Web designer accessories

I’ve seen some lovely things this week from US based design store Meninos and Norwegian designers Hyper Interaktiv. They involve taking things we see every day as designers in our online world and translating them to real world things.

1. Magnetic Photo Board (featuring magnetic toolbars from Adobe’s Illustrator and Photoshop that you can stick over your photos) – Meninos

2. Icon/Pixel lampshades (featuring either a chunky pixel colour gradient or the Adobe Illustrator icon) – Meninos

3. iPhone icon coaster set – Meninos

4. Web designers moleskin (great for sketching web page ideas down in a space that resembles the real digital space) – Hyper Interaktiv

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Staircase design

Staircase design

There’s a great blog post over at toxel that looks at some really interesting staircase designs. I’m loving the space saving designs and could really see the potential for some of these stairs in small apartments. Featured here is the skateboard stairs for the urban geek. But there are some other strange and wacky designs to have a look at. Click on the image above for the link.

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Troja Arc Lamp

Troja Arc Lamp

Here is a list of the most creative lamps out there. But it is this Troja Arc Lamp featured in the image above that really stood out for me. Gorgeous, sleek design. A perfect addition to that dream office space. Designed by Germany’s hansandfranz studioj, these chaps certainly know how to craft with style. Featuring hundreds of “individual LEDs in an adjustable aluminum frame to create a soft, unobtrusive glow”. Delicious.

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Le cube

Le cube

Who says that those set top boxes provided by cable companies needs to be ugly. Here French cable channel Canal + has commissioned designer yves behar to create this gorgeously styled gadget. This piece is a talking point of a room and would fit in well with an Apple iMac or Sony Bravia cluttered living room. Simple, bold design pushing the branding of the + “the black square interactive area is a lcd display allowing animations and automatic brightness adjustment to the environment” – neat. Linkage

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Mad Men

I’m loving this title sequence for the TV show Mad Men. I’ve yet to actually watch the series although it now has high placement on my Love Film TV list (as I’m desperately scrambling for programmes to fill the inevitable The Wire void once I finish season 5). Set in the early 60s in the world of advertising this title sequence evokes a simpler time. Pulling in references of 60s cinema titles most notably early Bond and Pink Panther this gorgeously illustrated animation does the job in setting the tone for what is clearly going to be a period piece where men ruled the roost and sexism flourished. It’s intriguing to see how far we’ve come PC wise in the past 40 years. We look back to a simpler time with a wry smile and I’m sure this show will enjoy the same success that Life on Mars has but with a slightly different focus. The ad men of the 60s were revered and treated like celebrities and I’m sure this show will feature some large egos. Can’t wait.

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Volkswagen ad

A simple ad for Volkswagen

I just love this ad for Volkswagen. It is so obviously simple. And yet so brilliant. It is designed to illustrate their new electronic gearbox. And how it does this is by melding the two numbers together. And so just as you change from second to third gear you can visually see how easy it is to go from one to the next. The simplicity is implicit but the message clear. You can see the full set of ads here.

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Lovely Package

Even cement can be packaged in an interesting way

Just stumbled across this rather lovely blog that is dedicated to product packaging. I’m so impressed I’ve added this to my list of links in the side bar. Featured in the image above is the packaging for a line of cement. Yes even cement can be wrapped up in an attractive way. More and more these days design plays a part in our spending habits. People expect more in the way of design and a lot can be said about your product by the way it is packaged. If you’ve ever had the good fortune to open a brand new Apple mac you’ll know what I’m talking about. Every last detail of the product’s package has been thought about. From the box design; the precise measurements of the enclosures to ensure a tight fit; the perfectly folded cables; even the smell, a shiny new aroma. It has all been carefully constructed to give your first impressions the treat they deserve.

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Mosaic projection

I saw this recently while passing the BFI on the South Bank one evening. It is essentially a projection of frames of short bursts of video staggered over time to give an impression of movement. What was striking about this piece was that it had been projected onto small tiles which made the image appear to be constructed out of mosaics. A really great effect.

A mosaic projection at the South Bank in London

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Trashion

Barcelona's upcycling bag company

My recent trip to Barcelona saw me venture to Vaho, a funky urban store that specializes in upcycling the canvas adverts that hang down from lamp posts all throughout Barcelona and Madrid. They make them into bags primarily but it’s worth checking out their lab to see what other ingenious ways of recycling they have come up with. I fell in love with two of their bags: a shoulder bag and a larger gym bag. All their products are totally unique and each tells a story according to whatever set of canvases has been used. They are all easy to clean and stand out in a crowd being so brightly coloured. Great for a dreary grey London day. Best of all they have an online shop so check it out…

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london olympic logo

Well much comment and criticism has been spewed over the recent London Olympics 2012 logo design. It seems us Londoner’s are a bunch of design conscious people. Having been shown our garish and boxey design, made by Wolff Olins, we are all in arms. I totally agree that this design is a disaster. The colour is horrid. The shapes are unrecognizable (I only clicked yesterday that it is supposed to spell 2012). The text looks like Comic Sans. And in general it looks like a 12 year old has designed it. Actually, that wouldn’t be a bad thing. They wanted this design to appeal to the youth market so why not get their input and design ideas. Clearly this logo has suffered a design by committee with several groups vetoing other ideas. Some have said this logo looks like the Nazi swastika. Others have said it looks like Lisa Simpson performing a sex act. What is clear is that Joe Public hates this logo. A recent showing of the animated version had to be removed as it caused epilepsy in 18 people. People are so incensed that they are even sending in their own ideas and some of them are actually really good. Do you feel strongly about this logo? Have your say at the online petition.

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