LUSID DESIGN BLOG: 01/10/2009

Saturday 24 October 2009

Mondrianum

Mondrianum is a Mac plugin that allows users to access Adobe Kuler
(#2214) for all applications and works like a system-wide color
picker. Download Here

Srar Wars Uncut

A while back, someone decided to challenge the Internet to recreate Star Wars, 15 seconds at a time, and then put it together into one big fan-made production. So far there are 393 scenes.

Friday 23 October 2009

Mind Design

Mind Design demonstrate how to get a downloadable pdf portfolio of work exactly right. Lovely stuff.

Thursday 22 October 2009

'colander' table by daniel rohr

the latest project by german designer daniel rohr is the 'colander' table. the futuristic table consists a bowl like form with 909 holes. the project is an experiment, to delete space and material. this opens for the observer an other point of view with a different sense. when objects are placed on top of the table it gives the illusion that they are floating.

Snow-Globe Apocalypse? Miniature Model Worlds on the Edge

Snow globes capture our imagination because they¹re like tiny magic worlds, swirling with sparkling snow that seems to make everything pure and closed-off from the evils of reality. But artist Thomas Doyle has created snow globes of sorts that do the exact opposite unsettle us, with detailed diminutive scenes under glass that horrify and disturb.In a series called ODistillations¹, Doyle created miniatures that seem to freeze a moment in time but not any ordinary moment. Rather, each meticulously crafted sculpture captures some kind of darkly transformative experience, like a family discovering that their home has sunken into the ground or a man preparing a burial site for two nearby corpses. Doyle began making models as a child and went on to study art at Humboldt State University, but it wasn¹t until he took a sabbatical to New York City that he found his true passion. Working as a freelance writer to support his visual arts habit, Doyle began experimenting with 3-dimensional media. Soon, he had volumes of sketches and written ideas that planted the seeds for his sculptural works. The use of glass to encapsulate each work helps give the sculptures a sense of life and foreboding that they may not have otherwise. Doyle told Art Nouveau Magazine, ³e glass helps to contain the work, and as it does, it seems to stop time and freeze the action within. With the glass removed, the works feel dead and plastic; under glass they feel loaded, as if they as if they are ready to come alive.² ³Like most people, I¹m interested in figuring out what it means to be human, and the work I¹m making is the best way I¹ve found to do that. If it shines a little light for other people, then all the better.

Kleenex

The 2009 Pentawards results is finally announced! And Kleenex's "Slice of Summer" emerged as the Best of the Show of Pentawards 2009. The greatest creative ideas are also the simplest. There¹s nothing more banal (hygienic and practical) nowadays than paper tissues. Kleenex has emerged as the uncontested leader in this field. Up to now, the boxes too were banal, at most decorative. But now Kleenex (Kimberley-Clark Corporation) has broken the code and offers a fresh combination of structure and graphics in perfect harmony, christened ³slice of summer.² A triangular box superbly illustrated by Los Angeles-based illustrator Hiroko Sanders with juicy fruits, watermelon, orange or lemon that look enticing enough to eat! The international jury of the Pentawards made no mistake, because without any consultation, each of the 12 members and the chairman gave this creation the highest marks. Here are the thoughts of Lars Wallentin, one member of the Jury: ³A professional designer appreciates something that is attractive, surprising, new, simple and devoid of useless information. The Kleenex ³slice of summer² boast all of this at once. This packaging shows great maturity, because the consumer is not bombarded with information that he neither really needs nor wants. I would like to have these Kleenex boxes on my desk, in the kitchen, in my car. I find them very attractive, full of joy and freshness. I want to go out and buy this packaging. And I wish to thank Kimberly-Clark. Because I am a packaging design professional, but also a consumer.²

Capsule Carafe Is The Best Prescription For Sleep

Your bedside table may already have a number of pills on it that you use to try to get yourself to sleep every night, but this Capsule Carafe can be used to put yourself to sleep better than any other pill you have. Fill it up with your favorite alcoholic beverage, down it as quickly as you can and sleep will be sure to follow. It may be hell to wake up, nothing is perfect.

2010 Lavazza Calendar

Photographer Miles Aldridge got inspired by the italian music for the 2010 Lavazza Calendar.

The bookshelf by 20.87 Estudio

The bookshelf is composed of plastic boxes used for transporting fruits, by 20.87 Estudio.

Reyneke Reserve

Gorgeous etched wine bottles for Reyneke Reserve. Designed by New Zealand based Anthonly Lane.

Cumulus Project

This installation is a project from students Constanze Fuckel, Linda Hüther, and Silvie Baldauf. They are students of Burg Giebichenstein, University of Art and Design Halle. It is installed in an old lightshaft and consists of 3 km white cord and 500 green beer bottles. It is 6 m high.

Sea Cider

"British design studio ilovedust were commissioned to create fresh new packaging for a local Dorset cider company. Inspired by English South Coast Summer days spent having BBQs and cider by the seaside, the ‘Sea Ciders’ packaging takes inspiration from all things maritime. Anchors and pirates mix with portholes, crabs and shrimps to create an all-over nautical narrative in this appealing design."

Nooka ZAZ

The Nooka's latest ZAZ watch, featuring a completely translucent display, allowing the wearer’s own skin tone to show through. Time is marked with a display similar to the Zenv style, with blocks appearing on the transparent screen seemingly as a part of the wearer’s wrist. It is available with a silver face and three band options- black or white leather, and silver mesh.

Absolutely amazing projection mapping, created...

Absolutely amazing projection mapping, created by Telenoika for the Ingravid Festival in Spain. Created with OpenFrameworks utilizing the most cutting edge animation techniques.

Phil Yamada

Not a massive portfolio but definitely some nice pieces by Vancouver based designer Phil Yamada.

UPI-2M: biooctanic

croatian architectural firm UPI-2M have designed 'biooctanic' a series of crop production towers used for the production of bio fuel and city air recuperation.

the idea was to place the towers on positions of existing petrol stations in cities. their research led them to the conclusion that algae and bamboo would give best production results; max. amount of bio-fuels per unit of surface (or spatial unit), also considering other factors, like cost of technologies required for cultivation and processing, growth rate, annual input-to-yield ratio, etc.

they envisioned this system and applied it to their immediate environment, cities in croatia, however it is applicable to any urban area in the world. by applying the bio towers we would reduce the amount of valuable agricultural land used for production of bio-fuel plants, reduce transportation costs and related air pollution. this kind of crop production also has advantages over farming in open spaces, because it's not weather-dependant, and you can create artificial conditions which enhance the plant growth (conditions that can't be achieved in the natural environment). the visual identity of the towers is a symbol and result of their function. beside the benefits of bio-fuel and oxygen production, they consider the towers architectural appearance as an added value primarily to the conscience of the city inhabitants.

Nora Baer

We designed these tubs to look totally home style and honest. The Norwegian berry picking culture is a strong tradition and we wanted to communicate that these are just like the ones you pick yourself. There is something to be said about honesty and good old-fashioned family values, and these products containing no artificial sweetener or preservatives communicate just that. The packs are clear to let the unspoilt and natural contents shine through. Designed by Sukker Design.

Friday 16 October 2009

Bio bottle

Extremely innovative new packaging from Brandimage, who was responsible for everything including concept development, branding, prototyping, engineering, and product design. The 360 Paper Bottle is the first of its kind in the world, and a true environmentally-friendly solution to the problem of plastic water bottles:

CHALLENGE
Each day, Americans throw out 60 million plastic bottles. Only 14% actually get recycled— meaning 86% become garbage or litter. We looked at this as a radical problem requiring an equally radical solution. Could we design a container that would leverage sustainability, be easy to transport, and enhance the consumer’s drinking experience?

SOLUTION
The 360 Paper Bottle is a sustainable vision of the future. It is the first totally recyclable paper container made from 100% renewable resources. Versatile in its range of consumer applications and made from food-safe and fully recyclable materials, it decreases energy consumed throughout the product life cycle without sacrificing functionality. It is paper packaging that stands up to all liquid categories. Nice work Brandimage!