It’s great how the usb stick has become a race to give them personality, style, and fun. There’s the slick metal ones, the sushi ones, the usb ring, the cute mimobots, and now some whimsical ones that hint at the storage capacity. When the function of an object is limited to changes, the creative juices kick in to give plain boring products some jazz and spunk! Pictured above is Michael Leungs ruler usb stick which depicts the capacity of a stick based on the length. On the right is a usb bag that acts like a stomach. The more stored in it, the larger it gets. I wonder if you can squeeze the belly to copy data out of it? fun fun fun!
experience
One of my favorite commercials was the “Ugoff” series for BurgerKing in 2004. Recently some really great VW commercials came out which reminded me of them, and whala…it’s the same freakin firm! If you have not seen either series, your missing out! If your a designer, you’ll have a great appreciation for the “Ugoff” series. Anyhow, they rock!Crispin Porter+Bogusky
Ugoff commercials one, two, web (look into “ugoffliments”)
VW commercials one, two, three
“In Paris, bistros are synonymous with cheap and cheerful food. In Hamburg, FRoSTA Bistro serves cheap and cheerful frozen food…. FRoSTA, a mid-sized, forward thinking company with an active blog, manufactures premium frozen foods that are completely free of artificial additives.The bistro, which opened in November 2005, is a well-design restaurant with chefs working in an open kitchen. For all to see, they prepare frozen foods from FRoSTA’s range. Packaging is on display, reinforcing the message that the meals prepared in the bistro are identical to what consumers can buy in a supermarket. “
Pretty freakin cool. Hopefully it taste just as good as it sounds!
Did you ever wonder how a computer thinks? Well, if so, Martin Wattenberg has created an awesome application that visualizes a computers thinking process. If your into “information visualization”, have a go at his other incredible projects.
If your a fan of Jimmy Kimmel’s TV skit “Unnecessary Censorship“, you’ll get a kick out of these shirts. You know how TV stations blur out logos, profane images, or words… well, Ironic Sans brings that “blur” to reality with your very own censored-ish shirts. It’s funny how people fill in bleeped or blurred images with their own imagination and come up with profane thoughts. Adam Connely is another artists that does pixelated art, though, his images are a bit more obvious from a distance.
Are ya looking for some cool interactive ambient light projects? If so, link yourself over to UnitedVisualArtists. They have a some great project using light and interactive sensors. Some are a bit trippy, but a few are breathtaking. Make sure to watch their project video clips. I’ll list a few of my favorites:Victoria and Albert Museum
Interactive Installation
Massive Attack
Fashion Show
There are two incredible developments in the interactive tables arena, the muti-touch table by Jef Han and the touch table by >Applied Minds. So, whats next?… A freakin dynamic 3D version of one!!! Yes, like the one in the X-men movie. Xenotran has developed a Dynamic Sand Table (DST) that can produce accurate topographic models in under 3 minutes. It’s basically a table with a bunch of needles that retract or extrude upwards to represent the projected terrain. Watching this table work is awesome!Touch Table (has video clips)
Multi-Touch Table
Xenotran Table w/videos
Touch-Table /3D table demoat EG (a must watch!)
Here’s a fun product. Your pull the string, and the shaker starts shaking!! Just pull, turn upside-down, and the bits flicker out. You can always shake it yourself, but why shake when it can shake itself.PerpetualKid
The 2005 Solar Decathlon competition has an amazing assortment of incredible designs based on sustainable energy-efficient living. The competition introduces a variety of innovative methods to use solar energy and high-tech materials. If you dig deep into some of the submissions, you’ll be blown away by the student concepts. I recently saw a special on TV about this competition and became hooked. They recently announced the roundup of schools invited to compete in 2007.
“AOL has released their Cityguide for New York with a list of “The 2006 City’s Best,” some of which are a surprise and others which were not so surprising. Stone Park Cafe in Park Slope took Cityguide’s top restaurant honor, beating out big names like Daniel, Le Bernardin, Per Se, and Masa.”
Yummmm.. I’m due for a nyc trip.
“Babble, from Sonare, is the industry’s first sound management system designed to provide patented voice privacy without wallsâ„¢. Babble is the only voice privacy device currently on the market that offers true confidentiality for any office, open workspace or cubicle.”SonareTechnologies
Video Example
Applied Minds– Firm that worked on it.
How cool is this! Perhaps it’s my geek side, but I want!via boinboing
billboardom (image)