DESIGNER'S BLOG

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Junkitecture
Posted by: Cane on 18th Aug 2010 in Inspiration





A school playground might seem an unusual place to encounter a jellyfish, but The Jellyfish Theatre in Southwark resembles the creature in name alone.

Seating over a hundred and built almost entirely from reclaimed materials, it is the creation of architects Köbberling and Kaltwasser, with more than a little help from the local community.

Across 4,200 man-hours; fruit palettes, old theatre sets, commercial waste, school furniture and timber donated by local residents was clad onto the steel skeleton. Disposing of large waste in the city is never straightforward, so this must have presented a welcome opportunity to many.


Hack It Better!
Posted by: Cane on 4th Aug 2010 in Inspiration




Sugru helps you ‘hack things better.’

This isn’t about jailbreaking your iPhone, or chipping your Wii, but making real-world, physical modifications to your belongings. Sugru is a silicone modelling clay, comes in four colours and once cured, is just as resistant and pliable as the silicone we know and love.


Skeleton!
Posted by: Kooch on 21st Feb 2010 in Inspiration



Skeleton bob is the sport that we're all talking about at the moment, thanks to the great Amy Williams who rocketed to Winter Olympic glory to provide us with our first gold medal since the curling team worked their magic in Salt lake City back in 2002.

Curling, like skeleton, was another of those sports you'd sort of heard of but had no idea of the depth of skill, intrigue and cool equipment. Personally I like Bill Bailey's musings on curling: why not curl furniture? Sofas, coffee tables etc. - with points awarded for nice arrangements...

But the skeleton 'sled' is a sophisticated piece of design, as you'd expect. Here's what British Skeleton have to say about it...


Dieter Rams
Posted by: Kooch on 27th Jan 2010 in Inspiration



The work of Dieter Rams, currently showing at The Design Museum, London. Exhibition running until 9th March. Lots of good stuff here, including footage of the man himself in conversation with Deyan Sudjic.

You know, it's all very nice, but couldn't it do with a bit more colour and perhaps some decoration?


Slick Art
Posted by: Keeech on 13th Jan 2010 in Inspiration



A vast waist-high tank of recycled engine oil - Richard Wilson's 20:50 first excited the art world around 20 years ago and is now re-housed at The Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea.


Way To Go!
Posted by: Katch on 16th Dec 2009 in Inspiration



This is the Tesla Roadster. It's an electric car. Top speed: 130 mph and 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds. Range: 244 miles. Available in Europe next year. Already on sale in the US, people in Europe will be able to buy them next year for €100,000. A new €49,000 family car called the Model S is also in the pipeline.


A Warm Wellcome
Posted by: Johanna Jansdotter on 14th Dec 2009 in Inspiration



Brand Identity, product identity, corporate identity. Phrases much used but less often considered in depth. Johanna Jansdotter sheds some light on the 'I' word with the help of the Wellcome Collection.

If you come across the following sentences, then you probably just entered the exhibition IDENTITY: EIGHT ROOMS, NINE LIVES currently held at the Wellcome Collection, London:


Recycled Products Tokyo Style
Posted by: Keech on 27th Aug 2009 in Inspiration



Small packet of off-cuts from an industrial timber process sold as craft items by the great Tokyu Hands in Tokyo. Price 189 Yen - that's about £1.25. Instructions not included!




A Sense Of Scale
Posted by: Keech on 26th Aug 2009 in Inspiration



210mm x 150mm plaster cast of the artist as Isaac Newton after William Blake, by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi. Compare with the monumental bronze one that sits in the piazza of the British Library. The plaster pre-dates the bronze of course, and I believe to a certain extent was a working maquette.


The Shapely Things To Come
Posted by: Keech on 25th Jun 2009 in Inspiration




NASA's X-48B Blended Wing Body aircraft passed a milestone when the experimental aircraft made its 50th flight in April this year.

Potential benefits of the aircraft include increased volume for carrying capacity, efficient aerodynamics for reduced fuel burn and possibly significant reductions in noise due to propulsion integration options.


Canon Dial 35
Posted by: Design Food on 6th Mar 2009 in Inspiration



When you meet Japanese designers it's always wise to check what gear they have about them. Akihiro Aoki, president of Orihica was sporting this design classic. Introduced in 1963 but in terms of looks you wouldn't know it. Unusual arrangement of the meter photocells around a 28mm lens, and clockwork automatic film advance wound by the cylindrical handle at the bottom. Super cool.


The British Museum
Posted by: Design Food on 26th Feb 2009 in Inspiration



Packed with the most exquisite shapes, colours, materials, textures and details that the World's history can offer, the BM is design inspiration second to none. Designers are highly sensitized to such stimuli, which is why after a visit to the British Museum I usually need a lie down in a darkened room. The above image is Lely's Venus (Aphrodite).


Bicycle parts...
Posted by: Keech on 9th Dec 2008 in Inspiration



Especially the beautifully crafted ones found on racing cycles. Designed for optimum performance and featuring a wealth of seductive materials from carbon fibre to high tech metal alloys, they gleam like jewellery or polished sculptures.


Printed circuits...
Posted by: Keech on 16th Oct 2008 in Inspiration



And the fact that they look like miniature cities, with tiny roads, expressways and buildings. I'm not the only one to see the connection; a recent TV licensing advert by Abbott Mead Vickers had us zooming into a PCB metropolis.


Box art...
Posted by: Keech on 1st Oct 2008 in Inspiration

To get this new Designer's Blog category off to a flying start, here is another one; the box graphics on this Tamiya model kit. This one happens to be a mechanical rabbit - hopping type (what other types might there be?), but they are all superb and give a nice taster of the inspirational contents.




Seeing the observers...
Posted by: Keech on 30th Sep 2008 in Inspiration

Colour plate illustrations from The Observer's Book of British Geology (Warne, No. 10 in series.) A superb combination of ink, type-setting and rational information. They look even better in real life.