Design Addict Blog with news and interviews related to contemporary or vintage design and architecture.
Thilo Fuente is a Swiss industrial designer based in Zurich. He recently completed his master studies at ECAL in Lausanne. His personal degree project is a series of knives for Wenger, maker of The Genuine Swiss Army Knife.
‘Chimney’ is a collection of hand thrown, kiln fired clay pendant lamps designed by Benjamin Hubert. They are manufactured in a pottery studio in Wales and utilise the natural clay of the region. Using traditional hand thrown techniques each lamp has its own unique character with a textured exterior finish in contrast to a gloss … Continue reading “Chimney lamps by Benjamin Hubert”
Lace in Translation is a new exhibition of contemporary work inspired by historic lace. Lace in Translation explores the intersection of luxurious hand-craftsmanship with modern, mass production. The Design Center’s historic Quaker Lace Company collection is the inspiration for three artists and designers reconsidering conventional notions of lace. European designers Tord Boontje and Demakersvan, and … Continue reading “Lace in Translation”
MetaboliCity is the name for a vision of a city that metabolises its resources and waste to supply its inhabitants with all the nourishment they need and more.As a participatory design research project it explores how designers can intervene sensitively within local urban food growing cultures by providing a design thinking and crafting that may … Continue reading “MetaboliCity – Urban growers”
In 1921 Bernard-Albin Gras designed a series of lamps for use in offices and in industrial environments. The Gras lamp, as it was subsequently called, was astounding in its simple, robust and yet very ergonomic design. There are neither screws nor welded joints in the basic form. In 1927 the Ravel company purchased the patent … Continue reading “Lamp Gras available again”
The Solar Bus stop (SBS) is a sustainable and innovative system of informational boards for public transportations that functions integrally with solar energy. The SBS increases the quality of the service, since the user, upon arriving at the stop, will be punctually informed of the time of arrival of the buses from different lines, until … Continue reading “The first Solar Bus Stop in Spain”
This is Dyson’s latest invention: The Dyson Air Multiplier™.The fanworks very differently to conventional fans. It uses Air Multiplier™ technology to draw in air and amplify it 15 times, producing an uninterrupted stream of smooth air. With no blades or grill. Air is accelerated through an annular aperture. This … Continue reading “Dyson Air Multiplier”
Icone Series Bag For Louis VuittonCrevasse Vases For Alessi A major retrospective on the works of Zaha Hadid Architects is taking place within the salone of Palazzo della Ragione, Padua, Italy. The exhibition examines the practice’s continued experimentation and research into digital design and construction methods at the cutting edge of the industry.
There are so many born-dead projects floating about we sometimes forget that – before anything else – design is an exact discipline in which function gives nothing away to style, and technical innovation is there to serve real user protocols and not just the sales pitch. With their ‘Silver Art’ range, Elium Studio has made … Continue reading “‘Silver Art’ by Elium Studio for Rowenta”
D.light Design has launched the Kiran, a low-cost solar lightingsolution, designed especially for households without access to electricity. The Kiran retails at USD10, making it affordable for most low-income families throughout the developing world. The Kiran is five times brighter than a kerosene lantern and can be fully charged in a day under the sun. … Continue reading “Kiran, a low-cost solar lantern”
Royal VKB has developed iD/cutlery with Dutch designers Richard Hutten, Gijs Bakker, Ineke Hans and Japanese Atelier Bow Wow. Royal VKB is the latest brand from Dutch company, Koninklijke Van Kempen & Begeer. Founded in 1789, Koninklijke Van Kempen & Begeer has made history with stainless steel products and silverware. iD/cutlery by Richard Hutten … Continue reading “Royal VKB introduces iD/cutlery”
Product designer develops radio which incorporates Indonesian cultureby Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia An Indonesian product designer has developed a simple radio that he hopes will become a timeless classic. It is a functional piece of art, based on the designer’s interpretation of Indonesian culture. But there are no traditional carvings on a Magno Radio. Its … Continue reading “Kartono’s slow design radios”
Continuing in the Scandinavian tradition of working with wood, Tom Rossau is working on the birch veneer prototype of the classic architects light. With this model Tom is demonstrating his affinity for natural materials and his drive to re-think traditional designs.Check out his other designs on his website.
Latis is the latest bathroom creation from Omvivo. It is inspired by the fundamentals of tradition and quality. Simple forms combined with elegant materials such as natural stone to create a sculptural range of bathroom products that will compliment both modern and traditional spaces. Designer is Thomas Coward, principal designer at Omvivo. Coward moved to … Continue reading “Latis, new bathroom collection from Omvivo”
The i24R3Portable is an extension of the i24R3 wireless speaker project collaboration between EOps and Michael Young studio. The i24R3Portable is a family of portable speakers with various specific functional configurations to suit different user lifestyles.
From his studio in the Kreuzberg neighborhood of Berlin, Swiss designer Daniel Heer manufactures high quality leather bags (‘Chrom’), seating furniture (‘Keil’), and horsehair mattresses (‘Rosshaar’). In doing so he is part of a family tradition dating back more than one hundred years, a tradition that he carries over into his contemporary designs. © Achim … Continue reading “Made in leather by Daniel Heer”
Young Polish designer Maciek Wojcicki designed an interesting, cutting edge stride toy.Designed as a children vehicle which moves forward driven by the child’s hips and body movements, it can be also used as light movement malfunction rehabilitation tool for 5-6 years old as well as for adults in a larger scale.
A book that reveals how thinking like a designer can help solvethe greatest challenges we face in business, society, and our daily lives. What can we learn from the ways great designers think-and how can it improve our world? In this book by journalist Warren Berger, in collaboration with designer Bruce Mau, ten groundbreaking principles … Continue reading “Glimmer: How Design Can Transform Your Life and Maybe Even the World”
Green Furniture Design focuses on the concept of sustainable design,which centers not only around a responsible use of materials and methods of manufacture but also on issues of object life span, energy usage, and recycling/disposal. The exhibition explores how 21st-century furniture makers seek to modify our aesthetic expectations—especially when it comes to forms that are … Continue reading “Green Furniture at Milwaukee Art Museum”
Berlin design gallery Helmrinderknecht contemporary design dedicates its second show completely to the subject of vases.The exhibition Vase vs. Vases brings together contemporary positions of 15 designers and artists. Works of renowned designers and young upcoming design talents are shown in the creative tension between diverse forms of design engineering, and a variety of materials … Continue reading “Vase vs. Vases”
Joseph Ribic is launching Objeti, a new design and manufacturing company which features the Aerialist Series™, their first line of furniture. The Aerialist Series are a set of versatile coffee tables which, with a turn of a lever, easily convert to an ottoman or additional seating. The surface of the table top transforms to reveal … Continue reading “Aerialist Table/Ottoman”
Jihyun Ryou, Design Academy Eindhoven graduate, did his Master Thesis about food preservation. By accumulating traditional oral knowledge, he looked at a feasible way to bring the knowledge into everyday life.’Through the research about the current situation of food preservation, I’ve learned that we hand over the responsibility of taking care of food to the … Continue reading “Save food from the refrigerator”
The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) presents an exhibition (now in Chicago) with 99 actions that instigate positive change in contemporary cities around the world. Seemingly common activities such as walking, playing, recycling, and gardening are pushed beyond their usual definition by the international architects, artists, and collectives featured in the exhibition. Their experimental interactions … Continue reading “99 actions: What You Can Do With the City”
Danish studio 3XN has designed a street led lamp that uses solar energy with aspecially developed prism. Seven lamps have just been erected at Bella Center in Copenhagen in conjunction with the upcoming UN Climate Conference. © Scotia and photographer Adam Mørk The advanced technology results in the street lamps generating more energy than … Continue reading “Gotham, solar street lamp by 3XN”
photos: RibonThis is the first eco piece manufactured by Artelano. The bookshelf designed by Ora-Ito is made out recycled material taken from certified forests. The assemby is done without fastenings, by simple fitting of the different elements: Ecco (here you are)!
Last year CreativeRoom challenged some of Vancouver’s top architects and designers to reinvision the traditional typology of the gingerbread house. The competition was a candy-filled homage to The Case Study House Program organized by Arts and Architecture Magazine from 1945 to 1964. They asked the entrants to do away with ubiquitous veneer of jujubes and … Continue reading “Gingerbread Competition”
A palm-sized modular toy created by Kelly Harrigan, a fourth-year industrial design student in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech, has been awarded a design patent.The toy, named Ferra, won first place last year from Swiss Toymaker Naef Speilzeug. Naef asked for game or design objects appropriate for ages 3 to … Continue reading “Magnetic toy ‘Ferra’ won the Naef Speilzeug contest”
The Carbon Trust, a United Kingdom-based nonprofit set up by the British government, has awarded $720,000 to Lomox to develop OLED lighting (Organic Light Emitting Diodes). © Jeroen Joosse OLEDs use about half the power of fluorescents for a given light output, or about 1/9th the power of a traditional light bulb. The OLED materials … Continue reading “Light Emitting Wallpaper to Replace Light Bulbs”
‘Match’ Radio by Gabriele Pezzini (AreaPlus 2007) – ‘Pago-Pago’ by Enzo Mari (Danese 1969)This exhibition is born from the idea of comparing the work of two designers who agree upon several aspects of their working practices in spite of having been formed in very different periods of time. Enzo Mari, maestro and moral conscience of … Continue reading “‘Che fare’ by Enzo Mari and Gabriele Pezzini”
‘Inventors and Inventions’ takes a look into the fascinating history of inventors and inventions.The book follows a diverse list of inventions from their earliest manifestations through to their most current incarnations, whilst also revealing how some of today’s greatest inventions came about by accident or chance. From the beginnings of the frisbee to the role … Continue reading “Inventors and Inventions”
