lutz caesar is a photographer. he is the one who took the picture of me above. lutz parents were on a trip in south america in 1981. they bought this sweater with the lama theme. and now, 28 years ago, lutz felt that its his time to wear it. (I want one with horses or with armadillos)
rest area – highway 40 between bochum and essen, germany
it might not look great, but there is a great intention behind it. this is the xoxo laptop by industrial designer yves béhar. the laptop is part of the ‘one laptop per child‘ project and is manufactured by quanta computer. basically it means that by producing a basic device they ensure that every child from the developing world has access to a personal computer.
the xo is not new, they even brought the xoxo on the market, a version which is half the original size of the xo. and it has also won many design awards. but my friend anna pors, who is doing her internship at eggfilm in south africa, send me 3 links to some videos which are produced by the company she is working for right now.
the $100 laptop at the red dot design museum in essen, germany
olpc mission, part 1: principles and child empowerment
olpc : zimi’s story full
english designer jasper morrison and japanese designer naoto fukasawa are making ‘super normal’ objects visible for us. its the amazing plastic bag, the fascinating paper clip and the nifty vegetable peeler. discover it in super normal – sensations of the ordinary.
moss pencil by bangkok-based I’m curio,
red dot award winner 2008
I’m curio’s product description:
‘the fluffy green jacket plays wit its haptic appeal. curiously, the viewer immediately takes this pencil into his hands’.
and here we have the chocolate pencil by me.
I think I deserve the red dot improvisation award 2009
matylda’s product description:
‘the temptation make you pick up the pencil and put the chocolate in your mouth. curiously, the user can use the pencil afterwards.’
everything is said in the headline. is that necessary? does anybody want flower ornaments in their bathtub?
so, the tub is called igloo I-crylic bathtub by bangkog-based bathroom design team (what an innovative name). It won the red dot product design award in 2008 and the product description says that the flashing leds have a therapeutic and aesthetic value. (it makes me nervous) I get the concept and the fact that they used a special translucent acrylic sheet and integrated led’s at the surface. but if designers do so, please think about simplicity.
today I have been at the red dot design museum in essen, germany. I totally like the idea of a secure usb stick but this product is an overkill. the 007 usb flash drive by taichung-based duck image is waterproof, the product description promises 3 security levels and while looking on the picture I’ve started to think about the bike lock I still need to buy. the stick has won a red dot award in 2006. maybe in 2009 someone wins an award for a data storage with voice identification?! wouldn’t that be great?
concrete – the trusted construction material. my academy in maastricht is a concrete building. maybe one of the reasons why I feel so comfortable there. I like the hard and massive appearance of concrete buildings.
the southbank centre london, europe’s largest centre for the arts is one of my other favourites. next to the barbican. (see my previous post here) the southbank centre consists of the royal festival hall, the hayward, queen elizabeth hall and the saison poetry library. the entire complex is build in the 50ies and located at the thames in southbank. It’s close to the tate modern, which openend in 2000 and is another cultural enrichment in bankside, at the thames.
