Hasta La Ideas

In the next movie in our series of interviews we filmed for the Design Museum Collection App for iPad, which is available to download free from the app store here, Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic talks about iconic word processing products in their collection.

He describes the designs of iconic products as the movie follows the move from analogue to digital, starting with the development of the typewriter into laptop computers in the 1980s through to the recent switch from books to e-readers.

You can also listen to Sudjic talking about classic design in previous movies featuring driving, music and chairs.

Download the Design Museum Collection App »

Here are some excerpts from the app:

Valentine (above)

With its plastic casing and strong handle, the 1969 Valentine typewriter was marketed, by Italian manufacturer’s Olivetti, as a lightweight portable typewriter. While it fulfilled its function competently, Sottsass’ playful design and choice of bright colour, inspired by pop-art, expressed the mood of the time and suggested that the typewriter still had a place in the modern world.

GRiD Compass 1101 (above)

Utilising a clam-shell design, British industrial designer, Bill Moggridge designed what most people consider to be the world’s first laptop. The computer ran its own operating system and included a 320 by 200 pixels screen that, while tiny by today’s standards, was considerable at the time. The high cost of the Compass limited the market and it was mainly used by the United States government.

ThinkPad 701 (above)

ThinkPads used innovative trackpoint buttons instead of a rollerball or mouse to control the cursor. While this added a useful new functionality to laptops, many criticised the use of colour suggesting red should be limited to operations relating to emergencies. The other key design feature of this 1995 design is the ‘butterfly’ keyboard that folds out and expands as the lid is opened. The casing and shape were modelled on a Bento box, the Japanese food container with multiple compartments.

Apple iMac (above)

Founded by two college dropouts in the late 1970s, Apple grew extremely fast in the early years of the computer age and then lost nearly its entire market share to Microsoft, but came back by reinventing the computer. While the all-in-one monitor and computer configuration is an Apple hallmark – dating back to the first Apple
Macintosh in 1984 – it was the launch of the iMac in 1998 that set the benchmark for future computer designs, selling over two million units in its first year.

According to Apple’s Senior Vice President, Industrial Design, Jonathan Ive, ‘The objective was to design a computer for the consumer market that would be simple, easy to use, highly integrated, quiet and small.’ In this typically economical statement, Ive has summarised the winning formula – advanced computer technologies presented in an accessible format.

Ive and his team are more akin to craftspeople than stylists, working through an intense analysis of function and a commitment to using materials truthfully. With the iMac, the idea of translucency emerged from a desire to use plastics in a new, honest way and not as a self-conscious wish to invest the computer with saccharin sweetness. As Ive says, ‘we wanted it to be an unashamadely plastic product. Given our obsession with materials and production processes, we explored different polymers, moulding technologies, colour, texture and levels of opacity. Transluscent materials posed new challenges, we not only needed to design new ways of moulding individual parts but to develop new methods of assembly. We found ourselves caring about the appearance of internal components that had previously had little impact on the product’s appearance.’

The iMac not only transformed computer design but also home offices through its pioneering introduction of colour into the drab world of computing, predominated by greys and beige. When researching new processes, Ive and the Apple team regularly seek advice from outside world of computer design. For the iMac, they consulted a group of confectioners for their strawberry, blueberry, grape, tangerine and lime shades. As Ive noted, ‘Their experience in the science of translucent colour control helped us to understand processes to ensure consistency in high volume.

Pro Mouse (above)

Apple’s Senior Vice President, Industrial Design, Jonathan Ive describes the design process for this step-change in computer interaction design which came out in 2000: ‘we learnt from studies that the button on a mouse creates a target specifically defining how it is held and clicked. This limits the number of ways that users can hold a mouse and consequently limits comfortable use with a variety of hand sizes and methods of use.

By building multiple prototypes we developed the idea of making the entire surface the button. Allowing users to position their hands on the mouse naturally afforded different styles of use. Similarly, by rotating the dial around the optical sensor the user can adjust the force required to activate the click switch.

Analysing surface tension in liquid droplets helped us to develop a pure, essential form. A founding idea, however, can be undermined unless the ultimate implementation is based upon the same assumptions. By sharing the concerns and sensitivities of the original idea, we developed a construction to ultra-sonically weld the simple pure surface into the product assembly.’ Jonathan Ive.

One Laptop Per Child XO-1 (above)

One Laptop Per Child is a non-profit programme created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. The 2006 child-size laptop brings learning, information and communication to children where education is needed most: in developing countries. The result is an inexpensive and energy-efficient computer. The machine’s reduction in energy use, by 90 percent, is ideal for a device that could be charged by hand-cranked power in rural villages. The laptop features Wi-Fi antenna ‘rabbit ears,’ an energy-efficient LCD digital writing tablet and integrated video camera. Networking capabilities allow children to connect to each other, their school, their teacher and the internet. Every design aspect of the machine serves a dual purpose to achieve a sense of economy and efficiency.

Kindle 3

The Kindle was the first product to suggest that electronic book readers could offer a viable alternative to physical books. Key to the Kindle’s success was the black and white e-ink display that provided a far more realistic representation of print and minimised the screen reflections that plagued other devices. This 2010 version has wireless connectivity that allow users to download content at any time. In 2010, the retailer Amazon announced that in the United States their e-book sales had surpassed sales of paperback books for the first time.

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Nearly three years after first revealing his concept for a shoe with no foot-plate on Dezeen, architect and shoe designer Julian Hakes talks about designing the Mojito shoe as the first collection goes into production.

The shoes wrap around the foot in one continuous ribbon, with the arch of the foot forming a natural bridge between supports for the ball and heel.

Hakes’ collection will be on display at Pure London, Olympia, from 19 to 21 August and at Somerset House during London Fashion Week in September.

See the first concept models here, prototypes unveiled at London Fashion Week 2010 here and our earlier interview filmed with Hakes at Dezeen Platform last year here.

The Mojito shoe is included in our book, Dezeen Book of Ideas. Buy it now for just £12.

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shoe with no footplate appeared first on Dezeen.

Dezeen Wire: plans to develop the London 2012 Olympic Park after the Games end in September were unveiled by mayor of London Boris Johnson yesterday, including the transformation of the press centre into a technology, design and research centre, and the creation of up to 8000 new homes in addition to the athletes’ village (+ movie).

The area will be renamed Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the first phase, the North Park, is set to open on 27 July 2013, exactly one year after the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

The second phase, South Plaza, will open in spring 2014 and include the main stadium and Aquatics Centre, which will open for public swimming.

Five new neighbourhoods are planned for the next 20 years, including schools, health centres, playgrounds and 102 hectares of open space.

Read more on the project website, see a 360 degree tour here or the Olympic Park Legacy Company’s brochure here.

See our interactive aerial photo of the Olympic Park here and see all our stories about the London 2012 Olympics here.

Here’s some more information from the Mayor of London’s office:

“A golden Games to be followed by an incredible legacy” says Mayor

After delivering what are expected to be the best Olympic Games ever London is now set to deliver an incredible legacy that will set the benchmark for future host cities to follow, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said today.

Even before the world had witnessed London’s incredible opening ceremony, followed by impressive organisation of the competitions, it had hit all its milestones on the road to the 2012 Games on time and budget. It had also secured the future of six out of the eight venues on the Olympic Park – something that had never been achieved before, with serious and credible plans on the table for the Olympic Stadium and the Press and Broadcast Centre.

Speaking at his London 2012 Legacy Press Conference he was joined by some of the major investors inspired by the opportunities the Games and the regeneration of east London are providing. This includes ICity who outlined their proposals for transforming the Park’s media centre into a technology, design and research centre with the potential to generate more than 4,000 jobs. This will build on the 10,000 jobs being delivered by Westfield Stratford City whose owners brought forward their investment plans for east London by at least 15 years after seeing the potential of the area from staging the 2012 Games.

What was once an industrial wasteland is also seeing private money from around the world transforming it into a brand new district of thriving communities with 10,000 new homes planned over the next 20 years served by new schools and medical facilities. Developers Taylor Wimpey and London & Quadrant explained how it will be building nearly 8000 new homes mainly for families as well as the brand new educational academy at Chobham Manor.

But the London 2012 legacy doesn’t end at the boundaries of the Olympic Park as the Mayor is continuing to promote the incredible investment opportunities across the capital including The Royal Docks, Silvertown Quays, Vauxhaull and Nine Elms as well as in riot-affected Tottenham and Croydon where the Mayor is investing £70 million from his regeneration fund. All these areas are benefitting directly and indirectly from the £6.5 billion upgrade of the capital’s transport network as it prepared to stage the Games and with the arrival of Crossrail in 2017 London will be the best connected city for business in the world.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “The doom and gloom merchants who said our great city would implode as we tried to stage the greatest show on earth have been proved wrong. And they will be proved wrong again as we use the catalyst of the games to attract investment into the wealth of opportunities arising in London now and in the coming years. Put simply there is no other place on the planet where investors will see greater returns.”

Daniel Moylan, Chairman of the London Legacy Development Corporation said: “Central London is moving east. Bringing the Games to east London has accelerated investment in an already growing area and now the world’s attention is focused on this fantastic part of the city.

“The Legacy Corporation, working with partners, will harness the momentum of the London Games to create a new piece of the city, bringing together the best of east London and the Olympic spirit to provide jobs, homes, schools, sports and entertainment opportunities to local residents, Londoners and visitors.”

Gavin Poole CEO iCity said: “We are really excited about the opportunity to transform the Press and Broadcast Centres into a world-class centre of technological innovation and enterprise. iCITY will create thousands of jobs, provide investment and highly advanced infrastructure for East London’s flourishing creative industries, and deliver a sustainable legacy for the local community, London and the UK.

Peter Redfern CEO Taylor Wimpey who were recently appointed to construct the first of five new neighbourhoods in the Olympic Park said: “We are delighted to have been chosen to deliver the first phase of new housing in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Taylor Wimpey are already one of the biggest contributors to new housing in London and our plans for Chobham Manor provide a unique opportunity to develop an exciting new residential quarter in one of the key growth areas of the UK.

Chobham Manor was designed with families in mind and will provide East London with much needed spacious homes designed by a team of signature architects. The exemplar design and sustainability credentials combined with the unprecedented transport connections and lifestyle amenities will provide a new residential address of the highest quality.

Speaking on behalf of Qatari Diar Delancey, appointed to transform the athletes village, Stuart Corbyn said “East Village will be a place for everybody to enjoy the best of city living; new homes will be joined by first class education, outstanding sports and leisure facilities, local shops, cafes and restaurants, and unrivalled connections to the rest of the capital. This will be one of the most exciting places to live in London.

East Village provides much needed homes, investment and jobs in East London, and reconfirms our long term commitment alongside Triathlon Homes to the local community, quality, partnership and sustainability.”

Transforming the Park

After the Games, the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) will begin a £300m construction project to transform the Olympic site into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. This will involve removing temporary venues, transforming permanent venues into everyday use, building new roads and bridges and the first neighbourhood.

» The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will be an exciting new visitor destination. Iconic venues and attractions will sit alongside new homes, schools and businesses, amongst open green spaces and pieces of art in the heart of London’s East End.

» The new Park will open in phases from 27th July 2013, exactly one year after the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Games. The LLDC was set up three years before the Games in 2009.

» The Park will be 560 acres (226 hectares) in size, equivalent to Hyde Park or 357 football pitches.

Venues and Sport

» The future of six of the eight permanent venues has already been secured (Aquatics Centre, Orbit, Multi-Use Arena, Olympic Village, Velodrome, Eton Manor).

» We are in advanced stages of work to complete the remaining two (Stadium and the Press and Broadcast Centre).

» The Park offer sporting programmes for everything from grass roots community use to high performance competitions.

» Price pledge: the cost of a swimming in the Aquatics Centre or court hire in the Multi-use Arena will be the same as that of a local leisure centre.

Employment

» Up to 8,000 permanent jobs on the park by 2030 plus 2,500 temporary construction jobs

» Training and apprenticeships with a focus on opportunities for local people

» Venues such as the Press and Broadcast Centres have been developed so they can be adapted for commercial use after Games.

New Neighbourhoods

» Five new neighbourhoods developed over 20 years

» Up to 8,000 new homes in addition to the 2,800 in the athletes’ village

» A target of 35% affordable housing

» 3 schools

» 9 nurseries

» 3 health centres

» 29 playgrounds

Transport

» Best connected most accessible place in Europe.

» Direct connections to a third of London’s rail and underground stations.

» There are nine public transport lines feeding into Stratford station; after the Games this will increase to ten. This means that a train could arrive at the station every 15 seconds.

» By 2016, it’˙s estimated that the number of passengers using Stratford station each morning will reach 83,000.

Visitor Attraction

» Expected to become one of London’s Top 10 visitor destinations by 2020 attracting local, regional, national and international visitors.

» The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park could attract more than 9million visitors per year from across London, the UK and abroad from 2016.

Green Space

» Over 22 miles of interlinking pathways, waterways and cycle paths.

» 252 acres (102 hectares) of open space.

» 6.5 kms of rivers and canals running through the Park

» 111 acres (45 hectares) of biodiverse wildlife habitat on the Olympic Park, including reedbeds, grasslands, ponds and woodlands, with 525 bird boxes and 150 bat boxes.

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Tornados would pose no threat to this conceptual house by architects 10 Design, which can tuck itself beneath the ground just like a turtle retracts its vulnerable head away from danger (+ movie).

A system of hydraulic levers would be used to push the moving structure up and down, out of a sunken dock beneath the ground.

Photovoltaic cells on the exterior would provide energy to power the mechanisms, and maybe even harvest fuel from pollution in the air.

When the house is secured for safety, a watertight seal would protect it from intense winds and thunderstorms.

The architects envision entire communities of the houses, where any residence can sound an alarm to warn others of approaching tornados.

The first prototype is currently in development.

Other ambitious concepts we’ve featured recently include a skyscraper that makes energy from algae.

See more stories about conceptual architecture »

Here’s some more explanation from Ted Givens of 10 Design:

Isn’t the Wizard of Oz a clear example of the awesome force that a tornado can muster? How can Jaws drive people out of the ocean screaming when a house blown through the sky brings back nostalgic memories? Please stay out of the water… but feel free to build your home below flood level and out of cards in the wind. There is an urgent need to shift from an outmoded logic, ignorant of the forces of nature, to a point where the unabashed rush for profit and development can be balanced against the basic goal of providing shelter. Humanity is inexplicably driven to build in places where it should not-accepting the unavoidability of this folly is the first step to breathing in a new vision. We sought a way of turning the seemingly destructive acts of nature into creative blooms.

Kinetic architecture is the innovation which we believe will form the foundation for the habitation of the future. This type of architecture learns from technological innovation and amps up its incorporation into the home, custom tailoring existing mechanisms in new ways. The revised conception of the home finds itself somewhere between garage doors, flowers, and the survival mentality of a turtle. A series of simple hydraulic levers are used to push the home in and out of the ground and deflect and warp the outer skin in response to external stimulation. The key activators of this motion being the high velocity winds associated with thunderstorms and tornadoes. A series of solar cells on the outer skin rotate and flex to attain maximum solar intensity. A translucent outer skin consisting of clear insulation sandwiched between two layers of Kevlar provides the weather barrier and lets diffuse light into the structure. We are also exploring the application of photocatalytic coatings and carbon nanotubes on the skin to absorb and clean pollution turning it directly into fuel for the home to power the hydraulics.

A water tight seal locks the roof of the collapsed home making the structure water and wind proof. There have been a series of studies since the mid 90’s showing homes that float up and out of harm’s way. This solution does not anticipate the velocity of the water, and more importantly the grinding power of the debris contained in the water. The safest place is down.

Neighborhoods will become interwoven and connected together through sensor networks that interpret weather data. After warning sirens entire suburbs can be collapsed in seconds. The whole neighborhood will behave as an organism fit for a collective response to the challenges brought by the natural environment. The image of technology as a fire breathing train slicing a trail of black smoke through the innocent forest painted by Hawthorne is slowly replaced by a desire to respond to nature and not seek to dominate it. The tornadoes and storms can burn and blow with all their fury while the suburb safely sleeps.

Can we spin this violent ever present soup into a stabilizing direction? We seek a new mobility for the home that is controlled not left to “chance” (there is nothing accidental about 100 year old weather patterns). We are currently working on the development of a prototype with a group of ship builders in the US and Africa.

Design Team: Ted Givens, Trey Tyler, Mohamad Ghamlouch, Shane Dale, Dougald Fountain

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Movie: the base and sock lining of these lightweight football boots by Nike are made of castor beans, as explained in our next movie with the brand’s global creative director for the Olympics Martin Lotti ahead of this evening’s exclusive event at the Nike+ House of Innovation at Selfridges.

Brazilian footballer Neymar (below) has worn the boots throughout the Olympic football tournament and has scored three goals in the lead up to the final against Mexico.

Along with the sprinting shoes and knitted running shoes, the boots are coloured neon yellow to be clearly identifiable as part of the Nike products range.

Each boots weighs only 160g and the upper is made from 90% recycled material.

Lotti will talk to Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs about Nike’s latest innovations for the London 2012 Olympics in front of an audience at the event we’re hosting this evening – more details here.

Watch other movies in this series – featuring a sprinting shoe inspired by suspension bridges, knitted running shoes, a bumpy speed suit that’s quicker than bare skin and a basketball kit with built-in combat pads – here.

See a story we featured previously about the boots »
See all our stories about Nike »

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