9/1/11

Eames Powers of Ten Video Response Competition Deadline Extended!

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We realize with the holidays and all that some people need a bit of extra time to complete and upload their videos, storyboards, and sketches, so we're extending the to the deadline to the Powers of Ten Video Response Competition to February 2nd. (That's nicely 2/2/11 in the spirit of things). If you'd like to participate there's plenty of time to create, post, comment or vote.

Here's the URL to jump right in: http://bit.ly/fIeyUe

The Jury winner gets:

- $2,000 cash
- Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair (Value $1,250)
- $2,000 donation to the Eames Foundation in the name of the winner (includes a tour of the Eames House; travel not included)
- In addition, to watch and read from their Eames chair, the Grand Prize winner will also receive:
- A boxed set of volumes 1 through 6 of the Eames Films; Including of course Powers of Ten, among over 40 films
- A vintage copy of the Eames Office book 'Images of Early America'
- A copy of 'The recent 100 Quotes by Charles Eames'
- An Eames Primer by Eames Demetrios

The Popular vote winner gets:
- $1,000 in cash
- Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair (Value $1250)

Those are some sweet prizes!

On the jury, we've got Eames Demetrios, Paola Antonelli, Adam Bly, Ayse Birsel, Gary Hustwit, and Allan Chochinov. Find the brief and all details here: http://bit.ly/hEa5kK.

And to inspire you, we've chosen 5 of the latest entries so far. Just click the image to load up the video (sorry, embeds next week:)


The delightful (and labor intensive) The Night Before 10/10 by giltastic
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The provocative Power of Ten Days by sgthackston
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The very clever Powers of Proportion by jasonamorris
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The irresistible The Powers of X by designpanda
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And the irreverent (and kinda brilliant) Nest of Power by jhhl
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Get in the game and we may feature your's in an upcoming blog post!

The Product Design Show launches (Ep. 1, Bicycle Design)

Yesterday Engineering.com launched The Product Design Show, a web-based program looking at the design of consumer and industrial products. As the website's name suggests, the show is geared more towards engineering than industrial design, but it's cool nonetheless.

Episode One is on "Designing a Better Bicycle," and future installments will cover power tools and food processing equipment. Best of all, it will air regularly (every Thursday). Today's a Friday, so steal some time to check it out:


Core77

7/1/11

CES 2011 Part 1

I’m as giddy as a school girl at CES because I’m literally going to be living in the future for the next few days. The annual Consumer Electronics Show has so many products to offer that I’ll just play curator. Hit the jump!

Exhibition: CES 2011 Part 1

GOBIZ i-Microphone is so small you might miss it at CES but good things come in small packages. This little doohickey packs some powerful mic tech and records 12dB louder. Perfect for mobile devices like the iPhone for recording lectures or on-the-fly interviews. Also compatible with pretty much anything with a 3.5mm jack.

Microsoft unveiled Surface 2.0, their smart table that takes touch interaction to a new level. What’s new? Pixel Sense, the ability to recognize almost anything touching the surface right down to the pixel. Amazing to put a business card down and watch the “surface” instantly digitize.

The Microsoft Touch Mouse is basically an Apple Magic Mouse. The entire surface is devoid of buttons and is covered in a matrix of capacitive touch-sensing electrodes. The new mouse supports gestures including a few new tricks like pinch-and-zoom. Available this June for $79.95.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer won’t come to life and demand energon but it does come with a removable full size keyboard. The tablet runs Android 3.0 Honeycomb which is Android mobile optimized for tablets. 32GB SSD, 1GB memory, Tegra 2 processor, 2 camera video cameras, 16 hour battery life, and a partridge in a pear tree.

I’m an avid Nike+ user but having my iPhone strapped to my arm while running makes me feel like a total douchebag. The Nike+ SportWatch replicates all the functions of traditionally pairing a shoe sensor with an iPhone into a sleek watch but with the added benefit of GPS thanks to TomTom so you can actually map your runs.

If Sony had a VOGUE cover it would read “Thin is In and 3D wins.” The company’s industrial design prowess is clearly on display with a total of 27 TVs making their way to the market. The gorgeous ones share Sony’s Monolithic design language with minimal buttons, sharp angles and all draped in the color black. The new sets feature Gorilla Glass, backlight LED tech, remote apps that can be downloaded on iPhones and Android devices, and a whole host of internet connectivity.

It can be hard to differentiate yourself in the pocket cam market but Casio has managed to do so with the Tryx. The entire camera swivels and rotates inside a body frame doubling as a stand which could make for some interesting shots. The touch screen has the usual goodies like touch focus but the lens is some kind of magic. The tiny 12.1MP SMOS sensor shoots 1080p video inside a wide 21mm lens. THANK YOU Casio! Available this April for $250.

Apple announced 3rd party accessory support in 2009 but I haven’t really seen many compelling products since. The iHealth Blood Pressure dock saves me a trip to the pharmacy by letting me check my blood pressure in the comfort of my home. The accompanying app is quite beautiful and easy to use too.

Lenovo intends to keep the “World’s Thinnest Desktops” award they’ll probably do so thanks to the IdeaCentre A320. The specs aren’t anything to write home about but the design is quite nice if not a bit contrived. Available this June for $700.

Android 3.0 Honeycomb running on T-Mobiles new G-Slate tablet. Big UI improvements for Android but there’s something still too geeky underneath it all. I don’t know, it just doesn’t feel as inviting to use.

An Analog Fan

I often like to guess what concepts are before reading descriptions because I enjoy the surprise in being totally off-base. This Analog Fan uses an old trick with gears and pulleys to generate enough power for 5 minutes of hair blowing wind. Not meant to cool a room down but it keeps air moving and all without electricity. By the way, I originally thought it was a clock.


Designer: Luc van Hoeckel


One Ring to Peel Them All

One can never have too many peelers because none are created equal. The Companion Ring Peeler slips onto the index finger. The outer ring peels the skin as you drag it across an apple. Will this form be good enough for tough skin fruits and veggies? Doubt it, but it looks like a practical companion for picnics and traveling. Will I buy one? totally!

Designers: Qing Ji and JiaYue Wu

Lock Thy Knife and Throw Away the Key

Wait a minute there is no key involved here in the Knife Locker. Apparently the knife itself is the key. It locks into position with a 270-degree counterclockwise turn and kick starts the UV sterilization process. Ready for the next use, bright and shiny! That sleek house will look good on any kitchen counter, what do you think?

Designer: Min Seong Kim

Core77 Announces Autism Connects, an International Design Student Competition!

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Core77 & Autism Speaks are proud to launch Autism Connects, an international student design competition to help individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

The Challenge
Design students are invited to produce new and innovative technology-based solutions to assist individuals with ASD in their communications with others and, in doing so, to increase the public's understanding of this unique and growing population.

Special Jury Award
The jury will award a grand prize of $5,000 to one individual or team. In addition, Autism Speaks will award creators (or one representative in the case of a team entry) of the top three designs a $1,000 stipend and registration fees to attend the 2011 International Meeting for Autism Research, to be held May 12 to 14, 2011 in San Diego, CA, where they will be invited to present their design concept.

Popular Vote Prize (Community Prize)
$1,000 - First Place
$500 - Second Place
$250 - Third to Sixth Place

Schedule
Competition Opens: January 3rd, 2011
Competition Closes: March 30th, 2011
Voting Closed: April 6th, 2011

Enter Now!

Yet another alternative design for wind farms

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The neat inflatable wind turbine we looked at earlier this week solves a materials/cost problem, but it doesn't solve the eyesore problem that keeps some communities opposed to wind farms. So here comes yet another wind-harnessing solution, this time from a Japanese company called Zena: The Wind Tower.

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It's a design for a 50-meter tall structure that collects wind from every which direction, compressing it within its structure and channeling it into a wind tunnel that runs down the core. It is supposedly more cost-efficient than putting up a wind farm and it's arguably more sightly, as it just looks like another building, albeit a tall one.

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It'd be cool if the building was managed by a lone guy with an office insidethe structure, but I'm guessing he'd need a manageable hairstyle and rather a lot of paperweights.

5/1/11

Summit Creative Award 2011: Call for Entries

Summit Creative Award 2011 Call for Entries

The Summit International Awards (SIA), the internationally acclaimed organization recognizing excellence in marketing and advertising, announced it is now accepting entries into the 2011 Summit Creative Award competition.

The SIA is the oldest and most prestigious organization conducting an award exclusively for firms with limited billings those under $30 million.

Throughout its seventeen-year history, its Creative Award has established itself as one of the premier arbiters of creative and communication excellence and stands apart by offering a true competitive environment where entries are judges alongside those of their peers.

Using stringent evaluation criteria and blind judging processes, its competitions reward only those firms whose work exemplifies the best in its class.

The Creative Award, whose aim is to laud the creative work of less-than-huge agencies, makes competition affordable and accessible.

It offers multiple entry discounts, streamlined Internet submissions, many ways to tout winner's achievements, and a friendly, knowledgeable customer service staff.

Deadline for entries is February 7, 2011.

Ấn tượng với Ferrari Gemballa MIG-U1

Hãng độ xe của Đức Gemballa vừa tung ra một gói độ mới cho Enzo Ferrari mang tên “MIG-U1” với số lượng giới hạn.

Ferrari Gemballa MIG-U1 được trang bị một gói nâng cấp tính khí động học mới bao gồm cửa xe và cản sau mới, cánh gió hai bên mới và cản trước tái thiết kế tích hợp đèn chiếu ngày LED.

Chiếc xe cũng có hệ thống xả hoàn toàn mới và cửa hút khí trên mui xe để bổ sung thêm năng lượng cho chiếc xe.

Gemballa MIG-U1 sở hữu cánh cửa lớn hơn, cánh gió sau và vòm bánh xe mới giúp làm mát phanh tốt hơn.

Ngoài kiểu dáng mới, chiếc xe cũng rộng hơn 80mm ở phía trước và 100mm ở phía sau. Gemballa cũng lắp hệ thống treo có thể điều chỉnh độ cao để nâng xe lên 45mm. Nhấn nút hoặc khi tốc độ lên đến 80km/h, chiếc xe sẽ tự động hạ thấp độ cao.

Bộ mâm đúc Gemballa GTR có trọng lượng nhẹ và kích thước là 19" phía trước và 20" phía sau, bên ngoài bọc lốp công suất cao 265/35 trước và 335/30 sau.

Bên dưới nắp ca pô là động cơ 12 xi lanh với hệ thống quản lý cải tiến và hệ thống xả đặc biệt, cho công suất lên đến 700 mã lực.

Bên trong, khách hàng sẽ được hưởng thụ nội thất công nghệ cao với định vị vệ tinh, DVD, kết nối iPod, màn hình cảm ứng 7" và bộ khuyếch đại âm thanh 950W.

Gemballa tuyên bố họ sẽ chỉ sản xuất 25 chiếc MIG-U1 và mỗi chiếc xe sẽ có những đặc điểm độc đáo dành riêng cho từng khách hàng.


Theo Autodezine/ndhmoney