Tag: design
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Penna – a retro bluetooth keyboard
In the pre-computer era, my father took a remote sales job that had him working out of the house in rural Connecticut. His company shipped him a large, elaborate machine which was an early version of an answering machine but the writing machine he bought was an refurbished Royal No. 10 . Elegant in design, I…
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Crib by Ford
When the little one refuses to go to bed, a common parental hack is to pop them in the car for a drive around town. The gentle purr of the engine and strobe of the passing streetlights will lull most infants to sleep giving mom and dad some R & R. In what was either the…
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Apple Design Extends to Process
Like everyone else I too read through 17,000 word profile of Apple Design chief Jony Ive. It’s extensive and well worth your time if you want to get a sense of the scope of Apple’s vision and how they think about design. What struck me most was the passage below which shows you just how…
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Solve by Entertaining
Love this! Use technology to turn ordinary, functional objects into something that’s fun and interactive. Urban environments offer so many opportunities to shine a spotlight on individuals which can make someone’s day. Also, the obligatory “making of” video below. It’s all part of an advertising campaign for the Smart car, a brand that promotes “urban…
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US Postal Service, Designed
GrandArmy developed a total re-design of the USPS in-store experience. A robust three-bar layout system was applied to all materials, from menu-boards to hang tags to welcome signs to kiosks and so on. This system holds together a huge variety of collateral. Ancillary materials include emotive creed posters, window clings, a mobile app, and shipping…
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Minimally Minimal
While living in Finland, I became very interested in physical design. During these years I read Minimally Minimal on a regular basis. Back then Andrew Kim was a student at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. The way he wrote about product design was contagious. His observations celebrated good design’s attention to detail.…
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On Ephemera
Om Malik recently wrote about receipts as a design experience. He was writing about Square, the payments company, that is re-thinking the way people exchange currency. Square’s focus on design, particularly the receipt, is inspirational. They view commerce as a design challenge, not only the method by which a transaction happens but also the artifacts…
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Google Japan – Design
My good friends Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham were contracted to design the Google offices in Japan. Google asked them to integrate design motifs from the host country and, as is their style, they re-purposed everyday objects such as Japanese Sentō murals, giant car wash brushes, and soba stand noren to great, playful effect. More…
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The Interest in Pinterest
By now I would imagine you’ve all heard of Pinterest. The latest site to cater to our need to collect and curate the world around us has boiled down the act of clip-n-share to it’s most basic form, the image. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then the endless scroll of the Pinterest front…