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Casio goes innovative with Tryx camera design

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The blogs of CES-goers are abuzz with news of Casio's new Tryx camera, which boasts the most unusual form factor we've ever seen on a point-and-shoot:

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The design of the "variable frame" allows it to act as a sort of tripod, giving you steadier shots for video or low-light exposure and giving you one less thing to carry. Another odd feature is that the lens is not a zoom, but instead a fixed wide-angle.

The model on display at CES is actually a non-working prototype, but Casio expects to have production models ready to ship by April of this year.

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Print-on-Demand Flexible Planner by Show Show Room

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Although more and more of us are abandoning daily planner books for much more convenient digital calendars, there's still something terribly satisfying about keeping your to-do list in the physical world.

New creative outfit Show Show Room are offering up a new way to jot down your schedule with their Flexible Day Planner. Layed out to provide as much freedom as possible, this print-on-demand service also allows you to start and end your planner on any dates in 2011—perfect, perhaps, for individual projects. The minimalist back and front covers feature white boxes that act as blank space, ripe for personalisation.

The 6"x9" planners are available to order from the Show Show Room site for the duration of 2011.

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The Best of Core77: Our Favorites from 2010

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Even though we've already said goodbyes to the aughts and welcomed in the tweens, we couldn't let the decade slip by without highlighting some of our favorite things from the last year. 2010 brought even more people together through the launch of our Community Challenges and the opening of our brick-and-mortar Portland-based store, Hand-Eye Supply (which you can shop online!). We saw the 30,000th job posted on Coroflot, ran our 10th Annual Salary Survey, and closed out the year with our 5th Annual Gift Guide. With the help of our friends, we've compiled this year's "Best Of 2010" list covering our favorite ideas, products, innovations and stories in one comprehensive post.

All of this could not have been done without our amazing group of contributors, partners, moderators, supporters, friends, family, and YOU! Here's to closing out the decade with a bang!

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0davidgarcia.jpgQ: Why do you have this bookshelf? A: Because that's how I roll

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I am intensely envious of Stanford's PRL multi-shop playground

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Considering it's not even an ID program, Stanford's Mechanical Engineering department has got a seriously kick-ass facility with their Product Realization Laboratory. Featuring a machine shop, a model shop, a foundry/welding room and a CAD loft/photo studio, the PRL is a place where students of any major can pay for a "shop license" and just start making stuff.

As an article in The Stanford Daily explains,

Professor of mechanical engineering David Beach, a co-director of the lab who has been working at Stanford for 39 years, described the lab as one of the most unique teaching projects in the world.

...Under the philosophy that Stanford graduates should not only be good citizens but also excel in a profession, "making things" has been an important part of a Stanford engineering education, Beach said.

...Final products can range from skateboards, guitars and golf putters to complex machines. While many of the projects are related to students' research, some are simply an extension of students' hobbies.

"We don't tell people what to do here," said Craig Milroy, professor of mechanical engineering and associate director of the lab. "We help them do what they want to do."

Check out the rest of the article to see what both individual students and entire classes are doing at the PRL.

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ID Student Makes Good, turns design comp winner into successful toy company

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In 2003 Rebecca Finelli was finishing up her ID degree at Arizona State U while mothering an infant child. The combination of these two situations gave her the idea for the Frog Pod, above, a drainable scoop that lets you gather floating toys out of a bathtub and stick 'em to the wall to drip-dry. She entered it in that year's Juvenile Product Manufacturing Association design competition, won, and subsequently co-founded Boon, Inc., a toy company.

Seven years later, Finelli is busy--she's added two children to her family and more than sixty countries to her distribution list. Boon is booming, and looking at their massive product line-up provides a hint as to why. The prolific Finelli has come up with ideas for 20 new products a year every year since the company's inception, making her the Karim Rashid of toy design in terms of sheer output.

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Read her story here.

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"Action art:" The Heatball, alas, has gone cold

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Saw this a few months ago, forgot to blog it, and am now disappointed to see the project may have died in the meanwhile. It's a clever blend of art, protest, and marketing called the Heatball.

"Heatball" is what German engineer Siegfried Rotthaeuser and his brother-in-law are calling regular ol' 75- and 100-watt incandescent light bulbs. Why? Because the EU has banned incandescents that exceed 60 watts, giving everyone no recourse but to buy CFLs, which contain mercury. Rotthaeuser's clever way of getting around the ban was to market the bulbs as "small heating devices" rather than light sources. As Reuters explained it,

Rotthaeuser studied EU legislation and realized that because the inefficient old bulbs produce more warmth than light -- he calculated heat makes up 95 percent of their output, and light just 5 percent -- they could be sold legally as heaters.

...The two engineers describe the heatballs as "action art" and as "resistance against legislation which is implemented without recourse to democratic and parliamentary processes."

The unamused government has since cracked down. Rotthaeuser sold out of his entire inventory of the 75- and 100-watt bulbs he was able to import under the Heatball ruse, but now customs is holding his second batch in a sort of light bulb Guantanamo.

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The Product Design Show launches (Ep. 1, Bicycle Design)

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Yesterday Engineering.com launched The Product Design Show, a web-based program looking at the design of consumer and industrial products. As the website's name suggests, the show is geared more towards engineering than industrial design, but it's cool nonetheless.

Episode One is on "Designing a Better Bicycle," and future installments will cover power tools and food processing equipment. Best of all, it will air regularly (every Thursday). Today's a Friday, so steal some time to check it out:


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Eames Powers of Ten Video Response Competition Deadline Extended!

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We realize with the holidays and all that some people need a bit of extra time to complete and upload their videos, storyboards, and sketches, so we're extending the to the deadline to the Powers of Ten Video Response Competition to February 2nd. (That's nicely 2/2/11 in the spirit of things). If you'd like to participate there's plenty of time to create, post, comment or vote.

Here's the URL to jump right in: http://bit.ly/fIeyUe

The Jury winner gets:

- $2,000 cash
- Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair (Value $1,250)
- $2,000 donation to the Eames Foundation in the name of the winner (includes a tour of the Eames House; travel not included)
- In addition, to watch and read from their Eames chair, the Grand Prize winner will also receive:
- A boxed set of volumes 1 through 6 of the Eames Films; Including of course Powers of Ten, among over 40 films
- A vintage copy of the Eames Office book 'Images of Early America'
- A copy of 'The recent 100 Quotes by Charles Eames'
- An Eames Primer by Eames Demetrios

The Popular vote winner gets:
- $1,000 in cash
- Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair (Value $1250)

Those are some sweet prizes!

On the jury, we've got Eames Demetrios, Paola Antonelli, Adam Bly, Ayse Birsel, Gary Hustwit, and Allan Chochinov. Find the brief and all details here: http://bit.ly/hEa5kK.

And to inspire you, we've chosen 5 of the latest entries so far. Just click the image to load up the video (sorry, embeds next week:)


The delightful (and labor intensive) The Night Before 10/10 by giltastic
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The provocative Power of Ten Days by sgthackston
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The very clever Powers of Proportion by jasonamorris
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The Sartorialist: an example of intuitive research?

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The first thing I do after I go through my morning pile of email, is check out http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com . Those that know me would never call me a fashionista, I think "Geek Chic" was the closest I ever got to a compliment on my "look", but the work of Scott Schumann aka The Sartorialist has always fascinated me. The way he captures a culture through a moment. Possibly it connects to the very intuitive way I do my research. Not the official stuff with rigor, but the real stuff that inspires emotive and non conventional solutions. We don't tend to talk about it, because, well, its messy, non-linear, and it misses more than it hits, but the seed of the most wonderful things tends to come from that kind of ether.

I think Intel captured that perfectly with their piece on Scott. It is worth celebrating this type of approach so we can start to build it in to our process, allow ourselves to wonder, to seek and discover, not as scientists, but as designers.

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1964 Dodge Hemi Charger up for sale!

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You are looking at the first Dodge ever to use the Charger nameplate, the 1964 Dodge Hemi Charger Concept Car. Developed in late 1963 on Polara underpinnings, it was used by Chryslerto showcase its newest engine at the time, the now iconic 426-cubic inch (7.0-liter) Hemi V8.

Owned by several collectors over its 47-year existence, this rare piece of automotive heritage is going to be auctioned off at this year's Automobiles of Arizona event held at Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, on January 20. RM Auctions hasn't released an official estimate yet, but last time it changed hands in 2007, it fetched US $1.1 million.

I love the detailing on the front end alone. Notice the slight sandblasted recesses radiating around the headlamp bezels, the tiny driving lights on the deck lid, the turn signals behind the grille slats... pretty cool ride to say the least. Shorten that back and make mine electric.

Via Top Things Stuff for more pics and info

Thanks to Remy Labesque @ frog design for the tip

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Case Study: Humanair Air Purifier, by Peter Hall

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Humanair.001.png The Humanair

With its focus on the design of the comfortable workplace, it would seem logical for the ergonomic equipment maker Humanscale to turn its attention to the quality of indoor air. Indoor air is, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, one of the top five environmental health risks in the United States. But designing the air is no easy task. To clean the air of even one room is an energy-inefficient undertaking, constantly compromised by the fact that no room is sealed, and people bring in dirty air every time they open a door.

After four years in design development, and much longer in gestation, a desktop air purifier was launched by Humanscale at the end of last year. The Humanair makes an intriguing case study. The product went through several iterations in pursuit of Humanscale's hunch that a localized solution was considerably more efficient than cleaning the air of an entire room. Since people actually spend most of their indoor time in one spot (in bed, on the couch, or at a desk), clean air could be delivered to local "zones" around the user.

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Nike Better World

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Many of you know I spent the better half of the last decade working in various capacities for Nike Inc. Recently, Nike launched the Better World micro site, and no other external communication sums up more of what it feels like to work there. The site highlights just a few of the efforts going on behind the scenes there. The things they do that they don't have to and rarely talk about. Like most iceburgs, it is easy to forget most of this brand is under the surface. Their vision is not for everyone, but it is a wonderful example of the dogged pursuit of an ideal manifested through brand, product, and experience. Also a nice piece of HTML!

Be sure to check out the video just below the intro: http://nikebetterworld.com/

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Case Study: Social Design Thrives in Baltimore, by Andrew Shea

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Urban blight has a grip on large sections of East Baltimore. Some see the high crime, drug use, and boarded-up buildings as signs that its neighborhoods will never recover. But graphic designers at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) remain optimistic. Each semester, students set out to spur lasting social change by teaming up with communities throughout Baltimore. Over the past several years two of MICA's undergraduate graphic design classes have been dedicated to the mission of achieving social change through design and a new Master of Arts in Social Design starts this Fall.

The Design Coalition was created by Bernard Canniffe in 2001 and is now taught by Ryan Clifford. Students in this class focus on "learning the principles of social and community-based design." The Center for Design Practice (CDP) is a more advanced multidisciplinary studio that was founded by Mike Weikert. Weikert's students team up with local organizations and tackle social problems for a whole semester. Although I recently wrote about one of their projects on Core77--an energy-saving initiative--I have spent more time learning about their partnership with Johns Hopkins University to rejuvenate The CareS Mobile Safety Center, a vehicle that tours throughout Baltimore and teaches families about home safety.

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Case Study: Designing An EMR For Small Family Medicine Practices, by Caroline Lu

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Lessons Learned From Listening
During one of my recent workshops, I was stunned by the nurses' reactions when I asked them what changes in their routine would make their lives easier. After an awkward silence--I thought I had inadvertently misspoken--one nurse replied, "Nobody really asks us that."

As designer/researchers at Mayo Clinic's Center for Innovation (CFI), we provide a forum and voice for collaboration and participatory creation. Being embedded designers affords incredible access to patients and providers. For one "deep-dive" activity, designers interviewed over 30 patients in the patient cafeteria. We can shadow providers to glimpse into their day-in-the-life. We are able to understand first-hand what happens during a patient examination. I will always remember one of my first patient exam observations when a physician told a ninety-seven-year-old woman that she had a polyp in her colon. I remember how her two granddaughters, who had accompanied her, reacted with the possibility of their grandmother having cancer. I remember how the grandmother used humor to mask her fear while asking a myriad of questions about the future, and how the physician gently touched her hand and said, "we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

Although rich and necessary information, user-centered research is not always welcomed or easy to corral in spite of being embedded in the institution. In wanting shiny new products and services, we move too quickly. This is a story about the lessons learned when we set aside our assumptions and slow down to listen and understand the needs of people.

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Case Study: A New Icon for a Smart EV Ecosystem, by Howard Nuk

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ECOtality recently unveiled Blink, a new line of electric vehicle chargers designed by frog that is creating a new icon for the rapidly growing EV market, expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2015. The Blink family of products includes the Level 2 Wall Mounted Residential Charger, Level 2 Pedestal Commercial Charger, and the Commercial DC Fast Charger.

EV's and hybrids have moved to the forefront of the alternative energy movement, and may possibly become the future of everyday transportation. Numerous mainstream automotive manufacturers have developed offerings such as the Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, and Mitsubishi i Miev. Even more exciting prospects are coming from relatively new industry entrants like Tesla and Fisker with their high-performance EV and EV-hybrids that add a sense of passion and sex appeal to the otherwise tech-driven world of electric cars.

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CoolHunting's J Mays interview

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Those of you running your own ID firms or working as freelancers know the recession's been tough; you've probably submitted some obscenely low bids just to get work. But what was the impact of the economic crunch on a well-known designer near the top of a corporate structure, commanding an army of designers responsible for global product? CoolHunting's got an interview up with J Mays, Ford's Global Design Veep and Chief Creative Officer, and what he had to say was interesting. An excerpt:

J Mays: We've gone from being seven brands with 360,000 people in the company to two brands essentially--really one brand with a small domestic brand, Lincoln--with about 170,000 people. We're not developing three Focuses anymore, we're developing one.

...You can imagine the amount of money that we save there, it allows you to put more into the car that allows the customer to have surprise and delight.

...I used to describe my job as an inch deep and a mile wide because I'd just go around and sort of sprinkle fairy dust on stuff and never have time to really delve into it. Now that everybody is focusing on Ford globally, it allows me to be an inch wide and a mile deep.


The rest of the interview focuses on more meat-and-potatoes design questions, so be sure to check it out.

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Desktop CNC machine for less than $400 on Kickstarter

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Today's the last day to get in on Stephen McGloughlin's Kickstarter project for a desktop CNC machine kit that you can actually assemble yourself and drop a Dremel into. Best part? You can spend less than $400 for a full machine and as little as $12 for the plans. As McGloughlin explains,

Born out of frustration with the lack of inexpensive, straightforward and easy-to-build CNC machines I designed a DIY desktop CNC package that addresses all the objections I had with available machines. To that end the electronics are designed to be inexpensive, modular and specifically to drive the most common of stepper motors (bought or scavenged).

The machine is intended to be built by the average DIY-er, either from scratch from plans, or from a full or partial kit. Components and parts are easily available and inexpensive and the design can accommodate recycled (scavenged) parts. The electronics can be driven by several freely available software applications.

The project has already soared past its $15,000 goal with $53,819 in the bank, so McGloughlin doesn't need more to make it happen; but this is your chance to pre-purchase an entire set-up for a measly $390, or throw in far less cheddar for the plans to build it yourself.

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Nendo "dancing squares" at Art Stage Singapore

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Prolific Japanese design firm Nendo will be exhibiting a new collection of interior objects at Art Stage Singapore, an art and design show debuting for the Asia Pacific market. Nendo's "dancing squares" series assembles square planes to create a sense of motion in every day objects.

One part of the bookshelf is frozen in its cascade of tumbling shelves, creating variety in the way books can be stacked. The stool's twist endows it with visual play. Lamps roll about but are stable, thank to their planes, and cast light in different directions. The table leans as though falling away, but maintains its function as a table, and makes objects placed on it seem to sink into its folds and sways. The different 'movements' make balance and unbalance overlap, as though we are watching the planes themselves dance.

Art Stage Singapore debuts January 12th-16th at the Marina Bay Sands.

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Clever dispenser design combines benefits of liquid and bar soap

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Eindhoven grad Nathalie Stampfli's brilliant Soap Flakes dispensers use bar soap while taking cues from cheese graters and peppermills. As you can see in the photos, the user inserts a bar into the devices--one design is wall-mounted, the other handheld--and it then dispenses soap flakes.

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Why make something like this? As Stampfli explains,

Today, most of the soap we use is liquid soap, which contains a lot of water. Block soap instead is more concentrated and therefore has some ecological benefits: You don't transport unnecessary water around. In place of plastic bottles you can simply use paper for packaging. The solid blocks can easily be piled and allow a greater space efficiency in a truck.

But what about the usage of soap bars? I don't like the weird slippery feeling when I use them. It gives me goose bumps. And under the shower, it always slides out of your fingers. Hand soap also often gets dirty and accumulates bacteria when more than one person is using it.

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via kottke

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The supplier becoming the master? Johnson Controls unveils their own concept car

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Johnson Controls, formerly a supplier to the auto industry, is taking a bold step forward with their ie:3 concept car, unveiled at the North American International Auto Show.

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The car is powered by enough of JC's lithium-ion battery packs to enable a 100-mile range, and the under-floor design provides both a flat floor and plenty of storage space with those flip-up seats; the front passenger side, for instance, can reportedly fit a suitcase (though getting it in and out should be interesting). Overhead LED lighting, recycleable seat materials and an honest-to-God standard plug for accessories round out the car.

Johnson Controls says the ie:3 will be production-ready by 2015.

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