Heightening awareness of design-driven objects.

Mini E. Test drivers wanted.

November 5th, 2008 by PRand | No Comments

Mini E. Test drivers wanted.

MINI announced that they’ll be giving up to 500 test drivers the opportunity to test drive the new no-carbon footprint electric MINI E before it’s released.
The diminutive 3-door MINI E is powered by a 100% electric motor (hybrids are for wusses), and still manages to go from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in about [...]

Tags: Concept


What was that plant thinking?

October 31st, 2008 by PRand | No Comments

What was that plant thinking?

How much brainpower does it take to blog? I know! Let’s ask a plant! Well, it seems that’s possible in Japan where a plant has been wired wired with sensors that pick up bio-electrical signals and converts the signals into data that’s then translated into Japanese. Are you following this?
A typical entry? “It was cloudy [...]

Tags: Overheard


Wind turbines.

October 2nd, 2008 by PRand | 4 Comments

Wind turbines.

Our feature for and through the month of October will be to develop a story on the state of wind turbine design.
A wind farm catches our eye. White feathery structures against a dark sky. The motion mezmerizes the viewer. Our mind vaguely grasps the meaning of this source of energy generation.
(top two photos) The [...]

Tags: Ambient · Energy sources · Featured · Objects · Producer


Hardcore Finnish design.

June 23rd, 2008 by PRand | 1 Comment

Hardcore Finnish design.

It’s summer in our hemisphere. Long days. Warm weather. Spending more time outdoors. Here is a innovative product that you make yourself at the beach or on a picnic — the cutlery! What fun!
The cutlery (Do!) and an extension cord (Thrush-In) that stores nicely in its own felt container is designed by Arihiro Miyake. The [...]

Tags: Designer · Energy · Events · Furniture · Home · Kitchen · Objects


Sexy green car show. 2008

May 30th, 2008 by PRand | No Comments

Sexy green car show. 2008

The world’s first eco car show opened at the Eden Project in the UK last week. Let’s discover which type of green motor we’re most likely to be driving in the future.
Love them or hate them, cars are not going away. But road transport accounts for a fifth of our carbon dioxide emissions in [...]

Tags: What's hot!


Tesla roadster.

April 18th, 2008 by PRand | No Comments

Tesla roadster.

High-design. Electric. 50-state approved (USA).
After quite a bit of tweaks, good and bad press the FDA finally blessed the Tesla in January 2008 and this red (green) car can go on sale. The car won’t solve the world problems, at least not this particular car — $100K — but it is a start.
Tesla is [...]

Tags: Autos · Green · MINO (Money no object) · New · Objects · Producer · Transportation


Earth Hour 2008. Plus 24×7.

April 6th, 2008 by PRand | 1 Comment

Earth Hour 2008. Plus 24×7.

It’s been a week since Earth Hour 2008. So we looked around to see what happened then, and if
anything since…

A student told us Google went black! Good for them. This is how we envisioned a black Google.

The normal Chicago skyline at bottom.
This taken from the Chicagoist…
Earth Hour officials indicate last year there were 2.2 million [...]

Tags: Events


Earth Hour 2008.

March 24th, 2008 by PRand | 9 Comments

Earth Hour 2008.

Earth Hour 2007 was a Sydney, Australia event to fight global warming by saving energy and raising awareness. On March 29, 2008, Earth Hour goes global.

Just a few days left before Earth Hour—March 29, 2008. 8-9pm. Between now and then send a reminder to your blogosphere connections to participate. You can continue to remind people [...]

Tags: Events


EV-X7. Electric motorcycle.

March 17th, 2008 by PRand | 2 Comments

EV-X7. Electric motorcycle.

Here’s one electric vehicle where limited range no longer seems unpalatable. Designed and built in China by a company called Axle Corporation, the EV-X7 is driven by an electric wheel hub motor and has a top speed of 93 mph. This, of course, is a snail’s pace compared to modern motorcycles, but then again, this [...]

Tags: Concept · Cycles · Green · Objects · Producer · Talent · Transportation