Hasta La Ideas

Richard Woods and Sebastian Wrong have created a collection of chairs that wouldn’t seem out of place in a cartoon.

Woods‘ signature bold patterns representing wooden planks are printed onto every surface of the wooden seats, with a black line along every edge to create the effect of an illustration.

All four chairs are the same simple shape, but each is a unique colour and has a slightly different pattern.

The furniture is on display at Gallerie VIVID in Rotterdam until 17 March 2013.

Sebastian Wrong made the news last year when he resigned from his post as design director at Established & Sons.

Our recent stories about chairs include bent wood seats that look like they’re wearing capes and one inspired by cooked spaghetti. See all our stories about chair design »

The post Logo Chairs by Richard Woods
and Sebastian Wrong appeared first on Dezeen.

Dezeen Watch Store: the BN0106 is the first watch in the Prestige collection by Braun at Dezeen Watch Store. This digital timepeice features a patented EasySkroll v 2.0 operating system, which is used to navigate through the variety of functions available on the watch.

The functions include two time and date displays, an alarm, a stopwatch and a countdown timer. The two time and date displays enable the wearer to monitor two time zones at once. Each function is easily navigated by rotating the scroll on the left hand side and adjusted by pushing the scroll in.

The watch is available with a rubber or stainless steel strap and comes with either a black or stainless steel face. A small button on the right hand side switches on the back light.

The watch is part of the iconic Braun collection at Dezeen Watch Store, now made under license by British brand Zeon. See the full collection here.

www.dezeenwatchstore.com

The post BN0106 by Braun is now available
at Dezeen Watch Store appeared first on Dezeen.

Product news: Dutch designer Pepe Heykoop has created a paper cover to turn any glass jar or bottle into a faceted vase, sold to help impoverished women in Mumbai make a living.

Each Paper Vase is handmade by the women of the Pardeshi community in Mumbai’s red light district. The workshop was founded by Pepe Heykoop and the Tiny Miracles Foundation, which was set up by his cousin. “The ultimate goal is to pull this 700-person community out of poverty by providing healthcare, education and jobs within eight years,” says Heykoop.

The vase is made of coated paper and comes in white or graduated green colour blocks. It’s transported in an envelope and can be rolled down to fit different sizes of bottle.

Heykoop is known for his philanthropic design work and previous projects with the Tiny Miracles Foundation include lamp shades made from a patchwork of lambskin and traditional water carriers covered in leather. See all our stories about design by Pepe Heykoop.

Other similar vases on Dezeen include one made from a thin curl of synthetic paper and another folded from a flat sheet of cardboard. See all our stories about vase designs and all our stories about paper designs.

Photos are by Annemarijne Bax

The post Paper Vase by
Pepe Heykoop appeared first on Dezeen.

Driving a Mini Cooper is like driving a go-kart from the future, and quite possibly one that was designed by inhabitants of the moon. As we whipped around the one-lane road in the mountains comprising idyllic Ponce, Puerto Rico, it became immediately clear that even the Paceman—Mini’s seventh addition…

Continue Reading…

Bethany Koby and Daniel Hirshmann of Technology Will Save Us explain how their DIY technology kits and workshops help people “understand what goes into the stuff in our lives” in the penultimate movie filmed at our Designed in Hackney Day.

Technology Will Save Us design kits that contain all the parts and tools needed to build objects such as simple speakers or musical instruments. “A lot of the time it’s hard to navigate online resources in order to find all the things you need to make things with technology,” says Koby.

Other kits include conductive playdough and programmable bike lights, all sold both online and at small pop-up kiosks they call Haberdasheries for Technology. “These are shops within shops where we can give people information about our kits,” she says.

Created with designer Yuri Suzuki, their Radio Kit includes small circuits that fit together like a puzzle to form a working radio. “It contains PCB boards that you can piece together to create connections for a radio,” Koby says.

Hirshmann then describes the workshops run by the studio in the local area, which include teaching groups how to wire a plug, solder and create small circuits. “We’re interested in creating these workshop experiences where people can come in and join us as a community,” he says.

They also arrange “meetings with experts” where they ask people in the community about specific needs that could be solved using simple technologies. “We had a gentleman called Mr Lewis who couldn’t hear his doorbell and he wanted to see it,” says Hirshmann. The solution was to hook up LEDs from their musical instrument kit to his doorbell so they flashed when it rang. “The key thing to remember is that he was one member in a community that potentially had a similar need, it’s possible that this solution could help a lot of people,” he says.

The studio also organises technology demonstrations and live “teardowns” of products. “We get an expert to rip apart something that’s everyday in our lives, like a toaster, and explain what goes into this thing that makes it so good at making toast,” says Hirshmann. “It’s really fascinating to understand what goes into the stuff in our lives.”

To conclude, he demonstrates light glasses built from their Bright Eyes Kit, which are sunglasses with LED video screens instead of lenses.

Dezeen’s Designed in Hackney initiative was launched to highlight the best architecture and design made in the borough, which was one of the five host boroughs for the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as being home to Dezeen’s offices. Watch more movies from our Designed in Hackney Day or see more stories about design and architecture from Hackney.

The post “We’re a haberdashery for technology and
education” – Technology Will Save Us appeared first on Dezeen.