Hasta La Ideas The Adventures of Star Wars Figurines in Nature Archives

Jun 03

Announcing the Winners! 1 Hour Design Challenge: Gestural Interfaces

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div style=”align: right;”img src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/2010/06/1hdc-winners.jpg” width=”468″ height=”278″ alt=”1hdc-winners.jpg”//div

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The latest a href=”http://boards.core77.com/viewtopic.php?f=35t=21539″1 Hour Design Challenge: Gestural Interfaces/a was produced in partnership with a href=”http://www.teague.com/”Teague/a. Together, we challenged designers to think off the screen and make interfaces that live in the the objects and geometry of the world around us. In developing meaningful counterpoints to the flatness of all-in-one interfaces, we hoped you would integrate the richness of the physical world with the endless possibilities of digital information, tying together interface, ritual and context./p

pWe juried the competition with Ben Collette, Adam Kumpf and Tad Toulis of Teague, the makers of a href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/competition/teagues_radioball__16601.asp” Radioball/a, which inspired this month’s theme. Incased in a polyhedric sphere, the radio is tuned by rolling it around on a flat surface and turned up or down by giving it a quick spin./p

pIn judging, we were looking for smart, poetic and simple ideas that could naturally be adopted by usersmdash;conversation starting points. We naturally banned screen-based interactions to give better odds to groundbreaking gestural interfaces. We also tried to choose products that did not obstruct or eliminate human interactions. Finally, we were looking for fun, convincing ideas that would be pleasurable to use./p

pAnd now for the winners! /p

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pstrongFIRST PLACE: a href=”http://boards.core77.com/viewtopic.php?f=35t=21539#p148561″Hopscotch Unlocking Interface./abr /
/strongDesign: LabRats/p

pBased on the above criteria, we’re thrilled to award the first place to LabRats’ Hopscotch Unlocking Interface, a door lock disguised as pavement. To unlock your home, you must first jump (or walk) the correct pattern on the path to your door. This was an overall winner for us: it’s a fun way to see an everyday task; it brings back memories and, on top of that, can be totally unobtrusive and technically transparent./p

pBelow, a few comments from Teague:/p

pTad Toulis: “What I loved about this design was it’s sheer randomness. I don’t think any of us on the Teague side anticipated a solution like this. It’s whimsy. It’s feasible. Above all it has poetry. Most of all, I can’t erase the image of watching someone hop and skip up to their front door. What a great way to start and end the day. It’s pure theatre – and definitely challenges existing ways of thinking. I’d love to know what was the line of thought that led to this idea.”/p

pAdam Kumpf: “Harkening back to playground days, the Hopscotch system is both playful and purposeful. Albeit out-of-place at first glance, there’s just something about dancing your way to the front door; it reminded us of the first days of bluetooth headsets and the bewilderment of seeing otherwise normal people talking with themselves. We’d love to see the winner try this out with their new Arduino board!”/p

pBen Collette: “This idea is just pure fun. There is definitely an everyday security issue there, but hey, the idea is the most important – it’s fun, interactive and innovative thinking. It also brings back memories and it’s technically unobtrusive. Loved it.”/p

pClick the jump for the 2nd place winner and a handful of notables./pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/featured_items/announcing_the_winners_1_hour_design_challenge_gestural_interfaces__16675.asp”(more…)/a
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Jun 03

The Design Comedy: In Defence of Irony, by Tim Parsons

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pimg alt=”irony-swisscheese3.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/irony-swisscheese3.jpg” width=”468″ height=”253″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pememSwiss Door Wedge/em by Andrew Stafford./em/p

pTim Parsons calls for a sharpened awareness of irony in designmdash;not as a whimsical device for lame gags but as an effective tool of critique./p

pThe buzz-words and objects that appear most frequently in the design media at any given time tell us much about prevailing attitudes. The rise of “design thinking,” “social innovation” and “service design” all point to designers trying to stretch their remit away from the shaping of products towards a more direct manipulation of behaviour. In the realm of products, the talk of the Milan Furniture Fair was Chairless, Alejandro Aravena’s strap that braces your knees and back when sitting cross-legged on the floor. A redesign of a device used by Paraguay’s Ayoreo Indians, some of the proceeds of its sale go towards fighting their cause in a dispute over land-rights. It may be uncomfortable, but it comes with the psychological consolation of having avoided the wasteful production, distribution and disposal of yet another designer chair. Another project that embraces good-old fashioned common sense is the winner of this year’s prestigious Designs of the Year award given at London’s Design Museum, a re-design of an electrical plug by Min-Kyu Choi, designed to fold flat and be easier to pull out. In fact, taking into account the past winners of the awardmdash;Shepard Fairey’s Barack Obama posters in 2009 and Yves Beacute;har’s work on the One Laptop Per Child project in 2008mdash;it’s hard not to conclude that this age of austerity has heralded a new appreciation for ‘worthy’ projects./p

div class=”article_quote”So often irony is painted as anti-progressive, yet its ability to offer cutting critique is a positive when aimed at the right targets./div

pFantastic though some of these achievements are, a strong culture must embrace a broad and eclectic range of voices. After all, it was the excessive moralising of its leading lights that undermined Modernism. From the cartoons of William Heath-Robinson (in particular the series a href=”http://www.vam.ac.uk/images/image/23182-popup.html”How to Live in a Flat/a) to the outrageous objects of Memphis, irony proved itself to be a pointed and effective weapon to puncture Modernism’s sanctimonious superiority. Yet in recent years “ironic design” has developed a dreadful reputation as an attention-seeking tool for wannabe star designers. Their “clever” objects fill our newspaper supplements, litter design fairs, and pop up on every design blog going. Just as celebrity culture no longer requires stars to be able to sing or act in order to be famous, designers, it seems, no longer have to justify their shallow and showy offerings. To many, this is tantamount to a href=”http://www.jaspermorrison.com/html/8851725.html”pollution/a and the sooner it is replaced with design that actually tries to improve things, the better. /p

pimg alt=”irony-heath.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/irony-heath.jpg” width=”468″ height=”432″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pemA cartoon from emHow To Live in a Flat/em, by William Heath-Robinson, 1936. Source: a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/87111489@N00/1535604095/in/photostream/”Gus Morais/em./a/p

pFollowing this tack, Charlotte and Peter Fiell, in their introduction to a href=”http://www.amazon.com/Design-Now-Peter-M-Fiell/dp/3822852678″Design Now/a, state their agenda to “challenge the moral apathy that exists in much mainstream design today.” They accuse design experts of “consciously (and probably cynically) taking an opposing stance to the precepts of ‘Good Design’ in the mistaken belief that this is an edgy avant-garde position.” It’s worth noting that the Fiells’ description of “Good Design” in Design Now (“a concept based on a rational approach to the design process that encompasses the following criteria: durability, unity, integrity, inevitability and beauty.”) could have come from the Bauhaus, and with the exception of “beauty” it mirrors the sentiments of a href=”http://www.2think.biz/pdfs/HBR_SQA_CS.pdf”Herman Miller’s founder D J DePree/a. While much good work emerges from designers following such principles, this appears to be representative of a conscious effort among some commentators to paper-over the positive lessons of Post-Modernism, the effective use of irony being one./p

pSo often irony is painted as anti-progressive, yet its ability to offer cutting critique is a positive when aimed at the right targets. Take for example the first entry in grand master of Italian post-war design Achille Castiglioni’s a href=”http://www.amazon.com/Achille-Castiglioni-Complete-Electa-Architecture/dp/1904313043/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8s=booksqid=1275225715sr=1-1″Complete Works by Sergio Polano/a. As a student faced with a brief to design a Fascist Cultural Centre, Castiglioni, presented an architectural model made from slabs of cheese. The yellow tower-blocks, their naturally occurring holes suggesting windows, offer an effect far greater than if Castiglioni had simply refused to participate in the project on ideological grounds./p

pMy contention here is that the dismissal of much so-called ironic design is actually based upon a misunderstanding of the term and the kind of work it should apply to. Of the glut of kitsch and whimsical joke-products we are naturally tired of, many are not ironic at all, and those that are, do not use irony intelligently. Secondly, as I hope to demonstrate, using irony in design need not be an empty gesture and can, instead, enrich and stimulate the landscape of objects we live with./pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/featured_items/the_design_comedy_in_defence_of_irony_by_tim_parsons_16670.asp”(more…)/a
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Jun 03

Transparent Decor For A Clearly Amazing Home!

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Decorating your home is never an easy feat, made even more difficult with all the great styles of decor and furniture designs available these days. It seems once you’ve found a great sofa set, it’s nearly impossible to then find a dining set and bedroom set and china set and the countless other home accessories that will all match each other perfectly. Sometimes, it’s enough to make you wanna tear your hair out. An easy solution? How about finding home decor and furniture that are all the same color? Or more accurately, lack of color. Clear accessories for the home, as well as clear furniture and other home accents, are popping up all over the place. Not only will they surely match perfectly with all the other color-less pieces, but the see-thru aesthetic gives the home an ultra modern and futuristic feel. With everything from kitchenware to larger household items available in clear materials, it’s easy to give your home a cohesive look and unique style. Plus, cleaning is a snap when you don’t have to bust out the heavy vacuum cleaner or steamer and just need a box of Clorox wipes. The only downside? Since these super cool home accents are see-thru, no more stuffing the dirty laundry and other little messes behind the furniture when guests come over!

Jun 03

Alex Dodge’s “Generative” wearable tech concepts

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pShoes that generate electricity when you walk, a sleeping cap that transmits your dreams, a shirt that serves as a touch-sensitive input device; these aren’t actual products, but concept prototypes by artist Alex Dodge, A HREF=”http://www.klausgallery.com/exhibitions/2010/alex-dodge/” going on display next week at Brooklyn’s Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery/A./p

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blockquoteAlex Dodge’s third solo show with the gallery extends the artist’s interest in the relationships between humanity, technology, art, and design by presenting a collection of concept prototypes developed in collaboration with Brooklyn-based tech start up Generative./blockquote

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blockquoteEach of these works address the notion of passive interfacing; engaging the human body through acquiescent means. While some works appear inspired by science fiction, such as his Sleep Talker dream interface, which intends to allow users communication with others while sleeping, other works are perhaps more accessibly clear-cut, like Dodge’s shoes that generate electricity with each walking step./blockquote

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blockquoteThe unique prototypes developed by Dodge may range in their levels of functionality, but are presented here as art objects and design objects on equal standing. While a designer might focus on creating mass-manufacturable products, envisioning that they bring people one step closer to a utopian ideal, Dodge’s objects fetishize the technological imperative, or the inevitable hybridization of man and machine, as something worthy of appreciation in itself. This exhibition serves as a natural progression from Dodge’s more traditional artworks, which have typically been engaged in a dialog concerning technology and its means of altering human experience./blockquote
a href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/alex_dodges_generative_wearable_tech_concepts_16674.asp”(more…)/a
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Jun 03

First Thursday: Crowd Sourcing Show

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Jun 03

Ikea by way of Woody Allen

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pIn this tongue-in-cheek video, the “acting” is about as good as it is in the early silent films the soundtrack evokes; but while no one here is winning any Academy Awards, the concept is amusing. NYU ITP student Adam Lassy has rigged up a bunch of Ikea standards with robotic motors and neurotic personalities:/p

pobject width=”468″ height=”263″param name=”allowfullscreen” value=”true” /param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always” /param name=”movie” value=”http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11718385amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_title=1amp;show_byline=1amp;show_portrait=0amp;color=00ADEFamp;fullscreen=1″ /embed src=”http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11718385amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_title=1amp;show_byline=1amp;show_portrait=0amp;color=00ADEFamp;fullscreen=1″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowfullscreen=”true” allowscriptaccess=”always” width=”468″ height=”263″/embed/objectpa href=”http://vimeo.com/11718385″Ikea Robotics – Animals/a from a href=”http://vimeo.com/user867740″adam lassy/a on a href=”http://vimeo.com”Vimeo/a./pbr /
/pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/ikea_by_way_of_woody_allen_16673.asp”(more…)/a
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Jun 03

Pete Lilja’s camera + balloon go to surprising heights

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div style=”align: right;”img src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/2010/06/0petelilja01.jpg” width=”468″ height=”324″ alt=”0petelilja01.jpg”//div

pThe photo above was not taken from a satellite, space station or the Space Shuttle; amazingly, it was shot with a common point-and-shoot Canon PowerShot A570 attached to a freaking Iballoon./I/p

div style=”align: right;”img src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/2010/06/0petelilja02.jpg” width=”468″ height=”324″ alt=”0petelilja02.jpg”//div

pNot just any balloon, of course. Iowa firefighter and photo hobbyist Pete Lilja connects his Canon to a weather balloon, then sends it aloft to snap photos autonomously. A software hack allows him to set the camera to snap shots every 15 seconds during its flight, and an attached GPS transmitter in a cushioned box allows him to find the camera after it’s returned to Earth. The shot above was taken at an amazing 100,000 feet above Iowa./p

pThere’s more on Lilja and other hobbyists like him at A HREF=”http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/technology/personaltech/27basics.html?ref=technology” this ITimes/I piece/A./pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/pete_liljas_camera_balloon_go_to_surprising_heights_16672.asp”(more…)/a
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Jun 03

Essence Collection by MSB

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Spanish studio MSB have designed a collection of steel-plate furniture including this desk, which combines a seat and table. (more…)

Jun 03

Crystal Dock

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Landed on my desk today, the Crystal Dock from Calypso is a handcrafted heavy block of lead crystal glass cut and polished to perfectly fit any iPhone or iTouch. Passing through 15 artisans during its creation, each dock is the upshot of 300 years of European glassworks experience and meticulous standards.

The Crystal Dock comes in three patterns—Beau, Celestial and Dune—as well as the Aurora, a limited edition run of 999 pieces. Each has been hand-polished to a stunning degree, displaying both an intense attention to detail and incredible prisms when the light strikes it. The classics sell online from Calypso for $199 and the Aurora for $349.