Design Addict Blog with news and interviews related to contemporary or vintage design and architecture.
DETAILS.com just posted their newest “60 Seconds” Q&A. This timethey sit down with Gary Hustwit, director of “Objectified.” The film explores our relationships with manufactured items, everything from cars to a potato peeler, and the designers behind them. Plus, Hustwit tells us his favorite design items. Q: Helvetica traced the history of a typeface, and … Continue reading “60 seconds with Gary Hustwit”
The Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) has announced the winners of its collaborative industrial design competition with 3M Canada. Third-year Industrial Design students were asked to create new Scotch tape and Post-it Note Pop-up dispensers.
Nanny Still was one of the most colourful figures of Finnish design. Born in Helsinki in 1926, she started her career in 1949 at the Riihimäki Glassworks. Until 1976 she designed countless sets of tumblers, yet she was not afraid to experiment. She introduced many innovations in the use of colour and technique. In the … Continue reading “Nanny Still died on May 7 2009”
Canadian Small Wind Turbine inspired by maple leaf wins National Energy Globe Award. Wind Simplicity designed the high-efficiency, compact, noise-free Windancer™, a new-generation small wind turbine, using the maple leaf as inspiration for the wind blades. Wind Simplicity’s Windancer was selected from 769 projects submitted from 111 nations to win an award. The Windancer was … Continue reading “Wind Simplicity wins National Energy Globe Award”
Ten leading designers have been commissioned to develop new uses for sustainably grown and harvested materials in order to tell a unique story about the life-cycle of materials and the power of conservation and design. The featured designers and places include Yves Behar/Costa Rica; Stephen Burks/Australia; Hella Jongerius/Mexico; Maya Lin/Maine; Christien Meindertsma/Idaho; Isaac Mizrahi/Alaska; Abbott … Continue reading “Design for a Living World”
Where does design end and art begin?Charles Eames, the most influential designer of the mid-twentieth century, said that ‘design is an expression of purpose. It may (if it is good enough) later be judged as art.’ ‘Chest of Drawers’ by Tejo Remy Contemporary young designers see the matter more … Continue reading “U.F.O. Blurring the boundaries between art and design”
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation together with Lego and Brickstructures have released Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture Building sets in lego. The line currently consists of six buildings – now including two of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous and recognizable buildings, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and “Fallingwater.” images copyright LEGO, Brickstructures and the Frank Lloyd Wright … Continue reading “Frank Lloyd Wright and Lego”
Italian manufacturer Boffi is reissuing Joe Colombo’s Minikitchen, a monobloc kitchen on castors, designed in 1963. The Minikitchen is now made in Corian® and includes the following functions: hob unit, mini-refrigerator, drawer, storage compartments, small cutlery drawers, sockets for small electrical appliances, big chopping board and pull-out worktop.
The world in which children grow up today is far different compared to decades of the past. Nevertheless, the vast number of products on the market has not kept up with this shift. ‘Play All Day’ introduces a new and unconventional approach to design for children and presents stimulating and engaging design products and concepts … Continue reading “Play All Day – a Book on Design for Children”
The final jury of the ‘Prix Emile Hermes’ has selected 17 projects from the contest theme ‘la légèreté au quotidien / everyday lightness’, a contest that was launched in 2008 in all the countries in Europe where Hermès has a commercial base. The aim was to create an object for everyday life – Simplify use … Continue reading “Finalists of the Prix Emile Hermes”
Designboost has explored the personal viewpoint of sustainable cities of some ofthe worlds most acknowledged designers. To find out Designboost went to Milan Design Week and made a MiniBoost. The MiniBoost resulted in thirteen unique interviews. The seven first interviews are released and include personalities like Ilse Crawford, Tom Dixon, Konstantin Grcic, Arik Levy, Ross … Continue reading “Can you imagine the city skyline of tomorrow?”
Over the last five years, China has experienced an unprecedented boomin architecture and has become the most dynamic and active region in the world. The complex fusion of both Chinese and Western influences has given its architecture a unique style. This comprehensive, wide ranging book showcases the most exciting projects of recent years, with extensive … Continue reading “New Chinese Architecture”
StudioDesk is a traditional workspace with a modern twist. It isspecifically designed to offer laptop users a clutter-free working environment. Its sliding top surface uncovers a large easily accessed storage compartment that completely conceals all one’s peripheral hardware and their accompanying cables. Designed by Bluelounge, a multidisciplinary design studio founded in 1999 by designers Dominic … Continue reading “Bluelounge’s StudioDesk – a cable management solution”
UW Design Show 2009 is an event showcasing the work of the 2009graduating students in the University of Washington Design department. Courses of study balance creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and historical analysis with innovative approaches and solutions to the needs of society.The discourse is multi-disciplinary and collaborative in nature, and content reflects social responsibility, … Continue reading “University of Washington Design Show 2009”
‘101i bicycle’ by Vesa Jääskö for Helkama Velox (2005) ‘Aki Choklat for Lahtiset’ by Aki Choklat for Huopaliike Lahtinen (2009) What is luxury today? Design Forum Finland’s summer exhibition studies modern varieties and phenomena of luxury. “Luxury” has traditionally referred to opulence, abundance and rare expensive products and designer brands. Today’s luxury products emphasize above all … Continue reading “Luksus 09 – What is luxury today?”
We were sad to hear that Pierre Paulin died this Saturday at the ageof 81 in Montpellier, south-east of France. He will remain in all our memories as one of the major French designers of the 20th century. He leaves us with great classics, most of them produced by the Dutch company Artifort – ‘the … Continue reading “Pierre Paulin died on June 13 2009”
‘Anish”Magazine’ Dejavu Home is a great new collection of furniture that I would like to share with you. The Italian company has presented their lamps and furniture at Milano Superstudio during the last Salone del Mobile.
Giorgio Biscaro is informing us about his 2 new products that will be available soon this year:his Atlas bench for Slide Design and his Booaz lamp for Bosa Ceramiche This is the prototype of a table that he showed at the Salone Satellite this year.It’s composed by trapezoidal modules that you can assembly in two … Continue reading “Atlas and Booaz by Giorgio Biscaro”
Self-cleaning surfaces, phase changing materials and built-in sensors that generate energy from the footsteps of the visitors. The 3XN pavilion ‘Learning from Nature’ unites the most advanced technologies and intelligent materials in a preview of the innovative architectural design of tomorrow.
DESIGN 21: Social Design Network is happy to announce that Swedish furniture designer, Charlie Davidson, is the winner of its Going With the Grain Challenge for his ingenious ‘Uni Table’ design.Developed by The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Chapter of the Forest Stewardship Council to promote conscientious consumerism through responsible design, Going With the Grain … Continue reading “DESIGN 21 announces winner of Sustainable Materials Challenge”
The Bathroom Reinvented A former editor at Dwell, Virginia Gardiner is an industrial designer at Design London Imperial College, where she is developing and promoting her plumbing-free toilet, the Gardiner CH4. ‘In America, we have a flush and forget mentality,’ she points out. But 2.6 billion people in the world lack any form of functional … Continue reading “Who says poo is taboo?”
German lighting producer idee.design.licht has launched the “Sollos” light series, a minimalist concept from designer Ralf Brenner based on a compact, energy-efficient ring-shaped fluorescent lamp. The typical characteristics of the series are its red details, as for instance the aluminium dimmer at the centre of the base, which allows adjusting the light intensity from bright … Continue reading “New lighting family ‘Sollos’”
Maja Mesic, an industrial designer from Croatia, recently won the Red Dot award for his project Alatka, a drawing instrument.
French designer Julien Carretero did a Master’s degree at the Eindhoven Design Academy under tutor Gijs Bakker of Droog Design. He then worked two years with Maarten Baas before setting up his own studio in Eindhoven.Julien explores the possibilities of artisan creation in objects that are lively, vibrant and in constant phase-change. Drag (2009) Drag … Continue reading “Julien Carretero, craftsman designer”
Arup Asociates has won the award for ‘Inspiring Design’ for the Druk White Lotus School they have built in Ladakh Northern India. The award is granted by The British Council for School Environments. © Christian Richters The project was instigated by HH The Dalai Lama as a model school in The Himalayas. It is a … Continue reading “Award for ‘Inspiring Design’”
One of the most sought-after industrial designers of his generation, Stephen Burks continues to use every project opportunity to bridge the gap between the luxury brands he works with and his passionate commitment to design with a conscience.He will be the design keynote speaker at this year IIDEX/NeoCon Canada with the topic of ‘Are You … Continue reading “Stephen Burks: Are You a Hybrid? Design as an Agent of Social Change”
Featuring more than 100 contemporary design products and systems -safer baby bottles, a high-tech waterless washing machine, low-cost prosthetics for landmine victims, Braille-based Lego-style building blocks for blind children, wheelchairs for rugged conditions, sugarcane charcoal, universal composting systems, DIY soccer balls – this book makes the case for design as a tool to solve some … Continue reading “Design Revolution – 100 products that empower people”
Here’s to introduce you to the work of Micah Max Schmiedeskamp, graphic designer from Omaha Nebraska. He does posters, logos etc. He is looking for full-time, part-time or freelance work. So have a look at what he’s already done and feel free to contact him.Monogram LogoThis monogram was originally created while Micah was prepping for … Continue reading “Micah Max – graphic designer”
One of the most important architects working today, David Chipperfield produces subtle and sophisticated buildings with an acute sensitivity for materials and a powerful awareness of their environment. This major exhibition celebrates his work for the first time in the UK and spans his entire career to date, including such acclaimed projects as the River … Continue reading “David Chipperfield ‘Form Matters’ exhibition”
Sometimes we all just want to get away and escape from what’s going on around us whether it’s a personal place or just hiding behind a wall. Hibernate offers you your own cocoon to do this in a comfortable environment, designer Aimee Pegram explains. Aimee Pegram:“My process was casting rope and resin around a 5 … Continue reading “Hibernate by Aimee Pegram”
