Hasta La Ideas

Around these parts—these parts being the self-righteously damp Northwest—most seasons bring rain, which means icy cyclist-vs.-nature battles are rare, but soggy feet are a common woe.

Most all season commuters hate the idea of switching from clipless pedals they like for the sake of donning a waterproof walking shoe, and shoe covers are an ill-fitting non-guarantee against the creeping wet. Waterproof SPD-compatible shoes exist… on the bulky, heavily insulated, sweatmonster end of the spectrum. In short, where the hell is Chrome’s waterproof SPD shoe? Someone check out Urbanized, Jillian Tackaberry’s fun and approachable design for waterproof cycling shoes, and then give her a contract because I need them. Today.

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“Teen Idol”

Blair Buttke, a freelance graphic designer at Philosophy, Inc. in Phoenix, AZ, has graced us with a series of microphone renderings worthy of a double-take. Each design has its own name, personality and role when it comes to audio functionality. The monikers make the microphones’ ideal uses pretty obvious and doesn’t include any complex serial numbers and letters. The result: another series in the slew of electronics we can connect with past the work desk.

“Cape Canaveral” (left) and “Washington Bureau” (right)

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Michigan-based designer Susan (Yating) Qiu is exploring the frontier of minimal furniture design with work that features unexpected materials and natural inspirations. They may not catch your eye for being the most practical pieces, but they sure are fun.

Her first series, “Adret & Ubac” may come off as a defective rug (which is partly true, according to the designer), but it’s actually a snooze-worthy seating option for those looking to catch-up with a friend or on their sleep.

It’s essentially a rug on the floor that elevates at the center to function as a backrest. The form defines dual spaces for both conversation and self retreat. Different tones used on two sides of the ridge signify the adret and ubac of the mountain, the binary nature of the piece, as active catalyst for social interaction as well as for passive repose.

In a world of open office layouts and temporary workspaces, this would fit in perfectly at one of those progressive nap-friendly employers.

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Nailing down a perfect workspace is a science. For a place that you spend a majority of your time in, it had better fit you and pull the most productivity from your procrastinating fingertips—even if you’re a freelancer without a go-to office. David Bruér, an industrial designer from Stockholm, has designed a portable space for the workers who want to bust past flimsy cubical walls—a hampster wheel of creativity, if we may.

We caught a look at the workspace in 2012 at Stockholm Design Week. While the photos do the design justice, it deserves a revisit for a closer look at all the working parts. The design circles around (literally) the functionality of the slats inside the space—custom fitted chairs, benches and lights can be placed within the sphere in any of the available slots. The structure is easily moved and reassembled, making this kind of construction ideal for an open-office layout.

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Nicolas Brouillac hails from France, a country that takes their wine-drinking seriously. And while we saw that Peugeot once helped coffee drinkers imbibe with their coffee mills, industrial designer Brouillac designs products for oenophiles produced by the modern-day Peugeot.

His Dahlia decanter, inspired by a children’s top, help to aerate a freshly-opened bottle. Pour into the funnel-like opening, then let Dahlia roll in its prescribed circle, confident that the vessel’s design precludes any spillage.

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