August 1, 2010
This is a week old, but amazing nonetheless: Atlanta-based prop designer Harrison Krix spent 17 months crafting the helmet that Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo dons to become one half of Daft Punk.
Truly brilliant.
Homem-Christo also recorded as Le Knight Club in the late 90’s:
» Le Knight Club – Mirage (7:08) – 8.2MB mp3 @ 160kbps
May 22, 2010
Nowness has an interview with Rick Owens and an image gallery of his current furniture exhibition, “Pavane for Dead Princess,” at Salon 94.
Again, check out his Rules of Style for Details to get an idea of what he’s about:
1. I’m not good at subtlety. If you’re not going to be discreet and quiet, then just go all the way and have the balls to shave off your eyebrows, bleach your hair, and put on some big bracelets.
2. Working out is modern couture. No outfit is going to make you look or feel as good as having a fit body. Buy less clothing and go to the gym instead.
3. I’ve lived in Paris for six years, and I’m sorry to say that the Ugly American syndrome still exists. Sometimes you just want to say “Stop destroying the landscape with your outfit.” Still, from a design standpoint, I’m tempted to redo the fanny pack. I look at it as a challenge—it’s something to react against.
4. When a suit gets middle-of-the-road it kind of loses me—it has to be sharp and classic and almost forties.
5. Hair and shoes say it all. Everything in between is forgivable as long as you keep it simple. Trying to talk with your clothes is passive-aggressive.
6. There’s something a little too chatterboxy about color. Right now I want black, for its sharpness and punctuation.
Filed under: Design · Tags: Design, fashion, furniture, photography, Rick Owens
April 22, 2010
This super-tall, 632-meter tower will be sited in the heart of Shanghai’s Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, adjacent to the Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center. As the most prominent icon on the city’s skyline, Shanghai Tower’s transparent spiral form will showcase cutting-edge sustainable strategies and public spaces that set a new standard for green community. Within its 128-stories, Shanghai Tower contains Class-A office space, entertainment venues, retail, a conference center, a luxury hotel and cultural amenity spaces. The tower will be registered for a high level of building certification from the China Green Building Committee and the U.S. Green Building Council.
–Gensler, Shanghai Tower
For reference: the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is 828m. Wikipedia has more on the Tallest Buildings in the World, if you’re so inclined.
Filed under: Design · Tags: architecture, Design, Shanghai
April 21, 2010
More at Hypebeast.
Filed under: Style · Tags: fashion, lookbook, photography
April 19, 2010
This ironic meta/PoMo infographic has been making rounds in the memesphere lately:
It’s true for the most part, though the 3,274 seems a bit over the top.
In any case, here are a few of the better infographics I’ve seen lately:
Julian Hansen has created an extremely thorough visualization of typography for dummies.
Click the image for the full, unadulterated 1983×1402 version.
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Yesterday, before I discovered the video above, I came across a dollar bill with a red “Where’s George” stamp on it and I decided to enter it into the database (I’ve logged a couple in the past). It seems that I’ve since spent said dollar, as it is no longer in my wallet, but I managed to find it in my Firefox history. Apparently, it was in Greenpoint almost exactly a year ago; who knows what sort of wonderful adventures George #B2078 7046J has had in the mean time…
Follow the Money via Visual Complexity via PSFK
Almost (but-not-really-at-all) related: Redesigning the Dollar Bill; UPDATE: The new $100 bill.
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Gizmodo’s guide to the current fronts where the Big Three are vying for tech/information world domination.
Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Design · Tags: Apple, Google, graphic design, internet, maps, memes, NYC, Technology, transportation
April 3, 2010
Industrial designer Andrew Kim has come up with a concept for an eco-friendly (or greenwashed, if you’re cynical) Coca-Cola bottle. (DB)
See also: Harc Lee’s green(er) monochrome Coke can.
Meanwhile, Karl Lagerfeld has come up with a concept for a fashion-friendly Coca-Cola bottle:
colette via HB
Finally, as an HTML/CSS designer, this “Pure CSS Coke Can” never ceases to amaze me:
March 25, 2010
Common Projects at Gargyle
It’s high time to treat get a new pair of kicks for spring / summer… if only I had the cash to throw down for those Common Projects’ überpremium Vans…
Convertible Stan Smiths
Looks like Nike's also trying to give Vans a run for the money
Overkill x New Balance 577 - Berlin Wall
Related: The Choosy Beggar’s Footwear Fails, after GQ’s Men’s Worst Style Mistakes.
Filed under: Style · Tags: adidas, Common Projects, footwear, New Balance, Nike, Style
March 22, 2010
Last year, Klaus Biesenbach extended MoMA’s permanent collection of performance art beyond video & photo documentation to the performance itself, a move that foreshadowed the current Marina Abramovic retrospective. (It’s quite good, at least for someone who has had nominal exposure to her work. Highly recommended.)
Today, in what they are regarding as a similar move, MoMA expands its definition of design—or perhaps its role as an arbiter of design—by celebrating the ‘acquisition’ of the @ (at) sign, imbuing the symbol with a new layer of meaning as it becomes “art object befitting MoMA’s collection.” In other words, if the ‘@’ sign “does not declare itself a work of design,” then it is befitting, if not altogether necessary for the institution to do so, knowingly asserting itself as a conceptual creator à la Duchamp.
I don’t know how I feel about the smug implication that MoMA is doing us a favor by sharing this design gem with the world—the ‘@’ sign isn’t quite the same as, say, a UNESCO World Heritage Site—but it’s nice of them to share its history and significance (without mentioning Twitter).
March 18, 2010
» Fuck Buttons – Space Mountain (8:45) – 13.2MB mp3 @ 210kbps
» The Flaming Lips – Worm Mountain (5:22) – 6.3MB mp3 @ 160kbps
Zhou Hongjun and Xiong Lu have created Hermit Mountain, a multifaceted, multipurpose skyscraper, drawing inspiration from both traditional Chinese culture and modern design. The design explores a dialogue between rationality and chaos to achieve a refined yet altogether organic aesthetic.
More images at Designboom.
Designer Enrico Dini has developed a 3D printer that makes rocks.
Dini claims the d-shape process is four times faster than conventional building, costs a third to a half as much as using Portland cement, creates little waste and is better for the environment. But its chief selling point may simply be that it makes creating Gaudiesque, curvy structures simple.
Two-dimensional print may be dead, but 3D is on the up-and-up.
Full story at Blueprint (FastCompany via Inhabitat)
Filed under: Design · Tags: architecture, Chinese art, Design, Fuck Buttons, mp3s, Technology, The Flaming Lips
March 11, 2010
Warsaw’s Homework is a design studio that has created amazing posters for cultural events and films. Their remarkably simple yet gorgeous style is a new interpretation of Poland’s tradition of playful visual puns in poster design. Homework’s regularly-updated blog has the latest news and work.
Homework is currently showing at London’s Kemistry, an independent gallery in Shoreditch that showcases outstanding graphic design.
Filed under: Design · Tags: Events, graphic design, London
