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adidas Group is seeking an Accessories Designer in Herzogenaurach, Germany

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Accessories Designer
adidas Group

Herzogenaurach, Germany

adidas is seeking an Accessories Designer to design market-right accessories ranges (caps, bags, belts, etc.) for the adidas brand specifically focusing on the adidas by Stella McCartney range as part of an international design team in cooperation with marketing (product management) and development.

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Simple, Invisible and "Attractive" Drawer Locking System

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Here's a neat way to introduce a measure of security to drawers: The Covert universal lock, a project currently under development consideration at Quirky. It's a simple magnetic latch that you attach to the inside of the drawer. Touching the included magnetic key fob to the front surface of the drawer engages the magnet, allowing you to slide the unseen latch open and closed.

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OK Go's Latest Insane Video Goes "Sonic"

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We've shown you OK Go's videos before (here and here), but if you'ever never seen one, all we can say is that they make Rube Goldberg look lazy. Their latest spot, done for the Superbowl and featuring a music-making Chevy Sonic loaded up with retractable arms, absolutely takes the cake:

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The Design of the NYC Street Sweeper, and the Must-See "Street Cleaner Waltz"

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This morning a street sweeper truck stopped across the street from me. Inside the cab, the driver grabbed some papers that had fallen into the gap between the steering wheel and the front windshield. Then he got out of the cab and threw the papers—and a half-full coffee cup he was holding—into the street in front of his vehicle.

When the light turned green and he took off, he ran the papers and the coffee cup over and they disappeared. This may sound dumb, but I never realized modern street sweepers have a vacuuming component. The ones I remember from my youth, which is the last time I paid close attention to one, seemed to do nothing but move garbage around the street.

A closer look reveals it's not really a vacuum at all, but an equally effective mechanical contrivance. After doing some research, I learned NYC uses the Allianz 4000 Street Sweeper.

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Seen here without the purty NYC Department of Sanitation paint job

The Allianz 4000 is a purpose-built vehicle whose design is closely tied to its functions. First off, the overall size of the vehicle is relatively small, in order to navigate the tight corners of more narrow city streets.

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Secondly, the driver sits in a centered position inside a very narrow cab, to provide him with a panoramic view of the street and the curbs he's meant to hug. Parabolic mirrors on each side provide overhead views of the brushes.

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Tonight: Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club Returns With Trevor Blake, Author of Portland Memorials.

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Tonight, the Core77 welcomes Trevor Blake to the first Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club for 2012 hosted at the Hand-Eye Supply store in Portland, OR. Come early and check out our space or check in with us online for the live broadcast!

Trevor Blake: "The Sound of the Hammer Greets You on Every Side: Portland Memorials"

Tuesday, Feb. 7th
6PM PST
Hand-Eye Supply
23 NW 4th Ave
Portland, OR, 97209

Between 2009 and 2011 Trevor walked the length and breadth of downtown Portland. When he found a memorial, he transcribed what it said and where it was. Portland Memorials includes all the memorials in downtown Portland. Trevor entered this book into the public domain for the same reason Joseph Shemanski gave Portland the Shemanski Fountain: "to express in small measure gratitude for what the city has done for me." Trevor will discuss the book and the remarkable memorials he found while writing it.

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Trevor Blake was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and moved to Portland in 1992. He works as a freelance sign language interpreter. Besides 'Portland Memorials,' he is the publisher of OVO (1987 - present); author of 'The Buckminster Fuller Bibliography'; contributor to 'The Journal of Ride Theory Omnibus' (Portland, JORT 2003); 'In Extremis' (Athens, Survival Kit 1994); 'Pozdravi iz Babilona' (Ljubljana, KRT 1987); and the literature of the Church of the SubGenius.

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Disguising One Apple Design Icon as Another

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At first I thought these were just a Photoshopped gag, but nope, these are real and for sale. A company called Schreer Delights is selling a line of iPhone cases that reference Apple's design history, printing visual elements from the original Mac, the original iMac and the original iPod directly onto the case. Each runs a little under 50 bucks.

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It's kind of a weird commentary on what exactly is cool about retro styling; if you make your iPhone 4S look like a 3G, that's dumb; but make it look like the first iPod of ten years ago and that's cool.

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A Thermometer That Communicates Via Touch

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Robb Godshaw is an industrial design student at R.I.T., and he's come up with a strange and brilliant invention: The Cryoscope Haptic Weathervane, which is essentially a tactile temperature indicator. Touch it and you can feel what the temperature is outside.

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The Cryoscope is equipped with a heat sink, a thermoelectric-cooling Peltier element, and a cooling fan, all combined and operated by an Arduino controller that receives forecast data from a Web-based app, all neatly enclosed in an aluminium cube ready to be touched.
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A Clear Case for Smartphones

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Yesterday's Apple-themed iPhone cases were clearly a hit, but it would be a bit of a stretch to say that they're a huge step forward in case design. As a counterpoint, I was intrigued to see Andrea Ponti's "Aqualife," a 'one-size-fits-all' waterproof case "designed for all top smartphone models."

Water-resistant up to one meter deep and equipped with a clip-lock system. Its polycarbonate, see-through bottom allows you to take pictures and make videos under water. The clear silicone display window is designed for you to use all the touch functions under water and thanks to a valve you can plug in the waterproof earbuds included in the pack through the case directly into the device.

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If the design seems to suffer from the universal plight of universal cases—it's definitely on the big side at 25% taller than an iPhone and a full 40% wider—it's worth noting that the "Aqualife" also doubles as a wallet.

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Method is seeking a Project Manager in San Francisco, California

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Project Manager
Method

San Francisco, California

Method, the international design and innovation consultancy, is currently looking for project managers to join our Client Services team in San Francisco. The Project Manager coordinates all activities and resources involved in the execution of a client engagement. He or she will be the day-to-day liaison between Method's various internal disciplines and the client. The Project Manager is instrumental in ensuring that a project is completed on time, on budget and meets client/agency objectives.

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Accumulated Meaning: "Swept Away" at the Museum of Arts and Design

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Yesterday saw the opening of Swept Away: Dust, Ashes and Dirt in Contemporary Art and Design, the Museum of Arts and Design's latest exhibition in their ongoing examination of materials and process. As its title suggests, all of the works are composed of materials that are overlooked or otherwise ignored, if not eliminated altogether—unsavory scourges of sanitation that accrue over time, infinitesimal residues man-made and otherwise—dirt, dust, soot, ash, smoke and sand.

MAD-SweptAway-JamesCroak.jpgJames Croak - The Persistence of Modernism

The smallest units of detritus have been gathered, organized and ultimately mastered in some two dozen artworks on display on the fifth floor of the museum. Chief Curator David McFadden noted that he'd initially expected to include works by a scant half dozen artists—sculptor James Croak and Zhang Huan, both of whom are in the show, came to mind—though the list eventually ballooned to 50 candidates, half of which are included in the exhibition. Indeed, the scope of the exhibition is more diverse than it is homogenous, featuring works in two dimensions and three, from representational (Vik Muniz) to abstract (Jim Denevan), with varying degrees of conceptual content behind the disparate approaches to visual execution.

MAD-SweptAway-Glithero.jpgGlithero - Burn Burn Burn

The ineluctable meaning of particulate matter—that from which we come and to which we will return, in so many words—was especially prominent in a few ephemeral works that are presented as photo or video documentation par excellence. Fuses burn with fearlessly self-destructive determination and tides rise with unsentimental predictability, leaving unmistakable scars (Glithero's Burn Burn Burn, above) or effacing the work entirely (Andy Goldsworthy's Bones/Sand/Ball/Tide, below)

MAD-SweptAway-AndyGoldsworthy.jpgAndy Goldsworthy - Bones/Sand/Ball/Tide

MAD-SweptAway-CaiGuoQiang.jpgCai Guo-Qiang - Black Ceremony

Nevertheless, the works in the exhibition are predominantly representational—even Cai Guo-Qiang's Black Ceremony culminates with (spoiler alert) a puff of rainbow—and, in a couple cases, the artist is literally using dirt (or dust, ash, etc.) as a medium, i.e. for drawing or sculpture.

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Arkitypo: A 3D History of Typography

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London-based Johnson Banks is an identity and branding company that delves into print and even 3D work on occasion. Their latest 3D experiment resulted in Arkitypo, a 3D alphabet that tells the history of typography. "Each letterform is different, each in turn interprets its own alphabet." For example, "A" is for Aksidenz Grotesk, a forerunner of Helvetica. It was "part of a family of early sans-serifs called 'grotesques'...for this design a condensed weight is 'fractalized,' turning a grotesque into a thing of beauty."

Each letter is methodically researched and many of the resulting forms are quite beautiful. Take the "B," an uppercase Bodoni B spiraling out of the form of a Baskerville B like a snail shell. "Baskerville and Bodoni are usually judged as two separate typefaces, but Giambattista Bodoni modeled his famous font on John Baskerville's...The key difference is that the thicks and thins are in turn thicker, and thinner."

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World Design Capital Gets Some World Design Capital

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To celebrate Helsinki's selection as World Design Capital for 2012, the Mint of Finland has launched a commemorative 50-Euro coin made from both gold and silver, seen above. They're also releasing a 5-Euro version, below, made from less-expensive aluminum and bronze.

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Of course, the face value of the coin doesn't correspond with what it costs; collectors and design geeks will need to pony up 430 Euros for the 50 and 75 Euros for the 5. That's kind of a disheartening metaphor for the affordability of good design.

Longtime Core77 readers may remember that we wrote an entry years ago showing you how bimetallic coins are produced. The Helsinki coins shown here, the 1-Euro coin and the NYC subway token of decades past were all produced the same way. Check it out here.

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Cooper-Hewitt Brings Design to K-12

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If you counted design as one of the subjects you were taught at some point between kindergarten and your senior year of high school, consider yourself very lucky. Like most people, I didn't receive a design education until I got to college. But thanks to a generous sponsorship from Target, the Cooper-Hewitt is bringing hands-on design to NYC students in grades K-12.

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The program gets kids to think about design as an active part of their daily lives, to understand that design is all around them, that their shoes, their binders and their Metro cards have all been designed. There are design challenges tailor-made for each grade level, so while kindergartners are trying to figure out how to transport apples up a hill, 8th grades are working on how to keep a premature baby warm and safe in a rural village without electricity. These challenges aim to teach students how the design process is a creative method of problem solving that can be applied in almost any situation - a factor teachers are hoping will help with standardized testing.

If you're an educator, register your school.

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The Long Road from Terrorist Attack to Bombproof Trash Cans

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The nice thing about design school projects is that most are meant to be conceived of and completed within the same semester. In the absence of manufacturing problems and political issues, you're presented with a problem and expected to solve it with design in a matter of months.

In the real world, of course, the process of going from problem presentation to design solution can seem interminably long. After the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, cities like New York and London began removing trash cans from certain public spaces. In 2005 London suffered their own terrorist attack on July 7th. By 2007 two entrepreneurs named Kaveh Memari and Brian James designed and began testing a bombproof trash can; we first wrote it up in 2008, and it was scheduled to land on London streets, featuring internet-connected LCD screens that could warn Londoners of local emergencies, in 2009. That release date was then pushed back to 2010, with a target of 100 cans on London streets, but the release date came and went.

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IxDA Interaction12: Storytelling in the Emerald Isle

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ixda_story1.JPGTour Guide at the Leprechaun Museum

Storytelling is a concept that we are all familiar with, regardless of our background. As designers, it is often utilized as a tool during the design process. In Ireland it has been part of their culture for centuries. During Interaction12, IxDA organizers did a great job of incorporating Irish culture into the conference through different activities and performances at the venue. In between talks, I found myself attending an interactive storytelling experience called "Storytelling a la carte" with professional bard Coilín "The" Oh-Aissiex and Claire "Ambiencellist" Fitch. The audience was able to choose from a menu of stories, which consisted of options such as Ancient Irish Tales, Contemporary Irish Tales, and International Folktales. Each category had descriptions as if the audience was ordering off a menu at a restaurant. For example, under the category Ancient Irish Tales, one of the "Flavour" descriptions consisted of pity and magic, while another consisted of outrage and triumph. Audience members were asked to choose a category and a corresponding flavour of their choice from the menu for a unique tale accompanied by improvisational music.

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I had the opportunity to experience two stories before moving onto the next 45-minute block of talks. The Storytelling a la carte experience was a perfect segue into Tom O'Rahilly's talk titled "Identity and Imagination."

Tom O'Rahilly gave our readership some insight on storytelling from both a cultural and design perspective in our Interaction12 preview. O'Rahilly, Director of the Leprechaun Museum in Dublin, began his talk by sharing his experience as a product designer, realizing that people primarily wanted to experience their products. He then moved into a discussion on identity. People often think of identity as items that identify us in daily life, such as a social security card or driver's license. However, O'Rahilly addressed cultural identity. According to O'Rahilly, components of identity include location, perspective, play and people. In storytelling, key components are making sense of the unknown, engagement and experience. These components were taken into consideration during the design of the Leprechaun Museum.

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Reykjavik's Interactive City Center Map

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In 2009 Monocle took notice of Reykjavik's growing businesses and optimistic entrepreneurs, a hopeful sign that the city, and Iceland in general, might be on the brink of overcoming their 2008 economic collapse.

The start-ups here are not deterred by conditions and take inspiration from successful forebears, such as CCP Games, [whose]...executive producer Nathan Richardsson notes, 'This wave of innovation happening in Iceland is a result of the dire consequences of 2008, which provides a useful constraint on developing ideas to find the simplest, best solution.'

In stark contrast to the frothy days of high finance, these bright young leaders have helped create an entrepreneurial culture where banker bragging rights have been traded for humble lunches and transparent business. The view...is one of optimism.

No small part of Reykjavik's burgeoning economy is due to tourism, an industry the country continues to push with all its might. The latest evidence is an interactive city map, soon to be expanded into an online shop and a mobile app. Designed by Borgarmynd, the map lets you zoom in and out of a cheerful illustration of Reykjavik's streets, with a special focus on restaurants, bars, shops and cultural sites. The business descriptions are pretty cute. According to the map, Faktory is where, "You fell in love 7 times a live concert, made 30 new friends, danced to a DJ set and crashed a private party. The suns up now. Just another night at the famous Faktory, the hottest partyplace (their spelling, not mine) in 101."

The map is still a bit beta, but for the most part it's pretty user-friendly and, I imagine, actually helpful if I were traveling to Reykjavik, which I really, really wish I was.

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Muji's Upcoming Product Fitness 80 Exhibition in London

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Londoners with a taste for minimalist design are in for a treat: A Muji exhibition revealing archives of their work, prototypes and some of their not-for-sale-in-Europe objects, opens March 9th at London's Design Museum. The somewhat baffling exhibition title, Product Fitness 80, makes sense when you read Muji's latest philosophical musings:

The products in the exhibition all address the question, what would happen if we used 20% less materials and energy in the actual process of making products? And in terms of the final object, what is then the role of the user in customising, re-using and recycling products in order to reduce energy consumption?

On the one year anniversary of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, Muji presents a display at the Design Museum that reconsiders the way we look at what makes good product design. The natural disaster and the ongoing concern about damaged power plants in Japan, has prompted Muji to rethink the way in which design impacts on the way we use energy.

March 8th will see what looks to be a kick-ass kickoff featuring Naoto Fukasawa, Konstanin Grcic and Sam Hecht discussing "craftsmanship, quality and efficiency of materials and energy." Alas, the darn thing is already sold out.

The show will run through March 18th, and admission is free for whomever shows up with a Muji receipt.

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The 88 is seeking a Graphic Designer in New York, New York

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Graphic Designer
The 88

New York, New York

The 88 is a digital agency offering creative services, social media management and content creation. Located in SoHo, they are seekign a full-time art director/designer to support their work for a variety of high-end clients.

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American Design in Paris 2012, Triode Gallery

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Triode_Adelman_Luminaire.JPGReporting and Images by Marc Thorpe. (Above) Lindsey Adelman, Agnes Chandelier

For the third year running, Parisian design showroom Triode hosted American Design in Paris exhibition to coincide with the Winter Maison & Objet tradeshow. The annual exhibition has become a showcase for American design talent with previous exhibitions showing one-off and production pieces from the likes of Harry Allen, Paul Loebach, Matilde Alessandra and Moorhead & Moorhead. This year's show was a special collaboration with Roll & Hill and MatterMade. The roster of American designers included those who have previously showed at Triode as well as designers who were showing for the first time in Paris.

"The American Design in Paris exhibit at the Triode Design gallery was a beautiful collection of designers from New York City," explained Marc Thorpe who presented a new luminaire, "Pourquoi Pas," for the exhibition. "I was honored to be a part of the exhibition. In the future, I'd hope to see a larger exhibition of designers represented from across the United States. Merci!"

Triode_MarcThorpe_Luminaire.JPGMarc Thorpe, Pourquoi Pas

American Design in Paris
Triode Gallery
28 rue Jacob, Paris
Through 16 March 2012

Works By:
Lindsey Adelman
Bec Britain
Cmmnwlth
Joe Doucet
Fort Standard
Kleinreid
Jason Miller
John Pomp
Jonah Takagi
Marc Thorpe
Um Project
David Weeks

Triode_Group.JPGJoe Doucet, Marc Thorpe, Claire Pijoulat (Wanted Design) Odile Hainaut (Wanted Design), Jerry Helling (Bernhardt Design), Richard Hinzel

Triode_1-2.JPGDavid Weeks Shell tableware on Jeff Miller tables

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Ikea's New Solar-and-Wind-Powered Lamp

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The name of Ikea's new SOLVINDEN lamp translates from Swedish as "Sun Wind," as those are the two things that power it. The cordless LED lamp is charged by a combination of the lampshade, which rotates in a breeze, and the sun's rays hitting the solar panel on top. The solar panel also contains a sensor that apparently swiches the lights on when it's dark outside. (There's also an on/off switch.)

What we're not sure of is how the $30 SOLVINDEN is meant to be used, as the stalk on the floor-standing model seems a bit flimsy for permanent outdoor use. With no power cables it's conceivable you could move the lamp from indoors to out each day for a charging session, though that's obviously not practical in cities and certain climes. And though it's tough to tell from the video, the light produced by the lamp appears quite wan.

Still, I'm thankful a global retail giant like Ikea is promoting alternative power, and I think the lamp is an important "1.0" to get mass-market consumers and designers used to the idea. I'm looking forward to both hearing early-adopter feedback and seeing how Ikea incorporates that into future versions.

Hit the jump for the lamp's stats.

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