Hasta La Ideas

Debuting at Salone del Mobile next month, Moleskine, a favorite notebook amongst the design crowd, will be launching a new product line consisting of bags, pencils, pens, reading glasses, computer cases, a rechargeable reading light and an e-reader stand under three separate collections: Writing, Travelling and Reading. Designed by Italian industrial designer Giulio Iacchetti, the collection is said to take inspiration from the classic Moleskine: the elastic band, the rounded corners, the black color, the simple design. Stay tuned for more on Salone del Mobile!

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If any designer could be counted on to sex up Saab’s staid product line, it’s Jason Castriota. Seems like every time we write about the thirtysomething he’s doing something different — Pininfarina, Stile Bertone, setting up his own design shop — and now he’s focused his lasers on the Saab Phoenix, an all-wheel-drive concept car the public will see at the upcoming Geneva Auto Show.

Described by Britain’s Car magazine as “one of the few genuine surprises of the Geneva show,” the Phoenix is the first creation of Saab’s new design boss, Jason Castriota, who observed: “The Phoenix establishes a new reference point for the future of Saab product design…. This design aesthetic will shape and differentiate future models in the Saab portfolio.”

The teardrop-shaped Phoenix sports such design curiosities as butterfly-type doors, a scooped-out Kamm-back tail (claimed by Saab to evoke the original Sonett) and roof-mounted “winglets” said to channel airflow and reduce lift. The 2+2 cabin is described by Saab as “minimalist.” In addition to a head-up display and ambient lighting, its most interesting feature is the use of Saab’s new Android-powered IQon infotainment and communications system, which will debut next year on the redesigned 9-3.

The redesigned 9-3, by the way, is slated for next year and is also expected to contain exterior design elements from the Phoenix.

via inside line

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Years ago as an ID student I did a brief internship with the designer who invented the Biomorph desk. I remember that gig not because of what I learned or because of the product — I remember not liking it, little snot that I was — but because we worked out of this guy’s apartment in Manhattan and he had a freaking HUGE bathroom. I mean there was an actual full-sized window in there, might have been two. I could have lived in there with two roommates.

Every bathroom of every apartment I’ve ever lived in has been tiny, and my current digs are no exception. So I really, really want Duravit’s new folding OpenSpace shower. The concept is simple: It’s a corner shower and when not in use, the two walls fold into the corner, so you’re not banging into the darn thing while moving around in your airplane-style bathroom.

The OpenSpace was unveiled earlier this month at Duravit’s “Design Days 2011” event and is not yet on their website.

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Freaking fascinating: The Times did this article and attendant video piece on an uncompleted 45-story skyscraper in Caracas, Venezuela, that is filled with 2,500 squatters coping with that country’s housing crisis. And these aren’t 2,500 ne’er-do-well junkies — these are family people, like the tie-wearing bank employee seen above.

The municipal government has turned a blind eye to the structure and the goings-on within, and the residents have organized admirably: While there’s no doubt that life is rough, they have a building coordinator, a security team of doormen, jury-rigged electricity and hose-fed water, a basketball court, and even bodegas on every floor. They also have no windows, elevators, stairway handrails, and balcony guardrails, so that’s one hell of a dangerous walk-up. Check it out:

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Hit up “Industrial Design” on Coroflot and you get 22,193 profiles. Hit “Exhibition Design” and the number drops to 1,707. Within the broad scope of everything industrial design covers, Exhibition Design is a minority offshoot of what an ID grad might pursue, and within that subfield is Installation Design, even narrower in its focus.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art takes a look (sadly, a very brief one) at largely unsung Installation Designers with a short piece on what’s required of them as they prepare that museum’s upcoming “Roberto Capucci: Art into Fashion” show.

…The designers and the curator meet to discuss not just matters of space, but also what the show is trying to convey, what ought to be highlighted, and what the overall feel of the galleries must impart to the visitor. Decisions regarding paint colors and lighting options are crucial, but designing an exhibition model also requires consideration of the overall graphic treatment of the show, attention to the conservation needs of certain objects, and collaboration with the Museum’s A/V department should film, projections, or other extras be included….

Accompanying this is a slideshow containing a measly six images. Installation Designers, we just want to say that even though your job ain’t sexy, you guys get no press, and we would never actually associate with the likes of you, we do recognize and appreciate the importance of what you do.

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