And then I’m ready to go to Geek Heaven! One of the reasons why devices like iPad and other tablets exist is to satisfy this urge in us to stay connected to the web world. Latest touchscreen phone also carry the same incentive, but somehow both the devices have one flaw: tablets lack an external keyboard and phones lack the screen real estate. To bridge the gap we have the really innovative Smartbook; a Smartphone that flips open to become a QWRTY keyboard and syncs with its personalized PC Tablet. Designers: In-oh Yoo & Sun-woong Oh for Metatrend Institute
Posted in Gadgets, product-design, technology | Tagged accessories, advertising, all-in-one, dining, exhibitions, Gadgets, kitchen, metatrend institute, optimize, product-design, smartbook, sun-woong oh, technology, travel |
When compared to my leather Plain-Jane Capdase iPhone Case , the Sheet Metal iPhone Case looks smoking HOT!. Thankfully this is not one of the YD staples of being a concept, yes it’s available for purchase! Sleek Steel on the outside is combined with silicon padding for the innards and clever cutouts tackle wireless signals and heat emissions. Only dilemma is that with the iPhone I opted for a candybar style, this cover makes it an awkward flip, if I walk the middle-path…apparently you needn’t flip open to talk. Essentially, the decision is on leather vs steel then! Designer: Ryan Glasgow for LtdTools
Posted in Gadgets, product-design | Tagged audio, automotive, Gadgets, games, iphone, lifestyle, luxury, metal, podcast, product-design, ryan glasgow, steel, technology |
Here’s a 30 X 60 foot house from Rockefeller Partners that makes good use of California’s gorgeous sea views and even manages to squeeze a garden into a typical tight lot size. Small houses are more sustainable, as they typically take less energy to heat and cool. The entire front is open to the sea. Sea breezes forming cross breezes throughout the design mean the need for air conditioning is reduced. The use of wood throughout is more sustainable than carpet. There is a tiny central Zen garden featuring grasses that soften the harsh lines of the courtyard, elegantly, with understated simplicity. Huge timbers form stair treads inside. Generous chunks of natural materials give a sense of lavishness, which ensures that the tiny footprint doesn’t feel cramped. The small deck is designed to maximize the sea breezes. A very unique “stone” floor reminds us that stone is – just that: stones. Chopped-up rocks. More energy efficient than chopping up rocks to make a stone floor, so why not just use stones? It must feel good to walk on these gently rounded stones in bare feet, making that connection to the beach outside. Only a small, simple house is needed to indulge in the simple pleasure of the huge and infinite-seeming sea. This is a post from Home Design Find Small is Beautiful
Dual functionality is the name of the game and if you add in words like “green”, ecofirendly” or “recycle”, the game gets better. What we have here is a simple enough solution to a problem that might not exists;but let’s just go with the flow for a moment. Scenario is that you move often and/or don’t have the resources to furnish your sparse accommodation, so you probably need boxes that can double up as furniture. So when you’re not packing stuff into “Move!”, just rearrange its body to become this seat to park your butt. Configure it at whim, make it a bedside table if you like. Move is a packing box which can be folded and reused as furniture once it is unpacked. Re-usage and eco-material make Move sustainable and inexpensive at the same time. Corrugated cardboard is bio-degradable, 100% recyclable and yet extremely stable. Designer: Janine Perkuhn
Posted in Furniture, Gadgets, product-design | Tagged advertising, architecture, audio, automotive, exhibitions, Gadgets, green, lifestyle, Lighting, luxury, office, podcast, technology, travel |
I think I’ve confessed one too many times that tho I’m a coffee addict, I just can’t spend too much time nurturing it. There are actually freaks like me who LOVE instant coffee and don’t want to do the grinding-percolating routine. Which is why I simply adore this ceramic-glass fusion called Coffee Set. It’s a cup with a slotted bottom that holds in just right amount of coffee powder and water, for you to stir the mixture with the handle. Yup no spoons required! The design gets even more interesting with the saucer, which has a missing bottom! This empty space is for fitting in your cup snugly and keeping the brew warm for a longer time via insulation. I know many of you may be going “tsk tsk” for the cleaning part, I mean getting the cup spanky clean thanks to the slotted bottom doesn’t sound easy. But for fancy design’s sake, I’m willing to adopt this set, plus I don’t do the dishes….so it’s really not my headache! Designer: Yali Dai
Posted in Gadgets, product-design | Tagged accessories, architecture, exhibitions, Gadgets, games, green, kitchen, lifestyle, Lighting, office, podcast, product-design, shoes, travel |
Long before it became a fad to hire interior designers to do up your rooms, humble folks just rearranged their furniture to give their home a new look. Times and trends now dictate that either we use innovative stuff that never gets obsolete or keep hiring the cash-drain! Fitting into the former category is the EQUALIZE Multifunctional Furniture Modules; a set of three pieces that can be configured in your free-fancy way. Create sofa, couch, folding table, flower or fruit vase! Designer: Olga Kalugina
Posted in Furniture, Gadgets, Living, product-design | Tagged accessories, audio, dining, equalize, interview, Living, modules, multifunctional, olga kalugina, podcast, product-design, technology, travel |
Built from semi monocoque carbon fiber, the durable OO wireless projector is a part of the GEO series from designer David Riesenberg. As he explains, the projector displays high definition (1080p) data via WiFi or internal SSD storage and works independently from any wire for up to 3 hours. It does rely on its internal Li-Ion battery for some support but hooks up to any power source (via a single wire), should the need arise. Thanks to the combo of WiFi and internal storage, OO doubles up as an extender/duplicator of an external display or as a wireless media projector/streamer with built in decoding capabilities. Manipulating the stance of the projector is easy, thanks to its three independently articulated legs. And to work it like magic, a fully touchscreen remote come in handy, however it can work without the remote in extender/duplicator mode after pre configuration. Designer: David Riesenberg OO – High Definition Wireless Projector from David Riesenberg on Vimeo .
The Ring-ge-roo Light shuttles between innovative, unique and kitsch! It definitely takes the sting out of a hospital drip, which is loathsome yet essential. The uniqueness lies in the way the design uses LED and water for effectively refracting light and creating an eccentric ambiance. I wouldn’t mind hanging this off my arm; just to get some special effects I’d use colored water, as recommended by the designer. Designer: OWA Innovation Design Group
Posted in Gadgets, Lighting, design, product-design | Tagged automotive, design, dining, drip, interview, kitchen, led, lifestyle, light, Lighting, owa, product-design, travel |
Architects: Ryntovt Location: Orel River Bank, Dnepropertrovsk, Russia Project Team: Yuriy Ryntovt /chief architect, Aleksey Bojko, Alan Kravchenko Project Area: 1,750 sqm Project Year: 2008 Photographs: Andrey Avdeenko diagrams 01 Ecohotel “Friend House” is located on 3 hectares plot in forest resort zone aside of Orel river bank, 30 km far from Dnepropertrovsk. It is a single-floor group of buildings with open yards, parking, terraces, garden and park zones (covered area 1750 square meters). During process of siting, an ineologycal analysis of the region was used, taking into account Earth energy -information field conception. It is space, reflected in details, surrounded by wildlife. In this project were used exclusively ecological harmless materials: clay, reed and wood. Construction’s carcasses designed from wood and shell stone. Cobwork cocoons of room are united by the roof plate. All furniture and lighting are designed by project -manufacturing company “RYNTOVT DESIGN”. floor plan Intercommunicating with an environment – with forest, river, the ecocover of the buildings is in morphogenesis with natural landscape. Another distinctive feature of this ecohotel is an apple tree garden. According to a beautiful local legend, a good farmer should necessary invite guests twice a year, first time during garden blossoming in spring and second time on Transfiguration Day, the lightful holiday. during gathering apples in summer.
Posted in architecture | Tagged architecture, australia, california, canada, croatia, france, japan, ordos-100, plans, read-more-raquo, russia, selected, spain, the-ace-hotel |
Its International Women’s Day and its befitting that I confuse you guys with Andy Kurovets’ Maze Of Time. There is a connection between the two… you had fun at the expense of the female anatomy and now it’s time to pay for those silly smirks! The Maze Of Time watch uses colors in a kaleidoscopic way to represent the time. So when you see a chaotic yellow line below, it’s actually the number “1”. Blue is the number “2”, red color stands for “3”, and “4” corresponds to the green etc. Kinda TokyoFlash-esque and time to get your grey cells working! Designer: Andy Kurovets
Last year we told you about Hometta , an international collective of designers, architects, builders, writers and editors who have banded together to improve the way residential architecture is designed and delivered today. Hometta offers a variety of completely modern home plans designed by renowned, award-winning and/or published studios from around the world. Each house is under 2,500 square feet and utilizes smart, sustainable materials and design methods. Some of them are available for viewing and purchase. Now, Hometta has added 11 new studio to their collection. Offices like Johnsen Schmaling Architects ( check their projects here ), LTL Architects ( check their projects here ) and nArchitects ( check their projects here ) are now parte of Hometta. Find out more at their official website .
Putting it straight enough for you, Wind Up Socket has a timer to it, once you set the duration and time’s up, the electricity supply to that socket gets cut off. For grownups who don’t have many restrictions and can self regulate, this one may seem more cumbersome than anything else. But for moms with teens who don’t comprehend “half hour of TV / Videogames time”; this is booty! I’d only be careful of placing the cords of various gadgets carefully, otherwise its set! Designers: Dongwon Joo & Jieun Choi
Posted in Gadgets, product-design | Tagged exhibitions, fashion, games, interview, luxury, office, product-design, technology, travel, wind-up |
So you can’t be a conductor of any musical symphony nor do you have any creativity in painting and art. Tough luck, but what if I gave you this magical wand, that allowed you to transform your ceiling into a magical landscape of color LEDs, that brighten up and dim at the flick of your wrist, wouldn’t you be the Mozart of lights? Draw The Lights makes you a capable light conductor! What I mean is that clusters of LEDs take command from this “light brush” in your hand, and sparkle to create mesmerizing ambient settings. If creativity gets the better of you, how about creating artwork with the lights? Fancy! Designer: Seo Dong-Hun
Posted in Gadgets, Interiors, Lighting, design, product-design | Tagged automotive, exhibitions, Interiors, kitchen, Lighting, office, product-design, seo dong-hun |
Popescu Lucian has left me speechless with his explanation for the Pandur Concept Vehicle! It’s for times like this when designers don’t delve technical details, I wonder if they held back because of copyright issues like Brian discussed earlier? I understand how frustrating it can be when someone else steals your ideas and makes a quick buck! To give him benefit of doubt & for poetic justice, hit the jump to see Popescu’s reason for the Pandur Concept Vehicle. After a bad week at the office, your boss is telling you he’s gonna fire you, your wife spends all your money at the mall, and your son is getting bad grades on his behavior… Apart from a joint, Pandur can put you back on your feet. Take your tent, your camera, a couple of beers and take out the Pandur accumulator because the mountains are waiting. Designer: Popescu Lucian
A while back our ed-in-chief Long Tran (LT) reviewed the Setgo Transport Urban Bag . He was all in praises for it, because it helped him carry his extensive gear: checkbook, iPod, iPhone, digicam, Nintendo DS, keys, and wallet; all included! It made LT’s traveling easier and gave him quick access to his stuff. So here’s the thing, if you want to WIN this special treat called Transport Urban Bag , tell us where you are from and how this bag would make your life easier? Here’s what you can carry in your Setgo Transport Urban Bag and some features: Front Two quick access pocket for Cell/Blackberry/iPod Inside zip-up pocket Inside slide in metro card Back Three internal pockets for gear storage Large main zip-up Pocket External pocket Construction Sleep/Sturdy Drill Nylon Highly Durable Strapping Contest Closes: Sunday 7th March; 11:59 PST. Setgo Transport Urban Bag is available for $79 @ YD Store
