Readymade News

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 30 July 2007

Time for this week's feel good story.  We were initially skeptical of this attempt by Microsoft, but after crunching the numbers, it seems this might actually be a good deal.  In an effort to "get more people around the world using computers," Microsoft has introduced the possibility of a pay-as-you-go version of Microsoft Office. The skepticism was due to research  we had just completed on the poor paying too much for goods and services due to pay-as-you-go or rent-to-own products. After some quick math, we realized that sometimes even the super super rich can have a heart. Microsoft may be winning a few of us over.

What blog with a story about Microsoft would be complete without a blurb about Apple taking over the third spot in the computer vendor industry. Apple has reinvented themselves so many times, that we are not sure if it is fair to call them a "computer" vendor, per se. In fact, Apple has officially dropped computer from their name and are simply know as Apple. But they sell computers, and they have the third largest market share, so alas we guess it is true. On increasing sales of the iPods (50% of the company's sales) and other Apple technology a 5.6% market share has been obtained by the truly innovative company. Apple is not satisfied with this number, and with the introduction of products such as the iPhone and Apple TV the Apple Home may not too far in the future.

Speaking of the iPhone. Check out this beauty from Samsung.

Marrying emerging markets with  mobile phones may be all too easy, but as we've noticed previously, Nokia seems to have found a way to perfect it.  Nokia has been reaching their target with a less is more approach. By keeping costs down and quality at a competitive rate, Nokia has taken a large share of developing markets. Their share in China is now 35%, and global market share is expected to be around 40% this year. It seems as though Nokia is doing something right. They have clever ads too.

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 23 July 2007

With the sweeping popularity of Oscar Pistorius we couldn't help but write something about prosthetics. Fortunately, the supplier of blade-runner is almost as news worthy as Oscar himself. While Pistorius is now running with non-disabled athletes, the prosthetic and orthodic designer Ossur is busy setting other milestones. Led by VP of R&D, Hilmar Janusson, Ossur has developed a prosthetic foot that responds to outside influence to make walking easier for the user. The real breakthrough is not that Ossur was the first to recognise need for "bionic technology" as they call it, but they were the first to put it into practise in their industry. Maybe that explains the price tag of $25,000 to $30,000.

The winners are in. Design 21 recently held a competition asking participants to create an educational tool to inform the public of the growing gloom and doom of global warming in a fun way. The designs are witty and educational and worth a look. Much better than sitting through a 40 minute documentary and probably more effective.

Need a scary thought? Google Print Ads have brought us a little step closer to the world of Googlezon. Yes it's true, every email you send, every web search you make and every purchase you make over the internet may soon be synched into a super-database, so that two kids from Stanford can rule the world.

Our friend, Clive Roux,  of mygreenbrand.com is making waves in Tampa, Florida. He recently presented a talk on service innovation for the Maddux Business group where an audience of roughly 300 welcomed his words. You can check them out here.

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 16 July 2007

The talented Bouroullec brothers have come up with another astonishing idea; stiffened fabric structures which look just like tin shacks. They say the spaces created are "a mobile and temporary space for relaxation and retreat". I wonder if shantytown citizens of Soweto realise what inspiring dwellings they actually inhabit?

The first picture is SOWETO... see the similarity.

Bored with the cloying sameness of your cupboard? It just sits there day after day, looking just like it did the day before. If you can't live with the uninspiring unchanging look of your wardrobe (and you can't be bothered to paint it) those foxy Swedish designer chicks at Front Design have the solution; a changing billboard recycled as a cupboard. See; problem solved!

Toyota has now claimed that all cars will eventually be Hybrids. As usual, Ford is playing catch up, saying that it will build plug-in Hybrids in the next 5 to 10 years. Of course Hybrids will soon run on fuels other than gasoline and electricity, starting with diesel and biodiesel but it's good to see the race towards green transportation heating up.



Some momentum seems to have hit the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project. Intel has decided to join forces with Nicolas Negroponte's foundation instead of exclusively punting it's own ultra-cheap laptop, the Classmate. The OLPCs are currently in testing at schools  around the world.

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 9 July 2007

We're not going to pretend the solar eclipse that was the iPhone launch didn't happen. To be honest we're as exhausted as you probably are by the endless "What's good and what's bad" write-ups. So in the absence of a hands-on demonstration video which looks worse and tells you less than the original cool ads, here's our wrap of the iPhone frenzy. Generally even those who were determined to tear a hole in Apple's reputation for seamless delivery found it hard to fault the device. The delivery of AT&T's half of the deal found plenty of criticism though, and rightly so. Now Apple itself may have underestimated the quick start the iPhone would get. Over 500 000 units in a weekend is a lot of product to ship. On the other hand short supply in the absence of a compelling alternative is unlikely to dent enthusiasm for the product. On the contrary, Nintendo's recent initial shortage of Wiis stoked even greater desire for the product; a kind of artificial exclusivity. That Steve Jobs can't help looking like a genius right? Even when he gets the numbers wrong.

Few baby items say "designer" and "money" quite like a bugaboo pushchair. Readymade's staff are keen admirers of these overdesigned prams from Holland with their hefty pricetags. A new discovery is Bugaboo's perplexing Bugaboo Daytrips website which offers customized day trip maps of a sprinkling of world cities featuring local baby-friendly sights. It's nice to see the stroller maker taking the walk experience so seriously with this website but it's hard to imagine who would ever use it.

Our favorite Finns, Nokia, have had this slideshow up for a while; explaining themselves and why they want to be the world's most loved brand. It reads like the Readymade sales pitch; observe and design then create things that people fall in love with. Easy. 

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 1 July 2007

Nick Kaloterakis

The question: can you hurtle to earth from space with a heat-resistant space suit and the right kind of parachute without being torn limb from limb and fried by the intense heat of re-entry. The answer: the physics actually works out. Orbital Outfitters, a company headed up by two space veterans, is working to make this idea real.

Another company looking to the future is Calao, founded this year by a group of embedded developers, who will be providing micro/nano hardware products and design technologies to OEMs serving industrial markets. Its currently readying a tiny ARM-based Linux single-board computer (SBC) in a USB key form-factor.

And then one would be forgiven for thinking that its only the Iphone that can provide mobile internet connectivity with their "Internet in your pocket" campaign. Have a look here at the "the most advanced web browser ever on a portable device".

Enter Nokia's Xpressprint, but alas in Europe only. "Remember when you had to drag yourself to the store to have your film developed?" asks Mikko Pilkama, director of Multimedia. "Now you can order prints directly from your Nokia Nseries device, and have them delivered to your doorstep - hassle-free!". We'll still be forced to remember for the foreseeable future, but hopefully this insightful service will become available in South Africa too.

Congratulations to South Africa's Network BBDO in Johannesburg, who won the Cannes Lions Outdoor Grand Prix with their NedBank 'Power to  the People' campaign. It quite literally gives power to the people through a solar-powered billboard that provides power to several community buildings, including a schoolhouse. That the work made a difference in the community made all the difference to the jury.