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Design Digest Vol.5

1. Modern pet furniture that’ll make you jealous by Jed Crystal for Hepper.
2. Limited Edition Dyson DC16 by Issey Miyake.
3. Cardboard house by Super Colossal.
4. Rotating fireplace by Spartherm.

Wow, they look like Beatles from way up here…

Liverpudlians (people from Liverpool, England) have stepped away from their industrial based origins and have more to be proud about than simply being the birthplace of the Beatles. So proud are they of their docks along the River Mersey, harbor and skyline, the city has commissioned the design of a public observatory. The Mersey Observatory will be a coastal beacon with panoramic views of the entire Liverpool Bay.

Architect: Phos Architects

Water Slippers

When you put the words kids, bath, and entertainment together, the image of a rubber ducky might come up. That’s the inspiration behind the Vak-Vak. With a squish of your heel, water sucks into the duck. Another squish jettisons water in a stream of fun wetness.

Designer: Muzaffer Kocer

Is That. . . Wood?

It seems the word “tech” is synonymous with cold and stark.  Metals, plastics, glass – they all evoke an ideal that some of us don’t want. Some of us want our devices to be warm, to have some semblance of nature. That feeling transcends deeper since it can affect our moods. The Chute Smartphone is all about the natural, organic, and moody.

Designer: Michael Laut

Help Is On The Way

In 2006, Johnson and Johnson turned to Harry Allen & Associates to re-design the First Aid Kit. Although it is one of Johnson and Johnson’s most iconic products, after years of cost engineering the First Aid Kit had been reduced to a disposable clear plastic case – gone were the memorable designs of yesteryear. The design was simple, to give the First Aid Kit a dynamic new form.

Designer: Harry Allen Design

Senior Screen Saver

The elderly often get things wrong, from parking a car to Murder She Wrote. However, we do love them so and want to keep them around for as long as possible. With that in mind, the creators of the “Health Guard” concept for NOKIA believe that the best way to keep them around is to track their every movement (pun intended.)

Designer: Marcela Kawka & Izabela Cichecka

Design Digest Vol.4

• Stackable chair by Four Chair
• Love ceramic pieces by Stephanie DeArmond
• Stingray rocking chair by Thomas Pedersen
• Human powered car by Charles Greenwood
• RayTree bus shelter designed for tropical regions by Teo Song Wei & Wirawan Hasbi

Sort and Separate

Lets face it. We all should be recycling. What used to be simple; “metal goes here, paper goes there, and plastic goes in over there,” is now a bit more complicated. For example did you know not all plastics and metals can be recycled? If you look for the recycling symbol on most packaging, it’s often filled with a number value. They denote what can and can’t be recycled. That’s where the Barcode Trashcan comes in. It makes being “green” a lot easier.

Designer: Woo Seok Park

Cookie Concept

Naysayers beware because this cookie is just a concept. Sorry! For the rest of us, let me tell you about Xofff. Quite simply it’s a crunchy cookie dipped in chocolate in the shape of spilled liquid. Okay so it’s not revolutionary but it does make for a fun presentation. I’m guessing designer Marc Graells was a little hungry when he dreamt this up.

Designer: Marc Graells

RetroVision

Everything old is new again, especially when it comes to these very retro inspired sunglasses. Where normally tinted UV blocking lenses would cut the glare of the sun, these “Reed Screen Sunglasses” by Sang Jang Lee use the ancient eastern practice of reed screens to block the sun’s blinding glare. In case you are in the dark about reed screens, they are those roll up window blinds made of peeled reed stems.

Designer: Sang-Jang Lee

63.02° of Separation

Japanese architects never cease to amaze me. They are constantly given the challenge of turning a very limited space into something functional and appealing at the same time. Wedged like a book on a bookshelf, this free standing house in Nakana, Tokyo is placed at an angle of exactly 63.02° from the access road. I am not sure of the significance (if any) of this particular number but anyway you look at it, this design clearly adds up.

Architect: Schemata Architecture Office

Be Creative. Interior Design Competition

The Phoenix Contemporary Design Fair (PCDF) and kontakt magazine invite independent furniture designers to submit original furniture designs for a design competition. Conceived as a way to connect talented independent designers with furniture resellers and a design savvy public, finalists’ submissions will be displayed in a special section at PCDF and selected designers will be featured in kontakt magazine.

Training Wheels For Your Drill

People who aren’t familiar with power drills may now have a chance to give it a go, provided they’re not embarrassed to be seen using a training wheel-like device called the SmartGuide. The first common mistake newbies make is not enough pressure thus leaving the drill but to wander all over before hitting its mark. The SmartGuide makes use of two interset rings that collapse in on each other – keeping your drill bit straight and on the narrow.

Designer: Bongkun Shin