style

Check out this interior office space designed by Hofman Dujardin Architects. The Law firm is broken up into 2 different spaces; colorful and neutral. The colorful space caught my attention because the color gradient floors placed based on the suns movement. Warmer colors are in the shadowed areas and sunny areas get the cooler greens and blues. While walking down the hall, the floor gradually changes colors.

With all those color studies out there about what makes you work more or slower, I wonder if this law firm discovers this through their floors. Would make me rethink what I’m wearing each day based on which rooms I had meetings in.

read and see more in these 2 pdfs about the project.
HofmanDujardin_DLAPiper
HofmanDujardin_DLAPiper_downloads

A058-hero-603

I was shopping around Boston this weekend and came upon a new watch by Nixon (51-30 PU) that caught my attention. It’s big, heavy, and pretty feels great on the arm. I’ve come by other like watches which cost more but I just wanted to share this find with ya’ll because I like it and think it’s a pretty good deal for $370 though $300 would be much nicer. I’m thinking about buying it, but for now, I’ll just share the find. It comes in a few colorful flavors. Check it out.

tadpole.sleeping.bag

Happy Holiday to everyone. I’ll be out in Hong Kong for the break and will be back with some goodies to post most likely dealing with food, shopping, and culture.

If you have not already, please join the Facebook Fan page here which I post to often but write less and it’s open for fans to post to as well. I’ll post a few goodies I shared on the fan page below recently for the holiday break:

Tadpole like sleeping bag (pictured above) Reminds me of Selk bag.
Newspaper laptop sleeve holder. I’ve gotta get this!
TED launches Best of Web.
Cool jacket..I like asymmetric clothing which is hard to come by for guys.
LED lights save energy, but don’t melt snow
Ping Pong office convertible table
Awesome silloutte clock!
xylophone table

JOIN THE DESIGNVERB FACEBOOK FAN PAGE HERE!

This weekend (thanks vimeo) I’ve been enjoying the TV series Design for Life (mentioned before) featuring design guru Phillipe Starck.
Unlike many other design reality shows that I’ve seen, Design for Life dives into the reality in design thinking. Most people outside of the design community generally perceive design as purely aesthetics which in some industries is true, but in a majority of the ones I know, aesthetics is perhaps the last 10% in design.

Design is a method, a process, a way of life, a means to adapt. One breaths every aspect in design while eating, walking around, watching people, sleeping, or typing as I am now. There is a intricate pathway in researching, understanding, inventing, presenting, developing, trying, and broadcasting before one even touches how an project finally looks. Designers want to encapsulate an experience from A to Z and not just elements of a product. One must understand how to observe and learn about a project, then have the ability to influence and push forward a direction upon these observations. Then the deep dive into sketching, communicating, collaborating, interacting, and executing several steps within design. A large understanding in manufacturing techniques, engineering, material properties, transportation limitations, cost, client definitions, brand awareness, business, marketing, users, and trends are all aspects which all designers should be knowledgeable of.

Design for Life is an entertaining glimpse into Starcks personality and philosophies while watching his team educate young individuals into their process. It would be nice to see more shows like this.  Watch the 6 episodes after the jump via Vimeo…. which does not include commercials =) ( a better user experience)
Continue Reading

Tribute21_Most Popular_Reminiscent Innocence“Every year, global design and merchandising company Felissimo produces a series of charitable plates that traditionally feature the illustrations of present-day icons. This year, as part of Felissimo’s mission to promote better design for the greater good, the company extended the project to designers across the globe by hosting Happiness: The Tribute 21 Plate Challenge on DESIGN 21: Social Design Network. Felissimo is now proud to unveil its selection of winning plates, whose designs communicate a wish, inspiration or message for children and future generations about seeking happiness in harmony with our surroundings. A portion of the proceeds from plate sales will benefit the UNESCO/Tribute 21 DREAM Center Fund, which provides arts programs to children in post-conflict regions.

Giving designers a chance to share their work with the world, DESIGN 21 posted all submissions for the Tribute 21 Plate Challenge to the competition site. After reviewing 732 entries, based on originality, relevance, aesthetics, and ranking in an online public voting poll, representatives at Felissimo headquarters in Japan have chosen seven winners. According to DESIGN 21 Founder Haruko Smith, “Whether symbolic, literal or euphoric, all of the designs represent hope for a better future.”

The “Reminiscent Innocence” plate by U.S. designer Jody Boyce was selected as the “Most Popular” design as well as a DESIGN 21 “Judges’ Pick.” According to Boyce, “My goal was to try to capture those feelings we all felt as children; the innocent, naïve and green ideas we had about the world before we were thrown into it head first.”
The other six top designs chosen as “Judges’ Picks” include: Giorgio Cattano (Netherlands) for “Happy Forest”; Eugene Gu (China) for “TRUELOVE”; Arlene Birt (U.S.) for “Water Cycle: For Life”; Jeong Seok Oh (South Korea) for “Public Bath”; Alexandre Esteves Neves (Brazil) for “Soap Bubbles of Happiness”; and nen (Spain) for “How to be happy without.” Honorable mentions were also given to Ji Yeon Yoo (South Korea) for “The Blooming Happiness” and Bonnie Jordan (U.S.) for “Happy Harmony.”

all the winning artwork after the jump.
Continue Reading