Poster power. It’s real. And there doesn’t seem to be enough of them when you see really good ones. Really good ones are on display for a month in Chicago’s Daly Bicentenniial Park.
The poster exhibit runs until October 29 in Daley Bicentennial Park. See the 31 winners at Design Observer and Chicago International Poster [...]

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept 25, 2008 — Plastic Bag Manu – facturers Commend Spirit of Wal-Mart Initiative.
Today the Progressive Bag Affiliates of the American Chemistry Council, a trade association representing the nation’s leading plastic bag manufacturers, recyclers and resin producers, applauded Wal-Mart for its efforts to develop a responsible plastic bag policy. Under this plan, [...]

Today’s front page Chicago Tribune headline reads: “Deal, then no deal.” The USA $770M bailout, an excellent example of how not to sell a concept has been bothersome all week. What immediately comes to mind? What would Saul Bass have done?

SB could present! He could fit the pitch for the occasion. Legend has it that [...]

Have been sitting on this post awhile getting into the mood for collapsable concepts and product. Though the “Jackknife” was created in 2006 it was worth posting as the styling and design was noteworthy.

The concept was designed by Philippe Holthuizen and Rodrigo Clavel for a contest sponsored by Cannondale Europe. Both are graduate students of [...]

Google offers up a new vision of computing and it isn’t about desktops or laptops. It’s mobile. The Google phone has arrived. The phone shots are T-Mobile’s G1. But this is a design resource and the phone is not our focus. It is the software named Android.

What is Android if you already haven’t heard?
On [...]

Like sophisticated Transformers, these products fold to save space and to reveal a new function. The Flatterware cup body is molded out of a single piece of flexible plastic, with a helical structure allowing it to spring open and close with ease.
Just give it a simple twist, the bright plastic disc turns into an [...]

This summer something caught my eye on top of a neighbor’s SUV. It looked like a lighter - than - air aircraft wing but found out it was a collapsable boat. It looks much better in vitro than in these photos.
Adding collapsability into the design criteria can be a bit of a challenge. Here is [...]

The Mies Van Der Rohe’s Farnsworth House sets on five - foot - high risers. On 9/14 it was under water. The Fox River near Chicago has risen two feet above that.
The director of the historic site says “It’s gut - wrenching. You have to come to terms with the fact that Mother Nature will [...]

As with many of the concepts shown this year of the Renault Megane Coupe foreshadows a production version that’s set to be released at a later date. Of course, don’t expect the gullwing doors or the futuristic interior to find their way into production, but you can get a general idea of what Renault has [...]

Electric/pedal power hybrid bicycles make a lot of sense as commuters. With a small amount of battery power to augment your pedaling efforts, you can achieve extra speed and distance while leaving a minimal environmental footprint and paying next to nothing per kilometer. The Electrobike Pi is a fine example of the state of the [...]

source = http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/469/top-10-2008-hybrids (show cars.com though!!)
Hybrid rankings have often been simplistic: Most are little more than lists of the highest-mileage models on the market. Here, we ranked hybrids based on how much fuel savings they get when compared to their non-hybrid version, as well as how much all that saved gas is going to cost [...]

Robots. A very interesting topic. DA recently showcased a sewer inspector, the world’s most powerful per the manufacturer, a very practical solution. But what about robotics that inspire art? An example: Christopher Conte. By day posing as a designer of prosthetics and making artificial limbs for amputees in New York. At night and on weekends(?) [...]

On May 2, 2008, Nau announced that it was closing shop. The reason? They could not get financing to continue operations. If you don’t know who Nau is, they’re a uniquely new business—selling eco-friendly clothes with a unique business model: brick and mortar stores that displayed examples of their product but the purchases were online.
Ironically [...]

We are alerted: World Animal Day is October 4. This post celebrates environment, design, fashion, and animals used in marketing efforts.
Here we feature a collaboration between Puma and Atmos NY, which consists of three pairs of Puma models inspired by three endangered polar animals: the Harp Seal, Macaroni Penguin and Polar Bear. Each sneaker [...]

8 crazy experiments bold enough to change the world. Beginning August 22. Fridays, 9PM EP. (-0500)
They rounded up every scientist, inventor, engineer, and designer with the best sot at pulling off some of the biggest, boldest ideas about cooling the planet, gave them whatever they needed and turned ‘em loose. They told the naysayers to [...]

“A sewer worker is like a brain surgeon. We’re both specialists.” —Ed Norton, The Honeymooners.
Ed’s fingernails would be a lot cleaner if this robotic sewer “crawler” existed. Though not an object of beauty this robot is designed to go where you would rather not. It’s estimated that 850 billion gallons of sewer and storm water [...]

Phillipe Starck’s latest — a plastic chair — earned it’s name on the first sketch. Mr. Impossible. The designer said it couldn’t be made. The challenge being the weld. Using existing methods to weld the seat and the legs would create an unsightly seam. Kartell’s engineers had to go the blue water route. The [...]