The Alice collection by Welsh designer Bethan Gray comprises geometric combinations of black and white marble, which reference stripes and chequerboard patterns used in historic architectural designs, observed during the designer’s trips across Europe and the Arab states.
Alice Cheese Board & Dome
“The idea for the geometric patterns of the Alice tableware range came from the pattern, form and use of light found in Arabic design and the spectacular black and white stone configurations I’d seen on various trips across Europe,” said the designer.
“These specifically include the ninth-century Amalfi Cathedral in Italy and the twentieth-century San Giovanni Battista in Mogno, Switzerland.”
Alice Stripey Chopping Board
The collection comprises five pieces that include a chopping board, cheese board, cake stand and bowl.
Projet de plus de 6 mois, le français Nairone a réalisé une illustration sur un mur pour le studio de création français Hellohikimori. Un travail d’une grande précision et d’une belle qualité, magnifié dans une vidéo réalisée par Valentin Petit. Un rendu réussi à découvrir sur Fubiz dans la suite de l’article.
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Hai Lounge Chair disegnata da Luca Nichetto combina il giusto nordico con l’eleganza italiana. Disponibile in due finiture di colore. La trovate in vendita su One Nordic.
Lors du North American Handmade Bicycle Show à Charlotte aux USA, la marque tchèque créatrice de vélos Festka a dévoilé son Urban Zero Bike customisé pour l’occasion par les illustrateurs Tomski & Polanski. Un modèle qui allie fantaisie, élégance et performance au prix de 8 900$.
News: the fashion world “laughs at” industrial designers while Google Glass makes the wearer look like “a bit of an idiot”, according to designer Marc Newson (+ interview).
“Frankly speaking, the design industry is really pathetic in terms of how it approaches manufacturing and how it brings things to market,” Newson told Dezeen in an exclusive interview yesterday.
“I’m not talking about Apple, I’m talking about furniture designers and what happens during the Milan fair,” he said. “If they took note of the way that the fashion world brings things to market, with such extraordinary efficiency, they could learn an enormous amount.”
The range is his first foray into optical eyewear, which he says is the perfect demonstration of how fashion and design can work together.
“It is, in essence a perfect piece of industrial design, but at the same time it can’t help but be a piece of fashion,” said Newson.
“I’m not embarrassed or reluctant that it be perceived as a fashionable item because at the end of the day I’m a consumer. I’ve got to go out and feel happy about putting my hand in my pocket and spending money on this stuff. I don’t want to look like an idiot.”
Newson wearing a pair of glasses from his range for Safilo
The two worlds will come together with the development of wearable technologies, which Newson feels are “certainly the future”. But he is not a fan of the design of Google Glass, which he says makes the wearer look like “a bit of an idiot”.
“What Google have done thus far, I wouldn’t be seen dead wearing. It really looks pretty stupid,” he said. “It’s a little bit like that wonderful invention called the Segway. It’s such a fantastic piece of technology but you just look like a complete dick when you drive around on it.
“That’s precisely the moment when I think the fashion world laughs at the world of industrial design, justifiably.”
A Google Glass wearer
Despite this, the fashion industry could also learn a lot from industrial designers in terms of material technology and the application of techniques and processes according to Newson. He has previously turned his hand to fashion and accessory design with companies including G-Star RAW, Nike and various luxury watch brands.
“There’s an enormous territory that they both share, that they should both embrace, but there is this real trepidation on both sides to broach that ground,” he said.
G-Star RAW by Marc Newson
Here is the edited transcript of the interview with Marc Newson and Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs:
Marcus Fairs: Tell us about the project you’ve done with Safilo.
Marc Newson: I’ve just launched a range. Basically the collection revolves around one central design, one central look and I’ve chosen to take that design and really extrapolate that through a variety of techniques.
So for example, one set of frames is machined out of solid aluminium, another set of frames is made of a material called Optyl which is a proprietary type of synthetic plastic that Safilo use. Another frame is made of stainless steel sheets, very thin, pressed into the shape with a live hinge in the steel.
There’s another pair which are manufactured using a technique called UFO, which is a proprietary Safilo invention that dates back to the late 1960s. Safilo were the first company to make this kind of invisible frame and everyone does that now but this was done in the 1960s. It was basically a piece of spring steel wire which is wrapped around the lens, so we’ve reintroduced this old technique which Safilo invented.
Safilo is the largest manufacturer of optical eyewear in the world I believe, and they have a really rich history of manufacturing optical frames. And a very old company. And it’s also the 80th anniversary this year.
Marcus Fairs: I don’t really know Safilo as well as certain other eyewear brands, so is that part of the reason why they approached you?
Marc Newson: You’d know all of the brands that Safilo manufacture. Just about every major fashion brand’s eyewear is licensed.
Safilo started as its own manufacturer of eyewear. Primarily optical frames rather than sunglasses, but I think they now manufacture sunglasses for all the major fashion brands as well. Optical frames are really the core of the brand, it’s the heart of the business and it’s what the business started doing.
Everyone knows who Safilo is if you’re in the industry. It’s one of those names that’s synonymous with it.
Marcus Fairs: You’ve really pioneered in lots of territories that other designers have followed you into, like watches and clothing. So why have you held back on eyewear?
Marc Newson: Well, I’d never been approached and frankly it really wasn’t until I had to start wearing eyewear that I understood what an extraordinary necessity it is.
I hit fifty and a couple of years ago I started having to wear reading glasses. These are rapidly becoming an expensive part of my life, far more so than a watch. But in many ways it’s a really interesting object, a pair of glasses, because it straddles the borderline between fashion and industrial design. It treads a very fine line between the two.
Optical frames of course have a slightly more functional angle because you absolutely have to wear them, but more interestingly for me as a designer, they’re like a tool. I think it’s safe to say that men like tools in general but, as a designer, I’m particularly obsessed with tools and I’m obsessed with really good quality tools. It’s not until you’re really faced with the black and white necessity of having to use these things. These are not the black pair of sunglasses, these are not just fashion accessories that you just have to wear when the sun’s out. I really need these things to read.
Marcus Fairs: I know it’s boring to talk about the difference between the fashion world and the design world, but the crossover very rarely works. You’ve designed for G-Star RAW and some of those pieces have become really collectible but, in general, designers doing fashion doesn’t work. Do you think the idea of the tool is really key to that? That designers like designing useful things?
Marc Newson: I think there’s an enormous amount of prejudice on both sides really. I don’t think that fashion designers think industrial designers are very good at designing fashion and I don’t think that on the other hand a lot of industrial designers – or architects for that matter – think that fashion’s a particularly serious industry. I feel really sincerely that in order to be a good designer, we need to embrace all of these sorts of industries.
The world of industrial design has an enormous amount to learn from the fashion industry, in terms of how they do things. Frankly speaking, the design industry is really pathetic in terms of how it approaches manufacturing and how it brings things to market. I’m not talking about Apple, I’m talking about furniture design and what happens during the Milan fair. If they took note of the way that the fashion world works, the way fashion world brings things to market, with such extraordinary efficiency, they could learn an enormous amount.
On the other hand, I think that the fashion world could learn a lot from the world of industrial design in terms of material technology, in terms of certain techniques, in terms of certain processes. I do feel there’s an enormous territory that they both share, that they should both embrace, but I agree that there is this real trepidation on both sides to broach that ground.
Marcus Fairs: Is this something that you’re actively pursuing or have an answer to?
Marc Newson: I don’t know if I have an answer necessarily apart from the fact that this is a perfect example. This eyewear is a perfect example of something that crosses, that is necessarily between those two places. It is, in essence, a perfect piece of industrial design, but at the same time it can’t help but be a piece of fashion. Eyewear is fashion, whether you like it or not. And I want it to be fashion, I’m not embarrassed or reluctant that it be perceived as a fashionable item because at the end of the day I’m a consumer. I’ve got to go out and feel happy about putting my hand in my pocket and spending money on this stuff. I don’t want to look like an idiot.
Marc Newson: Wearable technology is certainly the future, there’s no question about that. Whether or not it’s appropriate to put it in a pair of glasses, I’m not sure. There’s a real risk that you look like a bit of an idiot. What Google have done thus far, I wouldn’t be seen dead wearing. I think it really looks pretty stupid.
It’s a little bit like that wonderful invention called the Segway. It’s such a fantastic piece of technology but you just look like a complete dick when you drive around on it.
So that’s where the bridge to the world of fashion really doesn’t, or didn’t, work. That’s precisely the moment when I think the fashion world laughs at the world of industrial design, justifiably.
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These white hexagonal ceramic speakers by Finnish company Unmonday can connect to each other wirelessly by being rolled onto different sides.
The minimal casing of the Unmonday Model 4.3 is made from vitro ceramic and features a single power button, handmade grille and a charge point at the back.
By rotating the device, the user can toggle between different modes. When the power button is facing up, Mono mode is activated and the speaker plays normally.
If there is more than one speaker present, rotating the device will synchronise the set to play the same song. Up to five units can be combined to become an impromptu surround sound system when connected to a TV or computer.
To mute the speaker, simply tip it on its head and the sound will cut out.
“We wanted to create something truly wireless and flexible, but also something that did not compromise on sound quality or on good design sensibility,” said Jukka Nieminen from Unmonday.
“We also wanted to remove all the usual hassles associated with wireless speakers, from the set up process, to running wires, to pairing wireless equipment.”
The speaker can stream music from an iPhone, iPad or Mac computer using AirPlay, Apple’s native streaming technology. Alternatively, there is a 3.5-millimetre jack in the rear to allow connection with non-compatible devices.
Inside the casing is a single 10.3-inch driver capable of generating 20 watts of power along with a router, amplifier and a series of motion sensors that can detect the orientation of the speaker.
The battery can provide up to eight hours worth of wireless music or it can be connected to the mains.
The Model 4.3’s front grille is interchangeable and comes in a range of colours. There is also a bespoke leather carry case that the 4.3 snugly fits inside for transportation.
The project began as a Kickstarter campaign in 2012, and was launched in December 2013. The Model 4.3 is available to buy in Apple stores in Europe and Asia.
Milan 2014: Swiss studio Big-Game will present a combined coat rack and picture ledge for Danish brand Hay during Milan’s design week (+ slideshow).
The BEAM coat rack by Big-Game allows the user to slide as many coat hooks onto the profile as needed and display thin items at the same time.
“We found it useful to be able to slide the hooks on the metal beam wherever you need them,” the designers told Dezeen. “If it is on the right or on the left side of a door for instance, or depending on what you want to hang on it.”
Solid ash hooks are cut to shape and slide directly onto the metal H-shaped profile, which attaches to the wall.
“We were always fascinated by the peg rails found in American Shaker houses,” said the designers. “Instead of hiding the mess, they somehow make it manageable.
“When we were asked to think about something that could be in entrances, we readapted this idea with a metal profile,” they added.
The aluminium profile is available in 60 or 90-centimetre lengths. Colours include grey, red and green, and extra hooks can be purchased in natural ash.
BEAM will be shown at the former printing house Spazio Ciovassino in Milan’s Brera district from 8-13 April.
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