The Design Weblog

Retirement: Where's the engraved watch?

Brad Hill — 2006-08-15T11:08:00+00:00

If all good things come to an end, then the time is at hand for our Design blog. but retirement is a surprisingly robust condition in the blogosphere, and this blog will remain in place for reference and searching. Many thanks to Jan Kabili and Darren Chan for their contributions here. both are remaining in the Weblogs, Inc. network, so look for their names in our other blogs. (Jan is already writing for TUAW -- The Unofficial Apple Weblog.)

Thanks to everyone who visited!

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Photo-realistic Illustrator drawings of people

Darren Chan — 2006-08-09T10:47:00+00:00

Looks like I'm a day too late in sharing this site with you all given the number of track backs I see, have no idea how I missed it on BoingBoing. You may have seen the technical Illustrator pieces in the past such as Hulsey's work but I never ever fathomed creating photo-realistic images of people! Take a look for yourself and check out the mind blowing work done by the Illustrator artists. From afar you can't tell the difference, it's only when you look up close and see the various shapes they used to create the different body parts, only then are you able to discern the difference (hard borders between the different shapes). For example, check out the Jolie piece done by Forrest. The eyes, nose and lips are near perfect, the only way you can tell it's a drawing is the jawline and the ear... really amazing stuff.

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Water diary by Song Dong

Darren Chan — 2006-08-08T15:02:00+00:00

Coming from the same issue of ARTiT I mentioned below is an artist who's work is the opposite of Cai's gunpowder explosions (noticed it in my notes as I was reading about Cai). While Cai's gunpowder explosions are chaotic and leaves a permanent mark, Song Dong's water diary is subdued and disappears over time. The story of how his father made him practice his calligraphy in this manner (they were too poor to afford paper and ink) also lends a bit of credibility to this work (though i don't really care, the idea and photographs are so cool), so art can be accidental!

in another performance piece of his, he stamps the water repeatedly with a water block, perhaps the scientists mentioned in this Engadget entry (about writing on water) and Song Dong should talk. The scientists could in theory broadcast his work to other parts of the world, or increase the scale of it for more people to enjoy during a performance. Nice mixture of man and machine...

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Cai Guo Qiang the art of explosions and more...

Darren Chan — 2006-08-08T14:32:00+00:00

I initially came across Cai Guo Qiang's work earlier in the year in ARTiT, a Japanese / English magazine covering contemporary art hailing from Asia. Flipping through the pages of the magazine I was immediately drawn to his gunpowder pieces. I'm not usually drawn to abstract work, but in this case there's readable structure beneath the chaos caused by the controlled explosions. The well schooled Cai is also very prolific when it comes to his installation and performance pieces and though we won't get to see any of his gunpowder pieces at the MET (he had a solo exhibition in 2003 at the Asia Society and Museum) there will be plenty of other great pieces on view. The exhibition will be on display until October 29, 2006 and try being there at noon when the Clear Sky Black Cloud piece will be on view.

But back to the gunpowder, Art:21 has a video of him in the middle of producing one of his gunpowder pieces. Politically charged, he had this to say about his usage of gunpowder, "there are countries where you have trouble finding oil paint, but I have always been able to find gunpowder wherever I went."

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Reuters' freelance photographer, big on interpretation

Darren Chan — 2006-08-08T11:30:00+00:00

Looks like freelance photographer Adnan Hajj will have to find another career after being outed by observant bloggers. In a stunning revelation, bloggers have cited a number of examples where Hajj has not only doctored photos but staged them. When questioned, Hajj defended himself by stating that journalism photography is art and it's up to him to interpret the events that unfold before him. That includes staging photographs and going as far as to doctor them in Photoshop. Kidding... the excuse he used was that he was working under low light conditions while removing dust marks. He's pretty amazing, maybe this should go under the Photoshop blog given that he was able to almost perfectly clone a building and smoke in low light conditions. I guess the monitor he ws using was running on low juice.

10, 20 years ago, people would say photos never lie. Today that statement doesn't hold, but I thought at the very least news photographs would be free of such manipulation. What a sad turn of events, and Hajj isn't the only one to blame, those photo editors should be given their walking papers too. There's plenty of discussion regarding this event in the blogosphere including other examples of Hajj's less than credible photography.

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300, the making of

Darren Chan — 2006-08-04T12:47:00+00:00

Freed from the obligations of other films in this genre, the main concern director Zack Snyder had to worry about was doing visual justice to the source material, Frank Miller's graphic novel. Adapting Miller's stylistic 300 into a breathing and in this film's case, bleeding affair involved a technique called Key Frame Art. I don't believe this technique was employed in Sin City, though that film involved a host of other digital techniques that would fill up an entry all on its own.

On the 300 production blog, Grant Freckelton posted a few images and wrote about about his involvement but really doesn't dwelve into the nitty gritty of the techniques in producing those shots. It's been quiet lately on that blog now that everyone is busy with post-production work but the few posts they do have up is very interesting. Take some time and enjoy the videos and most of all, check out the transformation images in the post linked below.

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Eames Film Festival

Darren Chan — 2006-08-04T11:14:00+00:00

Received an email this morning from Design Within Reach detailing the upcoming Eames Film Festival. You may recall an earlier post on the Powers of Ten video which happens to be only one of the many short films the couple produced in their prolific career. In addition to the films, the grandson of the Eames or the executive director of the foundation will be giving a presentation. Surprisingly, the festival won't be hitting New York City. This makes me want to pick up the DVD collection of their films, The Films of Charles & Ray Eames. Only thing stopping me is that I heard that it's incomplete.

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BusinessWeek's 100 Top Brands

Darren Chan — 2006-07-29T12:05:00+00:00

I've had several BusinessWeek articles sitting in my browser this past week that I wanted to share. Figured I should just consolidate them into one post, headlined by their recently released report on the 100 Top Brands of 2006. Several things that jumped out at me was the large gap between the sector leaders and the other companies occupying the same space. For those that watch Cramer (though he's lost some luster recently), he calls these companies "Best of Breed".

My opinions are all based on what I see from my little bubble in America so it doesn't factor in what else is going on in the world unless it's in my face in the forums I frequent. In the last few years Pepsi has made some inroads agains Coca-Cola and currently analyst opinions of Pepsi are much more favorable than Coca-Cola. Yet 21 spots still separates the two.

I love IBM, but I don't know how they are still up there, and am projecting that they will fall next year. I'm surprised they've managed to hold on to the top three position this year. Selling their ThinkPad line to Lenovo was brilliant, but that's one less physical object that can reinforce the brand in the consumer's mind. Their consulting services still seems to be finding their way and unless they can settle on a path, they will continue their wandering. Not so good for keeping customers or reinforcing / building a brand.

Onto Nokia and Motorola. An amazing 63 spots separates the two, yet in American I see far more Motorola phones in the hands of my friends and acquaintances than Nokia. The last few phones that caught like wild fire has been Motorola models.

Fourty spots separates Nike and adidas. Surprised adidas hasn't moved this year given its overwhelming support of the World Cup. I guess the Reebok brand will continue, but if adidas were to somehow absorb Reebok's brand in addition to its business, I'm pretty sure adidas will move up many spots. Especially in the minds of all football fans (the American version).

74 spots separates Samsung and LG. I hear LG is big in places like India and while I have no Samsung appliances, I do have an LG. Both companies are really putting it to the Japanese brands. Sony is far ahead of Panasonic, but whereas I see Sony's brand going down (especially if they are really relying on the PS3), Panasonic's products are fantastic, they just don't sell themselves well enough. Plenty of room to grow for Panasonic and LG. And as for Samsung, I expect them to stay up top for a while more.

HSBC at 28, what a great flexible logo and terrific campaigns can do for you. It only moved up one spot, but it got the gears turning.

Surprised that tobacco products and alcohol are still highly ranked given the increased regulation in America. I guess the global and emerging markets are doing their part in bolstering these brands.

Your thoughts? And before I go, two interesting articles from BusinessWeek here, one on Ikea (are American's taste so conservative) and the other on Mattel.

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HGTV Design Star reality series

Darren Chan — 2006-07-28T16:05:00+00:00

In case you missed the first episode in this new reality series from HGTV, it'll be reairing Saturday at 6pm. I totally missed the boat on this one and I wish I could join you viewers in catching it for the first time (if you haven't seen it already) but I won't be in front of a TV. The Design Star site has plenty of information on the contestants and the judges but if you are pressed for time, check out Holly Becker's take on the contestants at Decor8. Glad to see so many architects, I just hope they aren't pretentious snobs. Other than that, I guess I'll be supporting the Jersey designer.

Looks like Bravo is launching a similar show, Top Designer, now in casting. Finally some reality shows I really want to watch.

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Guggenheim: Zaha Hadid

Darren Chan — 2006-07-25T07:22:00+00:00

A few weeks ago in the midst of World Cup fever, some old studiomates and I made our way to the Guggenheim to check out Hadid's exhibition. I was a fan of Hadid ever since her intentions for BMW's Leipzig plant was unveiled, my old roommate wasn't (complained about the lack of spacial qualities in her drawings) and the last guy was indifferent. As we made our way up Mr. Wright's spiral ramp (I think an entry on the new Mercedes-Benz Museum would fit in nicely after this entry), we came to the realization that her work was incredibly abstract, a bit too abstract for my tastes. Digressing a bit here, but Design Observer has an interesting entry about the signage at the Guggenheim.

In fact I thought the first five levels was a complete waste of space and time. Things didn't really catch my eye until we reach the sixth level where giant paintings were hung on the wall reminding me of the earlier 3D / Illustrator styled renderings that was all the desktop wallpaper rage a few years ago. Making our way to the top where drawings and models of her buildings were displayed we came to the collective realization that Hadid's work was similar to Calatrava's but lacking the awe evoking sculptural qualities (say that five times fast).

In regards to the Leipzig plant, I'm a fan of all the various program elements mixed together, at first I wished the assembly line snaking its way over the office spaces, and cafeteria was more functional (welding robots?) before realizing how annoying that would be for the human neighbors below.

Usually we find that the built structures never achieve the image or 'experience' communicated by the renderings, plans, other drawings and models . But in this rare case we wanted to toast her CD crew or the contractors themselves for being able to grasp what Hadid wanted and execute even with her less than stellar drawings.

For those in the area or willing to make the trip, the exhibition runs until October 25th.

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Halo 3 boxart, by the fans

Darren Chan — 2006-07-24T08:48:00+00:00

This is for the gamers reading. Everytime I pick up a controller or mouse in a feeble attempt at a first person shooter, my virtual doppelgänger takes a beating. But that doesn't stop me from admiring games like Counter-Strike or Halo. Though Halo 3's release is still far away, the legion of fans haven't been sitting around quietly. Halo Planet hosted a box cover contest and the winners have been announced. Pretty impressive what the fans have done with stock art. While the pre-order box art by Microsoft is a nice extension of Halo 2's cover art with the fiery skies in the background and reflecting off the visor (just a bit more intense), I liked Simon Mumby and Jeffrey MIchael's take.

Mumby's cover art employs a cooler background similar to the original Halo box cover art and though not as intense as the fiery skies in Halo 2, it provides a good bookend to the series. Tie that in with Michael's take for the special edition and MIcrosoft is set and ready for distribution. And as for the entries from the kids? Who says video games depresses their imagination? Check them all out here, I just realized the artists/designers who work on DVD or video game covers don't get much recognition. What was the last piece of news you ever read about a box cover art design (other than complaints of it being too violent, etc.).

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Behind bars, the M&M artist

Darren Chan — 2006-07-23T15:32:00+00:00

On Friday a coworker dropped the front page of the NY Times on my desk and told me to check out the following article, In Prison for Life, He Turns M&M's Into an Art Form (weblogsinc / readon). Drawing comparisons with van Gogh and Pollack, the van Gogh comparison by the gallery owner no less, Donny Johnson's work may draw more of a crowd for his ingenuity in procuring artists supplies than for the actual work.

That's not to say his work is anything to be looked down upon, they are abstract but teeming with emotion according to those that have studied them in person. For me, the draw is in his story, his paint brush is cobbled together using plastic wrap, foil and his own hair, his pigments for the most part comes from M&M's though he's experiemented with Skittles, Kool-Aid, coffee and anything else he can get his hands on from the prison commissary. Read on about one incarcerated man's self administered therapy.

Update: Pelican Bay painter disciplined for running prison business, this is ridiculous, the man isn't getting a cent of the proceeds (goes towards a fund for the family of inmates) and he's getting disciplined.

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Honda F1 "View Suspended" by Paul Veroude

Darren Chan — 2006-07-20T10:59:00+00:00

Honda's View Suspended exhibit puts the Eames Chair exhibit to shame. To shame! But I'd still like to have one of each please. Created by Dutch artist Paul Veroude, the 3,200 parts that make up this particular Honda F1 car is suspended in a physical exploded technical diagram. What more can I possibly say?

On one end, it reminds me of my childhood days, pulling images of the LEGO diagrams found in the instruction booklets out of the recesses of your memory banks. On the other hand it brings me back to the Matrix days, just imagine walking onto a set in the middle of an F1 race, the car crashes and explodes into million (or in this case 3,200) parts. The action freezes allowing you to walk in and out of the debris examining all the small magnificent parts that make up these breathtaking machines. It's a gear head's wet dream come true. Makes the Turbo Wall Art look so... 2 dimensional (humor me guys).Looking through the comments over at Autoblog, it looks as though other artists have executed similar projects in the past and this isn't Veroude's first exploded piece either.

First up is Damián Ortega's Cosmic Thing, an exploded view of a 1983 Volkswagen Beetle. I didn't get to visit the MOCA while I was in LA, but if I had known this was in their permanent collection beforehand I would have forced it into my schedule. Sad.

Second is Paul Veroude's previous work, a 1987 Toyota Starlet which happens to be even more complicated than the Honda F1 piece. At 4161 pieces I believe it states that it took him 23 hours and 56 minutes to dismantle it, though I can't be sure since I don't read Dutch.

I hope this exhibit makes its way to American shores sometime in the future.

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World Cup wrap up, what if? 11 Designer(s) take a shot at the World Cup logo

Darren Chan — 2006-07-20T08:07:00+00:00

Barring the apparent use of a translation engine (the English portion of the website is barely readable), 11 Designer for Germany is a very good attempt at saving face in regards to the atrocious design by committee World Cup logo that somehow emerged. Covered previously here and again here when Spiekermann voiced his opinion about it. Sadly many of them are indeed better than the official logo, such a shame that none of them got to represent Germany's World Cup. Below are my quick takes on the 11 designs, feel free to disagree.

I can't believe this was passed off as a design, perhaps something is missing in the translation, they were trying to go for something deep and totally missed the target. Concept plays a large role, but so does execution.
Whimsical, it has a terrific human feel to it, not as sterile as most contemporary designs.
The elements aren't cohesive enough. As an image it works because everyone can see the 'photograph' that was used as a base, but the three elements are still too disjointed and too busy as a real logo. For a poster it may work, but not as a logo. The usage of 2006 as a ball moving through the air is great, wish there was a way to make just that portion the logo. See #5.
Doesn't work as a logo, interesting concept, ahead of its time. Appreciated by designers and artists but probably not for the general public.
Would have been a winner if the first square (black) could have been made into a 2. Or is there some deeper meaning behind the two or three rectangles? It gets a bit confusing when you think about it. Are they using the three rectangles for Germany's colors and then attaching a 6 to the end of it? Or is it two rectangles and then an '06. Doesn't work when you mix two different meanings like that. I guess they didn't do their research on Adidas' new ball, going forward that hexagon may not be very relevant anymore.
This could be a logo for anything.
Not bad, not many designers dare use photographs in a logo design. But with the focus on green energy, this would have been very relevant to our time. Would have been more interested in seeing a designed texture that would have been more scalable.
Not bad, it's hard to see a coherent theme at first, but there is a slight connection and the logo or branding in this case is very malleable.
Probably my second favorite because it's traditional with a slight modern touch, takes a page out of the Olympics and it's packed with action. Would have LOVED to see this as the official World Cup branding. It doesn't fill the criteria of what the organisers were looking for but perhaps they were asking for too much. They should have distilled the criteria since it was obvious many of the designers were unable to do that.
A nice Illustrator drawing does not mean it's fit to be a logo. And the concept behind it, a heart and a soccer ball? COME ON...
This is my favorite of the bunch and though it speaks well to the various countries participating it might be too out there for the conservatives in the world. Very creative use of typography (though I've seen it done before) and the concept behind it is very relevant.

And so those are my quick thoughts... now yours? Oh and I didn't touch on this, but the site also has information on the various designers and design teams involved.

Update: Link added here, sorry about that, CMS is giving me fits.

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Optigami folding glasses by RKS Design

Darren Chan — 2006-07-18T15:09:00+00:00

One day in the middle of wrestling season a former teammate came back to visit. He had joined the army and proceeded to show one of the coaches his army issued glasses (apparently they are called BCGs though they seem popular now with artists / designers and of course Drew Carey). He claimed that they were resistant to breakage, a poor statement at the time since my coach proceeded to crush them in his hand.

Anyway, I thought of those glasses immediately when I came across the Optigami by RKS Design. I don't think they are in production and the style will take some getting used to. Though the thick sides have functionality behind them, they still look a bit heavy especially with the clear lense frames. Pretty nifty though that the sides provide protection for the lenses when folded up.

Not sure how much usage this feature will get. I think the only time people will take off their glasses is when they are about to head to bed and on a night stand I doubt glasses need much protection from the elements. In addition, if you did need protection does the case really add that much volume? Regardless this is a pretty nifty idea and I'd like to see a few more iterations and progression. They may have stumbled on something useful for sunglasses, people almost never carry the case around and in addition to scratches, smudges are a total pain.

[via Coolest-Gadgets]

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WK12's elegant Fail Harder pushpin mural

Darren Chan — 2006-07-17T08:30:00+00:00

Harking back to a previous post focusing on creative uses for regular office supplies, Wieden + Kennedy 12 used over 100,000 clear push pins over the span of 351 hours to create this elegant wall mural. The font choice lends a classy look to the otherwise mundane material, from afar it even takes on the reflective/glittering properties of more expensive materials such as crystals. I don't have the guts to do this at home, but maybe if I had a temporary wall constructed? There's a slow loading video of their process on their site if you have the time to spare.

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LEGO + Videogames = mucho kudos

Darren Chan — 2006-07-04T11:33:00+00:00

The wonders of LEGO, seems like they are indeed the building blocks for creativity. An infinite number of ways to express yourself with these wonderful colored bricks, now tie that back to another childhood favorite, 8-bit games (except one) and you get double the pleasure. Created by LA-based, Skinny Coder, it doesn't look like he's been getting much coverage yet. Guess we are all waiting for him to throw some more pieces up. Anyhow, things to appreciate? The OSD's on Duck Hunt and Metal Gear! Nice touches! [credit: Duan]

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Red Bull's Art of the Can

Darren Chan — 2006-06-30T14:27:00+00:00

While our buddies over at Joystiq are covering Canstruction, an event we covered during it's NYC leg back in November, we are moving on to another can based artistic endeavor. Though Red Bull's Art of the Can contest is not as socially responsible as Canstruction, it offers a significant prize to the winners, a trip to Art Basel in Miami. So get your cutters out and becareful not to cut yourself. Register now and in a few months be prepared to unveil your masterpiece in Atlanta, Minneapolis or Dallas. Viewing the pieces from the Boston show last year, looks like you have your work cut out. Some mighty impressive pieces.

Wonder if some crazy trader will be willing to pay top dollar for that bull. And while we are on bulls, I love their F1 cars.

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The Eames Lounge Chair: An Icon of Modern Design

Darren Chan — 2006-06-27T15:48:00+00:00

Browsing through the paper yesterday, I saw a still from the new Adam Sandler movie, Click and thought to myself, those arms on the chair look familiar. So I hopped onto Adam Sandler's website and wouldn't you know it, that's an Eames chair he's sitting on! Wondering what the hell I'm blabbering about? Check out these two shots, one and two. Even Mr. Sandler can't tarnish the regal image of the chair. Yes I do believe it's more fitting than a throne for today's royalty.

Call me a fanboy but I'm absolutely enthralled with the Eames Lounge Chair. I'm not as crazy as some, but I'm getting there. This year marks its 50th anniversary and to celebrate, a wonderful (but in my eyes incomplete) book has been published titled, The Eames Lounge Chair: An Icon of Modern Design. Though it offers plenty of insight into the cultural, social and historical influences of the chair, it is also missing a lot of information that is currently being presented at the Museum of Art and Design. So should you happen to be in NYC prior to September 3rd, I suggest stopping by and oggling the brilliant installation displayed in the photo, watch two informative videos (a PR piece from the 50s and a more contemporary piece on its fabrication) and check out where the chair has popped up in throughout the last 50 years. The Nature Transformed wood exhibition is also interesting and well worth the time. And if you are going to be in the area anyway, why not make it a full day affair and spend some time at the MoMA?

Last but not least, Shelly and Mary Klein of k studio created this great looking fabric/pattern in the process of whipping up this ridiculously awesome variant of the Eames lounge chair for this year's ICFF. I wonder if they have some nice desktop wallpaper shots of that chair.

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Cyclepod, UK's Young Entrepreneurs of the Year Award

Darren Chan — 2006-06-25T12:06:00+00:00

For all the complaints I've issued in the past, I have to admit that the mass transit systems in New York City are very capable. But on a nice day, I would prefer to ride my bike to work than deal with the wait and the crowds during my commute. The only thing stopping me has been the fact that my office building does not allow bikes into the building. There's no way I'm leaving my bike out for the thieves and mother nature. That may soon change, heard there was litigation making its rounds forcing all office buildings to allow bikes into them.

In the meantime, I wouldn't mind locking up my bike in one of these cyclepods. Designed by James Steward and Natalie Connell, their Cyclepod has made them this year's UK's Young Entrepreneurs Of The Year. Already in use in London, the cyclepods take up less room than regular bike racks, provide more security and above all, provides shelter to the bikes. I'm sure thiefs will still be able to tear a bike away, but I may be more willing to leave my bike outside on this cyclepod than a regular bike rack should one magically appear in midtown.

Though it looks great and is extremely functional, I'm still bothered by the fact that it looks like a lamp. And unlike regular bike racks, this thing looks massive, especially it's base. I wonder if the filler between the tracks are needed. Having a flat roof tilted down to one side may also reduce it's heft and lower the amount of materials employed in constructing this thing. All in all, a great design and one I would love to see in my neck of the woods/buildings.

[via Cool Hunting]

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