The Wow Factor in Visual Design
Sandu Publishing House have released a book that features our very own Johan Hjerpe, concept developer, art director and partner at Imaginary Life. In parallel with commercial brand strategy and design work, Johan is highly active within the cultural field, driving projects as diverse as designing prints and textiles for fashion, set design, magazine art direction, graphic design and concept development for various art and fashion projects.
Entitled ‘Designers Universe – the Wow Factor’, the book is a fascinating, if not somewhat random collection of design that you will have seen in the latest blogs, crossing graphic design, illustration, fashion, set design and motion graphics. Described by Sandu as a book spotlighting “59 professional designers who shine within the field,” each designer, coming from different corners of the world, has a couple of spreads showcasing recent work with short Q&A’s on what makes them tick.
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Chinese Newspapers report on Swedish Design
The articles surrounding the Shenzhen Industrial Design Conference go something like this:
“Sweden: Design for Better Business
Sweden is the first country to become industrialized in Scandinavia and also the earliest country to develop the industrial design movement. IKEA and VOLVO have been icons in people’s minds, standing for Swedish design.
The Swedish designers coming this time are well prepared, not only for the signing ceremony, but also for holding presentations sharing their experience in furniture design, interior design, industry design and other types of design.”
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Why some companies are keeping quiet about sustainability
The companies who are keeping quiet about sustainability fall into two categories: the ones who know what they are doing, and the ones who don’t. Denial ain’t a river in Egypt, as they say in Cairo. Our oceans are dying, our air changing, and our forests and grasslands turning to deserts. From fish and plants to wildlife to human beings, we are killing the planet that sustains us, and fast.
But telling this to business people is like showing a smoker a slice of a cancer infected lung. It just doesn’t work. No matter how eco-conscious the person is- the catastrophe scenario is just too much to take on, emotionally, and viably. And quite frankly- isn’t it up to our governments and politicians to sort out this mess? The UN treaty on climate change — our best hope for action — expires next year. As it looks like, the US corporate-nation-democracy will not take the lead – leaving every other nation on the fence? We suspect not. But let’s stick to business for now.
Forward looking companies realize that drastic change in legislation is inevitable, and are already quietly working towards a 2015 change in legislation that will exceed any CSR law being mentioned today. Far beyond the blanket calls for lower carbon emissions and the carbon payoffs, a cradle to grave product life-cycle responsibility is almost certain to put many successful companies today exactly there: in the cradle if not the grave.
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Vestas and Lego; Danish Brothers
We like Vestas and we like lego, so we loved this cobranding project that spotlights Vesta technology at Shanghai airport using lego pieces.
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Everyday Joy in Stockholm
Would more people take the stairs if it was more fun? Turns out, 66% more people choose the stairs versus the escalator when it makes noise. Or use the trash can if it was more fun? Joy can change everyday behavior. Thanks to Chad for the tip and VW for the project. See more on rolighetsteorin.se
The world’s deepest trash can….
Online agoras
Design Bay is one of the many growing online user driven market places that we expect to see more of in the near future. As a client you can post your brief and receive quotes from designers around the world, assess designer portfolios and ask designers questions. Payment via paypal upon completion and approval of the work. Just like IRL.
and here is another, crowdSPRING (Thanks Cat)
Biomimicry TED talk
Janine Benyus has a message for inventors: When solving a design problem, look to nature first. There you’ll find inspired designs for making things waterproof, aerodynamic, solar-powered and more. Here she reveals dozens of new products that take their cue from nature with spectacular results.
Hay Nobody Chair
Designed by Boris Berlin & Poul Christiansen, Danish design company Komplot used a manufacturing technique borrowed from the car industry to mold recycled plastic water bottles into the sleek, stackable sitters. Says a Hay spokesperson, “This is the first chair ever made with the textile alone as the construction. The material used is industrial felt mainly made out of recycled plastic bottles. The felt is put into a huge form press and heated up – when the chair comes out of the press its done,” which is a very efficient-sounding process, to us. The chair has been shortlisted for the Craft and Design Biennial 2007 Prize; see the write-up and a pic of what the Nobody Chair looks like when it travels in packs, after the jump.
