Hasta La Ideas

Disney’s iconic “Prototype Community” inspired a series of poster compositions by Stephen Christ of Morton Grove, IL, who is releasing the complete set of 11 posters on Kickstarter in anticipation of the theme park’s 30th anniversary this October. The artist, an industrial designer by trade, originally created the self-initiated homage a couple years back, but he’s just launched a modest Kickstarter campaign (he’s made $1,500 towards his $5,000 goal) in order to share his work with a broader audience, with the “ultimate goal to be accepted into Disney’s Festival of Masters that showcases the best Disney artists around the world.”

October 1, 1982 – This was the day EPCOT Center opened its doors at Walt Disney World in Florida. Originally planned as an entire futuristic city, this innovative theme park was a gamble. Nothing like it had ever been attempted before. It was a display of everything the natural world has to offer, everything humans are capable of, and what the future holds. It was also one of the most well-designed and interesting places on earth.

One of my favorite parts of EPCOT Center was the logos that designated each pavilion. They were as basic as could be, stripping down a broad idea into a simple symbol. I wanted to celebrate this, so I expanded each logo into a fully fleshed out work of art. A simple line art drawing turned into a full color poster.

The flattened, color-block aesthetic hearkens back to Constructivism, while the vector icons evoke the much more recent Noun Project. Faux-distressing notwithstanding, the wonderful artwork transcends mere modernist nostalgia, capturing the optimistic spirit of its subject matter.

(more…)

Recent grad of Umeâ Institute of Design (via Jerusalem’s Bezalel Academy, where he completed his B.F.A.), Gosha Galitsky is currently seeking work in Europe or the U.S. His concept for Dynapac, a manufacturer of compaction and paving equipment, is a forward-looking approach to infrastructural upkeep:

The Dynapac Red Carpet is an environmentally conscious solution for road maintenance in future Mega-Cities, where street traffic is predicted to become increasingly dense and unstoppable. This futuristic road-recycling paver allows inner city traffic to continue its flow without interruptions by letting vehicles drive over it while paving. The machine utilizes an existing process known as Hot-In-Place Recycling, in which the old road surface is re-heated using microwaves. The reclaimed asphalt is lifted into the machine, mixed with a small amount of fresh binder and paved back onto the road.

Ten points if you can name another road paving process (hint: “steamrolling” isn’t a paving process); twenty if you can name another compaction equipment manufacturer. Which is to note that we use roads every day, yet we rarely, if ever, consider the maintenance and upkeep of asphalt. As a bike commuter in NYC, I’ve gained an intimate knowledge of the potholes on many of the streets in Upper Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan—and a visceral appreciation for freshly-laid asphal—but I have only a superficial (pun intended) understanding of road surfacing and the engineering considerations that go into infrastructure.

So assuming it’s safe for cyclists, Galitsky’s Dynapac “Red Carpet” concept looks good to me.

(more…)

Two large membrane vacuum presses for laminating the curved forms of the Iris Floor Light.

It is said that you are a product of your environment. In the case of MacMaster Design the environment is a product of well, the product. A look into Alex MacMaster and Limahl Asmall’s workspace over at their portfolio on Coroflot and you can see how the flowing and open forms of his lighting fixtures have created a spacious breathable setting. This is not to distract but only add to the rolling scenery of Worcestershire, Great Britain, where the company is located.

Today, MacMaster’s workshop resides in a formerly dusty swimming pool which has been transformed into a modern day production facility. The Old Pool has sliding doors and large luminous windows that open onto a sea of coniferous forest providing an idyllic setting for MacMaster’s natural and timber based lighting and furniture. Cast iron machinery has been meticulously sourced from within the United Kingdom and consists of 70’s Wadkin and Sedgwick precision equipment complete with British Racing Green lacquers. The Wadkin Burrsgreen Band-saw in particular being the equivalent Rolls Royce of its time.

The large sliding door works just as well in an industrial setting as it did illuminating pool-goers.

Precision and refinement are a necessity when dealing with the complex forms of their lighting fixtures. Check out after the jump to see the final product.

(more…)

Earlier this year, we were lucky enough to see some paintings by none other than Syd Mead himself at Future (Perfect), a solo show of small works at BravinLee Gallery (no word on whether he’ll be showing any paintings in Boston next month). For those of you who missed it—and the rest of us too—Vaughan Ling is taking up the mantle. The digital rendering wunderkind had blown our minds with his über-detailed depictions of spaceships, but a new-ish series of landscapes shows his remarkable command of light and composition.

I have no idea whether he has any fine art aspirations, but these would make amazing large-scale digital prints…

He’s also got a strong sense of figure and texture, as in this rendering of Darth Maul; his mastery of form is a given, considering that he’s studying Transportation Design at CCS.

That’s right, he’s still in school: Ling is looking forward to completing his BFA this December.

(more…)

I’m not sure if these are the kind of shoes that you can, you know, wear, but Janina Alleyne‘s “Exoskeleton” collection is clearly a case of form over function… in keeping with the majority of haute couture. Which is not to say that they’re not spectacular, but rather that each of the three prototypes might properly be considered as sculptural objects as opposed to wearable ones.

As if six-inch heels aren’t vertiginous enough, I don’t know if I’d trust that additively-layered dragon claw to support any weight…

The other two styles are a little more reasonable, with the wedge heel; along with the white leather straps, they seem far more practical.

(more…)