Gamut

Cincinnati based Primax Studio created a fantastic sliding scale that glides from the most minute (quantum foam) to the massive (observable universe). You can easily spend some time getting lost in the nicely designed and information packed creation.

http://primaxstudio.com/stuff/scale_of_universe/

To Lee, With Love

When Lee Alexander McQueen took his own life in February 2010, those in the fashion world were not the only ones shocked by the news. McQueen was not only a designer and couturier but a true visionary. Known as L'enfant Terrible and wielding a no bullshit approach to fashion, his influence transcended fashion and seeped into art, culture and music. His shows were provocative and notorious for their unorthodox style; as he veered from the standard catwalk format by using robots to spray a model with paint, orchestrating a human chess match, making it snow on the catwalk and using holograms.

Many of his creations were more akin to works of art rather than a piece of fabric. Having worked in Savile Row he had developed an intrinsic understanding of how clothing hung and moved off the body. The clothing he created fused sensuality, drama and strength with a rawness that no other designer has managed to capture. An element that was integral to his work was the juxtaposition between elements such as fragility and strength or fluidity and severity

The photographer Nick Knight was a close friend and recently collaborated with Bjork and Edward Enninful on a short tribute film called 'To Lee, With Love.' It debuted at the British Fashion Awards on December 7th as McQueen was honored with a posthumous award for Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Design. Featuring clothing by McQueen and a new song specifically composed for the short by Bjork, it is a visual love letter from one artist to another.
Watch it above in full screen for best effect.

To see more of Alexander McQueen's work:

http://www.alexandermcqueen.com/

Short interview & features some stunning footage

Fall/Winter 2010-2011: His Final Collection

One of my favorite collections-Spring/Summer 2008. The dresses at 1.22 and 1.57 are breathtaking

Iconic Hologram

To see more of Nick Knights work:

http://www.nickknight.com/main.html

Glint

Let it be known that I'm not such a cold hearted cynical sort.... Joanna Montgomery's latest design piece brought a flutter to my little piece of chest flint. Montgomery, who is a interactive designer and photographer, invented Pillow Talk in a bid to bond long distance lovers. It's a very simple idea but something that i think has the potential to sell like hot cakes.


"Each person has a pillow for their bed and a chest sensor which they wear to sleep at night. The chest sensor wirelessly communicates with the other person’s pillow; when one person goes to bed, their lover’s pillow begins to glow softly to indicate their presence. Placing your head on the pillow allows you to hear the real-time heartbeat of your loved one. The result is an intimate interaction between two lovers, regardless of the distance between them."


It definitely beats holding an overheated mobile phone to a reddening ear! The video below gives a brief demo of Pillow Talk in action. Due to numerous enquires regarding where to purchase a set, she is currently seeking investments in order to turn the project into a product.

To see more of Montgomery's work check out her site:
http://www.joannamontgomery.com/

Exo

Ayala Serfaty was born in Tel Aviv in 1962 and studied Fine Art in the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. She was the recipient of the America- Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship to Middlesex Polytechnic in England where she concluded her BFA. Over time her style and interests became more rooted in design practice and in 1994 Ayala founded 'Aqua Creations' with her photographer husband Albi Serfaty. 'Aqua Creations' was founded with the aim of creating lighting and furniture that melded advanced technology with organic design.

Nubilous

Polaroid pictures were one of my earliest fascinations. Polaroid’s. Ancient Egypt. Dolphins. Go figure, I was a strange kid.

Anyway I digress. I was occasionally allowed to play with our ‘Onestep’ (picture above) camera as a treat. I loved the rainbow strip and wrapping my childish hands around it. I was liable to use all the film in the house if left to my own devices. I couldn't get my head around the fact that the picture developed as you watched. Magic. There are bundles of photos gathering dust in a box somewhere as a result of days spent running around taking shots. As time passed I discovered digital and my fascination faded.

A Polaroid camera would pop up at parties from time to time. Most people I know have a Polaroid camera gathering dust somewhere but rarely purchased film for it. Sales of film steadily declined. The company are moving from an analog Instant Film Production Company to a Consumer Electronics/Digital Imaging company. In early 2008 they announced that film for the iconic cameras would no longer be manufactured.


Enthusiasts were saddened at the fate of their beloved film and began stockpiling any supplies they could find. Prices got higher as supplies dwindled and many vocalized their opinion on the decision to stop production. However an Austrian artist, businessman and Polaroid obsessive called Florian Kaps has made a move to save the format. Kaps is the founder of Polanoid.net, which is the largest Polaroid gallery online and Polanoir, the first ever Polaroid-only art gallery in Vienna.

He has devised a plan to re-open a dormant Polaroid factory in Holland and begin manufacturing film again. Dubbed the “Impossible” project Kaps has said that “The project is more than a business plan; it’s a fight against the idea that everything has to die when it doesn’t create turnover”

IMPOSSIBLE will develop this new, modern Integral Film with the aim to start production in 2010. The plan is to produce 1 million films in the first year (2010) and 3 million films thereafter. According to their site "Impossible B.V. acquired the complete production plant from Polaroid and engaged the most experienced team of Integral Film experts worldwide. The IMPOSSIBLE company is founded with one concrete aim: to re-invent and re-produce analog INTEGRAL FILM for vintage Polaroid cameras. Polaroid is fully aware and supportive of this goal." The focus is on developing a new product consisting of optimal components that will fill the void left by Polaroid.

To read more about the project and how it's progressing:

http://www.the-impossible-project.com/

Seep

Oscar Diaz is a designer based in London, Uk. He has used capillary action to create an unusual and cool calendar. Using a bottle of ink and paper it works by using a timed pace of ink seeping into the paper to indicate the date. The calendar was originally developed for an exhibition at the London Design Festival in 2007 but he has also used the effect on other pieces. I'm not 100% on how you can control the exact flow of ink through the paper but i've yet to see it in action.




According to Diaz ” A calendar self-updated, which enhances the perception of time passing and not only signalling it. The ink colors are based on a spectrum, which relate to a “color temperature scale”, each month having a color related to our perception of the whether on that month. The colors range from dark blue in December to, three shades of green in spring or oranges, red in the summer.The scale for measuring the “color temperature” that I have used is a standard called ‘D65’ and corresponds roughly to a midday sun in Western / Northern Europe.”

To see more of Diaz’s work check out: http://www.oscar-diaz.net/

Civilization

Civilization is a stunning video installation that artist/director Marco Brambilla created for the elevator in The Standard Hotel, NYC. Brambilla worked with Crush who are a directorial collective and production company based in Toronto, Canada. Comprising of over 400 video clips and containing over 300 individual channels of looped video that blend into a multi-layered seamless scroll. It takes passengers riding the elevator on a trip from hell to heaven as theyascend and from heaven to hell as they descend.

Click here to watch a full screen version of the piece

http://marcobrambilla.com/

http://www.crushinc.com/

Neon

I am lusting after these neon lamps by Roger Borg.

These are made by bending cut off scraps of neon from other projects, and result in beautiful freestanding lamps. He says that "although i have retained the traditional contours of a lamp shade, i have reversed its function. Whereas previously its illumination would have been dependent upon an interior light source, its present form sheds that need."

"Light is dispersed not from its interior, but from its exterior. the contours of the lamp shade are responsible for producing light, rather than concealing it. there is longer a need for an interior bulb. The bulb is the shape. The shape is the light. "
Borg also paints and sculpts and uses bright colours to stunning effect. Check out more of his lamp and other art on his site:

http://www.rogerborg.com

Rubitone Genius

Pantone colors + Rubik's Cube= Rubitone
From the mind of Industrial Designer Ignacio Pilotto

Why hasn't someone started production of these yet? I know at least 3 graphic designers who would be in design 'wantsies' heaven if presented with one. Genius

http://www.ignaciopilotto.wordpress.com/2008/10/26/rubitone-concept/