Hasta La Ideas

Working with her Persian heritage as inspiration, Maryam Avalinejad’s Customizing Culture collection debuted this week as part of Beckmans School of Design‘s final year showcase.

The Iranian-born, Stockholm-based designer examines the fine line between standing out and blending in, searching out a balance between the two. Tying her collection together is the recognizable motif of the Persian rug, its iconic patterns adorning her pieces in various ways. “From the Persian conquerors and the greatness of the shāh to the reign of today. In my research I identified something which, to me, has kept its strong meaning, balance and Persian authenticity through time—the Persian carpet,” explains the designer.

The source material is used with great restraint, applied sparsely to create areas of interest and detail but not so overtly it overwhelms the collection. Interestingly, by using the highly regarded carpet in a new environment its inherent luxury shines out once again.

Avalinejad brings this feeling of luxury to the fore in all of her pieces. In one look, the Persian pattern creeps across her wearable paper-bag skirt towards a plain gold top, perfectly demonstrating her search for balance. The collection as a whole is well executed, with craftsmanship which would make the weavers of her birthplace proud. Her pieces strike that perfect balance between being instantly wearable and yet provocative enough in shape, form and color to turn heads.

First previewed back in January at CES and now finally available for purchase, the L5 Remote transforms iPhones or iPod Touches into all-in-one clickers for any home entertainment system, putting the end of playing hide-and-seek with remote controls in sight.

Using a simple plug-in accessory and companion app, within minutes you can program your very own touch-screen remote to channel surf, play DVDs, record with DVRs or operate almost any other IR-controlled device.

The L5 allows for arranging and assigning buttons—while banishing those that get in the way—with drag-and-drop simplicity. Since it’s not powered by Wi-Fi or a separate power source, you can simply plug it in and go.

Download the free app on iTunes or from L5’s website, where you can also order the hardware ($50).

After the design community’s reaction to the London 2012 logo, the mascot was always going to be a difficult job. But UK agency Iris has just unveiled not one, but two characters for the Olympic and Paralympic Games: Wenlock and Mandeville. Both are clearly of the digital age. And we have to say, we think they look rather good…

Iris has seemingly thought hard about the fact that in 2012, the Olympics will be broadcast in unprecedented fashion and that, of course, means taking into account how the mascots can be used over various social media, websites, animations, YouTube and Twitter etc (yes, both Wenlock and Mandeville already have Twitter feeds).

The two characters are named after Much Wenlock in Shropshire, the village that hosted a precursor to the Olympics in the 19th century, and Stoke Mandeville hospital, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. Each mascot also sports a yellow light atop its head, as a reference to London’s black cabs, and the Olympic Rings get a nod via Wenlock’s bracelets.

You can see more images of them both, here, at the London 2010 mascots page, which also has some early signs of how the pair will be rolled across the London 2012 merchandise.

Unveiled on BBC One’s The One Show earlier this evening, Wenlock and Mandeville appeared as two shiny models in the studio. Both, it’s claimed, were born from drops of steel from London’s Olympic stadium.

The press generated so far has, however, largely used photographs of the more predictable mascot iterations of ‘two people in giant suits’ and these don’t look half as impressive as the shinier, 21st century versions.

The duo also appear in a supporting animation written by Michael Morpurgo which can be viewed here (still shown, below).

In a segment on the new mascots – a design story on primetime BBC One! – the One Show also featured some designs from previous Games. Though I don’t think Otl Aicher got a direct mention, at least his daschund, Waldi, got some well deserved airtime.

The question is, will Wenlock and Mandeville still appeal in another two years’ time? CR believes that a certain James Jarvis was also in the running for the job at one stage, and we can only imagine what he would have been able to bring to the occasion. (James has also commented on the experience, below).

For now though, I think Iris’ monocular characters have just the right balance of digital zeitgeist and cheeky playfulness about them.

Update: Iris has released some more information about the design of Wenlock and Mandeville on their website.

“Our brief was to create mascots that would excite and inspire young people and encourage them to get involved in sport. We wanted everyone, especially young people, to be able to take part, so we asked ourselves, ‘Why have one mascot when you can have millions?'” says Grant Hunter of Iris.

“To capture people’s imagination you have to create something iconic – something unique – something as individual as you and me. We have created a flexible design that allows you to make the mascot your own, while celebrating what is great about Britain – our heritage, our culture and our creativity. They are inclusive, because they invite everyone to take part and get involved. They aren’t ‘the’ mascots – they are your mascots.

“The result is a world first – a multi dimensional, adaptable design for the digital age, which will allow you to customise the mascots online later in the year. And who knows what else, after all we’re just at the start of the journey and the possibilities are endless.”

And here are some notes on the design of each character:

Discovered by chance on a recent trip to San Francisco, artist Amos Goldbaum caught my attention with his intricate line drawings that he applies using both traditional mediums and on t-shirts.

Goldbaum started selling his drawings on the street about three years ago, and built up his curbside shop to include prints and t-shirts. He credits his mother, who “always put a pencil in my hand when I was bored.” When asked about the drawing of his grandfather Goldbaum explains, “He’s super wrinkly which is great for line drawings and he’s also a handsome dude. I usually draw him reading or watching TV. The one with the headphones, I drew while he was listening to his iPod.”

With hand-drawn geometric shapes, Goldbaum’s drawing of a Muni street car especially stands out in bright yellow. He adds, “The Muni train drawing I did to add to the already burgeoning number of Muni-related art and t-shirts out there. I wanted to do one of the old Boeing trains that I grew up riding. They had a great shape and sweet color scheme.”

Cardboard boxes inspired another series of drawings. Goldbaum collects interestingly shaped unfolded cardboard boxes that he uses as a ready-made frame or shield to draw on. Currently Goldbaum is working on a series of water-colored pen drawings inspired by old photos found online.

You can find Amos Goldbaum and his curbside shop, where he shills his wares on Market Street and by the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Follow his Twitter feed for real-time updates. His shirts, books and prints also sell his online shop.

See more images in the gallery below.