a car

by Hans Hansen

biomimicry

I've been absolutely fascinated and obsessed with biomimicry lately. Fred Gelli has been applying the concept here in Brazil under the title "Branding 3.0". Asknature.org is one of my favorites. Absolutely genius.

made my heart warm

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seconds

Remember those plates by Christopher Jagmin I posted the other day? I found another series with a similar concept by artist Jason Miller (who, by the way, is an IU graduate like me!). They are awesome and you can buy them here.

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endless sources of awesomeness

Just discovered Buy This Shirt. If only I had that much disposable income. Or the balls to wear all of them.

pencil, defined

by Daniel Eatcock

a type a day

Typodarium is a tear-off calendar showcasing 365 different fonts, the background behind its creation and several other interesting details. Fifty foundries and designers from all over the world contributed with their favorite fonts. "The result is a surprising insight into the inexhaustible world of letters and numbers. The front page, which is classic and functional, shows the date, while the reverse side diplays the background info, designers and reference sources". I tried to buy it, but looks like it's sold out.

minimalist monopoly

"Monopoly, in spite being the classiest of all board games, unfortunately is packaged just as boringly and uncreatively as every other garbage board game on the shelves. So, I decided to repackage it... turning the class up to 11.

All of the boxes are made out of chocolate brown mat board and skinned in cream arches cover. The final package is just over 10" x 10" x 1.5" and includes smaller containers for all of the various pieces and cards and a laser-cut holder for all of the houses and hotels."

Beautifully designed by Andy Mangold.

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on how design thrives during economic crisis

Yesterday's New York Times feauted a wonderful article on how history has proven that design can benefit from economic constraints. Makes me hopeful and excited to be part of the industry right now.

"...however dark the economic picture, it will most likely cause designers to shift their attention from consumer products to the more pressing needs of infrastructure, housing, city planning, transit and energy. Designers are good at coming up with new ways of looking at complex problems, and if President-elect Barack Obama delivers anything like a W.P.A, we could be 'standing on the brink of one of the most productive periods of design ever,' said Reed Kroloff, director of Cranbrook Academy of Art.

On the other hand, the design community talked up its role in safeguarding the world after 9/11, with little result.

Modernism’s great ambition was to democratize design. Ikea and Target have shown that the battle for cheap design can be won. The emphasis will most likely shift to greater quality at affordable prices. This time around it will be the designer’s job to discourage consumers from regarding that $30 Ikea side table as a throwaway item.

(...) 'It will be about finding the sweet spot between affordability and durability,' Ms. Lasky said. This kind of innovation means rethinking the economy of production and distribution so that goods are made cheaply closer to home (or in the home, if the most radical ideas are to be taken seriously).

One way or another, design will focus less on styling consumer objects with laser-cut patterns and colored resin and more on the intelligent reworking of current conditions. Expect to hear a lot more about open-source design, and cradle-to-cradle, a concept developed by William McDonough and Michael Braungart that calls for cars, packaging and other everyday objects to be designed specifically for recycling so that their parts and materials are used and reused without waste."

CURRYOKE

"To celebrate Christmas, Gavin Martin Associates decided to hold a Curryoke party - an evening of curry and karaoke - and asked Purpose to design the invitation. Purpose subverted popular Karaoke songs and the iconic Indian take away container to create a memorable invite.

The invitations where delivered in a brown paper bag containing a number of curry containers, each with a different song message scrawled on the top. Songs include: ‘Murder on Dhansk floor’, ‘Love me tandoor’, ‘Rice rice baby’ and ‘Naaneater’, amongst many others. Hidden away on the flipside of the lid are the event details foil blocked onto mirror board."

Panettone

"For their first Christmas, newly established printers Greenford Printing wanted a memorable way to promote their business and at the same time wish their valued clients a 'Merry Christmas and Happy New Year'." - by Purpose

beautiful bowls

Log Bowls, by Loyal Loot.
The juxtapositions of rough/shiny, rustic/slick, earthy/colorful are what make this collection so irresistible. [via]




Tatara Zukuri Bowl, by Yosinori Yamamoto
Each piece is hand formed from a local Kyoto clay body, and finished with a vibrant blue glaze distinctive to the Kyoto region.