ideas

RC Mop

Posted by _tango! on November 30, 2006
Posted in: design, experience, fun, ideas, information, inspiration, tech, thoughts, wacky. Leave a Comment
remote car mop

I love it when people come up with ideas that sometimes seem dumb but seriously inspire me. In this DIY example via Evilmadscientist, a mops added to a remote control car, and bahm, ya have cleaning with a zest of fun. I’m not saying this works great, but sometimes when you think like a kid again or act goofy, you get results that raise great questions and often great ideas. I almost want to clean more now with this remote mop! Why cant cleaning be fun?! Anyhow, this is an example of one of those goofy ideas that I love much like the babysuit mop found in the great Chindogu Society Books. Otherwise, for the more grown up types that hate mops, try the MopShoe.

Imagini: The visual gift finder

Posted by _tango! on November 27, 2006
Posted in: experience, ideas, information, tech, thoughts. Leave a Comment
imagini.net

This is kind of nifty… Are you shopping for a present but can’t quite come up with the words to search with? Well, Imagini.net allows you to search for items by creating a DNA of keywords based on a selection of images! Basically, it creates a DNA of a persons lifestyle based on simple questions with visuals answers. Once you go through the questions, it creates a grid of items that match your DNA.

I like the idea of shopping through images, or creating a palette of lifestyle images based on a person to buy stuff, but then again I’m an advocate for images over text whenever possible. This is kind of like what Amazon does for their suggestion robot since they know what your browse, what you buy, your age, location, etc.. Man, the world of data mining boggle me!

Sitters with a creative touch!!!

Posted by _tango! on November 20, 2006
Posted in: brand, fun, ideas, information, inspiration, style, thoughts. Leave a Comment
creative sitters

“A singer, a dancer, a painter – take your pick, these are just some of the creatives that New York parents can hire as their child’s babysitter for the night. Eugenia Bachaleda, a musician, and Kristina Wilson, a performer, combined their talents to devise Sitters in the City for a modern twist on baby sitting. Both Bachaleda and Wilson enjoyed performing but also loved working with children, and so they found a way to use their artistic talents to inspire and entertain children.The benefits of Sitters in the City work both ways – for actors and artists, it’s a flexible job that combines well with auditions and concert rehearsals. For parents, it’s a fun and creative childcare option that aims to leave children inspired and entertained. Sitters arrive at the customer’s home armed with a ‘tote of toys’ and with an abundance of creative ideas to appeal to every child from bookworm to budding movie star.”
via Springwise

What an awesome idea and service, and at $15/hour, it’s a steal! Adding such incentives to services really make them stick out from the rest of the competition. Think about the services you use daily and how they can be enhanced with such simple changes.

NdsVisuals

Posted by _tango! on November 20, 2006
Posted in: design, entertainment, experience, ideas, information, inspiration, tech, thoughts. Leave a Comment
ndsvisuals

“ndsvisuals is a system designed to loosen VJs from their stationary input devices, by equipping them with a wireless remote control – more precisely: a nintendoDS gaming console by using all the features the nintendoDS provides (such as two screens, a touchscreen, wireless networking, …) it enables VJs to control their visual performance from wherever they have a WLAN-connection to their notebook. ”

This project reminds me how technology has unleashed jobs from confined spaces and allowed anyone to work from almost anywhere, be it underground, out in the park, on a subway, on an airplane, at a cafe, or sitting right next to YOU. I’ve been in so many situations where the person sitting next to me turned out to be someone I read about but I never knew what they looked like…so, just as a reminder, don’t be shy in public spaces, stay curious, be nice, and next time that stranger next to you just might be someone that amazes you.

(Playing Will Wright in ping pong during PopTech at a bar was great, but I really wish I knew it was him before I played him!..fun times!)

Non-newtonian fluid

Posted by _tango! on November 15, 2006
Posted in: design, fun, ideas, information, inspiration, materials, tech, thoughts, wacky. Leave a Comment

Wowzers! This is some crazy cool Non-newtonian Fluid(Cornstarch and Water)! Basically, it’s a liquid that hardens on impact and softens when idle! Run across a pool of it, or stand still and sink! A must watch video!

Reminds me of Liquid Armour(Shear Thickening Fluid), which stiffens upon impact as well. It also reminds me of Magneto-Rheological Fluid Technology, which doesn’t harden upon impact, but hardens when a magnetic field is present. They have a video on their site, and I’ve played around with this stuff which is pretty cool!

One last hardening type material is spyders soft futuristic and flexible d30 material clothing which instantly hardens like armour upon impact, protecting this years winter olympians. Check out their webiste for more! I want one!(d30, or spyder) This is such an awesome new material for kick-butt brain storms!

Design Schools are the new Business Schools

Posted by _tango! on November 13, 2006
Posted in: art, design, ideas, information, inspiration, thoughts. 1 comment
mfa mba

Here’s an article about the ever going question of designers becoming business leaders in our future. Personally, I think the picture above says it all, but if your interested, read the article via core77. Otherwise, if you want to hear an enlightening and inspiring lecture about creativity in our education system, watch this incredible video by Sir Ken Robinson.

Paint Chip Card Holders!

Posted by _tango! on November 12, 2006
Posted in: art, design, experience, fun, green, ideas, information, inspiration, materials, me, style. 112 comments
paint chip card set of 3

A bunch of ya’ll that have met me have asked me about my card-holder. Well, here it is. I grabbed a few of those free paint chips ya find at paint stores (home depot), made a few bends here and there, and bahm, you have your very own colorful hand-made paint chip card holder. I made a DIY guide after the jump, though the template’s custom to my cards size (3.5″x1.9/16″). The the home depot chips I used can just barely fit a basic 3.5″x2.5″ card with some changes in the template. Lots of pics after the jump along with the DIY instructions.

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TOMS: Shoes for Tommorrow!

Posted by _tango! on November 11, 2006
Posted in: brand, design, experience, ideas, information, inspiration, materials, me, style, thoughts. 7 comments
toms shoes

You buy a pair of these comfy espadrilles inspired shoes, and TOMS matches every pair purchased with a donated pair to a child in need on your behalf in South America!

I love this idea! Not only are these stylish comfy slip-ons great, but they represent a great cause! Sure there are those brands that donate 5% of profits to some fund, but it’s a very different feeling when the very product you purchased is also the donated item! These shoes now represent a much more connected feeling and understanding of the cause. Founder, designer, and “Chief Shoe Giver” Blake Mycoskie has a great story and video you should watch!

Quick thoughts: Brands are becoming such a huge part of our future. They represent a lifestyle and status of life, but they are also icons in solving global issues. Sure there are the ones that do small stunts to satisfy the PR world, but most companies don’t care unless they can profit from it with money. Brands must now echo real global solutions, such as sustainability, poverty, disease, hunger, education, or even as simple as providing footwear to the needed. Losing some profits to gain a much stronger brand experience is not a need, but a must! Our informational society is in the know, and small things can really destroy a brands loyalty.

I’ve been influenced by Greenpeaces “guide to greener electronics“, the Corporate Fallout Detector project, a great deal by William McDonough & Michael Braungarts book Cradle to Cradle, the exhibit and book Massive Change, and the new must buy book WorldChanging!

via Springwise

A few more pics after the jump!

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Viktor & Rolf Store

Posted by _tango! on November 9, 2006
Posted in: design, experience, fun, ideas, information, inspiration, style, thoughts, wacky. Leave a Comment

victor and rolf store upsidedown

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to walk around the ceiling, but never thought I’d be able to experience it, besides a few instances in amusement parks. Well, not exactly everything is upside down, but the Viktor & Rolf Store in Milan does just this. Check out some other great pics here or here. This also reminds me of a great prank I once saw here!

via apartmenttherapy 

Just to note, sometimes when you turn things, ideas, plans, etc up-side down, it sometimes makes things better!

Biologically Inspired Ocean Power

Posted by _tango! on October 31, 2006
Posted in: design, ideas, information, inspiration, tech. Leave a Comment
Biomimetic Ocean Power

“Biological inspiration or biomimetics can help people think outside the box of human engineering. Dr. Tim Finnigan, CEO of BioPower Systems, has taken bio-inspiration literally in his pitch to create the bioWAVEâ„¢ and the bioSTREAMâ„¢. Both systems try to take advantage of the biophysical properties marine animals and plants have adopted for living in near shore wave and high flow environments. BioPower Systems is using their seed money to build prototype models in an effort to get these ideas to market within two to three years. The BioPower Systems website does a beautiful job of presenting the technology. For a review of how this might stack up in the quickly growing ocean power sector, keep reading.”via treehugger
via Worldchanging 

TED 2007 Prize Winners!

Posted by _tango! on October 31, 2006
Posted in: art, design, ideas, information, inspiration, me, thoughts. Leave a Comment

ted prize winners 2007

The TED crew recently announced the recipients of the TED Prize for 2007:

Photojournalist James Nachtwey
Biologist E.O. Wilson
Former President Bill Clinton

Each recipient receives $100,000 to make their one world-changing wish come true along with the help of the amazing power of the TED community filled with shakers and movers in positions to make HUGE changes. They also receive a pretty sweet floating sculpture by artist Tom Shannon.(I’ll post a pic after the jump of it)

Watch the video above for the TED 2007 announcement, otherwise, you can view all the TED videos here. Bonos speech for the first ever TED prize was a good one…watch it here, or after the jump.

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