key technologies have already identified for future development: ECG (Electrocardiogram) – to measure the intervals of the R-R rhythm of the heart, and identify early fatigue; EEG (Electroencephalogram) Brainwave – to monitor the drivers’ levels of concentration and emotions, and help athletes to get ‘In The Zone’; Skin Temperature – to record core body temperature and hydration levels; The Nismo Watch will also track and rate the user’s social performance across Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram via Nissan’s proprietary Social Speed software.

The sleek Nismo Watch will be available in three colours – black, white and the flagship black and red. The watch design was inspired by the Nismo ring and is reflected in a seamless, futuristic and ergonomic design. The simple user interface can be controlled by two buttons and is secured onto the driver’s wrist via a simple snap-fit mechanism.

Even the packaging will have a unique Nismo identity. Dunsmore concluded: “We have brought the Nismo experience to life in every aspect of the watch, including its packaging, which will be made using tyres and rubber from the racetrack. As Nismo is the performance arm of Nissan, we wanted a way of integrating Nismo’s heritage in racing into this futuristic innovation.”

The Nismo Watch will use a lithium battery and will be charged by micro-USB, with a battery life of over seven days under normal usage conditions.

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by Nissan appeared first on Dezeen.

These magnetic headphone jacks by New York designer Jon Patterson split in two when tugged to prevent damaging devices when wires get snagged (+ movie).

“I always break my headphones from cord snagging and sometimes I break my device completely,” Jon Patterson said.

His Pogo connector comprises two parts joined by magnets – one with a jack that fits into the headphone socket on the device, and a second longer piece that accommodates the jack from the headphones.

The signal is transferred between the two parts via four pins, but once the cord is yanked away they disconnect and the music stops until the sections are reconnected. “The magnet is strong enough to hold the device but will break upon force,” says Patterson in the video demonstration.

It can be use as a straight connection or at a ninety-degree angle, where it can fully rotate.

Jack sections can be left in devices and a receiver piece can be kept on the headphones, so swapping between different equipment is simple.

Other gadgets on Dezeen include a stylus that straps over the nose for using touch-screen phones in the bath and an inkjet printer that eats its way down through a stack of paper.

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by Jon Patterson appeared first on Dezeen.

Movie: in our second video interview with Konstantin Grcic in Milan, the industrial designer discusses the upsides and downsides of designing collections for multiple brands, rather than building relationships with a select few. 

“I think the business model of design studios working for several companies, and companies working with many different designers, is quite unique [compared to other industries],” says Grcic, who unveiled new products for brands including Emeco, Flos, Magis and Mattiazzi in Milan this year.

“It has its advantages; it creates dynamism,which I think is positive. I’ve seen the negative side of it as well; because of the dynamics things change and a company that was great to work with for five years suddenly becomes less interesting.”

Grcic concedes that he would prefer to work with fewer companies and build long-term relationships with them.

“To be honest, I prefer working for only a very few companies and having a very steady relationship,” he says. “That’s how it was in the old days, especially in Italy. The great masters each had a few companies that they worked for, almost for a lifetime, and that’s what produced the really great work.”

However, Grcic says that is still possible to work with a company on a short-term basis and produce good work.

“I think some companies, for sure, hire designers for marketing reasons, for having their names in the catalogue,” he says. “But there are other companies – and those are the interesting companies – that are looking for designers as partners for realising certain projects.”

He continues: “It’s interesting that a company like Magis, for example, somehow succeeds in bringing together very different designers on very different projects. If it works, it’s actually quite fascinating. It creates an interesting tension and energy.”

Similarly, Grcic says that a long-standing relationship with a company doesn’t guarantee good design.

“There are companies that only work with very few designers and it can show that the continuity creates better work,” he says. “But it can also end in repetition and a kind of dead-end street.”

See all our stories about Konstantin Grcic »
See all our Milan 2013 coverage »
Watch our Dezeen and MINI World Tour video reports from Milan »

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marketing reasons” – Konstantin Grcic appeared first on Dezeen.

Here’s a movie we filmed with designer Daan Roosegaarde about his concepts for glow-in-the-dark roads and responsive street lamps to make highways safer, one of five projects honoured at last week’s INDEX: Award.

Dezeen spoke to Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde at the Design Indaba conference in Cape Town, where he presented the Smart Highway project earlier this year.

The concepts proposed by his studio to make road infrastructure safer and more energy efficient include photo-luminescent paint to mark out traffic lanes, temperature-responsive road paint to warn drivers of icy conditions and interactive street lamps that come on as vehicles approach then dim as they pass. Find out more about the project in our previous story.

Announced at a ceremony in Denmark last Thursday, the INDEX: Awards are presented annually to projects that address world challenges.

The Smart Highway project was one of two recipients in the community category, along with a climate adaptation plan for Copenhagen.

Other winners across the four other categories include spice-infused paper to keep fruits and vegetables ripe, a tiny computer to teach young people about computer programming and a birth simulation learning kit in a ruck sack. Read more about this year’s winners here.

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his Smart Highway project appeared first on Dezeen.