JetBlue is already one of the coolest airlines to experience with great service, prices, DirecTV in every seat, some yummy snacks, their shut-eye package, and their recently won wireless license, yipeee! So, what’s left you may ask..well, enhancing not only the on-flight experience, but also the off-flight experience by hiring design guru David Rockwell to design their busy interior terminal environment. In Mr. Rockwells well known odd collaborations, he hired Broadway colleague and dance choreographer Jerry Mitchell for the job. For some this may seem odd, but in truth, I love it when projects bring in new disciplines to solve problems. This collaboration uses movement, like in a dance, throughout the terminal as a central means to differentiate the user experience for arrival and departing customers. This interplay between architecture and choreography for a public space is brilliant. The terminal is not scheduled to be finished until 2008 at the Kennedy International Airport(which needs a GUI re-design), but I’m looking forward to checking it out then.
Read more via nytimes article.
Project PDF (more pictures)
Here’s a pretty sweet stylish candle. To turn it on, you touch a large match to it, and to turn it off, you simply blow it out. Personally I love real candles/fire, the ones that can burn you, but seeing how everything is becoming electronic, it doesn’t hurt to add a bit of nostalgia into them.
“The art of experimental interaction design” is a great book to have if you want to see some of the best interaction projects that merge and question the physical, interactive, and interface world together. The book contains projects by ideo, antenna design, daniel rozin, golan levin, and many others. It also includes a CD documenting several of the books projects. I’ve had a hard time finding great books dealing with the physicality in interaction design and electronics, but here it is. Most interaction books only cover interfaces and rarely bridge back to the physical world. I’ve had this book for about a year, and it’s been an everlasting source of inspiration.
I attended the RISD alumni sale recently and came across some great fun jewelry by LeeAnn Herreid. Her moto is, “Jewelry that works”. She has a wonderful collection of work using compasses, thermometers, rulers, bubble levelers, dust, bolts, and other small elements we all encounter in our curious lives. The bubble level pieces are awesome!
Bertendennis brings to us the cute button watch which you can pin onto anything your heart desires. Reminds me of the tempo time clip by vessel.
NotCot just launched NotCot.org which is a visually rich library of inspiring products! Part of their collection is a somewhat eerie but cool project by StudioJSPR. (I’d be buying the white version). These cover tiles are customized in such a way to make them visible but still covered.(kinda makes me think pressed elastic or rubber) Anyhow, check out their site, get inspired, and return to designverb!
Here’s an interesting interview with Karim Rashid. One portion that caught my thoughts:
How do you see history?
“I think tradition is what holds us back. You know, if I’m a Muslim or a Jew, I don’t eat pork. That’s absurd. The reason we didn’t eat pork at one time is that it was full of worms because we didn’t have refrigerators, right? We’re hanging on to ideas and values and ways to live that are six, seven thousand years old.”
Tradition or definitions are good at times, but sometimes definitions should only be defined by restrictions. This is something I think about a great deal in the design world!
Here’s another clever combo of products. A waterbottle, solor panel, and LED light source. If your a camper of any sort, you’ll find this Sollight useful. Walk around during the day, let the solar panel charge, and light up the LED for 8-10 hours once you hit up camp. I’m not sure how bright it is, but I’ve seen some blazing bright leds lamps recently.
Here’s a rather ingenious little invention! An adjustable cap on hot sauce! I’d somewhat wonder how great this works compared to 2-3 separate bottles, but it’s good food for thought in the ever clustered world of options. Reminds me of Barry Schwartz and his book “Paradox of Choice”, where he explains, more choice or excessive choice can be bad!
love/hate shirt!! how cool is that!!!
buy it!
Here’s an interesting, perhaps fun ad on a cup! You position the cup, drink from it, and whala, you have a new nose and lip. The ads for plastic surgery and I’m sure it’ll capture a few customers, though, I think kids will have more fun swapping cups..perhaps a collectible .
via frederiksamuel
ddb Canada (the ad firm)
update: seems these cups (ripoff) are available for purchase now.
