DesignApplause

New kindle 3.

PRand — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:19:06 +0000

speed reading. can we keep up with these e-book readers? kindle 3 via new york times [RK]

10 questions to determine your innovation style.

PRand — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:58:57 +0000

to achieve the substance of innovation you need to design the proper form of organization. think about this. via blogging innovation [RK]

Bike sharing on smartphone.

PRand — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:31:14 +0000

cyclists use their smartphones to locate, check out, and lock bikes.

Shareable reports on ryan rzepecki’s social bicycles system (SoBi):

Instead of relying on kiosks and docking stations to connect users to bikes, cyclists use their smartphones to locate, check out, and lock bikes–everything is portable, wireless, decentralized, and self-contained. The tech is stored in a small “lock box” attached to the rear wheel, which connects the bike to a central server. Users create an account with SoBi, find a bike through a call or smartphone app, and receive a code which they can use to unlock the bicycle from an ordinary rack. They can just enter their account info directly into the lock box; they use the same pin code every time, “just like with a bank card.”

20 bikes to be tested in nyc in 9/2010.

John johansen. Modern architect.

PRand — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:48:14 +0000

last living member of harvard five: marcel breuer, landis gores, philip johnson, eliot noyes, and john johansen.

“certain aspects of human life are celebrated by organized religion, birth, marriage, death, and the design and building of one’s house for their family.”

thanks randy shear
Resource:
harvard five

Realtime face tracking on smartphone.

PRand — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:14:48 +0000

smartphones just got a whole lot smarter with face verification.

Using an Nokia N900, a University of Manchester (UK) research team has developed a prototype that quickly locks and tracks 22 facial features in real-time (even when upside down) using the Nokia’s front-facing camera. The Active Appearance modeling technique was developed for a EU-funded Mobile Biometrics (MoBio) project as a means of using face verification to authenticate smartphone access to social media sites.

There’s no word yet on when we come face-to-face with this technology.

Burning man 2010. iphone/ipad app.

PRand — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:48:54 +0000

find your way around burning man with iphone / ipad app. via creativity [RK]

Wake up with tocky.

Perrin Drumm — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:18:37 +0000

four years ago, designer guari nanda answered the call of over-sleepers everywhere with clocky, the two-wheeled alarm clock that runs away from you to get you out of bed.

In the last few years she’s made some improvements, and released Tocky at the recent New York International Gift Fair. Tocky doesn’t run away as much as it rolls. It’s completely spherical with three little rubber legs to stabilize it on your nightstand. It also has changeable skins, a touchscreen and the ability to record messages and mp3 so you can wake up to your favorite song or a prerecorded reminder that you have a 9am meeting. Of course, piece of mind comes with a price tag. You can get your very own Tocky at Nanda’s site for $79.

designer: guari nanda
producer: nanda

about perrin drumm

The nutcracker gets a makeover.

Perrin Drumm — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:55:31 +0000

the last person I saw use a nutcracker was clark griswald in national lampoon’s christmas vacation.

That was 21 years ago. You know why? The nutcracker, as we know it, is hard to use. It requires you to strain your wrists, hurt your hands, and for what? A lousy nut? Bottom line: it’s a failed design. That’s why they sell shelled nuts at the supermarket. But for the nut enthusiast, there’s hope.

Designer Tan Jun Yuan’s nutcracker prototype applies the principle of gravity. You drop a weight down a tube that crushes the nut at the bottom. It has one thing in common with all good design: it’s so deceptively simple you wonder why no one ever thought of it before. Now you can have your nut and eat it too. (We’ll keep you posted when it’s available to consumers.)

designer: tan jun yuan

about perrin drumm

Biodegradable pen.

Perrin Drumm — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 19:59:04 +0000

the time has come to start thinking about pens like plastic bottles.

Buy one and refill it; Don’t keep chucking out the disposable variety. The plastic your pen is made of is just as harmful for the environment as the plastic bottles we’ve been weened off of in recent years.

Of course, not all pens are refillable. The solution is the DBA 98 Pen. It’s produced at a wind-powered facility, uses potato-based packaging, non-toxic ink and compostable plastic. All that adds up to a 98% biodegradable pen. Pick up a 3-pack for $9.

about perrin drumm

Cusp conference 2010.

PRand — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:58:37 +0000

Cusp Conference 2010 will be in Chicago September 22-23.

The conference is about “the design of everything.” Museum of Contemporary Art Theater.
Details-Registration