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Maps, Charts, More Maps, and a Rolling Stone

Info graphics and charts and maps and maps and maps! So many info graphics, I can barely contain myself. This project is a book called “Never Stop A Rolling Stone” and it’s big motivation to get up in dem’ hills and backpack the crap outta them. It’s the result of six months of world travel and a crapload of creativity on the part of Deutschlander and designer Rahel Ritchie. From front cover to back, an adventure at your fingertips.

Designer: Rahel Ritchie

Out With the Old, in With the Shoe Rack

The shoe rack! The shoe rack forever! Have you got shoes? If you’re a person like me, you’ve got shoes, and not only that, you’ve got a ton of shoes. You might be a kick-miser, a pack-rat, or just a Confessions-of-a-Shopaholic; you’ve got shoes. You’ve got shoes, and they need a new rack. Not that kind of rack. This kind: the “Nest Shoe Rack.” Stainless Steel, wavy, and it’s got what shoes crave. Stick your shoes right in this ever-so-slightly-clever-enough shoe rack as soon as possible.

Designer: J-Me Design [ Buy It Here ]

No Green in Los Angeles

Not for long, anyway; not at this rate. According to the design group in charge of this project, 60% of urban water consumption goes toward landscaping. Quite simply, this is because of what’s called “traditional lawns,” aka, lush green grass that doesn’t naturally grow well in untended-by-humans California. The alternative is “California native gardens,” those which are easy to tend to, cheaper than the alternatives, and don’t suck up the H20 supplies at anywhere near the current rate. Here’s the campaign to save LA.

Designer: CalArts Design Team (see post for list)

Who Knew the Swiss Army Made Stoves?

They DON’T. But designer Ryan Cavenagh would like to imagine what it would look like if they did. Here, in a project he’s done his sophomore year, Cavenagh presents a small backpacking stove that runs on denatured alcohol. Swanky? Is it nice enough? Does it look legit enough? Rumor has it that the Swiss are pretty hard on their product approval. Would this make the cut?

Designer: Ryan Cavenagh

Chummy Fire Pit Hot Pot Experience

Look at that lady! She’s having a totally amazing experience! She’s using the “Firo;” cooking in an open, blazing fire. It’s a tube. It’s a tube with a drawer in it. The drawer holds several ceramic pots. Each of these pots is hung in a way that makes sure they are always upright. Stick that whole thing in the fire, and once it’s hot just open the drawer and take the pots out. Each of the pots has it’s own insulated container to keep it warm. Presto! A nice hot meal n stuff!

Designer: Andrea Nimtschke

Bikes Are No Longer Boring

Really, Bicycles are no longer just those pedal-some buddies that you use muscle power on, They are primped with other awesome stuff. We recently gave you a list of Folding Bikes, then we refreshed it with the Ever-so-folding bike; and now I have another bike only this one boasts of Solar Power! The Solar Man is folding-solar bike that weighs a handsome 12 kgs. Pedal-power is supplemented with the goodness of the sunrays, so if you’re not in the mood of burning some calories or just plain lazy, harness the sun energy and get going!

Designer: Chen Weiping

A More Humane Audio Headset

So you’re sitting there in a restaurant. You’re sitting there, eating sandwiches with some other people. And you’ve got ah… one of those crappy headsets on. It looks like a spaceship. But then you realize your madness. You realize you look like… a douche. So you seek out help. And you find it. You find the solution. It’s basically a beautiful earring. “Ripple Headset” designed by Ilya Fridman. Ill. Totally ill.

Designer: Ilya Fridman

Bee Buzzes But Doesn’t Sting

Have you heard of the latest Buzz? It’s about this Bumble Bee that doesn’t sting! Poor thing lost its stinging prowess to lifting heavy weights. Honestly, it’s just a pint-sized crane that does what most cranes do… the only difference is its compact size and Transformer-like capabilities. From a cylinder it expands out to a full-fledged crane! Yippee! Good for indoor hauling.

Designers: Yuan Biao, Qiu Meng, Liu Xiao & Tang Gang

When Disaster Strikes At High Seas

At first I thought I would write a comedy of errors and make a fun post out of this, but regretfully it’s not funny getting shipwrecked or stranded in a dinghy at high seas. The chances of you and Brooke Shields making it to a marooned island are slim, so you may as well rely on your lifeboat, jacket and Reborn Survival Kit till a rescue team arrives. Packaged as a slim torch-like contraption, Reborn actually opens up to become a multi functional device.

Designer: Xue Zhichao

The Dark Side of Design

There is something really nasty about the Design Industry; something many know of but never really spoke of. In our ever-competitive society, we always seem to celebrate the winners, and outcast the losers. We often talk about the one that made it to the top and leave no space for second place.

Two Wild and Crazy Bracelets

I tell you: me and my brother, we know how to get the ladies. We just talked to Ben Greene about his boss tactic for getting matched up. Really! You put the band on, right on, on your hand, and you load up all your infos like about your love for mustard and whatnot. From there, it’s a synch! You just pick “teaser” or “seeker” (my brother and I are always the hip and together seekers) and you’re on your way! Really! I mean it! We put them on when we got in!

Designer: Ben Greene