2010-02-07
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“My design features: a vertical orientation, because it’s how I handle money; American artists, we’re a culture, not just a government;
corresponding geographical scenes; and a complementary color scheme, with bold, high-contrast numbers.”.
(Dean Potter) |
The Dollar ReDe$ign Project: “It’s time to rebrand the buck.”. By Richard Smith.
2010-01-15
“The history of the Milan subway signs was very interesting, because the subway was completely new.
Usually the architect designed the furnishings and then say, “now you have to put the signals”.
Instead we created a new system, the famous red band on the M1 line , for the signals.
Before then, the station’s name appeared only once in the middle of the quay.
I proposed to repeat the name every five meters so that, with the train still in motion, one could immediately see it.
This was a world first.”. |
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“I believe that my work is always a work of communication.
Communication means that I have to do a service to another, to be able to make readable a text, and to make understand enough.
That’s not to say that it is boring and you can’t do anything.
No, there are many possibilities.”.
(interview for Rai Educational, 2002)
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Top, right: Milan metro sign, 1964.
Bottom, left: Bob Noorda (Amsterdam, 1927 – Milan, 2010), designer.
2009-10-26
The Jorg Gray 6500 Chronograph “is the main watch that President Barack Obama wears, and has worn since before he was elected President of the US.
Obama received the watch for his 46th birthday by the Secret Service in August of 2007.
He’s been seen countless times wearing the watch, while in public, conducting state business, and during his personal time.”.
(Ariel Adams)
Miyota OS-20 quartz movement
diameter: 41 mm
height: 13,5 mm
stainless steel, mineral crystal, leather strap
price: 325$ (in USA)
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2009-08-14
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“The Dieter Rams 606 Universal Shelving System is an incredibly beautiful bit of design thinking.
When it was introduced it must must have looked shockingly clean and industrial.
The main idea wasn’t so new; but Rams’ shelving was like a pure idea of storage come to life. It still is.
It’s difficult to imagine a system more stripped to its essence.”.
(Erik Heywood)
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Books At Home: a blog about bookshelves by Erik Heywood.
Above: Vitsoe 606 (Dieter Rams, 1960), living room shelving.
2009-08-11
“…America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest.
A coke is a coke and no amount of money can get you a better coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking.
All the cokes are the same and all the cokes are good.”.
(Andy Warhol)
“…I guess the same could be said of transistor radios. They were as ubiquitous as soft drinks, items of pop culture.
Technology was going to make life easier and the newly invented transistor was on the leading edge of that brave new world.”.
(Michael Jack) |
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Transistor radios: a set on Flickr, by Michael Jack.
Above: Regency TR-1 (1954): the world’s first commercially released transistor radio.
2009-05-18
Top: The 2008 Report: Dining/Drinking, detail.
Bottom : The 2009 Report: Relationships/Activities, detail.
2008-12-07
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“Polyvore is a web-based application for mixing and matching images from anywhere on the web, to create outfits, interior designs, or any kind of collage.”.
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Right: Mon identité, by minaplume; based on Red 2007 by Oleg Dou.
2008-11-06
Above: Demekin camera, detail.
*Text in Japanese; requires Flash Player
2008-10-23
“Sanjhih is a small town on the north coast of Taiwan, near Taipei.
In late 70′s, a keeper of a rubber company worked out the prototype of the UFO house using his own factory.
However, the company closed down in the energy crisis in 1980.
In 1989, a development company bought the unfinished UFO houses. They planned to make it a five stars resort hotel. Almost a year after, they decided to shutdown.
Then the buildings was abandoned until now.”. |
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The abandoned future: Sanjhih. A set on Flickr.
Above: a detail from the cypherone@Taiwan’s photostream.
Work released under a Creative Commons license.
Requires Flash Player
2008-09-30
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“In the 60′s I became very much interested in grid systems and digital systems. In 1965 I saw the first digital typesetters, and the result was horrible. Then I came to the idea to make another system of alphabet.
I called it the New Alphabet.
This is a six point Garamond from the digitized period.
If you have it twice as big the basic idea is still there, but the whole shape changes, and this is what I couldn’t stand for.
So I did “Let me do a typeface with only 90 angles and 45 roundings”.
I published it, and I said “This is a theory. This is the way of thinking, and typeface designers should design along this line of thinking”.
It made me travel all around the world to give lectures on it.”.
(Wim Crouwel) |
Wim Crouwel: Proposal for a New Alphabet. From Helvetica (2007), by Gary Hustwit.
Above : New Alphabet font, by Matt McInerney, sample.
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