Situated on the banks of a river in Libčice nad Vltavou, north of Prague. This structure was originally part of a factory complex which manufactured screws. The building itself was the coal mill and was built in approximately 1900. Beginning in 2006 Atelier Hoffman director Patrik Hoffman has been working to renovate the building and make it into a living space. The result is absolutely amazing. A beautiful marriage between the historic industrial structure and clean modern design.
Just about everyone who is active, participates in athletics or does any type of training uses at least one Nike product. Their design process and technological advancements are truly stunning. I am particularly engrossed in this video about their process behind the development of the new Nike Free Trainer 5.0. The shoe is inspired by the structure of a Chinese finger trap which is in its static state extremely flexible and in its engaged state extremely rigid and taught.
Cobra Wit is co-branding project between danish brewery Halsnæs Bryghus and Galleri Liisberg. The design for this limited edition belgian wheat beer was completed by Engelbreckt and really embodies their clean modern approach to design. The beer itself has hints of coriander and orange peel and was made to promote and exhibition at Galleri Liisberg by CoBrA movement.
For the new Mexican restaurant Mexout in Singapore local design studio Bravo Company dug really deep to channel the cultural vernacular of the food’s birthplace. The branding includes a family of small logo marks and type lockups, some of which reference historic events such as the 1968 Mexico Olympics and brands like Tecate which one of the most well known Mexican beers. This identity included some extremely DIY and hands on production work which is part of what makes the look and feel so consistent and successful.
Hand shaped by Jeff McCallum, McCallum Surfboards are an artful approach that fall somewhere between the aesthetics of the boards by Deus Ex Machina and those of S/Double Studio. Each floating, wave slicing piece is hewn from raw block in McCallum’s San Diego workshop. You can visit their website to view a full list of retailers, which includes Saturdays in NYC.
Even the most design forward brands rarely create amazingly unique designs changing how we perceive the washroom. The Step Basin designed by Swedish studio Note is Japanese in it’s simplicity and Swedish in its utility.
Having been an avid TeuxDeux user since it launched it makes me very happy to hear they are taking it to the next level. Sure this means they are going to start charging a subscription fee, but they aren’t just starting to charge for an already existing product. The whole TeuxDeux team worked over the last few months to rebuild the entire app from the ground up and make an entirely new iPhone app. It is one of the greatest apps available and is run by super talented and amazing group of individuals right here in Brooklyn.
Boquébière Microbrewery has some really beautiful new labels from Output Design. The packaging features some really nice classic vernacular that hints at the area where the beer is made and bottled.
Usually nifty little accessories like this bug me. Kipik though is so cute I have been won over. The cute hedgehog holder of toothpicks is available online from the MoMA Store.
I think we can all agree, everyone loves superheroes. Therefore these postcards designed by Forma & Co are amazing. Bold colors, distinct minimal illustrations of superheroes and some really nice print work. Definitely going to have to get my hands on some of these.
All Design’s London office is in a refurbished Victorian era dairy in Battersea at 33 Parkgate Road. They share this building with a whisky distillery, a boxing gym, a slow food kitchen, an Arabic art gallery, and a bar. Recently All Design created an awesome custom wayfinding system to help visitors navigate the meandering walkways and halls that lead from the car park in to all the different spaces within.
On a previously unoccupied lot in the residential Croix-Rousse neighborhood of Lyon. Designed by Tectoniques the DI-VA House was completely prefabricated offsite and went up in under a week. The open staircase and the open atrium style first floor give the house a nice airy open plan feeling even though the footprint of the house is compact.
The internet is a constant deluge of content, updates, and information. Once in a while these rare people and sites part the waters and distinguish themselves by doing outright good. Matt Dimmer is one such web prophet. Dimmer recently launched The Extra Mile a nonprofit, which allows people to donate their frequent flyer miles to people who need to visit terminally ill loved ones with cancer. Check it out and if you have a few or even a bunch of excess miles, share the love.
More often than not I find the simplest ideas to be the best. They seem to cut through all the misconceptions of what a website or web application need to be. The Maker Map is a most prime example. It is an open source mapping project with the goal of creating a comprehensive database of the “makers” of the world. A maker can be anyone from a fabricator to an architect and everyone in between, next to or near.
A little more than a month after returning from an amazing two week ski trip in Colorado I am missing the crisp dry mountain air and the fresh local suds. Part of my trip was spent in and around Aspen and I imbibed more than my fair share of beer from Aspen Brewing Company’s fine offerings. So last week when I stumbled upon some great designs for them by Jeremy Elder you can imagine how all my great memories from my trip came pouring back. The bottle designs pictured here are for two special edition releases from ABC, their Temerity barrel-aged series and some of their seasonal offerings.
With a custom latis structure protecting the front, Casa Sifera is modernism and minimalism in all their glory. Open and airy while balancing that with deliberate privacy in certain rooms, areas and even angles. The structure was designed by Spanish architecture firm Josepcamps Olgafelip and was photographed by Pedro Pegenaute.
Credited with being one of the forces that shaped how we view 20th century design, Irving Harper is an industrial designer and artist. The Why Design series by Herman Miller recently posted a video interview with Harper talking about his paper sculptures and his innate need to create. His paper sculptures range from masks and other African art references, to models that demonstrate complex architectural engineering concepts. One of my favorite statements made by Harper in the video was on the subject of sketching and how he never does it. Instead he envisions the end result and constructs it in his head and then goes directly to the creating the finished piece in paper. “All you have to do is sit down, cut paper out, and score it, bend it, and glue it.” Harper says, which demonstrates his immense modesty and also illustrates how his mind is able to solve problems in paper.
Definitely check out the rest of the Why Design series, which features some of the greatest designers and creatives both contemporary and past.
Pencils are often the disposable cousin of the pen for many people. Conversely the Cluth Pencil by German company Fürst are durable clean graphite stick pencils. The bright colors remind me of the Swiss colored pencils of my child hood from CARAN d’ACHE. One of my favorite features is a sharpener integrated into the push-button.
These new lighting designs by David Weeks were recently on display at the Ralph Pucci showroom here in New York along with some of his other new work. I am particularly infatuated with these amazing futuristic chandeliers. There is an undeniable reference to aviation design and the way other winged creatures float through the skies.
Architects Cornelius + Voge have a portfolio of work that is packed full of projects ranging from insightful urban planning to comfortable innovative residential solutions. Of course the house they designed for themselves is a very comfortable simple space with subtle details which really make space.
