Readymade News

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 09 December 2009

SpaceShipTwo was unveiled on Monday in the Mojave Desert by Sir Richard Branson and Burt Rutan. SpaceShipTwo will begin short flights into space with passengers in 2011. Book your tickets here. Image; Ned RocknRoll

 

Indian innovation is in the news again with Tata announcing a hybrid Nano and the Tata Swach; a new low-cost water purifier, aimed at lower-income households in rural areas.The Tata purifier is less than one metre tall, and does not need running water or electricity to work. Plans are to roll out in India first then Africa. 

 

For all you trainspotters out there who also have a thing for exotic subway architecture, DesignBoom has a great article with images from Stockholm’s Tunnelbana, Munich’s U-Bahn and others. Have a look at the the Carmelit too, an uphill subway system in HaifImage. Image; flickr. 

 

In other news: for those of you interested in attending the 2010 Design Indaba in Cape Town South Africa, this Friday is the last day to get your early bird tickets. Next year sees the the inaugural B2B trade exhibition, which “gives companies servicing the design, advertising and marketing industries the unique opportunity to interact directly with their target audience in an environment designed to inspire. Creative industry suppliers and collaborators will not want to miss this opportunity to personally connect and network with such a high-potential customer base.” 

Lastly, we are looking forward to collaborating on exciting projects with Brianna Sylver, President at Sylver Consulting.  Tasos met Brianna in Chicago last week, where Brianna is a specialist in market research, a leader in innovation strategy and teaches at the Institute of Design, IIT.

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 01 December 2009

 

The Bloodhound SSC (Super Sonic Car) aims to break the 1000mph land speed record, that is just over 1600 kilometers per hour! The primary objective of the Project is to inspire the next generation to pursue careers in science, engineering, technology and maths - by demonstrating how they can be harnessed to achieve the seemingly impossible. Hakskeen Pan, in the Northern Cape of South Africa, a flat, hard surface over 20km (12 miles) long and 5km (3 miles) wide has been selected for the site of the world's fastest race track. See more images of the project here.

Konstantin Grcic has curated a great industrial design exhibition entitled ‘Real Design’ at  the Serpentine Gallery in London. The 43 objects were all designed in the past ten years and range from toys to transporting water. If you can’t make it to the exhibition before the 7th of February, be sure to visit the very interesting website. Image via DesignBoom.

 

Jonathan Ive has been named ‘Inventor of the Decade’ by The Guardian. Ive is responsible for developing the design language of Apples products which has contributed to the overall success of Apple, he works closely with Steve Jobs, but few other company employees are allowed to see what he's doing behind the tinted windows of his studio, which just increases the hype we suppose. 

If you are a fan of Roger Martin, there is a good article in The Globe and Mail discussing  amongst other things, hamburgers and "heuristics"; a concept that narrows down the business mystery to a manageable size, offering a solution. The article is a review of Prof. Martin’s ‘The Design Of Business: Why Design Thinking Is The Next Competitive Advantage’.

 

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 10 November 2009

It looks like Michael Young is on a roll after moving from Iceland to Hong Kong. DesignBoom has an article on the i24r3 portable wireless waterproof digital speaker and Dezeen covers his Chair-4A, a dining chair made of recycled aluminum.

Design Sojourn has posted a great video of Michael Bierut of Pentagram and Design Observer, summarizing 5 design secrets:

1) Listen first, then design
2) Don’t avoid the obvious
3) The problem contains the solution
4) Indulge your obsessions
5) Love is the answer

Beirut also says he is more "like a 'doctor' waiting for 'patients' to come to him with design problems to solve".    

The T.27 is the brainchild of McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray and Zytek Automotive Technology. The car has been designed in a way that minimizes the use of materials and keeps the embedded carbon of the vehicle as low as possible. The firm claims the innovative manufacturing system will use 20 per cent less space and 80 per cent less capital investment than a conventional factory A spokesman for Gordon Murray Design said the body panels, for example, would be made from material originating from PET bottles. Via BBC.

Yesterday Tasos gave a talk at the SABS Design Institute which marked the opening  an exhibition tour of the 40 years of South African design excellence, celebrating original designs (innovations) from South Africa. Tasos presented selected Readymade projects including strategic consulting for Optimal Energy, the company behind the Joule and the Arivi Non-Pressure paraffin stove. See the presentation here. 

 

Lastly Wired.co.uk examines IDEO's design thinking approach and how they use lessons learned from product design to solving bigger challenges. Bill Moggridge one of the co-founders of IDEO says "if you don't get out there and see what it's like, then you couldn't really design it right."

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 27 October 2009

 
Apple has re-invented the mouse, literally. The Magic Mouse uses the same multi touch technology that iPhones, iPods and MacBooks use. People can do a lot more than simple point and click. It's been a long time since there has been any real innovation in one of the most commonly used pieces of hardware.

"It began with iPhone. Then came iPod touch. Then MacBook Pro. Intuitive, smart, dynamic. Multi-Touch technology introduced a remarkably better way to interact with your portable devices — all using gestures. Now we’ve reached another milestone by bringing gestures to the desktop with a mouse that’s unlike anything ever before. It's called Magic Mouse. It's the world's first Multi-Touch mouse." Apple. Earlier this month BusinessWeek reported that Apple's revenues grew 25% over the same quarter a year ago and profits that grew 46%. Brian Ling argues that Design is their key strategic competitive advantage.

D.light Design has developed a solar powered lamp that they hope will replace millions of kersosene lanterns used by household in developing countries. The Kiran can be charged using the integrated solar panels or be AC-charged with a standard 0.5mm Nokia phone adapter. The Kiran can last up to 8 hours on a full charge and should retail for $10. "The Kiran is designed to be extremely user-friendly and flexible. It has no detachable parts, including an integrated solar panel that makes recharging simple and easy. The product shape, portability, and a handle with 9 different settings give the customer many options for use. The Kiran can be carried, hung from the wall or ceiling, or placed on any surface to effectively illuminate the surrounding area." D.light Design.

Great review of Herman Miller's new Setu chairs and the design studio behind it on Core77. Studio 7.5 designed a chair that works for just about everybody and it only requires adjusting the height. The chair has a seemingly simple wave contour that was developed using several prototypes to develop the "kinematic spine" that flexes when a person sits in the chair, obviating the need for a metal hinge and springs.

Tasos was a panelist at the Da Vinci Institute’s “Making Innovation Work” conference last week. The conference was run together with Breakthrough Management Group International (BMGI) and the Technology Top 100. “Dr Phil Samuel of BMGI  was with me on the panel. We discussed the need for organizations to design their own future rather than allowing circumstances to dictate their future. The conversation encompassed robust innovation processes and the link to Design Thinking though considering the human element. Creating the future requires collaboration, optimism, empathy, experimentalism, integrative thinking and storytelling. These are natural for most people; it’s the way we solve problems in our personal lives but organizational structures frequently don’t allow for them. This stifles innovation and positive change. The panel then placed this in the context of Systems Thinking.  It’s clear that solving problems in a holistic way is much more effective than dealing with symptoms.  The conclusion was that innovation processes, Design Thinking and Systems Thinking combine in very useful ways to solve the most pressing organizational issues.” Tasos Calantzis. 

Lastly we would like to mention Chic Cheat, a fashion blog, which shows people how to alter inexpensive clothing into their own versions of expensive fashion clothing. Nice bit of upcycling happening in the fashion design world. Charley Helfet is the daughter of Keith Helfet, the renowned automotive designer who spent most of his career at Jaguar, the company admired for its elegant design. At Jaguar, Keith designed cars such as the legendary XJ220 supercar, the show-stopping F-Type and many others. Most recently Keith has been involved with the design of the Joule.

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 13 October 2009

The Honda EV-N electric concept car has solar cells built into the roof, an illuminated communication system in the front black fascia, and a UX-3 Uni-scooter fitted into the passenger door, and it's pretty cute too.  

 

The "experimental model" of the U3-X uni-scooter is a compact experimental device that fits comfortably between the rider’s legs, to provide free movement in all directions just as in human walking – forward, backward, side-to-side, and diagonally.

The U3-X was designed to be friendly to the user and people around it by making it easier for the rider to reach the ground from the footrest and placing the rider on roughly the same eye level as other people or pedestrians. The EV-N, U3-X and EV-Cub will be part of Honda's 'HELLO!' display at  the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, starting October 24th. 

Stefan Sagmeister has a really interesting TED talk where he explains the reasoning behind his decision to take one whole year off every seven years.  He figures that if he 'borrows' retirement years while still working he can get a lot more accomplished and get some excellent ideas. The first sabbatical he took was unplanned and was a disaster, but since then he has used the 365 days to find inspiration and new ideas that fuels his creativity for the next seven years of working.

It's interesting that not only graphic designers with accents do this, but major companies like 3M encourage employees to spend 15% of their time on personal projects, where products like Post-its were generated. Google has a 20% policy, so it seems like constructive time off is good for people to recharge, take the time to think and come up with great ideas.

The brothers Freitag, known for their philosophy of recycling everything from truck tarpaulins to shipping containers are currently exploring compost. 

DesignBoom reports that the 2 brothers were invited by the Walking Chair Gallery to create an installation/exhibition as part of Vienna Design Week 09. Entitled 'urban gardening' the show aims to direct the general public to be involved in recycling and encourages people to get involved in gardening within their local community. The duo designed 100 limited edition Freitag compost bags for the installation. each were given to guests on the opening night, granted that they would return to the gallery with their compost and place it in the compost bin within 3 months."

See more of the shipping container shop here and keep up to date with the Freitag newsletter here.

And finally, it looks like Google is not content to be the number one browser, or the world's largest library but also wants to improve the way we work with Google Wave.
 

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 22 September 2009

The Mission One Superbike was recently been put through its paces at the Bonneville Salt Flats, USA. The bike surpassed previous land speed records for an electric motorcycle, reaching 161 mph, which is almost 260 kilometers per hour! 

Designed in collaboration with Fuse Project, the "challenge was to create a design that would be accepted by motorcycle enthusiasts while also being immediately recognizable as a vehicle fueled by alternative energy. A central goal was not to appear as an ‘eco-toy’ but instead a performance bike augmented by electric power. Ultimately, the bike needed to balance innovation with tradition, overcome the stigma of a silent ride and define what an electric Bike should look like." 

The records were made with a production prototype, Mission One plans to sell 300 models in 2010 at a price tag of $69,000, with a cheaper version to launch in 2012. See YouTube videos here.

It seems almost everyone is launching an electric vehicle, the Trabant NT has been unveiled at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show, Germany. The Trabant NT (new Trabant) is based on the original 1957 East German model. The project is the work of toy manufacturer Herpa, in partnership with auto parts maker IndiKar and engineering group IAV. The design was done by Nils Poschwatta, who previously worked for VW as a “Transportation Designer”. Out of enthusiasm for the newTrabi, he decided to devote himself to the project full-time and came up with the entire design-work for the “Trabant nT”.

The London Design Festival started on Saturday in London, seems like a busy week with 100% Design and Tent London happening from the 24th to 27th September. Additonally The Dock is an emporium of creative talent curated by Tom Dixon, running from the 21st to 27th. For coverage during the week make sure you follow Core77 and DesignBoom.

Fast Company Masters of Design has a great article on David Butler, the 43 year old master design strategist for Coke. Since he arrived in 2004, he has torn down and rebuilt the design strategy at every level of the company. And he has managed this epic list of projects with a low-key but extraordinarily effective strategy: avoid using the word "design" at all costs. "At work, I don't use the phrase 'design thinking.' Here, it's about creating more value. How do we sell more of something? How do we improve the experience to make more money and create a sustainable planet?" And "we're leveraging design to drive innovation and to win at the point of sale, which is fundamental to our business. Full stop."

The I.D. Annual Design Review 2010 is open for entries. Work must have been created between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009 and student work must be the result of a classroom/academic assignment completed during the 2008/2009 academic year. Related: Five Truths About Design Awards.

Johanna Schoemaker was declared the winner for her "Clam OLED lamp," at the BraunPrize 2009 Award Ceremony on September 16th, with about 150 jurors voting in her favor. The other Top 3 from the 22 finalists include Karsten Willmann for Skylino, Stephan Zimmermann for Anemone and Tobias Stuntebeck for White Cane.

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 01 September 2009

 

The winners of the INDEX: Awards have been announced, they are Better Place, Pig 05049, Kiva, Street Swags, the Freeplay Fetal Heart Rate Monitor and the Chulha stove. Congratulations to all the winners.

The Freeplay Monitor is created expressly for the harsh conditions of rural and remote settings in the developing world. it is simple (it has only an on-off switch and a hand crank for generating its own electricity). it is built for robust operation and made to withstand knock-about conditions. The intent is to safeguard childbirth for mothers and infants in remote areas of the developing world where expert care and electrical power are in short supply.

 

The Chulha stove is being made available by Philips Design to the universe of social entrepreneurs so that they can, free of charge, produce the stove, themselves, and generate local business while helping counter what the World Health Organization estimates is some 1.6 million deaths per year from conditions prompted by the toxic fumes of indoor cooking with “bio-mass” fuels. The stove also won an IDEA Design Award last year. 

The BMW group has been busy this week, the Vision Efficient Dynamics concept car is a low carbon plug-in hybrid supercar that not only looks amazing, but has the fuel consumption of 3.76 liters/100 kilometers.

The concept car will be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month. It has an anticipated top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph) and can reach 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds.        

           

The design itself combines low weight materials, aerodynamic detailing such as the solid underside of the car which minimizes drag and an interplay between exterior and interior elements. More images at Car Body Design and Auto Blog Green.

 

More BMW related news, this time to celebrate the 50th anniversary, Mini has released a 'concept' model that is basically a Mini Cooper with a new roof. By eliminating the back seats and giving the car a more roadster look does make the car look a lot sportier than previous models.

We like LEGO, it is a great tool to grow creative minds and it's fun to use when making a pirate ship or using it it to explore creative solutions. But here is a new take on the humble LEGO block; Top Gear presenter James May is building a house made entirely from LEGO and he plans to live in it when it finished, at least until it falls apart. 

The building itself is located in a wine estate in Surrey, UK. Volunteers were invited to take part in the manufacturing process, 1200 people worked building LEGO 'bricks' which are made up of 272 LEGO pieces. The life-size house uses over three million bricks and features a staircase, toilet and shower. Via DesignBoom.  

To end off, another functional object inspired by toys; the Mechano Chair made of powder-coated folded mild steel was designed by Andre Klauser for Thorsten van Elten. Also available in black of course.

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 25 August 2009

 

The Finalists for the 2009 INDEX: Award will be announced on the 28th of August together with the People's Choice Award, a Facebook and INDEX: partnership, where anyone can vote for their favorite design to improve life. 

Currently there is an outdoor exhibition at Kongens Nytorv of the 69 design finalists. After its debut, it tours both to other parts of Denmark and to many cities around the world. A schedule of the INDEX:Award 2009 Exhibition tour will be available as domestic and international bookings are finalized.

Tesla Motors has released images of the updated Model S EV sedan with a more refined front end and it even has retractable door handles to reduce wind drag. The car seats five adults plus has two unique fold down rear facing seats for children similar to the old style station wagon folding seats. Via psfk. 

The EniCycle is similar in some respects to the Segway, leaning forward makes you go faster, and leaning back slows you down. To turn left or right simply apply pressure on the footrests. The difference is the fact that it only has one wheel, but seemingly it is much easier to learn to ride than a regular unicycle. Via Tino Chow.

         

Via DesignBoom, a new take on the humble coat hanger, Alain Berteau has designed 'Pick Up Wood' which is "sold by sets of 8, these hanger hooks require you take a walk in a natural environment to complete the object with some fallen branches." 

Ben Huggins' Little Star is made up of four geometrical components, designed to slot together with no screws or fixings to form a solid and striking occasional table. The table flat packs neatly in to its own pizza-style box. Three tables can be cut from one 1200mm x 2400mm sheet of 15mm ply by CNC router. Via Yanko Design.

Nokia is looking for a senior design manager in their Original Accessories department better known as Nokia Gear Design Team. "This work will involve leading future concepting projects, managing intense product development programs, coaching and leading creative individuals and fostering an excellent team spirit."

More Nokia news; the Nokia Booklet 3G is a nice looking mini laptop (netbook) running Windows 7 with integrated 3G wireless and a hot-swappable SIM card. Nice video here.

 

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 18 August 2009

If Apple were to release a product that matches the level of innovation the iPhone has managed to attain, what would it be? Macs are already popular among certain circles of users and iPhone and iPod users might need something a bit larger to tote around town, but not quite as heavy or large as a laptop. There has been rumors of an Apple tablet for years now, they just seem to be getting more credible.

The supposed 10 inch touch screen tablet looks a lot like a flattened iPhone that is not small enough to fit in a regular pocket, but large enough to become a very plausible 5th screen. The previous 4 being television, cinema, computers and the mobile phone.

And exactly why would anyone need this extra device? If Apple does launch their version of a netbook, whether it is now or next year, it will no doubt be used by a large number of fanboys, but there is more to it than that; there are hints that the device will benefit students too. "Other indications are that Apple is quietly striking deals with booksellers/textbook publishers for an "educational" version of the tablet, which would presumably target college students and serve as an e-reader." Core77. Apple are known for their secrecy, the ability to surprise and become the leader quickly in products they launch.

Great article from Fast Company on how Nokia's continuous plans to reinvent itself again with the help of Dave Stewart, open source and Ovi.

 

More computer related news, Microsoft's new OS, Windows 7 seems to be their best version yet, taking cues from other operating systems: "Finally, Microsoft creates a clean, modern look that competes with Apple's finely designed Mac OS X Leopard." Wired.co.uk.

Via DesignBoom, "artist Kevin Cyr built (a) pedal-powered camper. The camper sits on a modified bike frame with two back wheel and one up front. The rider sits on the bike and can pedal around, moving the camper from place to place. inside the camper features all the amenities needed in a small and compact envelope. The sculptural piece also became a subject in many of Cyr’s paintings"

Evoia, a small robot powered by two AA Evolta Panasonic batteries just set a world's record by traveling at Le Mans for 24hrs covering 23,736km. The robot pedaled its tricycle following an infrared beam projected by the lead car for 5.6 laps.In other robot news, cauliflower picking  bots in the UK, robots in Africa and for more serious stuff; BotJunkie.

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 11 August 2009

Theo Jansen is a kinetic sculptor, his work resembles creatures who should belong in a Terry Gilliam movie, it is a combination of engineering and art. Jansen studied physics but decided to start painting and then sculpture instead. His kinetic sculpture, which he refers to as animals, or strandbeests rely on wind for power and mainly cheap conduit piping for the construction. 

 

The sculptures were born from a computer program that he designed in which virtual four-legged creatures raced against each other to identify survivors fit enough to reproduce. All of his subsequent creations have been entirely free-form, constructed solely through trial and error.

Each series is a prototype, Jansen uses what he learns from the animals that are most successful to improve the next series.Images don't do justice, be sure to have a look at the film section on Strandbeest, Jansen's 2007 TED talk and Defining Innovation, an advertisement from BMW. 

 

The Jansen Walker pays homage to the work done by Theo Jansen and uses desktop manufacturing to create small electronic walkers. 'This project is heavily influenced by Theo Jansen's natural gearing mechanism, it’s a very efficient mechanical leg design for converting rotary motion into leg movements, and is very elegant in my opinion. The basis is the relative distance of the 12 joins, Jansen calls them "The 12 Holy Numbers".' The files can be downloaded and there is a full set of parts on the 4volt site, or you can donate to get the parts cut and sent as a kit. Via PopTech. Or you could make a wood version and pimp it with solar panels, or even better make a LEGO version, here and here. 

More on 3d printing; Makerbot is outsourcing manufacturing of a specific part of their CupCake CNC model; the 608 idler pulley to people who are Makerbot operators. "Demand (for the model) is increasing so fast that we’re ramping up production to be able to ship 50 to 100 bots a month (up from 20 per month). Our next production bottleneck is printing enough pulleys for the kits." 

"That is where you, the MakerBot Operator comes in. If you have a MakerBot, then you have the means of production. We want you to take part in our grand experiment in crowdsourced manufacturing. We want you to use your MakerBot to produce the next wave of MakerBots. In essence, we want to distribute pulley manufacturing to you." Makerbot. Via Fabbaloo. 

Looks like NASA and Goodyear have reinvented the wheel, or at least the tire. They have developed an airless tire to be used on extra-terrestrial surfaces. The 'spring tire' features 800 load bearing springs and is designed to carry heavy vehicles over much greater distances than the wire mesh tire used on the Apollo lunar roving vehicle. Via DesignBoom. 

 

Treehugger reports that Nissan are working on an induction charging method using the same electromagnetic field technology used to charge an electric toothbrush. Nissan has scaled it up for use in their Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) electric car, which can charge in a compatible parking bay without the need for wires. Nissan has ambitions beyond mere wireless charging bays. It hopes to scale the technology up even further as a series of plates laid into the surface of designated electric vehicle lanes on our roads and motorways, theoretically enabling motorists to charge as they drive.

From Core77, the Prosthetics Project, a prosthetic arm design project from the SVA (School of Visual Arts, New York) graduate class led by Allan Chochinov.

From the Prosthetic Project site, "the students attempted to put a dent in what may arguably be one of the most daunting design challenges imaginable--to design a better prosthetic arm. The students took different approaches to the problem: some attacked it directly with mechanical improvements to existing prosthetics. Others offered devices and garments that introduced alternative modalities or provided new functionality. Some students took a more abstract approach, creating formal, often sculptural, gestures as a way to help us think about the notion of 'prosthetic,' while others took an extremely conceptual approach to investigating the paradigms and cultures around prosthetics and amputees. Many of the projects were targeted at kids, arguing that there may be wider leeway in what would be deemed acceptable to the user. Some of these push the definitions of function, providing devices that are playful and life-affirming. The more sobering investigations in the group try to address the realities of arm amputees--as much as is possible by designers with both limbs." 

Great research being done by Portigal Consulting; Reading Ahead is a design research project to explore the evolution of books, and reading. The research will be exploring the evolution of reading and books from a consumer perspective–what it means to be a reader, how artifacts from traditional books to devices like Amazon’s Kindle affect the experience, and what the future might hold for readers, product developers, and beyond leading towards a full presentation of findings, opportunities, and design concepts.