Design

Innovative design needn't be glamorous or revolutionary. Whether the client brief is to create a space shuttle component for NASA, a concept car for Ford, or a new corkscrew for IKEA, the requisite mental ingredients remain fairly consistent: creativity, originality, and vision. A new exhibition at the Design Museum will showcase a selection of work from Industrial Facility,…

Wallpaper* magazine has brought together some of the most exciting new and established architectural talent from around the world to take part in a series of four talks, during the London Festival of Architecture, aimed at provoking debate on the most innovative ways of building in the city. In each session, two young practices, chosen from Wallpaper’s forthcoming August…

Has it really been a year since architect Tadao Ando unveiled 21_21 Design Sight in Tokyo (W*98)? The low-slung building - a swooping construct of concrete, glass and light - was conceived as both a museum and platform for contemporary Japanese designers and companies to stage their creations. As Ando said at the time, 21_21 was 'a place for researching the potential of design…

It's hard not to get excited when Rei Kawakubo does something new. The founder of Japanese label Comme des Garçons has been wowing us for years with her deliciously original approach not only to the creation of avant-garde street fashion but equally to its branding and distribution, something she sees as integral to the design process. Released this week was Series 8 Energy…

It’s difficult to imagine that furniture designer Hugo França was ever an office drone, let alone one in a SĂŁo Paulo computer company. Luckily for those of us who lust after his one-off pieces, a combination of factors (including political disenchantment with the then Brazilian government) led him to retreat, in the 1980s, from the world of micro-chips to the jungles of Bahia…

The latest addition to South Beach's strip of bigger, hotter and hipper hotels is the Gansevoort South, sister to the four year-old Gansevoort in Manhattan's Meatpacking district. Boasting a 110-foot roof deck pool, a David Barton gym (not yet open) and two restaurants by Philippe Chow (also soon to open), visitors familiar with the original Gansevoort will recognize a few features. While co-developers William and Michael Achenbaum and Arik Kislin may not be the first to import pieces of NYC to the south, their version is a slicker, splashier, more candy-colored experience compared to the…

A small booth headed up by a woman as nice as her creations are clever, Keep It Moving Design sells knit plants. Each hand-knit specimen comes in a pot with its own name. Most are flexible due to wire armature and some even have moss. She has some great vintage-like jewelry pieces and some embroidered men's ties too. All depends on what she's been up to that week. If you can't make it to the Flea Market you can find some of her work on her her Etsy site.

by Laurice ParkinAfter several visits by our small army of NY-based contributors, today we bring you a few of the best we found at the new Sunday morning ritual of Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Flea. Be sure to check back throughout the day to see more of what the new church has to offer. Bowling Alleys, icons of both Americana and funny shoes, have not been known to be the source of inspired design. But, Jim Malone's Counter Evolution might just have you looking at the home of cheap beer and gutter balls in a whole new light. Malone, in need of a new kitchen counter, found some vintage wood from a…

Two of the current installations at Brooklyn's Dam, Stuhltrager gallery come from Seattle-based multi-media artist Ryan Wolfe. Self-described as a "device artist and interaction designer," Wolfe offers technological studies of organic materials that force viewers to reimagine their perception of plants. "Branching System" is based in the theories of Edward Lorenz, who created the "butterfly effect" concept of Chaos Theory (and who died one week before the show opened). The installation covers the gallery walls with robotic leaves that independently flutter like mechanical butterflies…

U.K.-based music publication 'Sup Magazine's 18th issue featuring cover stars The Kills has just landed at specialty retailers. The release coincides with the publication's 10-year anniversary and boasts profiles on two dozen other indie bands like Map of Africa, Tigercity and Le Loup (see last week's video for a sample), all done with no filler (i.e. Q & A style with thankfully short intros), plus a section on fresh-faced newcomers like our São Paulo friends M.O.N.O.4. Accompanying each feature are exclusive lifestyle-type photographs shot especially for the issue. You can read…

50 Graus — the heads we told you about last year who put ice penguins under the hot sun in a Sao Paulo park to make a point about global warming — is on our radar again (thanks to the same Marco Monteiro who tipped us on the original post) with another intelligently conceived campaign. This time they’re targeting, cough, smokers. In “Smoking Kills More,” they juxtapose the death rates of well-known historical happenings with the fatalities caused by smoking-related diseases, using cancer sticks as their medium to create both non-moving and moving images. Watch…

TOMS shoes are based on the minimalist design of traditional Argentinean foot wraps. They’re simple in design with a fresh color combinations that really interests us. But if the simple fact of wearing comfortable, colorful, slipper-like shoes in the summer isn’t enough for you, TOMS has an additional incentive. For each pair purchased, a needy child from an impoverished country will get the same shoes. (Their ads juxtapose kids running around Soho and kids running down a muddy path in Ethiopia in TOMS.) Why wouldn’t you do good and look good at the same time? activism,…

Wings & Horns, W+H, Spruce — no matter what that Canadian company decides to call itself, rest assured they’re committed to quality and forward-thinking designs and cuts. Their hoodies are legendary on men’s streetwear fashion forums, with their parent company producing the ubiquitous hipster item for all the major street labels. Now Wings & Horns are expanding their market with a focus on footwear. Handcrafted in Italy, the white kicks are a hybrid of multiple designs. You can clearly see the military boot influence, the hi-top sneakers, and the Chucks-inspired…

It’s not often animal lovers get to witness their favorite creatures in their natural habitat. However, with the help of Soop’s Etsy shop, they can use their imagination to put an entire wilderness in the palm of their hands … or at least the base of their fingers. The London-based design studio, headed up by Wai-Lian Scannell, offers a cornucopia of animals and “lush vegetation” in the form of an adorable series of rings. Wear your wild things on on your very own finger farm. They’re an ideal accessory for anyone who needs to count less than 10 sheep to…

Some graphic designers have more flow than others — and I’m not talking about those who moonlight as rappers. Brazilian freelance art director Cristiano Trinidade is more whom I have in mind. His repertoire of drawings, graphic and motion design work stand out for their fluid lines and organic feel. It’s a perfect contrast to the concrete cityscape of Barcelona, where he recently mounted an outdoor billboard assigned to him by ROJO. I’m into the textures in his designs; a style that makes them more complex. With this type of flow, who needs rhymes? Art, barcelona,…

Design mash-ups can be so much fun. Take this 1963 Corvette Stingray inspired boat design by Swedish designer Bo Zolland. He takes the split-back window design of the classic American muscle car and fuses it into a watercraft that manages to come off very futuristic and ultra luxurious at the same time. I am not sure of having the backseat passenger’s head just inches away from the exposed motor, but this is just a concept after all. Rumor has it, if you really want one of these made, Zolland will direct you to a Swedish boat manufacturer called “Stand-Craft” that will be…

Here is a fun new way to cook that could either really annoy some chefs out there or really make many of us happy for the added built in convenience. The “Arcus” is a freestanding stove concept created in cooperation with Miele & CIE. AG. The interesting aspect of this stove is the built in ability to raise or lower the heat with a simple twist of the pot or pan you are cooking with. Need to lower the heat on your soup to a simmer? Simply twist the pot and the heat goes down. This is a great idea for those chefs that do not tend to handle the pots constantly during the cooking…

From the maker of LEGO salt n’ Pepper shaker, Diagonal bed and Table+Chair, designer Joel Hesselgren brings us a new lighting concept that twists and turns to your rooms content. These two concepts, the spotlight dubbed “Turn I” and the “Split” I” are cut on an angle for an interesting take on lighting any room. Designer: Joel Hesselgren Joel Hesselgren

This new body design by Manuel Prada takes inspiration from ancient telescopic instruments, a commentary on searching for the right picture - that perfect frame. All the mechanics fit inside a barrel optimizing it for one-handed operated. This makes it easier to hold steady removing the need for optical stabilization and even tripods. Now take issue, I’m an amateur photographer and based on this design I can already point out a few flaws. The best optical quality comes from the least amount of moving parts and this one looks like it has a boatload with all those rings. Part of being an…

I may have gotten my wording confused, but it was for a reason. We have all witnessed the excitement of seeing some pretty amazing feats on surfboards, snowboards, race bikes and the like. The thrill of watching at a safe distance, allows the spectator to enjoy the action, but unfortunately the actual Rush from being in the moment is many times kept at arm’s reach. Now we can have a Rush like no other. Designer Martin Ruegg, has invited us with his invention to experience what most of us are too scared to experience for ourselves. RUSH is a new shockproof and waterproof action camera that…

Don't these look gorgeous? They're sheets of wrapping paper made out of cotton textile remnants from garment factories. You can buy them at Soolip — and there are about 100 patterns available. I'm thinking they're too pretty to actually use as wrapping.I spotted these on kirtsy.

I've got some news. Unless you're very new to Design Mom, you probably already know I started another website called sk*rt with two amazing partners. Sk*rt was modeled on a site called Digg and is a place where anyone can share any cool link they find online. It's been up and running for less than a year but is already a pretty darn popular site. I love it. I find cool things on it everyday. And I hope you do to.That said, we're changing the name. And it happens today. Why? Well, it's because of some unseemly internet drama. The 411: A company with a similar name sued us a few months ago over…

The Mothers Day 2008 Giveaway Week is officially closed. I'll announce the final winners — and put winners in touch with sponsors — this evening.Thank you to everyone who participated in the Mothers Day Giveaway week — the clever commenters! (Over the course of the week there were 13,155(!) Giveaway comments) The generous sponsors! The beautiful products! I hope everyone felt as celebratory as I did about the whole thing.In other news: I have a million blog posts I want to write. Betty turned 2 on Friday (can we still call her Baby Betty?) with celebrations happening on Sunday. Then…

Here it is. You've been waiting for it so patiently. The final Mother's Day Giveaway. The finale. The big caboose. (Is that a term?) And as you might expect. It rocks. This Giveaway is worth the wait x 10. Get your comments in now for a super deluxe prize package from the finest kitchen supply store around: Williams-Sonoma.When I say "super-deluxe" I'm not even kidding. The prize features four items — everything you need for the perfect Mothers Day breakfast in bed. Take a look at the goods: 1) The Breville Electric Citrus Press.It's sleek. It's powerful. And it works on all of your…

[ Congratulations to Cecily who said, "I love it choose me!" You're the big winner of this Giveaway! Please send me an email at the address listed on my blog and I'll put you in touch with the sponsor. ]It's the second to last Giveaway. If you come upon this post over the weekend, it's so going to make your day. Like for reals. This Giveaway features one of the favorite items we discuss around here: pretty paper. With your name on it. The winner will receive $200 worth of paper goods. From the hip shop Paper & Ink Studio.The prize includes 75 Flat Notecards — personalized with your name…

Over two million people have been displaced from the destruction of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. Relief groups are being allowed limited access, though the most devastated parts of the country are still being blocked; fewer than one-third of the affected are receiving help.

I once had a friend who would compulsively remove all of the brand labels from her toiletries. The resulting array of matte white bottles resembled a photo spread from Adbusters, the anti-consumerism magazine. The first time I saw this, I was perplexed. How did she manage to avoid styling her hair with exfoliant? Had she developed an intuitive understanding of the product to container relationship?

Bklyn Designs, the three-day showcase of local work that closes today in the DUMBO neighborhood, is customarily characterized as an unassuming warm-up act to the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, a far more sweeping and comprehensive event which opens Friday.

Spend your Mother's Day at Muji this year, or just take advantage of of the SOHO store sale.

Graphic designers tend to live on a higher plane of cool than the rest of us, and few are cooler than Geoff McFetridge. In addition to his design work, McFetridge has made skateboards and he served as art director of Grand Royal, a 1990s magazine financed by the Beastie Boys.

The irrepressibly prolific artist, who time and again reshaped art in the 20th century, died Monday night.

The International Fine Art Fair at the Park Avenue Armory, now in its 15th year, is a good place to find highly decorative examples of familiar styles.

“Mike’s World: Michael Smith & Joshua White (and other collaborators)” is a terrifically entertaining and philosophically compelling survey, at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, of Mr. Smith’s 30-year career.

An eccentric, lost talent was revived at the Chelsea Hotel when the lives of two artists, a generation apart, intersected.

The United States Commission of Fine Arts has asked the creators of a sculpture of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for the Washington Mall to change it.

Tokujin Yoshioka apprenticed to both Shiro Kuramata and Issey Miyake before he started designing his own line of furniture for Driade. "Designed by tokujin yoskioka, 2005 for driade. Yoshioka is an award-winning designer whose thoughts about design are that the creator should show something surprising and joyful. his work may look understated but there is a deeper meaning of something that is both poetic and ready-to-sell. The Boing sofa is simple yet interesting. the three place sofa's structure is made in chromed steel , the shell and foam with metal inserts and the fixed cover is made of…

I've always sort of liked the silly, superstitious quality of Rabbit's feet, but as an animal lover I would never own an actual rabbit's foot. Harry Allen has come up with a solution, a guilt free gold plate and brass option. [posted by kris]

This is a perfect gift for your favorite coffee drinker. "Eva Solo bring their "less is more" design aesthetic to the simple task of brewing coffee. Simply spoon in the coffee, add boiling water, stir and replace the drip-free filter funnel and the tip-up lid. Wait four minutes, and pour the freshly-brewed coffee. The lid and the cover keep the coffee warm for 30 minutes, as well as giving the brewer is distinctive "flask in a pullover" look.The covers are available in knitwear or neoprene (zipped). Consisting of four easy-to-clean parts (heatproof flask, lid, filter and cover), with a custom…

Check it out: this portable grill simply folds up so it's easy to carry around. Everyone will think you're the coolest when you bring this to a picnic or backyard BBQ. 'Yes, this is one grill that is pretty amazing. A super-slim, portable charcoal grill that lives up to its boast as a “notebook.” And a superstylish one at that! It’s lightweight, too, weighing in at slightly over 8 lbs—seriously!--and the cut-out handles make it a cinch to carry. There’s a 192-square-inch cooking surface on a stainless steel grate, and the stainless steel black surface has a…

Huh? I can't decide if this is good or bad, but it does leave room for ideas on making your own... "You can never get back lost time, but with this ultra-creative and modern clock you can reminisce without losing track of time. A square board adorned with vintage toys and a minute and hour hand make this timepiece an interesting sculptural and functional accent to your walls. These found objects, such as tiny stuffed animals, a cassette tape and a plastic horse, will make you smile about the past, but still keep you in the present. Limited Edition. Natural birch and hand-colored in white."…

Would you believe that if you planted asparagus today you would still be harvesting stalks in 2028? Twenty years (or more!) is the average life span of a healthy crown of asparagus. I know this sounds crazy, but let me explain. Asparagus can be started from seed, but if you want to fast track harvesting (which I did) you can purchase established crowns. A crown is basically a root system that has been growing for a few years. Picture a mass of tangles you would never want to comb out and that is a crown. Looking to purchase established crowns? Click here. Once your crowns have arrived, they…

Whenever I misplace an item, I call myself a Searching Sally. Searching Sally is usually irritable and irrational with everyone and everything she encounters. Calm, even-keeled Erin is gone. Get in my way when I can't find something, and I'll be snippy and frustrated with you until I find whatever it is I'm seeking. Do you know Searching Sally? Maybe you know Searching Stan? Do either of them come to visit you when you can't find an item? In most cases, the reason I can't find something is because someone has used an object and not returned it to where it belongs. Often times, I'm the one who…

The New York Times ran an article last Thursday in their House & Home section about home goods that are specifically designed to be biodegradable. We're not talking small trinkets or disposable dishes, but instead sofas and textiles. The article raises several questions about whether making biodegradable sofas is worth it because who is really going to put their couch in a compost heap? What do you think? Would you buy home furnishings that are biodegradable? image from nytimes.com)

Do areas of your home desperately need updating? This week I plan to reveal tips on how to spruce up your space without going broke with a few simple updates. First up, the bathroom. Not just a place to shower and shave, it should calm and be a place of retreat, your very own home spa. How do you create a beautiful space on a budget? Clean + remove everything. Give your bathroom a good thorough cleaning. Remove EVERYTHING that can be moved out of the room, slide on those rubber gloves, and go to work! Clean everything, gut the drawers and cabinets, open the windows to allow in fresh air, and…

I found this article in yesterday's New York Times about Wendy Johnson and her garden in Muir Beach, California. Inspiring reading for your coffee break today. The slide show has some beautiful images.

Every now and again we take a look around, select “fresh” high-quality free fonts and present them to you in a brief overview. The choice is enormous, so the time you need to find them is usually the time you should be investing in your current projects. We search for them and we find them, so you don’t have to. This month we are glad to present you Freebooter Script, Cora Basic Regular, Walkway and Karabine. Please read the license agreements carefully — they can change from time to time. Free Fonts Of April features GrauBlau and Nevis. You can find over 80 more free…

Sometimes typography is all you need to communicate your ideas effectively. Graphics can support the type or type can support the graphics, but to deliver the message precisely, you need to make sure your type is expressive enough, your design is distinctive enough and the composition is strong enough. The results are sometimes crazy, sometimes artsy, sometimes beautiful, but often just different from things we’re used to. Thus designers explore new horizons and we explore new viewing perspectives which is what inspiration is all about. This post showcases over 70 examples of sexy, bold…

Getting creative is part of our job. Whatever project we are working on, at some point we need to come up with some nice starting point — some fresh idea which we could explore further, build upon and refine until we have a polished, perfect result. Although having an idea is at least as important as implementing it properly, without inspiration and innovation you just can’t get anything done. And this is where it sometimes gets messy. In fact, drawing inspiration is not as easy as we used to think of it. Inspiration is not just observing something, analyze it and implement it in…

Take a shot, send us the image and win a Canon Digital Rebel camera. In web design textures are needed in background-images and header graphics. Graphic designers use textures to transport some concrete aspects of real-life into the digital presentation. Textures are also used to create an atmosphere which fits to the main topic or idea of the site. Such textures are usually extracted from photos. In fact, everybody can create them — apart from a camera no special devices or tools are necessary. You just need to find a texture and you make a shot of it. And here is where our readers…

Designing blogs is easy. Designing blogs in a unique way is hard. Whatever blog engine you are using, there are literally thousands of templates available which you can apply directly, without any significant code modifications. That’s efficient, but it’s not creative, because using a default blog-template you risk to end up with some wide-spread look which has actually nothing to do with you. To convey your personality effectively, you need a design which reflects who you are and what you are doing. That’s why important is not just what you post, but also how you post it.

With a polycarbonate body and a signature pattern of raised edges inspired by diamond plate, Samsonite Graviton Luggage ($200-$390) offers great looks with outstanding protection. The polycarbonate case offers outstanding...Visit Uncrate for the full post.

If you're looking for another way to burn through your Wii Points, check out Nintendo's just launched Wii Ware. The new service, found in the Wii Shop channel, sells creative,...Visit Uncrate for the full post.

The Spyderco Byrdwrench ($77) goes a little further than other multi-tools with a combination of one-hand open knife, slip-joint pliers, bit driver, and an adjustable crescent wrench. It's also got...Visit Uncrate for the full post.

Looking for a TV that will match any decor? That's the idea behind the Samsung Touch of Color HDTVs ($480-$2580), which feature a hint of red naturally blended into a...Visit Uncrate for the full post.

We know that Dave makes some insanely hot sauce, but for those times when you need something a little more reasonable, or need to offer a less-hot version of the...Visit Uncrate for the full post.

Bring this to your next girl's night. What's a Dame to Do? ($34) is the hilarious new board game just for women, that presents players with a challenge, ("What do...Visit Outblush for the full post.

Imagine looking good for spring and lending a helping hand to Mother Earth at the same time. With designer Heather Heron's Antique Hemp and Lace Clutch ($55), imagining is no...Visit Outblush for the full post.

Why settle for covering an unsightly pimple when you can actually eliminate it? The Zeno Pro Acne Clearing Device ($159) is an FDA-approved, battery-powered gadget that uses a precisely controlled...Visit Outblush for the full post.

Shock your Grandmother by wearing white before Memorial Day. One look at Isaac Mizrahi's little white Ponte Dress ($30) and she might just forgive you. A jeweled neck makes this...Visit Outblush for the full post.

The best thing to happen to sun protection since spray-on formula. Colorescience's revolutionary Sunforgettable formula ($50) offers broad-spectrum protection with an SPF of 30. The ingenious mineral powder is gentle...Visit Outblush for the full post.

Authentic Belgian Creativity was promoted in Milan’s Zona Tortona by the likes of Bram Boo who showcased his new line of furniture called Homeland and Buzzispace, a company that uses recycled plastics in room dividers, lampshades and memo boards. Jaga had very sleek and cheery radiators on display, the anti-Heatwaves, as it were, and there were some great pieces by Katrien Van Hulle of Colect. + abc-design.be

+ Lovegrove & Repucci are launching the new London Delft series of porcelain dinnerware. The five-piece settings bring the London streets to the table in an unusual, yet traditional, manner. + We are looking forward to seeing Bev Hisey’s new hand-knotted rugs at ICFF. The rugs are inspired by oil paintings her grandmother did in the 1950s and are as effective as wallhangings as floorcoverings. + This origami-inspired dish by Rachel Young called Fold is a polypropylene fruit bowl (or centerpiece for dry articles) that has been carefully hand-folded. + The Margaretae sofa by the Central…

Romolo Stanco showed pieces from the new Reflections On My Grandmother collection from Nonesiste in Zona Tortona’s Nhow Hotel. Grandmother is a very simple glass table that combines new technologies with baroque lace decoration. Killthequeen is a mirror that focuses on continuous geometric lines, and the Quelcheresta lighting shows “what remains” – the section of the lighting when the lamp shape is removed. The Gulp and DinDon chairs are after the jump. + nonesiste.com

Danish Crafts, an independent design group under the Danish Ministry of Culture, will be presenting the latest Crafts Collection at the end of the week at ICFF. Crafts Collection 12 will feature works that look at safe sex, animal welfare and fair trade by way of a refined mix of materials, technique and humour. Over 20 designers and craftspeople have been chosen to participate in this collection of furniture, glassware, textiles, ceramics and jewellery. Shown above is the Botanics necklace by Mai Ørsted, and several more projects from the collection are shown after the jump. +…

Another design blogger publishes a book, this time it's David Carlson of the David Report blog with Designboost 07, "the first in a series of books that in words, pictures and moving media describes the work of Designboost. Designboost is a knowledge company that helps companies and organisations to learn more about design in general and sustainable design in particular". Contributors include Beckmans College of design professor Mathilda Tham, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design PhD research associate Kristina BĂśrjesson and architect Tim Power & designer researcher/ writer…

Due to an almost magical series of administrative, record-keeping, and usability errors, the domain registration for A List Apart momentarily lapsed this morning. It was like a disturbance in the Force, or a warp in the Matrix. While the site continued to display correctly here in New York City (and in many other places), it [...]

Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it's decoration.

What does it take to build an online community like Flickr’s? And how can we tell if interface design conventions we take for granted actually help or hurt users? In Issue No. 258 of A List Apart, for people who make websites, George Oates, a key member of the core team that shaped the Flickr [...]

I’ll never forget the day Chip Kidd sent me an e-mail. Chip Kidd, author of The Cheese Monkeys, the book that does for design school what Nathaniel West’s Day of the Locust did for Hollywood. I wrote about Chip Kidd’s work and he sent me a polite e-mail in response. He called me “Mr Zeldman.” [...]

While employed at a famous New York advertising agency twenty years ago, a partner and I created a TV commercial touting an over-the-counter medicine client’s revolutionary new cold and flu remedy for young children. Only when the shooting and shouting was over did we learn that the product did not, in fact, exist. The commercial [...]

Designing is the process of linking need with desire.  It's easier (and better) to sell something which is desirable, rather than (un)desirable. Desirability is value by another name.  A more insiring and emotive name.  Would you rather be valuable or desirable? We're in the business of creating desirability via innovation.

BusinessWeek recently ran a wonderful interview with Jeff Bezos on the subject of managing and leading innovation.  Thoughtful and illuminating, he had me nodding my head and saying "yes", "yes" and "yes" again.  Some highlights: On the liberating nature of constraints: "I think frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do. One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out. When we were [first] trying to acquire customers, we didn't have money to spend on ad budgets. So we created the associates program, [which…

"I have said that knowledge is the purpose to act, and that practice implies carrying out knowledge.  Knowledge is the beginning of practice; doing is the completion of knowing." - Wang Yangming

ALERT!  ALERT! We have had a BUNCH of folks sign-up for our conference on Creating Infectious Action so we are moving to a bigger room. It is now in Hewlett 201. Here is the link to the new location.  The event still goes from 3:30 to 6 with a reception to follow.  See you there!

The Stanford d.school class I'm co-teaching on Creating Infectious Engagement is holding a conference next Thursday May 1st from 3:30 pm to 6:00 pm.  Will you please come if you are in the area?  We've held a conference the previous two years of teaching the class, and each one has been a highlight of the quarter.  Previous speakers have included luminaries such as Steve Jurvetson, Perry Klebahn, Dennis Whittle, Mari Kuraishi, and Jessica Flannery.  Folks that knock your hat in the creek. This year is no exception.  I can't wait to hear all of them speak, and Ruggy…

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14 year old Bethany Wilkinson unveils the official trailer for her original animated movie "Stitches: The Untold Story". The poignant story features the soon to be classic character Stitches as we follow him on his journey to find faith, friendship and family. Wilkinson utilizes 'old-school' animation techniques in pencil with her computer to bring each character to life, including a dog and snake. This appears to be a powerful and gripping story that is sure to win over the hearts of everyone.The full animated short is due out May 2009. You can watch the trailer at…

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Cameron Davidson - Aerial and Location Photography - 703-845-0547Technorati Tags: Cameron Davidson, Photography, Photos, ImagesSubscribe to this feed

in preparation for this weekend’s show- here is a little sneak peek of what’s to come from designer pieter maes (for brastilo) at icff.

lovely tea cup stationery from kelly at paper stories letterpress…

this post is a continuation of d*s’s earlier bklyn designs coverage… alright, bklyn designs part two! i wanted to kick off today’s coverage of bklyn designs with one of my favorite booths: the pratt booth. it’s always so fun to see what pratt students are up to and this year students seemed to really be focusing on re-using and re-purposing found or sustainable materials. i absolutely loved the cast porcelain lighting (above) by jennie maneri- it cast such a soft light. the rest of the work below is from pratt students- if anyone knows the names for each student…

i know i’ve said it before, but i’m really, really excited for the stationery show. it’s always my favorite part of design week and with sneak previews like this i know it’s going to be a great show this year. san francisco artist cat seto will be debuting this new eco-chic desk calendar at the show- each calendar is printed on 100% recycled paper, comes with a reusable wood block holder, is packaged in a biodegradable bag, and if you mail back your used pages of your calendar cat seto will recycle them and give you a coupon for next year’s refill! such a fun…

I found UK artist Julia Pott buying her little book online judging it from it’s very nice cover. Then I found her really reallyincredible animation which I may have watched eighteen times now. Her website has some other drawings worth checking out too. pott2.jpg

Wow a burst of link love and pointers from all my friends today seem to revolve around this theme. So I thought to compile it all right here in one place!

This is interesting. In the many portfolios I have seen, rarely have I seen a portfolio that clearly indicates if it was group work or a project done with a team. If fact, it happens so infrequently that I sit up and take notice when a portfolio actually has credits. In today's Internet environment the term "don't take a dump in your own backyard" is becoming more and more relevant as your "backyard" has become a lot bigger than you think.

This looks like it's been out for awhile, but the Guru of Graphics has recently launched his book of wisdom that I'm sure will be a massive hit. I'm going to get it, at the very least for the "type candy"!

All images from HaiShang Design. (Click for a larger image) It is about time someone designed one that has totally broken the traditional configuration of a Dump Truck! It is really impressive how this designer re-thought how one would operate, and then used that insight to designed a break-through product. Absolutely amazing concept, and sure sign of the amazing pedigree of Chinese designers to come.

Image: Poop Hat from Jbox So where was I? Ah yes. On two separate occasions, I had a similar discussion with two designer friends. One of which was a very senior designer almost two decades older than I. We were discussing how designers have "Use by Dates" and how we all will eventually get there. This is because the older designers would eventually get surpassed by new blood that has access to new training, technologies, skills and thinking. So I pondered: "How can designers remain relevant in today's fast pace design world?"

I'm all for applique-ing trims on plain curtain panels but PBteen has gone and done it for us: These Suite Ribbon Drapes Curtains come with pink, green or chocolate brown grosgrain ribbon sewn onto three edges of the 52-inch wide canvas panel. I could've done with just hem and leading edge (closest to center) but you could fold and pin the the outside ribbon to hide it.  Sounds silly but I think the boxed-out effect looks best on Roman shades!  But I love that these come in 9ft lengths for $99.

I love filling my beautiful antique lanterns with candles, but melting petroleum isn't exactly inviting. In reaction to that realization many soy solutions are heating up the scene. Not to be outshined, the celebrity community is rapidly entering the eco-space. Sandra Bullock has just launched her Bessence candle collection, using a soy-based wax to replace the customary petroleum-derived paraffin, utilizing lead-free wicks and combining plant and flower essential oils to create four luxurious scents - that way you get 50 hours of clean burning pleasure. The packaging, besides being…

One of my fave clients (we call her "Kiki") showed me these kiddie beds from JC Penney last week: Pretty amazing that you can get a twin size upholstered headboard WITH A MONOGRAM, foot and side rails for less than 300 bucks, right?  The stripe and polka dot options look hideola, but a solid cotton duck with a three-letter contrast monogram could be downright adorable for little Wingspan or Banjo.  P.S.  Go see Baby Mama!! 

I don't mind telling you that I have never been terribly organized when it comes to keeping my Heart Strings safe. While I was in Tobias and The Angel this week (a delightful shop that you will read more about in my Shopping London story - in the August issue) I came across this nifty way to keep them safe. Thought is was worth sharing.

I LOVE summer but I HATE mosquitoes. What is a nature loving, blood-protecting girl supposed to do? Bug Off! has come up with a multitude of ways to arm yourself naturally against pests. Using ingredients such as blends of citronella, rosemary, lemongrass and geranium essential oils (all of which are Mother Nature’s insect repellents), Bug Off! makes it easy to put down the deet. They have wipes, soy candles, spritzers, soaps, oils, shampoos and a bug rub that contains shea butter. And for that tiny spot you may have missed (and there’s always one), Bug Off! makes a Bug…

There must be something good about “Battlestar Galactica,” because in spite of how basically crap I find it, I tune in faithfully every week (though sometimes, like this evening, I do so belatedly thanks to the convenience of my DVR). Usually, I spend the hour sneering or rolling my eyes as the episode unfolds; the show is fascinating to me as an intersection between an old guard of cheap and not particularly good television making, and a new frontier of narratively — though not intellectually — complex and ambitious television writing. Actually I think…

Here’s how much I like Apple’s Keynote presentation software. I just used it the way I might have used QuarkXPress or Adobe InDesign: to create a document intended not for the screen or projection, but for printing, and being held in one’s hand. The document is my final, outgoing treasurer’s report as I finish up my two-year term as a board member for AIGA New York. (My work isn’t quite finished yet, though, as I’m moving on to the national board.) When I started to create the report, I originally tried to use InDesign and Illustrator, but the…

Let me admit a real prejudice that I have, and maybe you can try to convince me that I’m wrong: it’s my belief that you just can’t get great design out of a design agency with a staff larger than a dozen or two. Design doesn’t scale well, in my opinion, or at least it doesn’t do so easily. This craft, and whatever pretensions to art it can pull off, rests so much on the efficiency of transferring ideas from the brain to the hand. This means that in its ideal form, it works best when practiced by a single person. The perfect design staff is a single designer…

Are you a designer in need of a job? Well, we need designers at the NYTimes.com design group, almost as bad as we need a new interface for our job board. Sometimes the board works, and sometimes it doesn’t, so when I post this link to a description for a position I need to fill soon, you’ll have to forgive me if happens to not be functioning properly when you click on it. Enterprise software is like that. Okay, to be honest the board is terrible. But that shouldn’t reflect poorly on the job opportunity — the opportunity is a really great one. We’ve got a really,…

Generally, I think it’s great when companies adopt a bit of the customer-friendly approach to designing and packaging products that most of us have come to associate with Apple. I’m talking about the premise that, even after the consumer has handed over her money for a physical product, the process of opening up its packaging and using it for the first time should be as seductive and reassuring as was the experience of having been sold on it in the first place — if not more enjoyable, even. Take, for example, this external hard drive that I bought recently from Seagate:…

“If you want to be at the heart of the intellectual universe, come to Stanford,” said Stanford Law School Dean, Larry Kramer, introducing Jonathan Zittrain to a pumped-up pro-Stanford audience at the Ritz Carlton, San Francisco. This book-signing event was organized by Dean Kramer and Stanford Law School in an effort to recruit the Oxford professor and internationally-known cyberlaw scholar to the Farm. View PHOTOS from Zittrain’s event HERE. “There is no place like Stanford Law School,” Zittrain agreed and began his talk centering on his latest book, The Future…

“This exhibit was carried around by Indian elephants,” said Peter Friess, President of The TECH Museum of Innovation, on a gala evening celebrating “100 Years of the Nobel Prize” and its installation at The TECH. Traveling through India, China, Egypt, and now Silicon Valley, the exhibit was conceived in the spirit of the Nobel Prize as an international project. Watch video of Friess talking here (or embedded below). How it Began – A Treasure Hunt Nobel Laureates, TECH board members, and media listened as Friess explained the genesis of the exhibit. Arthur Molella,…

“Remember that 10 words is not a speech. It is a statement!” said East Bay Business Times Publisher Mike Consol. Over a thousand businesspeople had gathered in San Francisco Hilton’s grand ballroom for the presentation of the 2008 list of the 100 Best Places to Work in the Bay Area. “You get 10 words…Or Less!” Consol prepped the winners in the audience for their moment on stage and urged them to start consolidating their ideas right away. Realizing that they had to create a “corporate haiku” on the spot, the audience reacted audibly. An unexpected…

On Tuesday April 22nd ValleyZen was invited to observe “The First Amendment in the Digital Age,” a Stanford seminar by Beth Noveck. She is a Professor of Law and the Director of the Institute for Information Law & Policy at New York Law School. Noveck teaches in the areas of intellectual property and innovation law and policy, constitutional law, e-democracy and e-government. The topic for this week concerned the development and use of impenetrable anonymizing software which makes it impossible to identify the source of a posting on the Internet. The class discussed the…

Dr. Peter Diamandis is the Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, which awarded a $10 million prize for private spaceflight. Today when I met him and heard him speak about the importance of incentivizing risk (watch video clip), I thought of a Zen maxim from Hagakure, Book of the Samurai: “With an intense, fresh and undelaying spirit, one will make his judgements within the space of seven breaths. It is a matter of being determined and having the spirit to break right through to the other side.” Dr. Diamandis is one who has certainly broken through to the other side time and…

Going to bikeshops around Toscana is like going to museums. Legendary Poli in Lucca, Baglini in Pisa and Friendly Aliverti in Pietrasanta- KARL

New York (Chinatown Newswire) — In an eerie twist of fate, the tight finish to the Chinatown Soccer Club’s official Fantasy English Premier League tournament mirrored that of the real-life action back in England by seeing Coach Stochl clinch the title by a single point. West Coast powerhouse Matthew Fletcher finished a strong second, edged out of the top spot by the narrowest of margins after a nine-month long campaign and a grand total of more than 2000 points. CSC pass-master Zach “Kormega” Korman, finished third, while defensive midfielder Dominic Neitz ended up in a…

Nieves likes to make your Parisian Summer plans even more exciting, so it has decided to bring its ever growing Library to the Centre Culturel Suisse, at 38 rue des Francs Bourgeois (3rd), until September 28. The opening reception is this coming Saturday May 17, from 6pm to 9pm. If you missed the LA show early this year, you don’t have anymore excuses…

Kevin Lyons + Michael Leon + Ben Drury + Arkitip + BEAMS T Three different covers, three different heat transfers. 20 May 2008

A follow up to Sarah’s post from a bit earlier completely by coincidence. Yesterday, my wife and I caught the N-Judah out to the Sunset neighborhood to drop by Mollusk Surf Shop to see the Geoff McFetridge show. If you haven’t made it out to Mollusk yet, be sure to do so, there is a great vibe and a nice selection of apparel, surfboards, and cruiser skateboards. Here are a few images from that trip: Also, check out local Bay Area artist and sign painter Jeff Canham. Jeff has painted signs for Mollusk and has put the brush to some beautiful pieces involving type. Be sure not to…

I was a little bummed that I didn’t get to make cupcakes this weekend due to the power outage, so tonight I asked my roommate if he’d be down to eat a chocolate chip cupcake and he was REALLY excited about it. So at 9 pm I decided to bust out the baking supplies and bake me up some delicious cupcakes! This was honestly my second attempt at making cupcakes, so I found some Martha Stewart recipe online and retrofitted it into something that: A) Fit the ingredients I had and, B) Sounded really good. So I threw it all together, including some Ghiradelli chocolate chips that were on…

Last Friday I popped over to the Kevin Lyons show over at HVW8 on Melrose and it was a good time. The show is called Your Mom’s In My Business and was made up of drawings and doodles that Kevin made while he was riding the train 4 hours a day back and forth to work. The work isn’t deep and full of meaning, but it has a good sense of humor and is sharp as a tack. It’s not even all his own work, some things are pulled from magazines and who knows where, but it’s rad nonetheless. The show’s gonna be up until June 15th, so be sure to stop by if you’re in the…

A couple weeks ago I was driving down Melrose heading toward the Beverly Center when I was shocked to see a pink, neon glow that I hadn’t seen before. Bear in mind I’m driving at dusk, a little after the sun had set, so this was BRIGHT. As I get closer I realize that this has to be the brand new A Bathing Ape store that has been in the process of opening forever. For the five you who’ve never heard of A Bathing Ape, it’s basically this cult clothing brand in Japan, mostly because of it’s limited edition t-shirts and sneakers. Is it really all that exciting? I…

I haven’t really posted about my new apartment much, but I’m definitely going to once it starts looking better. It’s only been about two weeks now, but things are looking pretty great except for the living room, which is pretty barren. Anyhow, I made a decision when I moved that since I now had an oven, that I would start baking every weekend. I’ve never really been a baking kind of guy, but I have serious baking-envy because of my friend Frank who is the best cook that I know. So I was going to bake chocolate chip cupcakes, but the power went out on my block for most…

Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be by The Black Keys Don’t Forget The Sun by The Explorer’s Club Well it’s Monday again, and I had planned on posting things this weekend but that didn’t happen, so I’ll try a whole lot more posts in today. But first, let’s talk about LWIM. Does anyone know if I can have two Last.fm clients running on two different computers? I feel like it’s only recording the music on my computer at work. Anyone know anything? As for what I listened to, Death Cab for Cutie took the top banana with their new album, Narrow Stairs.

What would George Jetson drive? If he was a scooter kinda guy, the modded Kybele CyberScooter, above, probably wouldn't be a stretch. This and a host of truly incredible scooter mods, with both pics and links, are up on Pink Tentacle. (Photo above from autobloggreen; photo below from tokyo scooter's Flickr page.) ...

Industrial Designer Quality Bicycle Products Minneapolis, Minnesota Our ideal candidate would have experience within the bicycle industry, wrenching on and riding bikes, professional product design and development experience, and a passion for product design. » view The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot....

The UK Design Council has published a designer's guide to designing out crime from products, systems and services with advice from those who've done it, young crime victims and technology experts. The site also contains an overview of graphic, product and systems that tackle hot product crime, including the Bikeoff bicycle stands, orange school projectors, the Immobilise online security service, anti-theft number plates, biometric security for mobile devices, service design for secure bike hire schemes, and cutting crime at a Birmigham hospital through improved wayfinding and increased…

With the technology still prohibitively expensive, fully interactive signage could remain in the realms of cinematic fantasy, but three recent, small-scale projects using architecture and dynamic content might point the way forward, writes Scott Billings in UK's Design Week magazine....

Stefan doesn't care about kerning!! Yup. You heard it here first. We were up close n personal with the king of graphic design. Here are a few choice, albeit paraphrased, sound bites from Sagmeister's round table discussion at Gravity Free: Sag on Pencils vs Illustrator: Young designers today are as skilled on Illustrator as I am with a pencil. It's a tool. So fine, treat it as a tool, but not as a solution. Sag on sabbaticals: Gaps are a possibility for re-organization Sag on Art vs Design: I like making things that are useful for the world. Design bridges that gap between conceptual art and…

Talking Points Memo (a political blog) reported today that the Hillary Clinton campaign emailed an "electability" PowerPoint deck to all House Democrats. It's slideuments like this that have given PowerPoint a bad name over the years. Nine slides, approximately  275 words,  one table, three bar charts, and two pie charts. Why not just write a proper, concise, well-designed document and send it as a PDF? Unfortunately, sending this kind of docu-point/slideument as a quick alternative to a well-crafted paper or handout, etc. is all too familiar. A note about PZ on Twitter I…

David Heinemeier Hansson, creator of Ruby on Rails and partner at 37signals shares his ideas on creating a profitable startup company in a presentation titled "The (a) secret to making money online." I was tipped off to these presentations from Startup School '08 because a reader found the online presentation of the talk noteworthy. I watched the talk initially just to see how the video works, but then I got interested in David's talk. Actually, it's quite good (raw and honest, no bullet-point snoozer, etc.). Although the audio quality and camera work are not great (not the presenter's fault)…

Mitch Joel is the President of the award-winning Digital Marketing agency Twist Image. Marketing Magazine dubbed him the “Rock Star of Digital Marketing” and in 2006 he was named one of the most influential authorities on Blog Marketing in the world. Mitch, from Canada, is also a great presenter and is in high demand for his informative and inspirational talks on issues such as marketing in today's world, digital marketing, personal branding, etc. Mitch has shared the stage with former US President Bill Clinton, Anthony Robbins, Dr. Phil, Sir Ken Robinson, and many more. Go to his…

If you are not aware of the psychologist and physician Dr. Edward de Bono, then you owe it to yourself to at least explore his contributions. I knew of Dr. de Bono from his book Six Thinking Hats, but recently my interest in his work was renewed when I spoke with an executive of a famous multinational firm in Hong Kong who said they'd really benefited from some of his methods. Dr. de Bono says that so-called Western thinking, using analysis, judgement, and argument, is largely concerned with "what is." This is all well and good, he says, but it's not sufficient. There is another…

The Miami Herald's Business Books columnist Richard Pachter wrote an article yesterday praising three new business books, including Presentation Zen. Richard writes a really nice column, so I'm most honored indeed to get a thumbs up from him. Richard talks about two other new books in the article that I have not read yet, but based on his recommendation I have ordered both or them. The first book he reviews is Powerlines: Words That Sell Brands, Grip Fans, and Sometimes Change History by Steve Cone. Actually Steve Cone's other book from 2005, Steal These Ideas!: Marketing Secrets That Will…

I'm excited to share the slideshow that I've pulled together for Domino called A Few Good (Etsy) Men - it just went live yesterday. I felt passionate about including a piece devoted to male artists in their online Etsy gallery because lots of guys are quick to judge Etsy as mostly an all-girl space and I'm determined to show that some amazing guys do successfully sell their art as affordable prints there. The fact that a magazine as hugely popular as Domino is paying attention to their work just may be the motivation needed to encourage more guys to sell prints on sites like Etsy.This is my…

Looking to update your bathroom on a budget? I pulled together 10 Budget Bathroom Updates over at Real Simple this morning that I would love for you to read in case you're looking to freshen up your bathroom. Here's the link. And if you have in your budget a little extra for something nice from Anthropologie...Some new pretty things for the bath from Anthropologie. I adore these colors, so girly. The shower curtains are too lovely, we need more beautiful shower curtains in the world.These soaps are from Saipua, a family owned business in Brooklyn. It's so sweet to see how they wrap them in…

I didn't forget to wish you a happy weekend, in fact I've been wanting to log on for hours to wish you well but I was out and about. I hope each and every single one of you plans to do at least one thing creative this weekend and that you enjoy time with friends and family. Next week I'll reveal the details regarding our Amy Butler Design contest so get your mood boards ready for action! I'll leave you with a few links although I'm sure the Aussie blog post is still keeping you busy... :) Australian design lover Leanne has such a pretty home, her bedroom makes me smile. You can enjoy more of…

I was invited to the Real Simple Design on a Dime event held in New York last night but couldn't make it. Now I wish I had. Thom was there! Thom! My hero. James Huniford, Designer, Sills Huniford; Kristin van Ogtrop, Managing Editor, Real Simple; Charles King; Founder; Maggie Gyllenhaal, actress; Thom Filica, designer, Thom Filicia.This is going to sound totally braggy, but just over the past few month's I could have mingled with Orla Kiely, attended a taping of the Martha Stewart show, met Amy Butler, Nathalie LĂŠtĂŠ, and the crew over at Domino magazine just to name a few. But I feel shy…

Interior Designer Vanessa De Vargas of Turquoise LA wants to share with us a store she's nuts about in LA called Grace Home Furnishings. I can clearly see why, just look at these blue and white rooms below, so elegant. And I adore the idea of using art over bedside tables, you could mimic this with fabric or wallpaper framed for a little DIY project that would look just as nice.Contributed by: Vanessa De Vargas, decor8 West Coast Correspondent.Grace Home Furnishings is a wonderful well known home dĂŠcor and furnishings showroom located in Brentwood just off Sunset Blvd in California. You…

Debranded home is a new way of thinking about products and their presence into our houses: many of us prefer to show anonimous packs into their toilets, in spite of branded ones. Debranded home created two series of sticker to personalize each bottle we may have at home. In my opinion, they made the opposite, creating a precise brand and giving to the end user the possibility of creating his personal pack, against the market proposals. Here below some images of the stickers in use.

Agency: Multistorey

Cider (from Swedish brewery, KrĂśnleins Bryggeri AB) features a smart, sideways logo. Nice use of typography—(rather than punctuation)—to create an emoticon effect.  Naming and design, by Stockholm-based Amore. box vox

There is something appealing about the slightly inconsistent typographic elements on the labels of the CB I Hate Perfume collection. These perfumes are the creations of scentologist, Christopher Brosius. The scents are mostly specific fragrances like The Fir Tree or Gathering Apples. These look almost like they came out of the perfumer's lab - in stark contrast to the elaborate bottled things you'll find in a department store. For more images, continue reading...

I'm a sucker for patterns. I visit stationery and fabric stores for color and pattern inspiration, and spend hours getting lost in the shelves. So, when a friend sent me a link for iota paper products, I was smitten. Iota is a colorful stationery company, that is eco-friendly (using recycled content), and affordable. Iota means "a very small amount or thing, a jot, a whit." The company believes that little things can make a big difference. Iota sells a range of items, including gift wrap, notebooks, stationery and greeting cards. I love that the packaging design is simple, and…

a sophisticated visual aggregator that tracks the activities of about 32,000 noteworthy people, both living & dead. the dataset consists of a "Who's Who" including the curriculum vitae of each noted person (i.e. information such as date of birth, a biography, & other essential facts.) the resulting network graphs document the connections between people, many of which are not always obvious, as a person's otherwise inexplicable behavior is often understood by examining the crowd that person has been associating with. nodes can be order hierarchically, as a grid, or symmetrically, or be…

an online & interactive timeline that arranges the unsorted collection of YouTube videos by date, offering a visual & useful perspective on recent events. individual videos are placed on a horizontal timeline, with more popular videos appearing larger. [link: dipity.com|via techcrunch.com]

an eco-visualization concept that aims to increase the awareness of energy usage. everyday objects are used to generate energy by piezoelectronic components that generate a small amount of electricity when moved (pressed down). the applications range from a simple keyboard button press (19mW) over opening a door (0.2W/s) to sitting on a chair (412W/s) [link: yankodesign.com|via psfk.com] see also: . visualizing CO2 emissions . enerjar . energy saverclip . vision energy sculpture . energy joule . energy tree . carbon eco-viz . power-aware cord . wattson display . power point graph

the largest color LED display worldwide, & the first photo-voltaic system integrated into a glass curtain wall in China. the display requires zero external energy, as the facade harvests solar energy by day & uses it to illuminate the screen after dark. the display comprises of 2,292 color (RGB) LED’s light points comparable to a 24,000 sq. ft. (2.200 m2) monitor screen for