06.19.2009
There was one predominant feeling as soon as I saw this chocolate-y brown watch (first in the image above) that I just couldn't ignore - hunger (physical), and given the fact that I had just had a satisfying lunch, accompanying fear (mental) that my carefully thought-out diet plan for the week was about to be tossed out into the wind pretty soon.
Well seriously, this series of digital watches from ODM are inspired by the sinful delicacy called chocolate, and though only one of them truly looks close to being one, all of them have been designed to give the effect of a bar of (foldable?) chocolate being wrapped around your wrist. Looks cool, is water resistant and is pretty reasonably priced too, at around $20. I only think that its funkiness can be carried off only by teenagers, though. Atleast, you can relax knowing that your kids are buying the healthiest chocolate that they can.
Via Design Milk.
Posted by kanchana
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design
| wearables
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06. 3.2009
Nowadays almost every gadget or appliance has that Transformers "more than meets the eyes" gimmick going. Some do it better than others.The market has been saturated with USB flash drives made to look like conch shell to cute jewelry and everything in between. Now your bathroom accessories are getting into the act.
From Italian high-end company bathroom furniture and design company F. lli Stocco comes the Maitre bathroom mirror. At first glance, it looks like your average mirror until you spot the touch screen console in the bottom right corner. The console controls an integrated radio, clock, a mirror demister with a sensor, and a barometer (although why one needs to measure atmospheric pressure in the bathroom is beyond us). The best feature has to be the built in mp3 player so you can rock out to your favorite tunes while you shower.
Continue reading "Stocco Maitre: The Tech in the Mirror"
Posted by sherri
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home
| appliances
| design
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05.29.2009
I've wanted a flip clock ever since I saw Groundhog Day, but have never seen one that was particularly attractive - and even secondhand ones cost a lot on eBay.
This Urban Outfitters version isn't dirt cheap at $88 but it would be worth saving up for: it's cute, chic and delightfully retro. The legs seem to be just for show (I don't think it actually walks) which is a good job as it would be hard to stop me stocking up in that case.
Via Chip Chick
Posted by Diane
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| novelty
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05.15.2009
I'm a sucker for pretty much all home decor that looks like it was inspired by the 1970s disco era, but even I would draw the line at a flashing dance floor in the middle of my living room. On grounds of cost if nothing else.
A good compromise would be this groovy multicolored light-up table which looks expensive but is actually a DIY project involving a $50 Ikea table and a lot of LEDs.
Make one of these (or get someone to make one for you), then you can turn off the lights, turn on the table, crank your Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, kick back with a snowball (that's a cocktail, in case you're too young to remember) and you have yourself a party.
Just don't try to dance on the table, will you?
Via Unpluggd.
Posted by Diane
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| home
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05.13.2009
It's a good job I don't have a garden, or I would become seriously obsessed with getting one of these home offices:
Called an OfficePOD, it's the new way to work at home: a dedicated workspace where you can focus on business without getting interrupted by family demands, friends who fail to understand that "freelancing" doesn't mean sitting around doing nothing all day... and, um, daytime TV. It's also an easy commute and drops right into place.
The design is cute yet elegant and I think the glass would stop it from feeling claustrophobic. I wish I could get one in bright pink. Maybe I could rent a garden?
Via Smitten.
Posted by Diane
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05. 6.2009
Now that we think of it, it seems rather unfair that the advancements in the field of navigation systems have long been confined to cars, while their less endowed vehicular kin - such as bicycles, for instance - have been subjected to scant attention. Well, the Velocity Cycle Route Guide is a totally cool design concept that has been drawn up by designer Ross Kemp, and exclusively for the bicycle.
Ths futuristic-looking gadget can be hooked to your computer to download the desired route maps and then clamped to the bike's handlebar. And that just about ends your intervention. As you ride along, the Velocity GPS system lets you know the directions you need - by voice as well as by the map displayed on its screen. Taking into account that biking is almost always associated with sports or fitness, the gadget also gives you performance data that you can analyse on the PC. Personally, not only do I think that this is the most good-looking navigation system that I have seen, but I also see several bicycle enthusiasts queuing up to get one, if and when this product gets on the shelves.
Via Yanko Design.
Posted by kanchana
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05. 5.2009
The recent high profile bankruptcies of retailers Circuit City and Steve & Barry's meant the closure of 567 US big box consumer electronic and media stores and 175 mall based clothing stores, respectively. Further, sub-prime mortgages fueled a housing bubble, whose aftermath leaves real estate developments half sold, or worse half built. In the wake of these events, Ellen Dunham-Jones, AIA, and June Williamson have recently published the timely, and on-point book, "Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs" published by John Wiley & Sons. Dunham-Jones directs the architecture program at Georgia Tech and studies urban development and architectural theory. Williamson teaches at the City College of New York, and consults on urban and town planning.
Continue reading "Ellen Dunham-Jones and June Williamson Take on Retrofitting Suburbia"
Posted by Ray
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04. 7.2009
I always seem to have my best ideas (or what I think at the time are my best ideas) when I'm relaxing and don't have a pad of paper handy. So I was excited to see this new invention, which provides for those times when you have a few ideas but nowhere to write them: it's write-on glassware which has times pre-printed on it so you can have a morning cup of coffee and plan your day (or write down anything else that occurs to you).
It's $16 from Fred Flare and comes with an eraser-topped pencil.
Via Bloom.
Posted by Diane
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04. 6.2009
What is black, white, pink or red and holds an arrangement of buttons with single alphanumeric characters engraved on them? You said a colored computer keyboard, huh? Easy enough, but you ain't quite there yet. Technology and fashion borrow ideas from each other so often that it's almost impossible to guess at first glance whether, for example, a compact kit is really a makeup accessory or a chic cell phone in disguise.
In this spirit of artistic inspiration, the Keybag by Portugese designers Joao Sabino Studio is a tribute to the faithful old computer keyboard. It is a lady's handbag made of plastic keyboard keys on the outside, with a nylon lining on the inside. And a total of 393 keys are used for each bag measuring 30 x 22 x 50 cm, if you must know. The multi-purpose handbags are available in the normal keyboard black and white or the more sporty pink and red colors.
Our verdict - looks totally funky for a geeky girl's night out and is bound to get you attention, but is probably to be avoided during mundane expeditions like shopping simply because it looks to be fairly heavy even without the addition of your purchases. As always, art doesn't come cheap - even if it is only a keyboard, in essence. The black and white versions are available at $175 while the pink and red versions are priced at $195.
Via designboom.
Posted by kanchana
Category:
accessories
| computers
| design
| peripherals
| wearables
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04. 1.2009
The currently ongoing retrospective of Jenny Holzer at the Whitney Museum, entitled "Protect Protect" is a dizzy display of control over text and messaging. The show contains two sections. The first half contains pieces which are a continuation of Holzer's now famous explorations of slogans and marketing communication. Brightly glowing LED signs broadcast messages such as "Abuse of Power Comes As No Surprise" in her work "For Chicago." At first glance the signs seem like not much more than the signage in New York delis which display the current jackpot of the state lottery. However, the subversive phrases make the viewer feel uneasy. The signs are often embedded into the wall, allowing the text to hang in the air above the viewer.
Much of her recent work, which comprises the second half of the show, uses text from declassified documents made public from the ACLU and the National Security Archives. The work of blown up military documents uses otherwise unaltered text and images that have been partially blacked out because what lies beneath was deemed too sensitive for the public. The pieces of enlarged photocopies offer an interesting and poignant contrast to the hi-tech LED signs. The connection between the two halves is the use of the simplest of forms and material to convey caution and danger.
Posted by Ray
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