MESH01 Skate Footwear Design and PENSOLE Competitions

January 10, 2011, 11:51 am

≫ Next: Four Case Studies for 2011

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

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MESH01 is a co-creation platform that focusses on footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. It links designers and brands worldwide. Together, they create and launch innovative products for the SportStyle industry. They have been running a series of great competitions two of which going on now are the PENSOLE Talent Search which will be judged by D'Wayne Edwards of Brand Jordan and a Freestyle Skate Competition that I will be judging and giving extensive feedback to entrants all through the process. Winner to the Freestyle Skate Competition get copies of my book, "Analog Dreams" first prize in the PENSOLE competition is an awesome scholarship to their program at PENSOLE Parsons New School.

If you are interested in getting into footwear, these might be two great opportunities to dip your toe in, pardon the pun... head over to MESH01 and check it out.

sketches by me...

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Four Case Studies for 2011

January 10, 2011, 1:23 pm

≫ Next: Pre-phone cameras were way more stylish

≪ Previous: MESH01 Skate Footwear Design and PENSOLE Competitions

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To get you inspired in the new year, we are kicking off this decade with a collection of four case studies from around the country. The featured case studies from our January issue highlight the power of collaboration across industries and communities. Check them out below!

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Pre-phone cameras were way more stylish

January 11, 2011, 7:27 am

≫ Next: Okay, we've got ID'ers on postage stamps. Next...assembly lines?

≪ Previous: Four Case Studies for 2011

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I did a double-take when I learned that acclaimed Korean director Park Chan-wook (Old Boy) shot his latest 30-minute short entirely on an iPhone 4. That this little black rectangle could capture something that will be seen in actual cinemas is surprising to me, though it's probably no big deal to the younger generation or in tech-hungry Asia.

For comparison's sake, I looked up some old-school portable movie cameras. Placing the form factors next to an iPhone, if you didn't know better you would not assume these devices had any functionality in common. Let's take a quick look at a few:

First off, as a reference point here's a non-portable studio camera. This is Charlie Chaplin's Bell & Howell 2709 camera, which Christie's auctioned off a few years ago:

Bell & Howell also released this Filmo Sportster model, which was vastly smaller, at least for the 1930s; it was reportedly popular among private eyes at the time, as they could hardly lug around the 2709.

Another surveillance model was this 16mm camera manufactured by a company called Keystone:

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Okay, we've got ID'ers on postage stamps. Next...assembly lines?

January 11, 2011, 7:51 am

≫ Next: Video showing Moleskine debossing process

≪ Previous: Pre-phone cameras were way more stylish

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I'm kinda divided on this one. Following the US Postal Service's announcement of their forthcoming classic industrial design stamp series, Assembly Magazine's Austin Weber is proposing a series dedicated to the assembly line.

The assembly line? Sure, they look cool in photographs and greatly contributed to American industrial prowess, military might, and at least one episode of I Love Lucy, but weren't human-powered assembly lines kind of inhuman and an unsavory means to an end?

In any case, Weber wrote an essay on assembly lines in a 2003 issue of Assembly commemorating their 90th anniversary, and he's pushing for the stamps for 2013, which would mark the assembly line centennial. If you agree with his proposal, you can get on board here.

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Video showing Moleskine debossing process

January 11, 2011, 7:59 am

≫ Next: Using Kinect, MIT Media Lab pulls off gesture-based web browsing, with more on the horizon

≪ Previous: Okay, we've got ID'ers on postage stamps. Next...assembly lines?

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Ever wonder how they deboss artwork onto the cover of those custom Moleskine notebooks? (Don't feel bad if you haven't ever wondered that, it just means you're a Philistine.) The answer is, a combination of CNC and good ol' human hands:

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Using Kinect, MIT Media Lab pulls off gesture-based web browsing, with more on the horizon

January 11, 2011, 8:08 am

≫ Next: Tonite! Real Live Rocket Science at the Curiosity Club

≪ Previous: Video showing Moleskine debossing process

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Whoa-ho! Depth JS, an open-source project run by a quartet of MIT Media Lab guys, has successfully connected Microsoft's Kinect motion-sensing technology with Javascript. What does this mean to you and I? It means actual gesture-based web browsing (and eventually, more):

DepthJS from Fluid Interfaces on Vimeo.

Nuts, no?

As the aforementioned quartet (Aaron Zinman, Doug Fritz, Greg Elliott, and Roy Shilkrot) explain, this is just an early first step and there's plenty more to come:

Navigating the web is only one application of the framework we built - that is, we envision all sorts of applications that run in the browser, from games to specific utilities for specific sites. The great part is that now web developers who specialize in Javascript can work with the Kinect without having to learn any special languages or code. We believe this will allow a new set of interactions beyond what we first developed.

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Tonite! Real Live Rocket Science at the Curiosity Club

January 11, 2011, 9:43 am

≫ Next: Predictable Magic - Download Your Free Digital Copy!

≪ Previous: Using Kinect, MIT Media Lab pulls off gesture-based web browsing, with more on the horizon

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Nathan Bergey: Mechanical Integrator
Building open source, open hardware rockets in Portland, Oregon.

Nathan Bergey is a volunteer rocket scientist for Portland State Aerospace Society (PSAS). PSAS is a student/community run aerospace engineering group that is building ultra-low-cost, open source rockets that feature the most sophisticated avionics systems of any similar group in the world. Recently they launched a successful test of their roll control system making them one step closer to full active guidance -- the holy grail of rocket design.

Nathan will talk about how he got to be rocket scientist and why it's so cool (hint: it's rocket science). He will show off some of the amazing rockets that PSAS has flown and talk about the challenges and unexpected problems that come up when trying to get something into space.

Nathan grew up in North Carolina and studied Astronomy and Physics at Appalachian State University. He moved to Portland in 2006 and has worked as a consultant until recently when he took time off to work on rockets and other side projects full time. He is a coder, scientist, space enthusiast, and problem solver.

Come on down tonight:

January 11th 6:00 PM

Hand-Eye Supply
23 NW 4th Ave
Portland, Oregon

and we'll be posting it here live too!

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Predictable Magic - Download Your Free Digital Copy!

January 11, 2011, 2:34 pm

≫ Next: MESH01 is Seeking a Creative Entrepreneur in Portsmouth, NH

≪ Previous: Tonite! Real Live Rocket Science at the Curiosity Club

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Attention Kindle owners! For a limited time you can download a free digital copy of Predictable Magic from authors Ravi Sawhney and Deepa Prahalad. Check out our recent review, and then check out a copy for yourself while this limited offer lasts until Jan 15. Thanks to our friends at RKS for the tip.

Download Predictable Magic.

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MESH01 is Seeking a Creative Entrepreneur in Portsmouth, NH

January 12, 2011, 5:30 am

≫ Next: UK Motorcycle company and design student collaboration is a Triumph of design

≪ Previous: Predictable Magic - Download Your Free Digital Copy!

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Position
MESH01
Portsmouth, New Hampshire

MESH01 seeks a highly motivated person who will be involved with the following:

Managing and further developing a crowdsourced design process and community while creating and delivering value to both designers and brands within the Sport Style Industry.

Creating an online culture that fosters the growth and engagement of a global design community.

Contributing and supporting social media efforts to build awareness, engage and communicate to a global community.

Contributing to further site development and user experience.

» view

The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.

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UK Motorcycle company and design student collaboration is a Triumph of design

January 12, 2011, 5:40 am

≫ Next: "Design Squad" co-host on the underrepresentation of women

≪ Previous: MESH01 is Seeking a Creative Entrepreneur in Portsmouth, NH

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I love the brake-handle corkscrew, the disc-rotor record player and clutch-lever cutlery. When UK-based Triumph Motorcycles recently collaborated with Birmingham Institute of Art and Design students, rather then asking them to design concepts for future bikes, they had students create lifestyle products using extant parts from their Bonneville T100 model.

To be able to go through the parts bins of a major manufacturer and build whatever you want is like a dumpster diver's dream come true. The results of the collaboration were pretty surprising, and you can check out the full spread over at Design Boom.

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"Design Squad" co-host on the underrepresentation of women

January 12, 2011, 7:15 am

≫ Next: CES 2011: ThinkEco's modlet

≪ Previous: UK Motorcycle company and design student collaboration is a Triumph of design

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Inventor's Digest has an interview up with Judy Lee, a mechanical engineer and industrial designer for IDEO who also happens to co-host PBS' "Design Squad Nation" program. In addition to following Lee's career arc, the interview touches on a point that organizations like Femme Den fight to bring to the forefront: Why are women underrepresented in engineering (and by extension, industrial design)?

Lee suggests toy design itself may play a role:

For my generation, I think it had something to do with the things we liked to do and were encouraged to do growing up. If you look at all the toys that were available, most of them are gender specific.

Toys for boys included fake tools like plastic hammers and drills that encouraged building skills, while toys for girls included kitchen sets and dolls that encouraged nurturing skills. They were typically identified in 'appropriate' colors, where pastels and shades of pink were girlie, and primary colors (blue, green and red) were for boys.

While this is a generalization, I think industry had a large role influencing parents subconsciously as to what was appropriate for their kids to play with. This is still true today. Why do toys even need to be gender appropriate? Kids learn best through playing. Playing is the perfect chance for kids to experience first-hand what is happening and to analyze the world around them.

Check out the full interview here.

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CES 2011: ThinkEco's modlet

January 12, 2011, 7:17 am

≫ Next: Nixon Trooper headphones: A volume control that's actually got some volume

≪ Previous: "Design Squad" co-host on the underrepresentation of women

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Sustainability was a key theme at CES this year. And, among the many eco-technovations on display, was the modlet, the modern electric outlet. Offered by ThinkEco, a NYC-based company that was founded in 2008 by a "team of concerned entrepreneurs," the modlet looks like a high-end, glossy, contemporary wall outlet. ThinkEco designed the inside circuitry of the modlet and worked with Spark Design in Connecticut for the industrial design. As David Kaiser, President of Spark explains, "In the case of the modlet, we wanted a design that broke away from the rectangular shape of a standard outlet. We wanted to develop a simple and friendly shape that wouldn't intimidate the user." The modlet certainly isn't intimidating--it not only looks friendly, but it seems to be user-friendly. It simply plugs into an existing wall outlet, and when an appliance is then plugged into it, the modlet wirelessly monitors and manages the power consumption of that appliance. Since many appliances continually draw power, even if no one is around to use them, the modlet can help to eliminate that wasteful use of power by intelligently scheduling outlets to automatically shut off power to plugged-in appliances when they aren't needed.

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Nixon Trooper headphones: A volume control that's actually got some volume

January 12, 2011, 7:30 am

≫ Next: You design the inside, OKW Enclosures will take care of the outside

≪ Previous: CES 2011: ThinkEco's modlet

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When I was a kid, the volume dial on my father's hi-fi looked like a schoolbus steering wheel to me. It was huge.

These days most of my audio listening is done on iPhone headphones while walking around NYC, which requires frequent volume adjustment: One block will have jackhammers going, another block will have someone stopping you to ask directions, a third block will have me scrabbling for the pause button while I try to determine if I just heard someone scream out a racial slur. My current headphone volume controls are tiny, like most, so I'm digging Nixon's Trooper headphones and their huge, chunky three-button interface that looks like you shouldn't drop it on your foot.

Incidentally, the Chicago Athenaeum has recently slapped the Troopers with a Good Design award. In addition to the fat volume thingy, they're collapsible, lightweight, feature silicone ear cushions, and the cord is removeable so you don't have to worry about straining the connection and possibly breaking it when it's stowed for travel.

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You design the inside, OKW Enclosures will take care of the outside

January 12, 2011, 9:40 am

≫ Next: CES 2011: Solar Components' JOOS Orange

≪ Previous: Nixon Trooper headphones: A volume control that's actually got some volume

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Part of the pleasure of being an industrial designer is getting to determine the exterior form of the object you're working on. But let's say you're designing an electronic gizmo--something like the scanner/signing board the UPS guy carries--and you're too consumed with the interface to deal with the form. Then what do you do?

What you do is go to an Enclosures Specialist company like OKW Enclosures, which has the proverbial shit-ton (European translation: "metric ton") of enclosures waiting for you to design guts for. As an example, check out their variety of ABS cases here. And they do more than handheld/arm-mounted--they've got desk-, wall-, rail-mounted enclosures and more.

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CES 2011: Solar Components' JOOS Orange

January 12, 2011, 11:23 am

≫ Next: CES 2011: Bluelounge Nest

≪ Previous: You design the inside, OKW Enclosures will take care of the outside

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Winning the Best of Innovations Award for CES in the Eco-Design and Sustainable Technology Category was JOOS Orange Personal Solar Charger. Designed to charge all personal electronic devices including cell phones, smart phones, GPS devices, etc., JOOS Orange Personal Solar Charger has a thin, rectangular shape and weighs about 1.5 pounds. It's also the only portable solar charger that will charge an iPad. Adjustable legs make it easy to point toward the sun and the durable, waterproof design ensures that it can withstand not only the hiking trail, but the line at the airport! As Warren Satler, CEO explains, the product was "designed by a village." It was initially envisioned as a technology product for emerging markets vs. the mainstream consumer market. As such, Solar Components focused primarily on the technology. As the product evolved, mechanical designer, Bruno Richet and electrical designer, David Blau knew it would be imperative to work with an industrial design team. They selected Mike & Maaike, the San Francisco-based, progressive industrial design studio led by Mike Simonian and Maaike Evers to add their expertise to the product design. Tom Crabtree of Manual San Francisco created the product name, designed the branding and the look and feel of JOOS Orange. That's one smart village.

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CES 2011: Bluelounge Nest

January 12, 2011, 11:27 am

≫ Next: Core77's "Sustainable Refrainables" Poster Design Competition Winners!

≪ Previous: CES 2011: Solar Components' JOOS Orange

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Among the plethora of more than 200 iLounge Pavillion exhibitors with their cases, holders, folders, doodads and tchotchkes for iPhones, iPads and iPods, a few beautiful, simple, well-designed products stood out. One of these was Nest, the latest product from Bluelounge, the innovative, Pasadena-based studio that envisions and produces products designed to simplify our lives. A clean, straightforward, colorful molded plastic dish with a rubber grip around the outside rim, the Nest is immediately appealing and obviously useful. It not only holds an iPad, but with a slide-out drawer that tucks away flush with the dish, it can serve as a resting place for a phone or business cards. And, even when not storing your technology, the tray itself can hold keys, change and secret messages.

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Core77's "Sustainable Refrainables" Poster Design Competition Winners!

January 12, 2011, 1:41 pm

≫ Next: CES 2011: House of Marley Audio

≪ Previous: CES 2011: Bluelounge Nest

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Congratulations to the "Sustainable Refrainables" Poster Design Competition winners as voted by the Core77 community. First place goes to a clever entry pictured above Reduce, Reuse. by framecio who wins a copy Adobe's CS5 and $500 cash--Nice!

Second place went to Buy. Bye. by Fabio Furlanis, Ivo Arzenton, and Francesca Lorenzon, third to Hey. Clean Up Your Mess by Laura Polkus, and fourth to There is no Plan(et) B by Lee Willett who each score a copy of Adobe's CS5.

The Jury choice will be announced live on stage at Compostmodern, January 22 & 23 in San Francisco. Thanks to everyone who participated, voted, commented and helped to make the challenge a success (we had over 400 entries), and a very special thanks to our sponsor Adobe for making the generous prize packs available. Check out all the entries here, and don't forget there's still time to get a video response in for our Powers of 10 competition.

See you in San Francisco!

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CES 2011: House of Marley Audio

January 12, 2011, 3:44 pm

≫ Next: FREE Day Starts...now!

≪ Previous: Core77's "Sustainable Refrainables" Poster Design Competition Winners!

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Audiophiles were all over the place at CES sampling and enjoying a wide range of new, high-end headphones and earbuds, many of which were endorsed or developed in collaboration with celebrities in the music, entertainment and luxury markets. With Ludacris, 50 Cent and Miles Davis-endorsed products in the ring, the line that seemed to stand out was from the House of Marley. The House of Marley's new line of eco-friendly earbuds, headphones and iPhone/iPod docks were developed to adhere to Bob Marley and the Marley family's values of equality, unity, sustainability and charity. As Elyse Kaye, Senior Product Manager from The House of Marley explains, "Materials for the products are sustainably sourced, and include FSC-certified wood, recyclable aluminums and plastics. Packaging is recycled or recyclable and a portion of each product sale goes to 1Love causes that focus on charities that benefit youth, planet and peace. Our hope is to create a movement, not just a product line." Check out the full video of our interview with Kaye below (and enjoy the music!).

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FREE Day Starts...now!

January 13, 2011, 7:15 am

≫ Next: Emily Pilloton @ Teague Academy

≪ Previous: CES 2011: House of Marley Audio

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Sparkfun is having their second annual FREE DAY starting just about...now. They're giving away $150K in merchandise on a first come-first serve basis so get your trigger finger ready. A quick customer survey and then shop till you drop starting at 10AM EST.

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Emily Pilloton @ Teague Academy

January 13, 2011, 7:33 am

≫ Next: ilVespaio: Turning factory trash into raw materials

≪ Previous: FREE Day Starts...now!

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Learning Landscape at Kutamba AIDS Orphans School, Uganda

Over the years we've been a huge fan of the work of Emily Pilloton and Project H Design. Emily will be giving a talk on Tuesday, January 26th with Teague Academy. Convinced of the power of design to change the world, at age 26 Pilloton founded Project H to help develop effective design solutions for people who need it most. Check out her debrief from the Design Revolution Road Show, our interview with Pilloton about her book, Design Revolution, and the TED Global talk from the summer of 2010 below!

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