Presso

2011-08-04
Presso coffee maker

Presso “is a manual espresso machine.
You simply fill the steel filter with the coffee, attach it to the Presso and pour boiling water into the cylinder at the top.
Then you lift the lever arms, place your coffee cup into position and lower the arms.
This action forces the water through the coffee at high pressure to deliver a perfect cafe into your cup.”.
(from ecoutlet.co.uk)

Dimensions (L x W x H): 23 x 14 x 31 cm
Weight: 2,3 Kg
Price: $150 (in USA), £80 (in UK)

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Categories : design, technology

Last Exit to Nowhere

2011-04-20
Weyland-Yutani Corp
Kobayashi T-Shirt
U.S.S. Sulaco T-Shirt

Last Exit to Nowhere “is a small collective of like-minded film enthusiasts, designers, illustrators, screenprinters and photographers. We collaborate to create unique T-shirts that pay homage to the most memorable places, companies and corporations in cinema history.”.

From the top:
Weyland-Yutani Corporation (Alien, 1979);
Kobayashi Porcelain (The Usual Suspects, 1995);
U.S.S. Sulaco (Aliens, 1986).

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Categories : design, movies

Twizy

2011-03-29
Renault Twizy Urban

Renault Twizy “delivers all the fundamentals associated with any car, namely four wheels, a steering wheel and pedals, plus an enveloping body for two occupants sitting in tandem.”.

“Customers will lease the battery. The monthly subscription is €45 inclusive of taxes.
The integrated battery charger can be plugged into any 220V (10A) household electrical supply.
The battery fully charges in three-and-a-half hours.”.

Renault Twizy Technic

Dimensions (L x W x H): 2,32 x 1,19 x 1,46 m
Numbers of seats: 2
Weight: 450 Kg
Power – Max speed: 7 Kw – 45 Km/h (Urban) / 15 Kw – 80 Km/h (Technic)
Autonomy: 100 Km
Standard equipment: driver airbag, front and rear seat belts, four disc brakes.
Price: from Eur 6990 (in Europe). Available from end of 2011.

Above: Twizy Urban. Below: Twizy Technic. See also: Twizy Lab Design.

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Categories : design, technology

The Dollar Redesign Project

2010-02-07
Twenty Dollars, by Dean Potter 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.

Bob Noorda

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.”.

Milan Subway sign
Bob Noorda “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)

Top, right: Milan metro sign, 1964.
Bottom, left: Bob Noorda (Amsterdam, 1927 – Milan, 2010), designer.

Jorg Gray 6500

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)

Jorg Gray 6500
Categories : design

Books At Home

2009-08-14
Dieter Rams 606 “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)

Books At Home: a blog about bookshelves by Erik Heywood.

Above: Vitsoe 606 (Dieter Rams, 1960), living room shelving.

Categories : design

Transistor radios

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)

Regency TR-1

Transistor radios: a set on Flickr, by Michael Jack.

Above: Regency TR-1 (1954): the world’s first commercially released transistor radio.

Categories : design

Feltron Eight

2009-05-18
Feltron 2008 Annual Report Nicholas Felton spends much of his time thinking about data, charts and our daily routines.

He is the author of several Personal Annual Reports that collate countless measurements into a rich assortment of graphs and maps reflecting the year’s activities.”.

Feltron 2009 Annual Report “He is the co-founder of Daytum.com, a site for counting and communicating daily data, and frequent designer of information graphics for numerous corporations and publications.”.

Top: The 2008 Report: Dining/Drinking, detail.
Bottom : The 2009 Report: Relationships/Activities, detail.

Polyvore

2008-12-07

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.”.

Mon Identitè

Right: Mon identité, by minaplume; based on Red 2007 by Oleg Dou.