Welcome to the Spark 2009 Competition, Designers! The SparkAwards are the new competition created to promote great design and designers and encourage people to explore their creativity. Sparks invites everyone to participate–designers, art directors, architects, design firms, manufacturers, institutions, ad agencies, students and non-professionals may enter. Call For Entry begins February 1, 2009. (more…)
From the creator of Helvetica the Movie, Gary Hustwit, comes a new documentary.
Above: sidewalk + snow + stereo in nyc = a production still
Objectified is a feature-length documentary about our relationship to manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them. It’s a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It’s about industrial designers, the people who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It’s about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability.
World premiere: South by Southwest Festival 2009 ( March Visit 13 – 22 )
Designers featured include: Featuring:
Paola Antonelli (Museum of Modern Art, New York)
Chris Bangle (BMW Group, Munich)
Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec (Paris)
Andrew Blauvelt (Walker Art Center, Minneapolis)
Tim Brown (IDEO)
Anthony Dunne (London)
Dan Formosa (Smart Design)
Naoto Fukasawa (Tokyo)
Jonathan Ive (Apple, California)
Hella Jongerius (Rotterdam)
David Kelley (IDEO)
Bill Moggridge (IDEO)
Marc Newson (London/Paris)
Fiona Raby (London)
Dieter Rams (Kronberg, Germany)
Karim Rashid (New York)
Alice Rawsthorn (International Herald Tribune)
Davin Stowell (Smart Design)
Jane Fulton Suri (IDEO)
Rob Walker (New York Times Magazine)
and more participants TBA
Visit objectifiedfilm.com for more info and screening dates. Thanks Jilly.
A radical new design that sets out to improve on almost every aspect of snowboard riding – more speed, higher jumps, quicker turns, better fit and less chatter. Now, after four years in development, “The Whip” as it’s known has been officially launched.
The design retains a 4×4 mounting system so it can be used with most conventional bindings but a stiff binding with minimal padding is recommended. While the The Whip will perform well in regular powdery conditions, it’s not built for deep, off-trail powder.
The Whip represents a total rethink of several elements of snowboard design, but at first glance, there are two glaringly obvious features that stand out – the elongated cutout that runs through the center of the board and the raised, carbon-composite mounts dubbed “Spider back suspension”.
The purpose of the Open V Hull shape is to reduce the amount of surface area in contact with the snow and in turn reduce drag for greater gliding speed. The straight inner edges boost directional stability and are positioned lower than the outer edge resulting in a slight V-shape that is designed to improve edge to edge transition.
The second – and most striking – design element is the Spider back suspension, a system which was inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous Vitruvian Man sketch. Lin explains that the SBS fulfills several key roles – it acts as a suspension system to reduce chatter and because it’s edge mounted, allows for easier transfer of weight directly to the outside of the board, which is curved like a conventional snowboard for turns. The SBS mounts are tilted slightly toward the center of the board for a more natural stance and further assist turning by raising the center of gravity. The inner arms also act like leaf springs to give the board more “pop”.
The board is hand-built from wood, plastic, steel edges and carbon composite while the SBS is constructed with carbon composite. The suspension role played by the SBS also means that there’s no need for a dampening rubber sheet to be added to the board.
Only one model of will be released this year with the company expecting to produce a few hundred this season. The first, 158cm model is known as “The Whip F-117” (see below for specs) and there are plans to introduce more boards by next season.
The Whip is patent pending in the U.S., EU and most of Asia and the “F-117” model is now available for pre-order at the Cheetah Ultra Sports website at a price of USD$1899. Shipping is slated to begin this month. via cheetah ultra sports
The Whip F-117 Specs:
* LENGTH: 158cm
* WAIST WIDTH: 23.5cm
* EFFECTIVE EDGE: Outer 127cm, Inner 86x2cm
* NOSE WIDTH: 29cm
* TAIL WIDTH: 28cm
* OPENING WIDTH: 7cm
* STANCE LOCATION: 10.5 Back
* SPIDER HEIGHT: 3.8cm
* RIDER WEIGHT LIMITS: 135-195 lbs.
Designer: Adams Lin
Bruce Nessbaum’s take on why TED may be better than Davos for socio-economic mess: too big of a disjuncture between problem and solution people. via BusinessWeek
US National Design Policy Summit Report, is available. via core77 [PR]
Braun launched the 17th edition of the BraunPrize. This internationally recognised design competition is open to young industrial designers who are still studying or who have graduated within the last two years.
International Competition to Promote Young Designers
When it was established in 1968, the Braun- Prize was Germany’s first international competition to promote the work of young designers. Braun’s commitment to this cause has been highly regarded by the design world and the design-aware public ever since. (more…)
Classic via old style messaging: the “post stamp” from Royal Mail. “We always like to start the year with a classic and this year we’re launching our Special Stamp programme with ten, in one very special issue– British Design Classics.”
1st Class – K2 Telephone Kiosk
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott’s design bright-red phone box always stood out on the streets of the UK.
1st Class – Polypropylene Chair
Found in public buildings throughout the world, almost everyone will have sat on a Robin Day chair
at some time.
1st Class – Penguin Books
Edward Young’s book jacket design was instantly recognizable as a Penguin edition.
1st Class – London Underground Map
Harry Beck’s easy to understand design was based on an electrical wiring diagram.
1st Class – Routemaster Bus
Once a symbol of London to visitors from all over the world now only a few of Douglas Scott and Colin Curtis’s remain on London’s streets.
1st Class – Supermarine Spitfire
The superlative Battle of Britain fighter with its distinctive elliptical wings was designed by R J Mitchell who sadly died before the plane went into production.
1st Class Large – Mini Skirt
Mary Quant rewrote the fashion rules for women forever with her daring design.
1st Class – The Mini
Sir Alec Issigonis made use of every available space in the small car that was as much a fashion statement as a means of transport.
1st Class – Anglepoise Lamp
George Carwardine’s flexible design brought light wherever it was needed.
1st Class – Concorde
Aerospatiale and BAC’s supersonic jet was capable of twice the speed of sound and beautiful to look at too.
First class. Jolly good idea!
Producer: Royal Mail
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about ron kovach
Blackletter, without a doubt the stimulus behind the more efficient font designs we’re familiar with on a day-to-day. On the other hand, a now popular foreboding font for super-hip urban graphics and a time-travel message for packaging.
In addition to the thorough presentation of some 300 typefaces with dates, designers, and origins, you will find a facing-page design using the typeface. Many quite well done and some even exciting. Of course, I’m not the first to find the book spectacular. It won the Type Directors Club of New York’s 2007 Award for Typographic Excellence.
Designer:Judith Schalansky ( Berlin )
via amazon.com
An election wrap up: more creative generated in presidential election 2008. Passion trumps strategy — the bulk unsolicited, unapproved by either candidate. (more…)
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