Is that a recordplayer in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?

I think that everybody who prefers vinyl records to CDs or Mp3s has thought about a portable record player at some point in time. And now there is a design for one, by Charlie Pyott. It's called Linos, you can carry it around in your pocket, only need a connection by USB or jack, and is a simple recordplayer for both 33 and 45 rpm. Unfortunately, it isn't in production (yet)...

Lego imagination

Recently, I stumbled upon this simple, powerful advertisments by Lego. The advertisements simply display the creativity and imagination this toy can (and will) sparkle in any child...

Reading light

French designers Jun Yasumoto, Alban Le Henry, Olivier Pigasse and Vincent Vandenbrouck collectively worked on a simple, yet brilliant reading lamp. It's sensitive to touch, meaning that the lamp shuts off when you put a book on it, and it illuminates if you remove the book. Lovely, isn't it?

I've discovered this via core77.com

Fixing the city with Lego

Sometimes, it's difficult to look around in the city and see all the decay. Many people just walk by without noticing, or without being bothered. Well, not artist Jan Vormann. However, his method of repairing holes in the walls is a bit unconventional, to say the least. What he does is basically filling holes in brittle walls with blocks. Thus far nothing too unconventional. However, the blocks are not ordinary blocks, but pieces of Lego. The repair probably doesn't last too long (because the neighborhood children will probably add the lego bricks to their private collections), but the initiative is a playful, colourful statement against careless decay.

They say classics never go out of style...

But apparently, forgotten classics can be reinvented. Like the "commode", a piece of furnite of which I was pretty sure it was about to become extinct. At least, as a contemporary piece I thought it was doomed, pretty much.
But luckily young austrian designer Marek Gut stepped up to the plate. He took a traditional piece of furniture (the commode), traditional woodworking skills and combined that with a contemporary style of form, material and colour. The result is pretty sexy. If one could actually claim that a piece of furniture is sexy, that is. Let's, for now, just say that it looks pretty damn smooth...

Kunst-haas

Combine an iconic image (the one from the Obama elections, for instance), and combine that with a reluctant star. And what do you get? An installation called Kunst-haas at the Harvard GSD.

And, in case you are wondering what mr. Koolhaas himself would think of his iconic stardom as a posterboy for architecture:

Sauce up your life

For the more puritanical designers, a good design is a practical answer to a problem. To me, this is a very narrow definition of design: it means that a valuable piece of design should be able to do something that couldn't be done otherwise. The most economic solution is the best design.

But take this condiment gun, for instance. It is so ridiculously useless, there are way more practical ways to squeeze some sauce on your burger. This would render it useless, in the eyes of many. But look at it! If there's ever been a brilliantly funny piece of design, this is probably it!

I saw this on woohome. And even though I might feign finding it there, I actually saw it on Kanye West's blog first...

Open source software for designers

Even though open source software isn't a new thing anymore, it's still revolutionary. Not only because it allows anybody to see, use and alter the source code of the software as such, but also because it allows for free distribution and redistribution of the software.

And even though there are some rather famous pieces of software that are based on this principle - such as Linux (the operating system) and Open Office (the open source alternative to Microsoft Office) - most designers don't know too much about open source alternatives for all the expensive software they are using. There are all kinds of ideological arguments for going towards open-source software. And it's probably just as important an argument that the open source software is free for use - which is a big advantage over the rather expensive licenses for programs like photoshop, autocad, 3d studio and all that.

So what exactly are the open source alternatives for the most common software packages used by designers? I'm purely listing actual design software - all the software that is useful in running an office (backup software, FTP-software, financing software and all that) is left out, focussing solely on open source software that you'd actually use in your design and presentation process.


Archimedes is a open source clone (well, kind of...) of Autocad 2D.

AvoCADo is an open source 3D CAD program. I'm not too sure about the quality, though.

Blender is an open source 3D creation/animation suite. Consider this among the best alternatives to 3D Studio, Maya, or whatever 3D program you might be thinking about.

BRLCAD is a CAD-program which works with solids modeling - like a quick and easy way to put a preliminary sketch in a 3D model.

Cute PDF is, technically speaking, not open source, but it's free for use and a pretty good alternative to Adobe PDF creator or Adobe Acrobat.

Cademia is a basic 2D CAD drawing program.

Dia is loosely based on Microsoft Visio, and is a tool for the creation of all kinds of diagrams.

Gimp, short for GNU Image Manipulation Program, is a program for photo manipulation, image retouching and all that. It could be seen as an alternative for Adobe Photoshop.

Gimpshop If you are considering going towards an open source software setup, but you know your way in photoshop too much to feel comfortable moving towards Gimp, Gimpshop might be the program for you. It's a version of the original GIMP, created to make everything look as much like photoshop as possible.

Imgv is a image viewer with loads of features. An alternative for programs like ACDSee?

Inkscape is an open source vector graphics editor. Consider this as an alternative for Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw.

Jahshaka is a movie-editing tool. It pretty much has all the standard features that one can find in programs like Adobe After Effects.

Kerkythea is a standalone renderer, with high-quality materials and light settings.

Moonlight 3D is aiming to be a extensive, flexible modelling, animation and rendering tool. It could be a good alternative for the most commonly used 3D software packages.

Open Office is, as noted above, an open source alternative for the Microsoft Office suite. It pretty much does everything that programs Word, Excel, Powerpoint and such do.

Pixie is an open source render engine for creating photorealistic images.

Qcad is a simple, 2D CAD drawing tool. It's not totally refined, but it's (in my eyes) the best alternative for Autocad - but it's still lacking some key features.

Scribus is an open source program for page layouting. Consider this a great alternative for Adobe Indesign, Quark Xpress or those kinds of programs.

Skencil is another vector based drawing software program.

Sketchboard is a 3D CAD-tool for converting sketches into simple polygons. It recognizes simple drawings and converts them for further development.

Xara LX is an open source version of Xara Xtreme - which is a graphics software package. It's (for now?) only for Unix/Linux kinds of operating systems, and I believe they are working on a OS X version.

And if you are looking for an open source alternative for specific software, try the osalt.com website - which lists open source alternatives for almost every possible software.
Some more useful links could be: SourceForge - a website with tons of downloadable open source programs or entirelyopensource.com - listing all kinds of programs and open source news. Oh, and Wikipedia.org has a big list of open source software packages.

Garbage pin

The garbage pin is a piece of appropriation of everyday object: a garbage bin.
The garbage pin is a piece of jewelry: it's a tiny, silvery metallic ring with a tiny plastic bag.
The garbage pin is an symbol for a larger issue: it's a statement about how people deal with waste.

The garbage pin is designed by Ana Cardim, and is sold as a kit with spare plastic bags and wires to close the bags.


I found this through likecool.com.

Maximilian's Schell - Ball-Nogues Studio

Maximilian Schell was an actor, who played the role of Dr. Hans Reinhardt in the sci-fi adventure movie "The Black Hole" (1979). The character of Dr. Reinhardt is on a quest to conquer the unknown forces of black holes, and actually wants to steer a spacecraft through a black hole. The movie is (and probably rightfully so) almost forgotten, but the name of Maximilian Schell lives on, as namegiver of an outdoor installation in Los Angeles, by the architects of Ball-Nogues studio, called "Maximilian's Schell".

The installation looked like a rendition of a vortex. It creates an outdoor space to inhabit, by means of a swirling canopy made out of tinted Mylar panels. As the designers themselves write on their website "During the day as the sun passed overhead, the canopy cast colored fractal light patterns onto the ground. When standing in the center or "singularity" of the piece and gazing upward, the visitor could see only infinite sky. In the evening when viewed from the exterior, the vortex glowed warmly while both obscuring and allowing glimpses of the building behind it."

And while this background story of black holes, vortexes and whatnot is somewhat entertaining, and while the spatial effect was indeed stunning (as far as one can judge by looking at the images), the most fascinating part about this structure is the amalgamation of "skin" and "structure". The installation is a contemporary version of the work of Frei Otto in the fifties and sixties, in the sense that it is a behaved as a so-called "minimal surface": a prestressed form which is always in tension but still is definable mathematically.
Membrane engineer Dieter Strobel did an awesome job transforming hand-sketches and computer models by the architects into a digital model that actually worked the way it should, fysically. The interaction between architect and engineer created the form as such. This gave the canopy the smooth look, whilst giving space for creating it out of the Mylar panels, which give the space the lovely spatial and lighting patterns it has on the interior.

Can I pay with architecture, please?

To celebrate all the archievements of Dutch architecture, the Dutch government came up with the idea to launch a commemorative coin. In true architecture style, they launched a competition, for which a number of architects, designers and artists were selected. The competition was won by Stani Michiels.

At first glance, the coin depicts the obvious image of Queen Beatrix, as is common on the Dutch version of the Euro. But, when you look closer, it's made up out of text: names of various of the more (or less) famous Dutch architects of past and present. These names aren't in chronological order, but in order of the number of hits they generate on the internet. Some parts are put in to bold print, to create the picture of the Queen.

The other side shows a different (and important) ingredient of Dutch architecture: book culture. Books about (and from) Dutch architects. The are grouped around the edge of the coin, in such an order that the interior of the coin becomes a rough outline of the contours of the Netherlands.



How Stani Michiels made money (by means of open source software) is shown on his weblog.

Now matter how cool the design might be, there still is something strange about a coin commemorating "architecture". I mean, what's next? A coin commemorating French cuisine? British Humor on the Pound Sterling? Pop-music on the Swedish Krona? It's just a strange concept for a coin to make a "memorial" out of architecture, since it's ever changing and developing, and it still remains rather abstract to depict "dutch architecture as a whole". But still, it looks much better than the standard Euro-coins from the Netherlands...

Interactive Mirror

At one time or another, I think that everybody has drawn on a mirror - for whatever particular reason, be it leaving a message to someone, or just to have some fun drawing a funny face.

It inspired the people from Lit Studios and Interference Inc. to delve a bit deeper into the so-called "HCI" (Human Computer Interaction), in order to create a layer of interactive overlays (buttons, images and more) over the reflection you'd normally see in it.

Weingut Gantenbein - Bearth & Deplazes

Brick is mostly considered to be a traditional building material. Granted, the material's been around for ages, and in certain cases it certainly plays on a nostalgic feeling of recognition, but there are other ways of dealing with this material. As the Swiss architects Bearth & Deplazes have shown in their Weingut (winery) Gantenbein.

For an expansion of the existing winery near the village of Fläsch, they chose to go for a concrete skeleton with a brick infill pretty early on in the design process. But instead of limiting themselves to the traditional brick-laying methods, they decided to opt for something rather more contemporary. They really treated the brickwork as a skin of the building, and decided to have it "tattooed" by an image made out of bricks, by using patterns of bricks and seams.

And traditional methods didn't suffice. Laying bricks by hand wouldn't be precise enough, let alone massively expensive. So they teamed up with the people from the chair for Digital Fabrication from the ETH Zürich, who were already working on a bricklaying robot. In the end it all worked out rather splendidly: a robot was created, which was programmed to position every single brick in exactly a certain position - in order to create a really sexy, modern skin out of a classic material.

Schalalala

I've seen it pretty often during the last weeks. Cars with national flags attached to it, to show support to a specific national football team. And I must say that I really enjoy seeing cars with two different flags. Especially in the area where my girlfriend lives, I've seen a lot of cars with both the German and the Turkish flag attached to them. What happens on wednesday (when the two nations collide in the semi-finals of Euro 2008) is a different story.
But normally supporter-kits for football-fans are pretty absolute. They leave no room for double choices, or multiple options. Since not everybody it as rigid as this supposes people to be, Schalalala was invented. As they say themselves on their website: Schalalala is a fan-scarf remix project, which offers you a more self-determined formulation. Use the Remix-Interface to turn existing fan-scarfs into your own message. Download your knitting pattern from the Remix-Gallery and go ahead and knit it.

Shopping from a different perspective

No, I didn't make a major mistake with the images in this post. I didn't post them upside down, the signature store for the fashion designers Victor & Rolf in Milan actually looks like this. The boutique, conceived by Amsterdam-based designer offers a different view on things: everything in the shop - except for the pieces of clothing on display - is upside down. And I do mean EVERYTHING. It's not just the wood on the ceiling, or the doormat, or the chair, or the arches under the door, but even a runway is upside down.
It might sound a bit corny, but it gives a rather surreal effect that lifts the clothes out of their ordinary surroundings into a world of their own.

Throwies

Graffiti Research Lab devised a really simple but great looking light graffiti feature, called Throwies. As they describe on their website: "LED Throwies are an inexpensive way to add color to any ferromagnetic surface in your neighborhood. A Throwie consists of a lithium battery, a 10mm diffused LED and a rare-earth magnet taped together. Throw it up high and in quantity to impress your friends and city officials."

When you follow this link, you can see a movie clip of throwies in action in New York City. It looks just lovely. If you feel inspired to try this stuff yourself, check out the instructables website, they have a step-by-step guide on making these throwies.

Less Rain

The website of the media design firm Less Rain itself is already a wonderful display of what kind of creative concepts they work with. But wait until you've seen their house style flyers/posters/brochures/businesscards and whatnot (or "propaganda", as they call it themselves).

But also the work they do for others is really cool: whether it's a corporate identity concept, a website, a virtual train to spray virtual graffiti upon, a concept for a way to turn the Red Bull formula one car into a charity auction - it all shows a love and passion for work with a strong concept and a sharp, contemporary visual style. I love it.


say yes to good weather! Less Rain!

Petra Blaisse - Inside Outside

Tonight, I would have been going to see a lecture by Petra Blaisse in Arcam. Unfortunately, I am sick today - so I cannot go there. Therefore, I decided to go for the meagre substitute: a post on my blog about her. It's not quite the same, but I guess I'll have to settle with that...

You could say that Petra Blaisse is an interior architect. And that's right: she deals with interiors of buildings, through installations, textiles and whatnot.
You could also say that Petra Blaisse is a landscape architect. Just as valid.
The thing is: she approaches interiors like landscapes and landscapes like interiors, which makes the name of her office (Inside Outside) rather becoming.
Maybe the better way to describe what she does is to think of additions to architecture. Her designs focus on the strong points of the pieces of architecture - to emphasise them - and on the weak points - to improve them. On the office website, there is stated:
The aesthetic and technical quality of the designs (curtains, floor, ceilings, walls, gardens, parks, landscapes) are closely related to the architectural context and atmosphere- melting into, complementing or challenging the architecture or the architectural environment. Taking care, at the same time, that they service the users in the best possible way.

This strategy can amount to strategical landscape plans, but also the design of beautiful textiles. Like in the image above - which is the interior of the Seattle Public Library, by O.M.A. (Rem Koolhaas). Since one of the intriguing elements of this building is how the landscape infiltrates the interior, she decided to take this literally: extending the outside green into printed carpets (the so-called Garden Carpets) inside, for instance.



On the other side of the scope of Inside Outside, you could find a project like the garden for Plussenburgh, an elderly-care building in Rotterdam, designed by Arons&Gelauff. The garden is on top of a parking garage - and is a base for two buildings on top of it. The roof is finished with black asphalt (remember, it's for elderly, so a rollator should roll on it) with triangular incisions filled with green. Another feature is the meandering orange pathway from the street to the main entrance, which is in the same kind of language as the building itself.

The thing is: as you can see it's hard to describe her work properly. She can probably do this much better herself in a lecture...

Graphic Concrete

Many architects and designers have been using prints and reliefs on concrete in the last couple of years. The finnish firm Graphic Concrete have come up with a new method to do just that, making is cost-effective and safe - and opening up loads of new potential uses. I wont go into details of how the process works (I'm no technician, and they probably can explain things better themselves), but all I know is that it give quite a bit of design freedom to make unique patterened concrete surfaces that look really good.

Your Meat is Mine

There are many ways a tattoo can look. Personally, I am really intrigued by the style of tattoos that Yann David from Paris does. It's very graphic, but with a little bit of child-like naivity to it. He's not the kind of tattoo artist you'd go to to get the portrait of an indian hammered into your skin - I suppose he needs quite a bit of artistic freedom to invent something on your skin. Expressionistic art? Graphic design? Playful? Abstract? Naive? Neo-romantic? It's all that, and a bit more. It's definitely something different than most types of tattoos, that's for sure.

On his website www.yourmeatismine.com, you can see a ton of examples of his work.