I always like innovative clocks, especially ones that use natural ways of showing time passing. This clock, created by Oscar Diaz, is actually a calendar. It controls ink flow through paper so that only one number is filled in a day. It is currently just a prototype. Very cool idea. (Found through swissmiss).
Today is my favorite day in May because it's the only day all year where you can get away with saying 'May the fourth be with you'. Which reminded me of these great photos by Cedric Delsaux. They feature Star Wars characters in everyday settings. I like the Stormtroopers in the parting lot and this wonderful C-3PO shot.
The Carleton University School of Industrial Design had their annual graduation show this past week. It features work from the first year students all the way up to the graduating fourth year class. The show was themed Products of our Imagination. Projects covered paralympic sports equipment, wild fire gear, smart education products, and more. This Flickr photo set shows some of the great thinking that went into their projects.
This is a fabulous graphic idea for paper plates. Actually it's a great idea for proper plates as well. These Paper Plates were created by Joshua Gajownik for Lilly Stein.
Oliver Jeffers has all sorts of fabulous work on his website. It ranges from loose sketches to realistic paintings and book illustrations. I like his style a lot. It is very sophisticated but very relaxed.
I saw this on Ffffound yesterday. It made me smile and temporarily cleared the industrial design haze of my day.
I'm temporarily preoccupied thinking about these pieces of musical artwork by Celia Richards. It is part of her Altered Objects series. I'm particularly partial to the music sheets because I enjoy the thought of trying to collect or free the notes from of the page. There is something really lovely about the notes of a song all mixed up in a zip lock bag. (Found through Sub-Studio Design Blog)
I just finished watching the movie King of Kong. I highly recommend it. It is extreme neediness overlaid with crazy madness. The movie is a documentary about a guy trying to beat the Donkey Kong high score. I know, I know, that could be a potentially terrible documentary, but it's totally not. I had no idea that the world of classic gaming was so much like a high school drama.
I just discovered the company Flocks today. It's a dutch knitwear company that creates clothing, rugs and furniture. The company was started by designer Christien Meindertsma. All of their products come with fabulous graphic tags that give praise to the animal that supplied the raw materials for the product. My favorites are these angora gloves and the rug with looks like a scaled up version of a sweater (it was the giant knitting needle photo that sold me).
This map of the internet country codes is really nice to look at. I wouldn't use it as an information resource (I mean, who uses .US anyway?) but it's a great graphic. Available as a poster from Byte Level.
Bjork is know for taking creative liberties with her music, her fashion and her videos. She puts the art back in artist. The newest version of her Wanderlust video is no exception. The video is able to be viewed in 3D, using old school blue-red 3D glasses. The release of this video caused a You Tube worthy, wanna-be-MacGyver, 3D glass making episode at my house. Let me just say that bags of Kool Aid are not adequate substitutes for red acetate. You can view the 3D video on the Wired website, along with their (proper) instructions on how to make your own 3D glasses.
There are a lot of companies that are making an effort to be more environmentally friendly, but few companies are taking it as seriously as Patagonia. They state that their 'reason for being is to make the best product and cause no unnecessary harm'. Patagonia's new Footprint Chronicles is an indication of their commitment to being green. It is a website that depicts a refreshingly honest view of the manufacturings impact of a few select Patagonia products. It maps and calculates the distance the product traveled, the carbon dioxide emissions, waste generated, and energy consumed during the manufacturing of the products. (Found through Cool Hunting).
If you are trying to think of ways to make your life more green this lovely Earth Day, why not try cutting down your shower time. This $3 shower timer from Envirosax can help keep you on track. It sticks to your shower wall and keeps your cleaning routine down to 4 minutes. You can save water and make the people you share your bathroom with happy all at the same time. (Found through Ecofriend).
Ha! I love Canadian humour.
Re-Set is a great combination of two products, the Re-baby cradle and the Re-tire rocking chair. The two can be attached together using leather straps to create one super rocker. The cradle can also be repurposed later as a rocking horse (using the provided saddle replacement) allowing it to grow with your child. This lovely furniture was designed by the design collective e27.
I'm totally in love with this project. It is called the One Day Poem Pavilion. It's the thesis project of Art Center student Jiyeon Song. The pavilion is an experiment in typography. Sun shinning through the dome creates a poem in light on the ground. The poem is reveled, line by line, throughout the day as the sun passes over the pavilion. The content of the poem naturally changes through out the year as the sun shifts it's position in the sky. The poem's message is sensitive to the time of the year, with a 'new life' theme during the summer and a 'reflective' theme in the winter. I appreciate that this project is so simple and yet so complex at the same time. Check out more of Jiyeon's very well written explanation of the pavilion, including sketches and a time lapse video, on the project's website.
So... continuing on with the old school theme that is emerging this week, check out this Twinkie Bake Set. If you have ever driven past the old Hostess factory store in Brooklyn with me, you will have probably heard about my over-stuffed Twinkie fantasy. If you too dream about discount Twinkies with too much filling, stop dreaming and start baking.
Ha! I'm loving the combination of retro references in this ad for Last FM. It's a bit misquoted, but making me giggle none the less.
