The End.

And that's it. 

Thanks for checking out my blog. I hope you enjoyed my brief look at interesting products in design. :)

Oh, sometimes the images that I've uploaded directly to blogger magically disappear... I have no idea why. Hopefully that doesn't happen. If it does, you can still click on the broken image to check it out.

Cheers once again!

Foxes, Diagonals, Money!

Hotel Fox

image from www.hotelfox.dk

Hotel Fox in Copenhagen, Denmark, has 61 unique rooms that have been individually customized by 21 artists whether it be graphic design, street art, manga or fantasy. Designers and also collectives from around the world were invited by Volkswagen to design these rooms. Volkswagen and German marketing company Event Lab teamed up with the idea for this Hotel for the launch of the Volkswagen Fox. 

Many of the rooms have hand-drawn illustrations and murals painted directly onto the walls. Australian collective Pandarosa designed rooms 314 and 405, Supernova and Lifelines (above). Both rooms feature white walls, floors and furniture with black patterns throughout. These rooms were inspired by the way projections distort as they curve around corners which can be seen throughout both rooms.

I love the idea for this hotel. The fact that every single room is different makes the hotel a place that I would definitely want to visit. Designers are getting the chance to display their work in a creative way. Imagine staying at Hotel Fox, with no idea of what room you're going to be getting... and then just being blown away by the illustrations and amount of work put into it. 

Tod's

image from www.mimoa.eu

Tod's is an Italian leather goods company situated in Japan's fashion boulevard in Tokyo, alongside other famous brands such as Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton. The entire building has a series of random diagonals wrapping around the exterior, constructed out of 30 cm thick reinforced cast concrete. There are 270 randomly placed gaps between these diagonals - no two are the same. These gaps are either filled with precision-cut glass or aluminium panels.

This building was designed by Toyo Ito and Associates, well-known for architecture with geometry, abstract patterns and intersecting straight lines which can be clearly seen in the design for Tod's.

This building would be very interesting to look at. I like how the beautiful lattice looks like it's wrapping around it, not to mention how there is no distinct pattern throughout. This makes the building unique and shows that designers don't need to necessarily play safe to make designs that look great.

And now for the interesting product of the day!

Urban Creature Money Box

image from www.store.vitaminliving.com

Money boxes to store all your coins and notes. Comes in a variety of designs.

References

Carney, R., Dennis, T. (2009, May 4). Technology. Computer Arts. 260, April 2009.

Fairs, M. (2006). Twenty-First Century Design. London: Carlton Books Limited.

Wanders, M. (2005). The International Design Yearbook 2005. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.

Hotel Fox. (2010). Retrieved May, 27, 2010, from http://www.hotelfox.dk

Mimoa. (2010). Retrieved May 27, 2010, from http://www.mimoa.eu

Vitamin Living. (2010). Retrieved May 27, 2010, from http://www.store.vitaminliving.com

Snot, War, Plants!

Airborne Snotty Vases

image from www.dezeen.com

This collection of vases is designed by Marcel Wanders. The series is called "Airborne Snotty" - consisting of five individual vases which are named after nasal cavity diseases: Ozaena, Pollinosis, Coryza, Influenza and Sinusitis. The concept behind this was to design the vases from the mucus particles that escaped the nose during a sneeze.

Digital-scanning technology was used to capture these forms. The scanner took a snapshot of the mucus particles as they moved through the air - these images were then transferred to a computer, enlarged, and sent to a rapid prototyping machine which prints the vases in polylamide. 

This is quite a quirky interesting concept resulting in an odd vase design. I like the vases because they're intriguing and they definitely make you look twice, wanting to know more about the design due to the name and overall concept with the mucus particles.

Warbowl

image from www.detnk.com

The Warbowl was designed by Dominic Wilcox. This fruitbowl is made out of hundreds of melted toy soldiers resembling shrapnel. The toys were heated under a grill then fused together randomly. Wilcox is well-known for combining textures and properties to create unexpected meanings. 

The bowl contains approximately 250 plastic figures. This particular bowl features soldiers from the Battle of Waterloo with French and British infantry. The Warbowl is not supposed to have any meaning - however some have interpreted it as either an anti-war statement, an innocent childhood memory or simply a humourous use of materials.

I really like this design. The idea of using toy soldiers and fusing them together to form a bowl is a great idea - it's something we haven't seen before. It's interesting to see how designers are starting to use unorthodox methods like fusing and melting materials to create work. Also the fact that the viewer is left to decide the concept makes the work even more mysterious.

And now for the interesting product of the day!

IV Plant Pot

image from www.medgadget.com

Vitamin Living have come up with the IV Plant Pot, a plant self-watering plant with a medical drip feed so you don't need to worry about it!

References

Carney, R., Dennis, T. (2009, May 4). Technology. Computer Arts. 260, April 2009.

Fairs, M. (2006). Twenty-First Century Design. London: Carlton Books Limited.

Wanders, M. (2005). The International Design Yearbook 2005. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.

Dezeen. (2010). Retrieved May, 26, 2010, from http://www.dezeen.com

DeTnk. (2010). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.detnk.com

Medgadget. (2010). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.medgadget.com

Space, Spoons, Faces!

Shoebaloo

image from www.manchic.com

Shoebaloo is a tiny upmarket shoe store in Amsterdam, designed by Meyer en Van Schooten. The concept behind the overall design of Shoebaloo was a science-fiction film approach and also a parody to what the future might look like. The interior of the store is invisible from outside - the front of the store has an unlit one-way mirror. Only the shoes at the front can be seen from spotlights shining down.

Customers that enter Shoebaloo are greeted by a sliding glass door much like a space-ship! The store is a long narrow tunnel with curved translucent panels with niches made from polyacrylic which displays the shoes. Meyer en Van Schooten wanted the interior of the store to resemble a cryogenic laboratory. The ceiling also has flat panels, and the floor of the store is glass! 

Shoebaloo is lit up with 540 concealed florescent tubes that can be programmed to alter their colours. In the middle of the store are three seats that represent floating clouds, and the cash desk represents a giant illuminated eye that is glaring at the customer from the back wall. 

This is a really innovative and modern way of designing how a store looks like. I've never seen any other store that looks like this, I would definitely check this out if I ever stumbled across it. The store looks very eye-catching and the whole concept regarding the science-fiction aspect is expressed well.

Spoon Biscuit

image from www.tnadesignstudio.co.uk

The Spoon Biscuit was designed by Shin and Tomoko Azumi. It was created for Project Papillan at the Faculty of Design and Arts in Italy, at the Bolzano University. Giorgia Graziadei thought of the idea for this project - to ask designers to push the limits and invent and bake biscuits that were innovative and also tasty! Shin and Tomoko played on the idea of using a spoon as a biscuit that you could use to stir your drinks with, and then later eat it as an extra dessert.

I really like this idea, once again it's very unique and also interesting because you can actually use it then eat it straight after! This is another great example of a product being interactive with the buyer, not to mention a really great concept.

And now for the interesting product of the day!

Light Switch Stickers

image from www.creativeboom.co.uk

Henrietta Swift designed these light switch stickers. Each pack contains four A6 sticker sheets with a variety of different faces and hairstyles.

References

Carney, R., Dennis, T. (2009, May 4). Technology. Computer Arts. 260, April 2009.

Fairs, M. (2006). Twenty-First Century Design. London: Carlton Books Limited.

Wanders, M. (2005). The International Design Yearbook 2005. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.

Manchic. (2010). Retrieved May, 23, 2010, from http://www.manchic.com

TNA Design Studio. (2010). Retrieved May 23, 2010, from http://www.tnadesignstudio.co.uk

Creative Boom. (2010). Retrieved May 23, 2010, from http://www.creativeboom.co.uk

Clouds, Sponges, Blood!

Cloud

image from www.stylepark.com

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec collaborated together and designed the "Cloud" - a very light-weight shelf with a modern look. The shelf is 105 x 187 x 40 cm and resembles the cloud weather symbol with large circular holes to place objects into. The Bouroullec brothers are well-known for designing furniture that challenges the preconceptions of furniture and how it should be used.

The Cloud shelves can be stacked together due to their light weight in variety of different combinations. The shelves themselves are cut from blocks of expanded polystyrene. The shelf is described as "micro-architecture" - because one single shelf could be multiplied and stacked upon to create an even larger shelf.

I like the idea of being able to stack the shelves together, however you want. Also the shape of the shelf is very different and unique with the use of circle holes, compared to modern contemporary shelves that we see these days which makes it appealing and stylish.

Sponge Chair

image from www.mocoloco.com

Peter Traag designed this armchair known as the "Sponge Chair". Traag wanted to break against the conformity and uniform look of most armchairs. He also wanted the chair to look as if it hadn't been in use for awhile. Traag used wrinkled upholstery resembling elephant skin to create wrinkles which further represents this idea. Each chair is unique from each other as the folds and creases are different every time.

To create the wrinkles, an over-sized polyester fabric chair cover is produced which is 130% larger than what the final chair size will be. This is then placed inside and upside-down mould of the chair. Because this mould is smaller than the polysester skin, the fabric bunches and folds when it is placed inside, creating the unique wrinkles and folds. 

I like how Traag has used the design to convey the concept for the chair - using the wrinkles in the upholstery to imply that the chair hasn't been used for awhile. Also the fact that each chair is unique because of how the wrinkles are created is another neat perk included. 

And now for the interesting product of the day!

Blood Bookmark

image from www.theuniblog.evilspacerobot.com

A dripping-blood bookmark, hand-crafted and silicon-based. Each one is different!

References

Carney, R., Dennis, T. (2009, May 4). Technology. Computer Arts. 260, April 2009.

Fairs, M. (2006). Twenty-First Century Design. London: Carlton Books Limited.

Wanders, M. (2005). The International Design Yearbook 2005. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.

Style Park. (2010). Retrieved May, 23, 2010, from http://www.stylepark.com

Mocoloco. (2010). Retrieved May 23, 2010, from http://www.mocoloco.com

Uni Blog. (2010). Retrieved May 23, 2010, from http://www.theuniblog.evilspacerobot.com

Kebabs, Lights, Keyboards!

Kebab Lamp

 

image from www.treehugger.com

UK Design Company Commitee's Harry Richardson and Clare Page designed these quirky lamps known as Kebabs, partly as a joke, but also as a response to modern contemporary work that followed guidelines. Richardson and Page decided to construct these lamps by using abandoned objects. The majority of these objects were purchased from junk stalls at Deptford Market in South London - mainly worthless materials and antiques.

Despite the random assortment of items, the arrangement of the objects in each lamp actually tells a story or theme. For example the Kebab Lamp on the far left is called "Mountain Rescue". The concept behind this was to invite the viewer in creating their own fairytale-like narrative.

The concept of using unwanted objects from a market is interesting, as is the overall design of the lamps. The name Kebab really fits well with how the objects are arranged and I like how it has a very antique look to it. I'm sure many buyers that like vintage and antique-type products would buy this.

Lo-rez Dolores Table

image from www.corian.co.uk

Ron Arad is well-known for his use of unusual use of materials in his works. Arad designed the Lo-rez Dolores table, a lens-shaped coffee table made from Corian - a blend of mineral and pure acrylic polymer, into which 22,000 fibre-optic pixels have been embedded. The table has moving images and emits sounds which the user can choose. When it is switched off the table is a smooth seamless white orb.

Arad wanted to experiment with Corian due to its man-made quality and malleability and this table is a result of this. He has used the translucent nature of the material to bring this normally blank white material to life with film, music and images. This table was built in collaboration with Belgium company Barco, specialists in imaging technology and visualization.

Another designer using materials out of the normal to create furniture, breaking away from preconceptions. Using the fibre-optic lights really brings this table to life, and it can still be used as a simple white table as well. Great concept and execution.

And now for the interesting product of the day!

João Sabino Bag

image from www.switchedonset.com 

This flexible mesh bag has been designed using 393 keyboard keys that have been bound together!

References

Carney, R., Dennis, T. (2009, May 4). Technology. Computer Arts. 161, May 2009.

Fairs, M. (2006). Twenty-First Century Design. London: Carlton Books Limited.

Wanders, M. (2005). The International Design Yearbook 2005. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.

TreeHugger. (2010). Retrieved May, 22, 2010, from http://www.treehugger.com

Designing With Corian. (2010). Retrieved May 22, 2010, from http://www.corian.co.uk

Switched On Set. (2010). Retrieved May 22, 2010, from http://www.switchedonset.com

Pins, Houses, Tengu!

TAK Pushpin

image from www.shelterrific.com

The TAK Pushpin was created by Chicago-based Designer Scott Kochlefl and his company Ideation Designs. The concept behind the TAK Pushpin was to reinvent and improve upon an everyday object's basic function - an object that seems perfect as it is. Kochlefl decided to take a generic pushpin and add additional functionality to it.

The plastic head of the new pin has been moulded to resemble a champagne cork. It also has a notch cut into its lower half. Instead of one prong, there are now two prongs that have been set into the base of the head! The idea behind this was that two prongs would be able to "fasten" more objects (photos, postcards) without a single pin having to be swiveled or moved.

Because the plastic head has concave sides, items such as keys can be hung from the pin, doubling as a hook! The horseshoe shape of the plastic head also doubles as a cable-holder for cables like telephone lines, Christmas lights. Kochlefl has increased the functionality of the original pushpin dramatically.

I like how Kochlefl has used a common every-day object and has redesigned its uses and functionality. This shows that if we put our creative ideas to use, no matter how ridiculous, we might even end up designing products that are innovative.

Mikro House

image from www.treehugger.com

The Mikro-House (from the Mikro series) was created by UK Designer Sam Butxon. He wanted to show potential clients his work directly and visually, thus the Mikro series begun. Buxton designed sheets of thick hard-rolled stainless steel that transformed from a flat sheet into a 3D object that could be kept (above). The Mikro-House is 8 x 8 x 8 CM folded and fits into a pocket.

The process to create these sheets is industrial acid etching. Mainly used in the electronic industry, Buxton is able to manufacture these sheets at a very high volume with fine details at the same time as the stainless steel sheet is very rigid when it is folded, maintaining its shape.

Using a card that the viewer must fold out to create the work is very fresh and inventive. We can immediately see the work that is offered by creating it. This is a very smart take on how to represent and sell your designs.

And now for the interesting product of the day!

Led Tengu

image from www.gadgettastic.com

This little LED Tengu plugs into a USB slot and flashes to any music that you play!

References

Carney, R., Dennis, T. (2009, May 4). Technology. Computer Arts. 161, May 2009.

Fairs, M. (2006). Twenty-First Century Design. London: Carlton Books Limited.

Wanders, M. (2005). The International Design Yearbook 2005. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.

Shelterrific. (2010). Retrieved May, 21, 2010, from http://www.shelterrific.com

TreeHugger. (2010). Retrieved May 21, 2010, from http://www.treehugger.com

Gadgettastic. (2010). Retrieved May 21, 2010, from http://www.gadgettastic.com

Honey, Stackable, Letters!

Honey Pop Chair

image from www.sfmoma.org

This chair is the creation of Japanese Designer Tokujin Yoshioka, best known for his interior and exhibition designs. The Honey Pop Chair resembles a folded Christmas decoration, and is very flimsy. Don't be fooled! The chair is made with a 1cm thick stack of glassine paper - a type of ultra-thin material that is used to separate leaves commonly found in photo albums and art books.

120 sheets of glassine paper have been used to create this chair. The paper is joined in thin, alternately set lines of glue and then cut into a shape while it is flat. When these paper sheets are pulled apart, the chair expands much like a concertina! This creates a honey-comb appearance to the chair. Despite its weak appearance, this chair is actually very strong and can be used as a seat. The Honey Pop Chair is also very comfortable! It actually moulds itself to the shape of whoever sits on it.

I like the fact that Yoshioka has used glassine paper, material that we wouldn't think would be used to make a chair because it looks fragile - the chair looks like you'd squish it if you sat on it! With his creativity he has designed an inventive chair that is unique and distinct in the market. 

Y Water

image from www.xymara.com

Y water is the new "fun water" for children. Fuse Project based in San Francisco designed this unique water bottle with children in mind - they have been designed to be stackable and can be used as building blocks for creative play when empty. They are also 100% recyclable and can also be reused.

Fuse Project wanted to further endorse healthy eating with this product. Y Water is packed with vitamins, minerals and also organic ingredients making them a good choice. They're also low in calories! The water bottles come in fun flavours like Muscle Water, Bone Water, Immune Water and Brain Water.

Another neat interactive product that is stackable and also colourful. Because the product looks different visually compared to other drinks on the market, we may be more inclined to purchase it. I like the design of the bottles and how the consumer is involved.

And now for the interesting product of the day!

ACD Type Coasters

image from www.apartmenttherapy.com

These coasters are moulded from frosted acrylic and is also available in carved wood (above). They're a great addition to any household or for typography lovers.

References

Carney, R., Dennis, T. (2009, May 4). Technology. Computer Arts. 161, May 2009.

Fairs, M. (2006). Twenty-First Century Design. London: Carlton Books Limited.

Wanders, M. (2005). The International Design Yearbook 2005. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.

SFMoma. (2010). Retrieved May, 20, 2010, from http://www.sfmoma.org

XYMARA. (2010). Retrieved May 20, 2010, from http://www.xymara.com

Apartment Therapy. (2010). Retrieved May 20, 2010, from http://www.apartmenttherapy.com