Fabric Remote Control

In this video from a Core77 post, Hannah Perner-Wilson, a University of Art and Industrial Design Linz student, demonstrates his "Time-Sensing Bracelet."
Maybe I'm a sucker for videos demonstrating new technology (case in point, previous Holographic post), but this is so cool!
You can even make one for yourself with these instructions. I know what I'm doing next week...

Pets on Furniture Contest

A new contest from Modernica (as described from the Core77 post) is all about photographing your pet on furniture. The winner at the end of the month gets a new Modernica Rocker Arm Chair.
I'm sure many people do not allow their pets on the furniture - but this contest may change that. Well, for the minute it takes to snap the picture.
Check out this cat picture submission.
I love the face. :)

Vodka Packaging

Check out this sleek bottle from Samurai Vodka. The design is by Arthur Schreiber. I love how it looks like it is cut in the middle - by a samurai!

Museum of Bad Taste

Check out this album on Core77. Some samples are below.

The Museum of Things in Berlin has opened an exhibit of bad taste. It is based on Gustav E. Pazaurek's "Cabinet of Bad Taste" that was used to categorize all kinds of design mistakes.

And anyone can contribute to the exhibit, thereby gaining free entrance to the museum.

New Luggage Scale

This is ingenious. A simple device that will help you weigh your luggage before you get charged the extra cash for being over 50 pounds.

It's called the "gravity ruler" and was designed by Politecnico di Milano students Marcella Maltese and Lin Wei. They are still looking for a manufacturer - but I would love to buy one. And they sold out their first 35 in under an hour at the Travel Trading Fair in Milan. What a great idea!

Class Notes 1.13.10

Our new project involves creating a digital video file that evokes one of Shakespeare's plays. Basically, we need to create within the audience a "suspension of disbelief" by melding three photographs that connote the theme of the play and combining it with music.

One thing to keep in mind is that the three objects/photos we choose need to have similar shapes so that we can easily meld them together. Professor gave us an example of an earth that becomes a face.

Also, most of the action should take place in the center of the screen. On professional cameras they even have crop marks that show where the action should take place and where you should not be filming.

Squashed Car

The Detroit Auto Show is going on this week - and showcasing a lot of new cars. Because electrical cars can have their engines and other parts configured differently, this has opened up a whole new world for designers, according to guest poster John Cantwell. Above is just one of the new designs, called the Tango. It looks like it's squashed - and allows the driver to dodge between gridlocked cars, as a motorcyclist does. George Clooney has one - and you should too. Even if it costs $150,000.

An Analysis of the Pegboard

In an interesting post on Core77, hipstomp analyzes the positives and negatives of the most basic tool organizer - the pegboard (shown above). Positives include that you can see everything in your tool collection at one time. Negatives? One, it's ugly. Two, it has no depth. Three, it is not portable.

While this is rather informational, what interested me in the piece was the comparison between the pegboard and a computer desktop. A presentation in class yesterday pointed out that the reason we like macs so much is because they are simple and sleek - something that does not include numerous files on the desktop (as below).

Holographs You Can Manipulate

Check out this video, from the Core77 post...it's from the University of Tokyo. Researchers have found a way to create holograms that provide tactile feedback, based on motion tracking and ultrasonic waves. So cool! It's amazing what technology can do.

Town Has Own Currency

Ithaca, New York has designed its own currency, called the Ithaca Hour. It is designed to keep money within the community, as most stores accept the currency, and some local companies have agreed to pay partial wages with the HOUR.
It is reminiscent of the US dollar, but instead of "In God We Trust," the Hour has "In Ithaca We Trust."

Office made of...Cardboard?

More in cardboard! Michael Jansen and Bas Korsten have designed an office made entirely of cardboard. From walls, tables, and even stairs, everything is made from cardboard. Something from nothing!

Desktop made of...Cardboard?

Brenden Macaluso designed a Recompute Sustainable Desktop Computer that is made of layers of corrugated cardboard. Parts of it, like the motherboard, power supply, and hard drive, are not made from cardboard. But in general, other than electronic parts, the computer can be made by die cutting, gluing, and electronic assembly. The best part? The cardboard serves as its own ventilation.

Libraries of Books

Kansas City Public Library and the UK's Cardiff Library have created promotional billboards using the spines of books (from Core77 article). Ingenious - no one can miss these huge books!

500 pencils

Social Designer, a website that features products that are "goods for the greater goods," has a service called 500 Colored Pencils. If you subscribe, for $33 per month, you will be sent 25 new colored pencils for 20 months. In the end, you will have 500 original colored pencils.

Based on the fantastic pictures and the idea of getting a present every month, I really want them! You can also buy displays so you can see them easily - and show them off.

Typefaces in Print vs Web

In the recent NY Times article, "Typeface Designers Wrestle With World of Pixels," Alice Rawsthorn writes about two designers, Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones (shown above), who are examining the problems of typeface on the screen. In print, typefaces are reliable. But on the screen, depending on the browser, or computer, or any number of technological differences, typefaces appear different. This is a problem for designers because the visual part of something is most important. Hoefler and Frere-Jones, who have published 29 type families, hope to come out with a solution some time this year. This will be extremely helpful to the world of design.
Below is an example of Gotham type, which Hoefler and Frere-Jones designed and became famous when used in the Obama campaign in 2008.

Coke-Powered Phone

Core77 reports that Daizi Zheng, a Chinese designer, has created a conceptual mobile phone for Nokia that can be powered by the carbohydrates in sugary drinks like Coca-Cola. It is supposed to be healthier for the environment. But this also uses up drinks, which require packaging and use other forms of energy. Yes the phone uses less, but is it effective in saving energy overall?
And it's a ploy to get us to buy more soda - something health experts are telling us to get rid of.
The cool part is, though, that you can always change the color of your phone - what's the flavor of the day?

Color Coding for the Blind

This is so useful! Miguel Neiva has created a system, based on red, yellow, and blue, to color code colored pencils (or other coloring objects) so those that are colorblind can tell what they are. I love when design is useful as well as pretty.

Most Useless Machine Ever

Check this video out, from Core77. It's the most useless, yet awesome box ever. It makes me want to have one.

Cell Phones for the "Old People"

Targeted to the "Baby Boomers," these new cell phones have huge numbers so the person using it can read them easily. And while we may make fun of our parents, who can't read the small numbers on other phones, this is a perfect idea and will have a huge market. Genius!

Class Notes 1.6.10

Open your recording. Go to audio - mixdown to mono to make it a single track.

Make the end louder by going to filter - amplify/volume. Move the bar up to make it louder and down for softer.

Emphasize your station name by adding a new track, and copying the part you want, paste it to the new track, but displace it by a tenth of a second. It will give you a bit of an echo (which you can also get through filter - delay and echo).

Insert another track to add your other music. Play around with them to make it all fit together - the idea is to layer them so they come together seamlessly.

iTouch Bedding

Ellos Online, a Swedish store, has created itouch bedding - designed to look like an ipod. It's only $49 - and reminds me of my old Disney bedding from when I was little. But this is much more grown up, don't you think?

ID Magazine Folded

In a December 19th press release, ID magazine (which stands for International Design) announced it would be folding in 2010. Not good news for those in the design world, as this was a good reference for those in the industrial design field.

In a Core77 post called "We know how it ended, but how did it begin?" poster hipstomp describes how it began in 1943 and has progressed until today. It is disappointing and saddening when something with such history fails.

Lemonade Movie

This trailer for a movie called Lemonade is all about people that got laid off in their jobs and made something positive out of it. It's all about making lemonade with the lemons life gives you, so to speak.

It's an optimistic way of looking at getting fired and one that many can find inspiration from. It's really all about perspective and being positive - that's where you can succeed.

Under-the-bed TV

This is a new television product that stores your tv under the bed, and when it's time to watch, mechanically brings it out. The Core77 post made fun of it because of the enormous amount of time it takes to actually get the tv set up...52 seconds. That's a full minute before you are ready to watch. Understandably frustrating - especially if you are missing your favorite show.

Dutch Queen Says No to Internet Socializing

According to the Core77 post, when Queen Beatrix gave her annual Christmas message this year, she included words of warning, telling people to put down their laptops and phones and rekindle physical relationships. Many who heard these words took them to heart - and not in a good way, accusing her of not being aware that society is changing and being behind the times. Even though this is the way we now communicate - through the internet and text messaging - it is true that we are missing that physical connection. She has a point.

Class Notes 1.4.10

Sound Studio - Preferences: make sure that the output is from the built in speaker and headphone, input is usb mic.

Speak slowly, clearly, enunciate, and do not trail off.

The waves should not hit the top or bottom.

To play back, highlight and press play or the spacebar.

Select, delete, and try again. You will probably need to record 20-30 times before it is good.

When it is good, save as AIFF format.

For your additional tracks, you need to select two other sounds. Simple sounds are best, and it should have a beginning, middle, and end. A good ending sound is often useful. Sounddogs.com is a good site for royalty-free music. The preview files are free and this is all you need for this project. The music should not be well-known, and should be changing.

To download, hold down the control key and click on the file and download the linked file.

Assignment 1 Research

For our first assignment, we are asked to create an Internet Radio ID, picking a narrowly focused group for the station, coming up with a name, and mixing sound for the creation of the ID.

After looking through past blogs from my fall class computer graphics, I came upon called "Giant Yummy Furniture." After looking at this post, and coming to the blog "Candy Addict," I decided to focus my station on people who do not want to grow up.

In an article entitled "The Children Who Won't Grow Up" by Frank Furedi, I learned about the various names given to this phenomenon: Peter Pan-demonium, Kidults, and Boomerang Kids. In a Business Week review of "Adults do the Darndest Things" additional terms of Adultescents and Twixters are mentioned.

I decided to go with Peter Paners for my station name. It seemed like the best option and there are many great sounds that could go with this station for the ID.