20 Questions with Benjamin Hubert

We met Benjamin Hubert at last year’s Electrolux Design Lab event and although familiar with his work, came away with even more respect. Born in 1984, Benjamin studied ID at Loughborough University graduating in 2006. A year later he founded his own studio that includes a diverse range of furniture and lighting products. He’s laid back and...

The Water Vapor Project

This year’s IIDA has some pretty interesting entries. For example the Water Vapor Project is an attempt to hydrate the parched desert landscape of Africa. It proposes to build an environment where greenery thrives thanks to the basic principles of water vapor. Hat tip Designboom!Designers: Sangwook Park, Sinjeong Lee, Hoyoung Lee & Hyeonju...

The supplier becoming the master? Johnson Controls unveils their own concept car

Johnson Controls, formerly a supplier to the auto industry, is taking a bold step forward with their ie:3 concept car, unveiled at the North American International Auto Show.The car is powered by enough of JC's lithium-ion battery packs to enable a 100-mile range, and the under-floor design provides both a flat floor and plenty of storage...

Book review: Victore or, Who Died and Made You Boss.

James Victore's new monograph is so slick that a stranger on the subway asked us what we were reading because he "needed a new book." The design strikes such a careful balance between craft and irreverence that has the same appeal as the cool kid in school that never followed the rules but still graduated on time.The matte black pages provide...

Book Review: Predictable Magic: Unleash the Power of Design Strategy to Transform Your Business, by Deepa Prahalad and Ravi Sawhney

The Predictable Magic to which Prahalad and Sawhney refer in their recent book has been given the moniker of Psycho-Aesthetics, and Ravi's firm RKS has applied it successfully to a range of products over his career as a consultant. What they're getting at is not what is commonly recognized as aesthetics (the visual sense). Instead what looks...

Nendo "dancing squares" at Art Stage Singapore

Prolific Japanese design firm Nendo will be exhibiting a new collection of interior objects at Art Stage Singapore, an art and design show debuting for the Asia Pacific market. Nendo's "dancing squares" series assembles square planes to create a sense of motion in every day objects.One part of the bookshelf is frozen in its cascade of tumbling...

Clever dispenser design combines benefits of liquid and bar soap

Eindhoven grad Nathalie Stampfli's brilliant Soap Flakes dispensers use bar soap while taking cues from cheese graters and peppermills. As you can see in the photos, the user inserts a bar into the devices--one design is wall-mounted, the other handheld--and it then dispenses soap flakes.Why make something like this? As Stampfli explains,Today,...