Braun

In the physical world design affordances vary from the implict to explicit. In the virtual it’s all has to be implied with references to known cues.

Record. Speed. On/Off. Button. Twist. Turn. Click.

Think about how ‘pull to refresh, pinch or swipe’ are now mapped onto our lexicon of usage. The most common virtual affordances thankfully maintain physical references. Think of it as the compass for our perceptual understanding.

Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert, 1958

Designers: Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert, 1958

These are so familiar that no one notices how clever they really are. They convey important information quickly, unambiguously and without distraction to motorists travelling at speed. This demands expertise in perception and information processing, but the result is anything but academic, combining shape, type and symbol with simplicity and style. They look as good today as they did 50 years ago and have made motorway travelling safer and easier for millions. It is one of the hardest tasks to be simple. And it’s a triumph.

HT @designmuseum

Spring Chair

Function inspired by form, Spring Chair by Kaisern Chen ( Taiwanese, Shanghai & Taiwan based designer)

Formed entirely from single sheet of top grade spring stainless steel, Spring Chair presents a marvel in material application, function inspired by form. By using the continuous contour and the natural character of spring steel to give all the coordinated flexibility, resulting in surprising and pleasant seating comfort.

HT www.sotabiti.net

Antarctica Cabins

Next generation – Halley VI, Reading from the original article on Cool Antarctica. The new designs are supported by jackable legs above the snow surface. These legs are placed on skis so that the base can be moved easily. Work on Halley VI started in the Austral summer of 2007-2008 with an award winning new design.

When the base moves too close to the sea (with the drifting ice-shelf) the modules can be towed further inland by tractors. In addition the “pods” are more flexible in function and can be converted from sleeping accommodation into scientific labs as required.

The British Antarctic Survey does hugely significant scientific analysis on the polar ice cap. Aurora with new module.

TetraPak

Dr Ruben Rausing, the founder of Tetra Pak once remarked,

“Packaging Should Save More Than It Costs”

Tetrapak has a healthy 8 billion euro business packaging liquids and food products exemplifying how to be elegantly simple yet highly innovative.

Design Ethos of Dieter Rams

As little design as possible

The comments made by Deyan Sudjic and Michael Czerwinski gives us much food for thought. It is interesting to see how Ram’s work remains timeless despite the product’s technology becoming obsolete, and that he stayed true to his aesthetic philosophy no matter what. Hat tip @designsojourn

Interstellar Projector

Reminiscent of a treasured sci-fi movie that often ends up influencing product design (inverse can often be true too).

David Riesenberg obviously had his head in the clouds when he dreamed up the OO High Definition Wireless Projector, but it’s not like we’re kvetching about his imagination’s ability to go far beyond the limits of most humans. For one thing, the concept 1080p projector looks (and lands) like a stunning orange UFO; for another, the specs are otherwordly. Should the device ever come to market, Reisenberg says it will pack SSD storage, WiFi and internal decoder chips into its svelte, 11-inch round carbon fiber frame, as well as three independently articulated legs for balance and a Li-ion battery for up to three hours of cord-free HD streaming and playback.

Designer: David Riesenberg via Engadget

Trace of Time


Conceptual simple/smart product from RCA ID graduation show student Il-Gu Cha

A planning clock for office or studio, “The Trace of Time” clock not only tells the time but provides a place for users to make notes: The face of the clock is made of glass and stainless steel. Messages are erased by means of the integrated eraser.

Reactions and comments:

“This idea is incredibly simple yet incredibly stupid at the same time, awesome!”

“People have had whiteboards for years, and they are preferable because they self erase themselves if you’ve decided to put something off etc etc”

“Someone is getting laid at 8pm tonight.”

“The way that the word “genius” is used in that first sentence drives me crazy.I prefer to think of this as made for procrastinators.

“Deadline? What deadline?”

If your passing through London follow your nose down to the excellent Summer Show at the Royal College of Art. Teaching staff [Platform 12] Sam Hecht, Durrell Bishop, Andre Klauser.

Nixie Tube

Nixie Tube

Beautiful.

Nixies were used as numeric displays in early digital voltmeters, multimeters, frequency counters and many other types of technical equipment. They also appeared in costly digital time displays used in research and military establishments, and in many early electronic desktop calculators, including the first: the Sumlock-Comptometer ANITA Mk VII of 1961. Later alphanumeric versions in fourteen segment display format found use in airport arrival/departure signs and stock ticker displays. Some elevators also used nixies to display the floor numbers.

Remote smarts

Understanding how to use a remote is made easier by a friend. I love this, it makes me smile thinking how I’ve written clear schematics for family and friends in the past.

Ever written out detailed schematics so visiting friends or family members could operate your home theater setup? It’s annoying, right? Web site Designing Interactions highlights an incredibly simple but surprisingly workable solution.

It’s a bit silly and, you know, ugly, but the simplicity and effectiveness is undoubtedly a win. Just grab a piece of paper, cut a few holes where necessary, label, and you’re done. No, this isn’t necessary for the remote wizards in the audience, but it’s a great idea for quickly dumbing down your remote for anyone to pick up and use.

Via Lifehacker

Möbius

One of my all time favorite images.

The Möbius strip has the mathematical property of being non-orientable. It is also a ruled surface. It was discovered independently by the German mathematicians August Ferdinand Möbius and Johann Benedict Listing in 1858.

Giant Möbius strips have been used as conveyor belts that last longer because the entire surface area of the belt gets the same amount of wear, and as continuous-loop recording tapes (to double the playing time). Möbius strips are common in the manufacture of fabric computer printer and typewriter ribbons, as they allow the ribbon to be twice as wide as the print head while using both half-edges evenly.

lab126

“Amazon started a company called Lab126 in Mountain View, 2004-ish, to design and manage the contract manufacture of the yet-to-be-named Kindle product (as opposed to partnering with an established mobile electronics manufacturer) because they wanted to keep the Kindle idea under wraps (as much as it is possible to do so, here in the Valley).”

lab126 guys’ main mission right now is to design cost out of the thing like crazy, and get the next version out there so it can be sold cheap, or “given away” as part of a subscription plan.

And Mr. Bezos concludes with some high-level thinking: “Our vision is every book, ever printed, in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds,” he said.