designverb

url switch!

2006-07-31T14:34:00.000-04:00

Making the full switch.
Change bookmarks, feeds, favorites, to the new URL:
http://www.designverb.com/

Sony Bravia Ad: Paint Balls

2006-07-31T02:36:00.000-04:00

Seems like Sony is masterminding yet another colorful commerical after their famous bouncing balls commerical, but this time, their using colored paint balls, and TONS of it:

70,000 litres of paint
358 single bottle bombs
33 sextuple air cluster bombs
22 Triple hung cluster bombs
268 mortars
33 Triple Mortars
22 Double mortars
358 meters of weld
330 meters of steel pipe
57 km of copper wire

Sounds like fun:Sony Bravia Advert
update: an interview with David Patton on the making of the video, on PSFK’s IF here. (thanks jeff)

SIGGRAPH 2006 Boston: Day 1

2006-07-30T22:11:00.000-04:00

Siggraph 2006 kicked off today with some great animations and a peek at some emerging art and interactive technologies. In short, Siggraph is a super hub conference of computer graphic animations, interactive techniques, and lots of computer related robotic tools and applications. It’s where technology meets creativity. For a glimpse at what Siggraph has to offer, check out these two video briefs: Art Gallery and Emerging Technologies.I watched a bunch of great animations today and had a peek at the galleries. As usual, I was asking a bunch of questions as these kind of conferences are more about what’s possible, rather than whats desirable. More Pictures and thoughts here.

INKOS: Healthy White Tea

2006-07-30T19:59:00.000-04:00

I was browsing for some Honest Tea at Wholefoods and stumbled across Inko’s Lychee flavored white tea instead. I’m a sucker for Lychee, hence gravitated towards the bottle, made sure it wasn’t one of those over flavored or sugar saturated ripoffs, then read the rest of the info. Apparently this is the ONLY white ice tea available in the market, which is also one of the most rare tea leaves in the world. There are tons of health bennies you can read about on their webpage, but I’m just going to say this drink rocked! Not to sugary, very crispy, and a delightful satisfying tea flavor with a zest of lychee goodness. Hopefully I can get my hands on a case of these drinks to pass around to friends at my next gathering.

Unusual Hotels of the World!

2006-07-29T19:59:00.000-04:00

Did you ever think those ice hotels in James Bond flicks were real? Well, the answer is yes, and yes for many more unusual adventure-some hotel destinations throughout the world. Would you like to stay in a Cave tonight, perhaps stay up in the trees, better yet closer to the woodpeckers, a popular night in a Freighter Plane, a hotel that you must scuba dive underwater to enter, or would you just like your classic ice hotels. I’ll give the ice and treehouse a try someday, but for now, I’ll stick to the comfy basic rooms that probably suit my budget for the time being, though the polished up fancy ones are always nice to lounge in.

ilove Magazine Water Bottles

2006-07-27T18:22:00.000-04:00

Call it a magazine, call it a bottle of water, or just plain call it a refreshing idea in between. "ilove" is the first gossip magazine for women on a bottle of water. Each month several 32 page issues are attached to bottles which allows women a quick update on several topics while they enjoy their beverage....it's somewhat like a daily blog on a bottle of water. Their hopes are to make these monthly issues weekly, hence, 6+ issues a week, with a version targeting the male audience soon.

I'm somewhat skeptical of this idea, but I'll admit, I was a sucker for those laffy taffy wrapper jokes, those snapple wisdom caps, games on the back of cereal boxes, and those many fun facts and stories on several other food+beverage products. Adding this content might be a nice way to jazz up the value in this competitive world of bottled water, and infact, I'd probably spend a few extra pennies if the content was good, fun, addictive, and useful. Promotionwise, I'm sure they can strike up some other incentives, much like soda cans did with amusement parks ($10 off, when you still have to spend 65$). Anyhow, for sure in this world of time management it's always great to get snippets of news on the go anywhere!

Cursor Kite!

2006-07-26T15:22:00.000-04:00

I love it when things in the digital world are brought back into the digital world. There’s the Scroller Scarf, The Mario Brothers Coin Boxes, The Bubble Project quotes, Unnecessary Censorship Shirts, character costumes, the Sims floating diamond, tons of others, and now perhaps my favorite, the Cursor Kite!!! Fly this bad boy over your cityscape and navigate your virtual physical world. It would be cool if you could actually click or drag objects much like that one cursor commercial some years ago, but I’m sure you can easily crash this huge kite into standbys only to knock them over. Perhaps latch on to the tip a fake body and drag them throughout the sky!
Anyhow, I love it when the digital meets the physical world…keep them ideas rollin out!! buh yeah!

Bong Vodka Artist Series

2006-07-26T07:12:00.000-04:00

Bong Vodka has just launched a sensational series of artist bottles in collaboration with several artist. These limited edition bottles and graphic boxes will be available towards the end of August in select cities. If you would like to get involved, and perhaps strut your artistic abilities on these beautiful bottles, head over to Spirit Of The Brand and get involved! Their site has a pretty sweet music cast as well.
I love it when seemingly ordinary objects get artist involved to spicen up their products to new levels of desirability! Theses bottle are plain beatiful and I’ll be craving to get my hands on them once they come out!
(thanks josh)

MUJI socks!

2006-07-25T04:04:00.000-04:00

I’ve been rockin these recycled yarn MUJI socks for a few weeks now and have to say they are great! In fact, after testing out the first set, I went back to the store and bought another set! My friends have bought up to three sets! They are stylish, comfortable, fun, and colorful. The colors are somewhat odd for some, but that's what makes them fantastic! From a vibrant apple green to a purple haze and a busy blue fuze. If your looking to jazz up your sock collection, head on over to your local MUJI store and get a fresh pair of them...or, get them online here!

Slow Motion Car Crash Sculpture

2006-07-23T22:40:00.000-04:00

Here's a cool project by artist Jonathan Schipper dipicting two cars slowly crashing into each other over the course of a month. There's also a full sized version yet to be built. This reminds me of Arthur Gansons project "Machine with Concrete" (on display at the MIT Museum) which pushes a piece of concrete an inch or something over the course of a few thousand years, hence, you really can't see it moving though the gears are cranking right in front of you.
via notcot.org

Missing Products!

2006-07-23T02:35:00.000-04:00

I grabbed a pack of gum while waiting in line at Target the other day. I threw it in my bag and thought nothing of it until needed. While picking up a friend for dinner, I whipped out the 12 pack of gum for a quick zest of fresh breath. As I slid the foiled goodness out of the packaging my eyes glazed in confusion and utter surprise; there was no gum in 9 of the 12 foiled slots! I've been robbed, ripped off, denied! Did someone pop the gum out and slide the package back in the shelf? In further investigation, the sealed foil was untampered. This was a factory malfunction, a really bad quality control computer or person, or something gone wrong!
Anyhow, I thought I'd just share this little experience with ya'll. I'll write Dentyne and see if they'll send me a years worth of chewies in exchange for this foiled flawed experience. That will make me happy again. This reminds me of some other such food experiences I've had, like, the soda with no air in the can, small bag of chips with just 3 chips, an orange mentos in a roll of white mints, a baked in raisin in a 6 pack of muffins, an immensely large M&M in a small pack(was like 9 of them mashed together into one orange stamped one), a ball of sugar in a box of cereal (size of a pinball), a bolt in a box of brownie powder, and now this pack of missing gum. Click on the image for closer look.

This is Broken

2006-07-21T10:50:00.000-04:00

My phone alarm sounded off this morning and as usual it turned itself off after 30 seconds, while the outside screen still flashed “alarm”. Now I’m not sure about anyone else, but I’d usually just sleep through this or being the sleepyhead that I am, I’d probably just smile in my sleep knowing that the buggy noise would turn off within a few seconds which has happend. Now, I’m not sure who decided to have the sound turn off automatically before I even touched the phone, but from my perspective, this is broken, which also reminds me of a wonderful website, THIS IS BROKEN.com.

This is Broken is a website run my Mark Hurst at Good Experience which also runs the awesome GEL Conference (Good Experience Live) which I have attended for the last few years. Everyone should subscribe to their newsletter and blog as well here.

One such submission I made to THIS IS BROKEN is pictured above. In short, I went to best buy to buy paper, the only paper was behind this metal column, and I had a hectic time crawling behind the tower to this stack of paper. Read the post and comments about it here.

“Get your Name in the Song” Experiment

2006-07-21T06:10:00.000-04:00

First there were those t-shirts, hats, golf balls, and other objects that you could embed your name into and give as great gifts. Then came the ipods with the etched personalizations. Then came the “create it yourself” trend in making your own designs and looks in products. Video games also allowed people to map their own faces onto basketball players, though they looked like contorted lego heads. Now comes a rather interesting twist to the world of MP3’s with the experimental trial run with artist Jessica Simpson’s “Your Name, Your Song”. You pay $1.99 and get your very own personalized version of Jessicas smash hit single “A public Affair” featuring you!(and the other thousand people that have your name)
hear a sample of the customized song on yahoos webpage which uses the name “Yahoo” which makes for a rather interesting song since “yahoo” also somewhat means, bozo. These new MP3’s are also unrestricted, meaning, anyone can copy them once purchased.(I guess someone can buy all 1000 names and sell them for 50 cents now) Anyhow, the day that you walk into a movie theater, pay an extra 50$ to get a body scan and have James Bond replaced by none other than yourself might be a fun experience.
This somewhat reminds me about the post I made about the paradox of choice. Soon when you want to buy a song, you’ll also be asked in what tempo, which remix, which words, which language, which quality, and which pitch. This is very much comparable to how you use to be able to just buy a pair of jeans, though now you are asked, what kind, what length, ripped, stained, washed, buttoned, zippered, etc. I’ll still debate the question if choice is good or bad, but as far as I know, choice is always going to increase.via paidcontent

Tesla Motors: electronic roadster car

2006-07-21T00:35:00.000-04:00

It’s here! Tesla Motors just announced their new all electronics sports car due to hit the market next year. I’m not the type that posts on cars much, but for an all electronics car that is virtually silent and makes no pollution, I’m all game for it. I’d write more about it, but WIRED has a short article to chow down on. Also, there’s a brief video on youtube here. Oooo.. the smart car I posted about earlier also announced an electronic version!

2006-07-20T19:04:00.001-04:00

During my visit to Chicago, I got to experience Millennium Park. One project that stood out was Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa. You can read more about it at their site, but what I want to point out was how happy, joyful, and excited kids were to interact with, play, and to get wet at this particular piece. Kids would run around, line up, learn the art pieces routine. At times, kids would start talking to the projected faces, telling them to hurry up(get them wet). Kids lined up in anticipation right where the fountain would hit. The projected images would hint and tease onlookers of the next event. Once the water started to spill outwards, kids would scream, run around, smile, and be in such delight. One thing I noticed however was that the only people doing all of this were kids… parents and others would just watch, with an occasional couple treading through the water. Why were there only kids having such fun. Why do we as humans lose our sense of play as we age. I’m not saying all of us lose this amazing ability to play with anything, but many do.
In design, play is one of those things that keeps me inspired, it’s an excuse to rip apart, throw, and crash products together, and I’m allowed to be goofy, cause that's where great ideas usually come from. On the other side of things, perhaps we as adults do not like to get wet, as tons of adults would act goofy around the big bean(cloud gates, or pics here) mirrored sculpture. Anyhow, this is just a brief thought and reminder of how curious, goofy, and joyful we are, especially as a child. More fun pics I took at this fountain after the jump! Read the rest of this entry »

Power Laws of Innovation

2006-07-20T19:04:00.000-04:00

Here’s an interesting set of laws for innovation. I know there are tons of lists out there, but it does’nt hurt to read another one.
Power Law 1: Don’t think “new product” - think social value.
Power Law 2: Think social value before “tech”.
Power Law 3: Enable human agency. Design people into situations, not out of them.
Power Law 4: Use, not own. Possession is old paradigm.
Power Law 5: Think P2P, not point-to-mass.
Power Law 6: Don’t think faster, think closer.
Power Law 7: Don’t start from zero. Re-mix what’s already out there.
Power Law 8: Connect the big and the small.
Power Law 9: Think whole systems (and new business models, too).
Power Law 10: Think open systems, not closed ones.
via core77 doors of perception

2006-07-20T01:14:00.000-04:00

I briefly made a trip out to Chicago and finally got to check out the well known and fantastic Millennium Park which kept me entertained for a good evening. I'll post more about the trip, but for now, some bullets:

1. Millennium Park rocks! Great environment, really pulls in a crowd, and everyone seems happy 24/7 there. The Cloud Gate sculpture is a real beauty! You can find tons of Flickr images here, though I took the one above ;) . The garden, art, and concert venue are astonishing.
2. Chicago is fused with some great web companies which I never knew were there. It's like the Midwest bubble-boom town. It's a potent location for some amazing things to come!
3. The last time I was in Chicago was 9+ years ago, and from what I'm seeing, it's becoming a great place to live, get inspired, raise a family, and enjoy life at it's finest.

Authenticated Experiences!

2006-07-17T23:42:00.000-04:00

I ran into some moments this few week where my perception and respect for certain places or things lost some points. I'll site a few here briefly:
1. Door bell rings, 2 guys introduce to me to a charity, they keep acting nice, personable, asking me several questions, saying I'm cool, let us send you some free magazines, we should hang out, etc. Next thing I know, all my info is on a receipt and they want my signature. They were sneaky in obtaining my info, without asking the me directly. When I realized this, I said, no thank you, and they ripped the paper up, took the brochures they said I could keep, and sneered at me with some rather harsh words. This was just a reminder that I personally hate it when I am pushed into a sale without realizing it. Please just ask rather than lure. Sure you can push for a sale, but making a sale is not always the most important thing in a sale experience.
2. Art store visit. I bought some nice mylar paper to draw on, new person folds paper in 4 and stuffs in bag! I just looked at her oddly, and manager replaced my paper. When a person running a store does not know how to handle the products they are selling, that store has lost some points in my view.
3. I received a promotional gift for some free printed photos. How great. I went to the website, went through the painful membership process and uploaded pictures, only to find out there was no way to get the promotional gift. Perhaps there was, but I dug deep and could not figure it out...and I'm a tech type, so, if it's hard for me, it's probably really hard for many others. Case in point, if your giving away something free, make it easy to get, then let the customer decide if they want to return to learn about your services or products. Start them off with a smile, not a bad experience. I'm never returning to this site.
4. I found a new blog that seemed pretty cool, because it was from a pretty famous person....then, a few days later, the company writing the blog puts up a post to fyi the readers that that the posts are not written by that person, but just in his perspective not written by him. My delete button was the next thing pressed.

Drunk Hamsters

2006-07-16T09:49:00.000-04:00

I love the internet. If ya need a good laugh, check out this drunk hamsters video here. Enjoy!

Wrangler Jeans: Extra Points!

2006-07-14T11:52:00.000-04:00

I love it when products add that lil extra something to refreshen themselves after some time. In this instant, I'm talking about some smart and whimsical instructional graphics on the inside of Wrangler Jeans, which depict the proper way to slip into that special pair of jeans. (via ettf, more examples there)
I've recently been rediscovering elements in products that add that extra flare for extra kudo points after some years. An old book I bought, fell apart, only to discover hidden images inside the pages, some new jeans by puma slowly reveal several logos the more you wash it, the good ole hidden tracks in the music CD or now some DVD's, and now these jeans with awesome instructional graphics which I would never notice until later on. It's these little experiences that make me smile about that particular brand, label, or product.

Dunny Series 3!

2006-07-14T04:35:00.000-04:00

Whohooo! Another Dunny series is due out, July 27th!
Link: Kidrobotvia: VinylPulse

Book: Humble Masterpieces

2006-07-12T06:35:00.000-04:00

I was talking to a friend the other day questioning if good design cost more money. Well, in many cases it does, or helps, but in this post I'd like to show you that it does not have to with a book by Paola Antonelli, design curator of New York's Museum of Modern Art. The book, "Humble Masterpieces" sites some very simple everyday objects that most of us take for granted such as the post-it note, paper clip, lego blocks, and q-tip. Everyone can buy these products, and pretty much everyone has. Is it good design? You bet damn right it is! So damn good that everyone uses them. Some may argue that these objects are not designed, and moreso inventions, but in my world of design, inventing products that millions of people need and want because it solves a problem is great design. Now, there is the question if mass consumers and affordance equals a successful design, but I'll post about that later on as it is a blurry topic to cover, though I'll say yes it is for now. Anyhow, if your interested in this book, here's a short article on it or you can buy it at Amazon. Enjoy!

Dyson School of Design Innovation

2006-07-10T21:55:00.000-04:00

The ingenious inventor and designer James Dyson has just announced a new school that will open doors to young minds in September 2008 in Bath England. "The Dyson School of Design Innovation: UKÂs first National Centre of Excellence for design, engineering, and enterprise will be the first of it's kind to encourage and facilitate Britain's next generation of engineers, designers, inventors, and entrepreneurs. I've got a soft spot for engaging and introducing kids to the wonderful world of innovation and design especially after seeing Sir Ken Robinson speak about how creativityy should be just as important as literacy" in today's world. I was never exposed to design until college and have high hopes for kids being exposed to the creative, goofy, and energizing world of design from a young age. If I learned and knew about making prototypes, models, sketching, and design in high school....my goosh, that would rock!

Blender: Open Source Cinema/3D Program

2006-07-10T15:16:00.000-04:00

Elephant's Dream is the world's first open source movie created with Blender, a completely open source 3D modeling animation program, so, if your complaining about expensive 3D software, you can get this one completely free. As for the Cinema portion of the movie, all the production files are available online for FREE (Whoohoo!)- free for interpretation and manipulation. Re-edited versions of the film are already starting to appear on the web.
I love the idea and power behind Open Source. It just plain rocks! There's Wikipedia, Firefox, instructables, music mash-ups, and now Blender. (Here's an explanation of Open source with more examples) The only problem with most open source programs is that only programmers really understand how to manipulate and add/change content. Hopefully one day Open Source will make everything as intuitive and as productive as possible for anyone to use just about anything.

The Power of Data Visualization

2006-07-09T17:57:00.000-04:00

I've posted a few times on the fascinating world of information visualization (thinking machines, zipcode fun, flight patterns, google eyed) but I just came across an amazing project by Jesse Bachman titled "Death and Taxes: A visual look at where your tax dollars go" which depicts a somewhat disturbing chart on how the US government spends it budget.
I'm the type that has never bothered to read the stacks of written forms showing this information and am pretty unaware of how our taxes are spent, but being a visualizer as I am, I've quickly grasped how taxes in the US are distributed though this incredible image. Anyone can understand this chart, and that is the power of information visualization. The chart will surely raise many eyebrows and questions, so have a look at this article, or navigate into the FULL SIZED chart here.

Pecha Kucha Night!

2006-07-09T03:27:00.000-04:00

Pecha Kucha Nights is an event gathering young designers to meet, network, and quickly show their work in public spaces. The catch to the presentations is that each of the dozen+ presenters is allowed 20 slides and 20 seconds each, which is a recipe for a lively, enthusiastic, concise presentation. The idea for pecha kucha (which is Japanese for the sound of conversation) started in Japan in 2003 and has quickly formed groups in key cities around the world.
I love the idea of short presentations as it really forces people to get to the point, and personally, I love the spontaneity when presenters rush and sweat to say what they usually want to say in an hour into a few seconds. Check out their site for locations and schedules or if you have something ya'd like to share with the world, sign up to present! Here's a presentation from Guy Dickinson in Copenhagen during one of the recent events. (all typed in a bit over 20 seconds!!)

Google gets defined!

2006-07-07T15:36:00.000-04:00

Not to long ago, I posted about BrandVerbs including google, and as of of yesterday Googles been officially defined as a verb and added into the 11th edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. I'd expect Google and other such brand names to be defined in dictionaries such as Wikipedia, but for Websters official dictionary came to me at a bit of a surprise. Imagine if yahoo, webcrawler, or alta vista got defined. I would'nt be saying "I'll Google it", it would be "I'll alta vista that", hehe. Anyhow, I'm surprised they didn't define google as: the digital brain.. as well, it's seriously half my brain these digital days, and my quick spell checker (ya type in a word your not sure is spelled correctly, and google suggest a spell change..beats typing in dictionary.com, though you can use their tool bar as well)

Adagio Tea Bags

2006-07-07T03:59:00.000-04:00

Just when I thought there were no more inventive ideas in presenting tea bags comes adagios blooming tea bag, which, as the title says, blooms right before your eyes as you pour some hot water into a clear cup of boiling water. I've yet to actully witness this magic unfold, but I could imagine the delightful little touch and smile it gives to the tasty tea experience.
via NotCot

Dinner in the Sky

2006-07-06T15:43:00.000-04:00

“Dinner in the Sky” is a unique and a rather bizarre breathtaking experience taking place on a suspended table for 22 guests hovering 50 meters above the ground by a crane. Each guest is strapped down to a roller coaster like seat then hoisted up for one chilling, perhaps frightening exciting experience of their life. If you happen to be one of the lucky participants in this event, I’d hope you’re not the type that drops their utensils much. I’d also wonder about the bird’s flying around or those bathroom breaks. Otherwise, get your camera, strap on your shoes, add a strap to your cell phone, and enjoy!
via springwise

Ferran Adria: elBulli

2006-07-04T17:00:00.000-04:00

I just finished watching an amazing documentary on the travel channel called "Decoding Ferran Adria" which had me drooling over the visually magical and breathtaking experimental dishes served at the world famous restaurant elBulli and chef/owner Ferran Adria. The mind-blowing combinations in ingredients and creative presentations are truly original and an experience like no other. To make reservations for this restaurant is said to be over a year long. elBulli is only open for 6 months out of the year as it takes the other 6 months to travel, experiment, and come up with new concepts each year in their ultra modern controversial innovation foodlab. Not only do the dishes taste sensational, but the process in creating and manipulating the ingredients to their extreme is astonishing! One fact that I loved was that Adrias lab team consist of a Chemist, Industrial Designer(wohooo!), and several other chefs.
For some pictures of their beautiful dishes check out this flicker set, this one, or this website review. The pictures only give you a glimpse of the real magic that was captured in the video which flooded your mind with simple informational elements that just mystified and surprised you. I couldn't track many videos online, but there were a few short ones here and here. If anything, I'd say go find that episode, buy it, watch it, drool, and perhaps buy his visually stunning book filled with several images and recipes. Otherwise, if you find yourself in Cala Montjoi Spain, outside the city Roses, about 2 hours north of Barcelona, go there, eat, and make people like me jealous!

Smart Cars come to America!

2006-06-30T17:20:00.000-04:00

Wohhooo!! The SMART car has finally been approved to make its way to America around 2008. I'd still prefer the Nissan Cube or Chapo, perhaps a Mini, but the SMART will do just fine.

Tim Knowles:Weeping Willow Tree Drawings

2006-06-30T16:45:00.000-04:00

"Tim Knowles creates drawings independent of his own hand, using elaborate apparatus or time consuming practices. Interested in the process of drawing Knowles invents experimental and playful procedures to introduce chance and unpredictability into his work. Often he will employ and expose mans relationship to nature, in an ongoing series which will feature in the exhibition, Knowles attaches pens to the tips of branches of various trees; placing paper in front of them he allows the chance movement of the wind to dictate the composition of the final drawing. The artist surrenders final control of the work, questioning the authority of the artist whilst allowing the fundamental and primordial characteristics associated with drawing to be communicated."
Read more at Rokeygallery

Flavored Skewers

2006-06-29T18:55:00.000-04:00

Heres a “Why didn’t I think of that” idea! Flavored Seasoned Skewers! Perhaps I’m just really hungry right now, but these sure sound tasty for a nice BBQ. I’m also the type that licks every savory taste off the stick usually. It’s about time something simple gave a kick of flavor into the middle of the meat!
via coolhunting

Business Week: IDEA Awards

2006-06-29T18:23:00.000-04:00

Business weeks annual IDEA awards for outstanding designs and innovations is out. They have 108 projects documented, some great, some stunning, some just ok in my mind. One that popped out for me was the Sushi Plate by Mint Inc. Take a browse at the winners here.

Bodega Boston- Fresh, Fresh, Fresh!

2006-06-29T06:00:00.000-04:00

So, I was shopping online for some Maharishi cloths I posted about, and ended up emailing the company to find out where I could get some of their goods. They ended up introducing me to a place called Bodega in Boston, which I had never heard of. I found out this high-end fashion store was somewhat hidden inside a soda machine, inside a thrifty little convient store, with no signs. So as you are probably thinking, bizzare right. Well, my first drive by, I saw a convient store, but thought nothinig of it, and went back home and just said another day. Well, today I was in the area again, and decided to go into the convient store. At first it was locked, but a stylish person came out to greet me and said they were closed, and I asked if I could just take a quick peek. "Sure, come on in." Ok.. I see some fritos, detergent, spam, toilet paper, some candy, and a soda machine.... If you dont mind hearing the surprise experience, continue here..

ipod cases: why?

2006-06-29T03:36:00.000-04:00

Do you own an ipod? Do you have a case protecting it? If so, is it one of the hundreds of incredibly ugly cases out there? Now, my question to you is, why? Why buy a beautiful ipod and dress it up with an ugly case 24/7 ? Now I understand the idea of protecting it, but what I don't understand is if you are so proud of how beautiful it looks, why make it look even uglier with an ugly case at all times? Sure you can pull it out and be proud there's not a scratch on it, but how often do you actually do that? What happens if you just let your ipod get scratched up? Will it somehow get a nostalgic appearance? Will it get scratched up beyond usability? Or will you keep buying the new one that comes out each year. Do you buy covers for your cell phone, jewelry, camera, car, watch, shoes, laptop, etc? Sure for some, but the ipods created a phenomenon about protecting it. Sure it easily scratches..perhaps Apple did this on purpose so you'd buy the new ipod each year. Perhaps it's about value, but jewelry, cell phones, cameras, watches, cost $$. Take for example shoe($100+). The function is to protect your feet,(ipods to play music) but you also buy it for style, but your not going to wrap a plastic bag around it. Shoes wear, get dirty, get wet, get scratched, and you buy a new one eventually. I'm not saying you don't need a case, I'm just curious why else. Anyhow, just food for thought...

Nostalgic Technology

2006-06-29T01:46:00.000-04:00

I've always questioned if technology and electronics would become nostalgic, where electronics, laptops, cell phones, mp3 players would be kept for longer than say two years. In todays society, electronics are thrown away not only because they are behind in technology, but for their looks.(little dings here and there) I was reminded of this question when I saw this post here, about how a scratched up Sony camera actually looked cool, how it had a splendid patina look. In this rare case, a dinged up electronic actually had a good emotional response from someone, much like a beat up leather jacket, worn out ripped jeans, overly wrinkled fashionable shirts, a used baseball glove, a wooden old ladder, a dirty but huggable teddy bear, etc. As Russell Davies says in his post, "One of the things I hate about the design of most things, especially most electronic things, and definitely most automotive things, is they're all designed to be new. They're all at their best when you buy them and they get worse the second you remove them from the packaging." So, what's the solution to this, is there a need for nostalgic electronics, should electronics be made to have more meaning?... I'm not sure, it's just a thought. I use to think soft materials would add this meaningful value but from what I know, the only integrated soft electronic is this sleek porsche like vertu ascent phone for $5,000. It's strange how tons of people buy soft cases for their gadgets.... are consumers saying something companies are not realizing? ;)

Papa Johns eyehole ad

2006-06-27T10:46:00.000-04:00

Here's a pretty clever little ad to slap onto a door. It's been a little minii trend to replace real objects with ads lately, but hey, it's grabbed my attention for the better for now.via frederiksamuel

TED Talk!

2006-06-27T02:25:00.000-04:00

For the first time ever, the exclusive invite-only TED conference experience, which I've posted about several times, is launching TEDtalks which is a free video and audio series of some of the best TED speakers for everyone in the world to see and hear. TED is a journey of some of the most mind-provoking idea gatherings in the world which is limited to 1,000 people each year but is now spreading some their love through this new chapter. I'm extremely happy that TED decided to add this feature as every time I return from the TED conference I ramble for endless enthusiastic months to my friends about it. Attending TED is like no other conference and a heaven of ideas for anyone to experience. Though the speakers talks are only a portion of the magical safari, TEDtalks is a first step in sharing the real magic of captivating, igniting, and making real world changes that keeps this community so compelling. Go check it out, get inspired, and start spreading the idea virus! (Sir Ken Robinson on creativity is a must watch video!)
via TEDblog

Guy Kawasaki: The Art of the Start

2006-06-23T21:17:00.000-04:00

If your an entrepreneur and missed my post "Entrepreneurialism: the new rock ‘n’ roll", then you must watch this great video presentation by Guy Kawasaki on his book "The Art of the Start". Who is he you might ask...don't ask, just watch, be amazed, get inspired, and google him later. Otherwise, read his post on the "Bozo Explosion"! This guy rocks!!! I'd love to have him on my team anyday!

Matt Harding: Dancing World Traveler

2006-06-23T19:21:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered how to travel the entire world and get a company to pay for it all? Well, meet Matt Harding, a game developer that quit his job to travel the world for a bit of an adventure while filming himself doing a little dance in each location. Upon returning from his world safari, his video hit the infectious internet world and got in the hands of some corporate leaders who decided to pay and sponsor him to do it all over again and in different locations if not everywhere. If you have not seen this viral video see it here (2005), here (2006), or wherethehellismatt.com. Once you see this mesmerizing video you’ll understand why it’s hard not to watch Matt do his goofy dance in sooo many amazzzing locations. Matts dance reminds me of the Six Flags dancer which also stuck in my head for some time. This post is just a reminder that doing some of the darnest things on the net will score ya big much like the crazy christmas light house last year that got some crazy check for a Miller Lite commerical.

FreddySays.com

2006-06-23T02:39:00.000-04:00

These baby print shirts are way tooooo cute not to buy for your fashionably styling todlers. I'd wonder what my lifestyle would of been like if I rocked on these shirts as a kid. Anyhow, check out their site, get some sweet gear, and let your young ones get their pimp on! Buh yeah!
FreddySays.com
via thecoolhunter

Martin Laksman

2006-06-22T15:46:00.000-04:00

Martin Laksman has a great set of illustrations, icons, characters, graphics, and logos at his website Laksman.com.ar. My particular favorites: freaky flo, cosos, eggs, egressados, consumerway, letterface, and many more. If your looking for some lively, colorful, fun, and spunky graphics, check out his website and get inspired.

The Big Umbrella

2006-06-22T02:37:00.000-04:00

Talk about a HUGE umbrella! "The Big Umbrella is a big umbrella designed to shield a large group of people from the rain. A typical big umbrella can shield approximately 4 tightly squeezed people from the rain. ‘The Big Umbrella’ is twice as big (240 x 160 cm) as the biggest men’s umbrella found on the consumer market and can in turn potentially shield 16 people from the rain. "
I'd love to get my hands on one of these head turning monsters for fun. I best not get wet!
Umbrella project by aleksandra mir
via neatorama

tech gestures

2006-06-22T00:33:00.000-04:00

It’s amazing how technology has become an indispensable element in our everyday lives, but it’s also curious how it has introduced us to a series of gestures that are perhaps changing more than our intent. Pictured left is Private Public, a great series of objects that highlight the privacy we sacrifice when using mobile devices in public spaces, making visible a cone of privacy technology has brought to our public attention. Pictured right is a series of sculptures inspired by gestures formed by people using the PSP (Playstation Portable). Keyboards, mice, laptops, remotes, etc are all devices that have made us gesture in new ways. My favorite is probably the the awkward position designers plot their fingers on the keyboard at all times while using photoshop or illustrator. Another example is googles interface design. Anyhow, this is just a brief thought on how the things we design change and echo out past our intentions and expectations.via WMMNA

Mr. Clean ad

2006-06-21T18:27:00.000-04:00

Here’s another great ad that goes straight to the point and shows what the product does and how well. If only mr clean were everywhere in public spaces. I’m not sure if this ad is real, but it sures cuts to the point.
via frederiksamuel

“Shoot me if you can” game

2006-06-20T23:27:00.000-04:00

“Shoot me if you can” is a fun urban game inspired by first person shooting video games. A gun is replaced by a phone camera, players wear bright labels with their numbers on them, players track down opponents, snap pictures, and SMS the opposing teams when they are shot. First team with shots of all the other team members wins! Different rules exist for variations in the game.I love it when creative uses in technology allow people to return to the physical landscape, though, anyone playing this game may seem like a krazy James Bond nut on the street with a bright barcode on their shirt. This game brings awareness to the mind-boggling abundance of cameras throughout our culture eveywhere we go. Whichever the case, I’d be curious to give this game a go if I can convince a dozen of my local friends to give it a run. Check out their webpage for more info!

Robert Leonetti: doublechair

2006-06-20T02:48:00.000-04:00

"Already beautiful, already essential, Doublewide legitimizes the elegance that already exists within the simple steel folding chair. A subtle change in proportion alters its character, subtly shifting typologies. It is now slightly more formal, more intimate. It moves from the meeting hall to the living room. What was a public banality to accomodate a singular person is grown to accept a couple in a more private setting."
via designboom

Kenka: spunky, tasty, awesome!

2006-06-19T03:59:00.000-04:00

While in nyc I went down to St. Marks street to grab some grub with some friends at Kenka, a spunky, fun, and wildly popular japanese restaurant streaming with a vibrant crowd of college students and visitors curious about the oddly colorful and punk like scene, though I think the whistling grandmother logo and beaver-like red eyed mascot really caught my curious attention. I'd been to a like place nearby, Yakitori Taisho, right down the street, but thought I'd give this find a try. The wait to get in took some time, but it was worth evey second. As for the restaurant, the staff was jazzy, the environment was fun and spontaneous, the bizarre menu was full of delicious and surprising items, and the prices just rocked! A bowl of edamame for $1, Seaweed salad $2, japaneses pancake $4, smoked salmon $5, sapporo beer for $1.50!!! The best part was their dessert. Instead of the traditional mint, or chocolate candies, they give you a little bucket of red suger to toss into their cotton candy machine at their entrance. You toss it in, grab a chopstick, and spin it till you have a fluff of carnival like candy to munch on. Kenkas is a great place to kick it with friends and munch down on some fast, hot, and tasty japanese food. If your in nyc, give it a try!

Cactus Friends

2006-06-16T20:31:00.000-04:00

Bastardino is a prickly little pooch in the Cactus Friends series by artist Simone Legno and his art brand tokidoki, which is a pretty krazy page(launch the flash page). Others in the series include the pink and spunky Sabochan and a very green Sandy!
via Strangeco

Gregory Colbert: Animal Copyrights Foundation

2006-06-15T21:22:00.000-04:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to hear Gregory Colbert speak at the TED conference where he made an extremely rare public appearance talking about his photographic journey and exhibition “Ashes and Snow”. He also spoke about his controversial initiative to start the "Animal Copyright Foundation", which will aim to collect 1 percent of royalties from companies using images of animals in their ads and distribute these funds to conservation projects around the world, which could become the largest environmental fund in the world. He suggests we should renegotiate our contract with nature. It is common practice to compensate people for fair use of their images in advertising but this has not been the case for nature and animals.
I think this is a brilliant foundation to give back to nature and help keep it sustainable. There's not much online about this foundation, but lookout for it soon.
more via ethanzuckerman

Organic Promise: Strawberry Fields Cereal

2006-06-15T04:06:00.000-04:00

So I walked into Wholefoods today and did my regular routine, picked up my usuals and a few surprise items, but as I walked over to the the cereal section, I saw an empty spot!!!! My new favorite cereal was sold out!!! Seriously, if you have not tried this cereal (Organic Promise Strawberry) you are missing out. .. it's crispy, flavorful, and yummy. It's seriously delicious and I've become an addict. Anyhow, I had to resort to the Cinnamon Harvest this week, which is also tasty.

Maharishi collection

2006-06-14T22:01:00.000-04:00

Check out maharishis website and see their fresh line of clothing styles for men and women ranging from pants, shirts, jackets, shorts, dresses, and skirts. Maharishis been a huge influence in the prolifereation of camouflage trousers in fashion for a while but also has some other great designs. Also, if you have not had a glimpse, check out their awesome book DPM (Disruptive Pattern Materials), or buy it here.

Putting the customer in charge

2006-06-14T05:09:00.000-04:00

Business 2.0 has a short article on a few great companies that not only listen to what their customers say, but let their customers run their company. "It's the open-source software concept applied to product marketing".Two examples mentioned were Threadless, an awesome ongoing online t-shirt competition that has some great deals and designs, and Etsy, a very unique place to sell all things handmade.
I love the idea of letting customers vote on what gets further developed and perhaps produced. Sure, people are paid to make those decisions and some products take a ton more time to manufacture than t-shirts, but as we all know, the mass market will always surprise us with what customers want. I mean, seriously, we already have TV shows that let viewers decide who the next rock star, singer, dancer, comedian, invention, chef, designer, wife, etc are!

I'm not saying all products need to adopt this method nor am I asking for mass customization... I'm just saying there is such a rich opportunity in this internet infested society that allows us to show and hear from customers before they see what we thought was great. Sure, smart marketing will always enhance a products desire, but why not just make products that people already desire? Then again, some desires for products are not realized until marketed... since in Seth Godins book Marketers are Liars, marketers are not liars... they just help consumers tell their own lies.

Ok..My brain hurts a bit now, but hopefully this is some food for thought...semi open source hardware, with a timeline of course! Makes me think about Instructables which is cool, but moreso of an open source hardware platform for DIY types.

Samuel Cochetel

2006-06-13T14:47:00.000-04:00

Samuel Cochetel has some wonderful sketches and illustrations on his website. His styles are broad and I love his loose sketches, the type thats sporadic and spontaneous, like this one here , here, and here. Enjoy!

Sustainable goods!

2006-06-13T14:11:00.000-04:00

Having read Cradle to Cradle, listened to Jack Johnsons Curious George CD (3 r’s, reduce, reuse, recycle), and watched Inconvenient Truth, I’ve noticed a rebirth in more products based on reused or broken materials which is awesome! Recycled materials was a mini trend some years ago, which is actually somewhat bad for the earth, but reusing is another option which I hope stays a trend. Posted are three products that fit the “reuse” part of things. First off, is the beautiful Transglass Carafes+Tumblers, made from perhaps broken or thrown away bottles. Next is a “open tote bag” from Shawn Parks made from “safety fence plastic” that pretty much all construction sites use then discard. (Shawns a RISD alum, wohhooo!) Third is a is a clever use of a broken ceramic cat, sold to be a 3D puzzle.

Fuzzmail

2006-06-12T15:12:00.000-04:00

I recently had a conversation with a friend about the digital gap and how things seemed more authentic in the past. One such topic was e-mail. E-mails are easy to delete, easy to read, and easily copied, but real physical mail has a personal feel, an authentic touch, a ritualistic process, and at times a more meaningful if not more emotional experience. This can be due to simple crinkles in the paper, ones handwriting, a few scribbled out words, the stamps they used, color of paper, a coffee spill, or something that the digital world has not yet captured. An example I brought up was Fuzzmail, a great email tool that records the act of you writing and let's you send it as an e-mail. You hit record, start typing, deleting, re-spelling, thinking, etc and finish recording. When your friend receives the fuzzmail, the message is played back as you wrote it, including your spelling errors, backspaces, and pauses. Now, I know this isn't great for the fast paced digital revolution, but it is a bridge between the authentic years and the fast paced digital years. You really have to try it out to understand how it works. Rather than reading the email, the email reads to you. It's almost like an IM conversation without the interactivity.
Fuzzmail was created by Hayes Raffle and Dan Maynes-Aminzade at the MIT Media Lab.
For an example fuzzmail, click here! Enjoy;)

The Book of Cool

2006-06-10T01:24:00.000-04:00

" The Book of Cool" is a simple and edgy looking 320 page book with 3 DVD's packed full of 35 of the worlds most talented sportsmen and performers showing and teaching you over 250 of their coolest tricks, skills, and moves. The tricks range from soccer tricks, baton twirling, freestyle frisbee, golf tricks, skateboarding, streetball, card tricks, bar tricks, pool, footbag, pen spinning, and much more. You can watch a preview of their DVD's here though the breakdancers were one of the cooler clips. I'd love to get my hands on this set and just might for a sweet $40.

Political Soccer Heads!

2006-06-09T14:14:00.000-04:00

With the World Cup kicking off this week, there have been tons of great ads everywhere, but these political soccer heads really caught me off guard and made my day. "Heads will roll: Just in time for the World Cup, visitors to the Leipzig Museum of Fine Arts can bounce Bush or Blair, corner-kick Clinton or soccer-punch Saddam. Kendell Geers' interactive art, titled Masked Ball, is one of 24 football-themed works by international artists. "
via sfgate

I will pay for good design

2006-06-09T02:06:00.000-04:00

Many of you have asked me about a shirt I wear saying “I will pay for good design”. If you want one of these great T’s you can grab one at my friends company Artefacture or the good design shirt here! So go to Artefacture, check out the designs, and buy a few of their shirts!

Timbuk2 Artist’s Canvas Bag

2006-06-07T18:54:00.000-04:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to donate some of my creative time to create an artist bag for Timbuk2’s Charity Auction for the Homeless Youth taking place June 15th, 2006, from 5-8pm, at TIMBUk2 San Francisco, 506 Hayes Street. TIMBUK2 donates hundreds of messenger bags each year to “At The Crossroads“, which reaches out to homeless youth and young adults at their point of need, and works with them to build healthy and fulfilling lives. You can view my bag on Timbuk2’s website here, my detailed pictures here, or other artist bags here. The bags will be available for viewing starting June 12th, so if your in the area, go check them out, attend the silent auction at 5pm on the 15th, enjoy the cocktails & hor’s d’oeuvres, and rock on an artist bag!

Diet Coke+Mentos Kraziness!

2006-06-07T00:14:00.000-04:00

This is what happens when you take 200 liters of DietCoke, 500 mentos, and have some serious free time to have fun. Watch this insane video!
I'm not sure what to think, but no soda is ever entering my mouth with a mentos together. This viral video has surfed the net the past few days and is a bit geeky to post, but also too cool to miss.

PopUrls

2006-06-06T15:34:00.000-04:00

I've been using Popurls for the last few days and must say it's a great little tool for the web. Popurls is much like an rss feed that merges several dynamic content driven sources into one simple easy to read page. These sources include the best of Flickr, Youtube, Digg, del.icio.us, google news, slashdot, odeo, and a few others. The titles also have roll-over blurbs detailing the articles. If you don't end up using PopUrls, I'd also highly suggest Bloglines, which is an incredible time saver for you blog readers.

iBar- interactive bar

2006-06-05T16:22:00.000-04:00

"iBar is a system for the interactive design of any bar-counter. Integrated video-projectors can project any content on the milky bar-surface. The intelligent tracking system of iBar detects all objects touching the surface. This input is used to let the projected content interact dynamically with the movements on the counter. Objects can be illuminated at their position or virtual objects can be "touched" with the fingers. "
I'm not sure what to think here, but I guess it would be fun while I was a bit loopy or really bored. I go to bars to socialize with people and feel this is more of a distraction than an enhancement. Otherwise, it has a settle way of connecting strangers to one another, but it's not quite there yet. I love the idea of interactive tables in bars, but it comes down to meaningful and smart applications. Be cool if it somehow connected lines to people that were attracted to each other. Otherwise, it looks super cool! Watch the video on their website or watch a YouTube Video.

The Paradox of Choice - Why More Is Less

2006-06-05T14:23:00.000-04:00

I first heard Barry Schwartz speak at the GEL conference about his book, "The Paradox of Choice - Why More Is Less". He talks about how freedom is better, but also worse. How the more options we have the better the final outcome, but the worse the experience. How 175 different types of salad dressings is ridiculous. Is too much choice bad? Does it really numb our thinking and decision making? Does variety mean quality? What's better, Capability vs Usability. Anyhow, his incredible 1 hour Google lecture can be viewed here. For any of you out there that create consumer products, this is a must watch!
In my opinion, there are the services and products that that I love to have choice in, but then there are a ton of services I wished never had options. Airline tickets, phone plans, health plans, cameras, cars, and the everlasting ordeal of figuring out which movie to watch. A few years back, we'd just watch a movie that came out. Now we look at all the trailers, read a bunch of reviews, dive into their websites, ask friends that have seen it, look at their rankings, look at who's in it, then finally deciding if the movie is worth watching even though we know everything about the movie now. After all that chaos, we have to figure out how to buy the ticket. Should we buy it early, online, offline, as a group, print the ticket, pick it up, matinee, which theatre, etc. Many hours later, our choice is made, which is probably a great decision, but the experience to get there has become a job... So, is choice good? Is thinking about this good, bad? Well, enjoy the video which has several other examples of this paradox!

JetBlue Theatrical Terminal

2006-06-03T15:56:00.000-04:00

JetBlue is already one of the coolest airlines to experience with great service, prices, DirecTV in every seat, some yummy snacks, their shut-eye package, and their recently won wireless license, yipeee! So, what's left you may ask..well, enhancing not only the on-flight experience, but also the off-flight experience by hiring design guru David Rockwell to design their busy interior terminal environment. In Mr. Rockwells well known odd collaborations, he hired Broadway colleague and dance choreographer Jerry Mitchell for the job. For some this may seem odd, but in truth, I love it when projects bring in new disciplines to solve problems. This collaboration decided to use movement, like in a dance, throughout the terminal as a central means to differentiate the user experience for arrival and departing customers. This interplay between architecture and choreography for a public space is brilliant. The terminal is not scheduled to be finished until 2008 at the Kennedy International Airport(which needs a GUI re-design), but I'm looking forward to checking it out then.
Read more via nytimes article.
Project PDF (more pictures)

HONO Electrical Candle

2006-06-01T17:42:00.000-04:00

Here's a pretty sweet stylish candle. To turn it on, you touch a large match to it, and to turn it off, you simply blow it out. Personally I love real candles/fire, the ones that can burn you, but seeing how everything is becoming electronic, it doesn't hurt to add a bit of nostalgia into them.

The Art of Experimental Interaction Design

2006-05-31T21:43:00.000-04:00

The art of experimental interaction design is a great book to have if you want to see some of the best interaction projects that merge and question the physical, interactive, and interface world together. The book contains projects by ideo, antenna design, daniel rozin, golan levin, and many others. It also includes a CD documenting several of the books projects. I've had a hard time finding great books dealing with the physicality in interaction design and electronics, but here it is. Most interaction books only cover interfaces and rarely bridge back to the physical world. I've had this book for about a year, and it's been an everlasting source of inspiration.

LeeAnn Herreid

2006-05-31T20:52:00.000-04:00

I attended the RISD alumni sale recently and came across some great fun jewelry by LeeAnn Herreid. Her moto is, "Jewelry that works". She has a wonderful collection of work using compasses, thermometers, rulers, bubble levelers, dust, bolts, and other small elements we all encounter in our curious lives. The bubble level pieces are awesome!

Button Watch

2006-05-31T20:32:00.000-04:00

Bertendennis brings to us the cute button watch which you can pin onto anything your heart desires. Reminds me of the tempo time clip by vessel.

Preservation Ads

2006-05-31T15:57:00.000-04:00

Young&Rubicam has created some beautiful blueprint poster ads for preserving our national parks. Taking a glimpse at these ads make me cringe at the idea of nature becoming manufactured mechanically. I know lots of things are getting teched up these days, but I'd rather not see nature go in this direction. There are three pdf posters in this series: Delicate Arch, Yosemite Falls , and Giant Sequoia.
Also reminds me of the Climate Crisis movie that everyone should watch "An Inconvenient Truth".

via bldgblog
An Inconvenient Truth preview

Ugly Dolls, gone big!

2006-05-31T04:41:00.000-04:00

The cute "ugly dolls" that I love so much are now available in larger 2 foot sizes, mini 7 inchers, the original 12 inch sizes, and itsy bitsy keychains sizes,. They also have a few other goodies based on their popular series. Their great dolls to have in your studio space...nothin like a goofy, ugly, cute, doll to have around to keep ya inspired!

Original Uprock!!!

2006-05-29T04:14:00.000-04:00

Call this dance clip old, call this new, but it's nothing short of fresh!

Campfire Music weekend!

2006-05-27T05:40:00.000-04:00

If your in the Boston/Cambridge area this memorial weekend, swing by Club Passim and check out their Campfire music series weekend of jazzin bluegrass, folk, and plain rockin great acoustic music. While chillin to some great music, enjoy some awesome vegan food at Veggie Planet. I'm no vegan, but their dishes are sensational.

Styrobots

2006-05-26T15:01:00.000-04:00

Here's some freakin kick-butt robots made out of styrofoam!!!

Via NotCot Gallery (more images)
Artist: Michael Salter

LA Dunny Series

2006-05-26T03:30:00.000-04:00

I'm a bit late on this one, but KidRobot released an aweseome new LA Dunny Series a few months back, and of course, they are sold out. I own a few from the first series and they rock out my lil work space! Hopefully I'll be able to get my hands on some of these somewhere, cause they rock!

English Study Toilet Rolls!

2006-05-26T03:01:00.000-04:00

I think I've seen it all now. News rolls, black rolls, and now english lessons on toilet paper rolls. Toilet paper is due for some creative innovation in todays tech world, and would be a great brainstorm exercise to start off a day. It's a funny idea for disposable literature though. Start your engines and send in some ideas!
Update: another great mix that will leave ya stunned..learning english and exercising here!

Press'n Seal

2006-05-26T01:58:00.000-04:00

I've been playing around with Glad's innovative product "Press'n Seal" which is a super easy to use plastic wrap for food or pretty much anything. As it's called, you simply press around the edges, and a seal is formed on any surface, even holding water or pressed air. I've played around with the material a bit have to say it's hard to let go of. Once you start playing with it, you'll start to get ideas for other applications for this post-it note like flexible material. Go buy a roll, cut it up, blow air into it, and think up another million dollar idea.

SmacBook Pro!

2006-05-24T17:43:00.000-04:00

Here's a pretty intuitive way to switch back and forth from OS systems, programs, or windows...yah smac it!

Watch video

update: heres the code/hack to do it on your own!

Water as Fuel..Woa!

2006-05-24T03:47:00.000-04:00

A must watch video!
Another video to follow from 1998, Water Power Car.

I'm a huge advocate for greener cars but my question is where are they? These videos are 8 years old. I'd pay well over 100k for a car now that just needed water as fuel. Hopefully I'll see them soon, cause we need them. If your not motivated, you should watch the movie "An Inconvenient Truth".

z-coil shoes

2006-05-21T03:09:00.000-04:00

Check out these z-coil shoes, loaded with a massive spring coil under your heel. The z-coil technology is suppose to reduce impact and reduce pain. I kinda dig how you can rotate the spring heel, kinda like a wheel. Not sure if I'd be sportin these anytime soon, but perhaps a worthy try.

z-coil video

NotCot.org

2006-05-18T20:55:00.000-04:00

NotCot just launched NotCot.org which is a visually rich library of inspiring products! Part of their collection is a somewhat eerie but cool project by StudioJSPR. (I'd be buying the white version). These cover tiles are customized in such a way to make them visible but still covered.(kinda makes me think pressed elastic or rubber) Anyhow, check out their site, get inspired, and return to designverb!

Google Eats!

2006-05-18T20:02:00.000-04:00

I first experienced Googles awesome snack bar at TED2006, though the one at TED was twice as big as this image. Anyhow, that leads me to another reminder of how great Google is (Google life video). Besides their free laundry, shuttles, services, snacks, and fun environment is their cafeteria food. Yeah I know, cafeteria food can be pretty bad, especially at large companies but take a look at this google food blog and start to get jealous. (nothing fancy, but for a cafeteria, it seems like a visit to Wholefoods daily)

Force Flex, the Mercedes of trash bags!

2006-05-18T12:34:00.000-04:00

Give it up to Glad for coming out with a new trashbag (ForceFlex) that doesn't get punctured easily. The new bag is made of a "proprietary plastic technology known as SELFING (Structurally Elastic-Like Film.) The plastic is deeply embossed with a diamond-like pattern that gives the material unique elasticity. Pressure is diverted away from the point of impact so that the trash bag will absorb force and stretch instead of breaking."
The nytimes calls this bag "the Mercedes of trash bags". Anyhow, the material in all is pretty sweet but makes me think of spidermans outfit for some odd reason.
A funny commercial review

Apple underground nyc.

2006-05-18T11:57:00.000-04:00

Apples mysterious nyc store is finally opening with word that it'll be open 24 hours!!! Yes, 24 hrs of free WiFi and service. Reminds me of Seths Godins book the purple cow and how companies need to stop teasing customers and just go all out out like Ben and Jerrys Ice cream. Instead of having the yearly 30-40% sale, they said what the hell, lets have a free ice cream day!
Anyhow, I can't wait to check out the store at 4am and see all the Wi-Fi junkies chillin up above their platform.
More pics via Gothamist

JetBlue Experience

2006-05-18T11:49:00.000-04:00

JetBlue has done it again, changing the in-flight experience into a more desirable experience for everyone. You know all those "red-eye" flights, we'll jet-blue just started renaming that experience into the "shut-eye" experience which comes along with a little goody kit by Bliss which most passengers have not experienced unless flying international. Go Go JetBlue!

Artist: Moon

2006-05-17T15:05:00.000-04:00

Here's an awesome array of graphics, videos, drawings, and just plain cool visuals by artist Moon. I'd put this work in the layered, energetic, cultural, urban, graphic field.

via Ektopia
Moon

Ian Hundley

2006-05-15T05:27:00.000-04:00

Ian Hundley creates some awesome quilts inspired by maps! Yes maps... He was introduced to the sewing machine at a young age, got hooked, and eventually blended his fascination with maps with has passion to sew, creating these incredible quilts.

via coolhunting
video interview
Ian Hundley

Black Toilet Paper!?

2006-05-12T21:45:00.000-04:00

I’m not sure about black toilet paper for the trendy and stylish. From my design knowledge, people like to know, know how dirty they are. Admit it, you look!!..There’s a reason why toilet paper, towels, and tissue paper are white. You sneeze, and you look…you wipe and you look! Dyson revolutionized the vacuum by letting us know and see how much stuff we picked up. People enjoy the fact that they just vacuumed up a big ball of dirt.

via thecoolhunter

Making Fire Using a Balloon(condom)

2006-05-12T18:48:00.000-04:00

Here's a survival tip I'd never think up! Starting a fire with a balloon, ice ball, or condom.

link

Master of His Domain: Karim Rashid

2006-05-12T17:36:00.000-04:00

Here's an interesting interview with Karim Rashid. One portion that caught my thoughts:

How do you see history?
"I think tradition is what holds us back. You know, if I'm a Muslim or a Jew, I don't eat pork. That's absurd. The reason we didn't eat pork at one time is that it was full of worms because we didn't have refrigerators, right? We're hanging on to ideas and values and ways to live that are six, seven thousand years old."

Tradition or definitions are good at times, but sometimes definitions should only be defined by restrictions. This is something I think about a great deal in the design world!

Article

Google Trends!

2006-05-11T15:28:00.000-04:00

Trends by Google. It’s about time this came out! Instant knowledge of whats hot in the Google search world instantly. I’m assuming it’s dynamic with a bit of a lag for processing, but either way, it rocks and is a killer for marketing researchers!

Google Trends

VW's New Car Experience!!!

2006-05-11T02:57:00.000-04:00

How freakin cool is this! It's about time the experience in buying a car gets a facelift. Ya buy a car, a huge tower like vendor arm reaches up for your car, grabs its, and delivers it to you behind two glass doors. How sweet!

via coolhunter
autostadt

Print Ads you can wear!

2006-05-10T17:39:00.000-04:00

Some more smart and tactful ads for products you can try on straight from the magazine! Be fun if they actually popped out. Hip and wearable print ads... oooo.

via frederiksamuel

Solor LED Bottle

2006-05-10T13:25:00.000-04:00

Here's another clever combo of products. A waterbottle, solor panel, and LED. If your a camper of any sort, you'll find this Sollight useful. Walk around during the day, let the solar panel charge, and light up the LED for 8-10 hours once you hit up camp. I'm not sure how bright it is, but I've seen some blazing bright leds lamps recently.

Sollight
via gizmodo

Adjustable Temp Cap!

2006-05-10T13:13:00.000-04:00

Here's a rather ingenious little invention! An adjustable cap on hot sauce! I'd somewhat wonder how great this works compared to 2-3 separate bottles, but it's good food for thought in the ever clustered world of options. Reminds me of Barry Schwartz and his book "Paradox of Choice", where he explains, more choice or excessive choice can be bad!

duluthtrading product page
via bookofjoe

Jennifer Lin on Oprah

2006-05-09T14:23:00.000-04:00

If you missed Jennifer Lin rockin out her beautiful and inspiring piano skills at TED2004 then here's your chance again to see and be amazed on her brief performance on Oprah!

via TEDblog

David Blaine, water stunt

2006-05-08T01:41:00.000-04:00

While at GEL this past week, I ventured down to Lincoln center to say hello to David Blaine who is living in a tank of water for a week, then holding his breath under water for 9+ minutes monday night while escaping a set of chains. The tank is beautiful, his fingers are pruned like crazy, and the public is lovin it! The nytimes has a great article on the event.

Instant Snow!

2006-05-06T11:50:00.000-04:00

This is an old fun material, but I just saw a demo of it again which reminded me how freakin cooooool it is. Ya add some powder to a cup of water, and va va voooom....it bubbles up into instant snow, or moreso some expanded pellets that look like snow. Check out the video and you'll see the magic unfold right before your eyes!

love/hate shirt!

2006-05-06T05:56:00.000-04:00

love/hate shirt!! how cool is that!!!
buy it!