Fashion: G-STAR I have long stated that fashion design is problematic for me when considered beside the other design professions like architecture, industrial and graphic design. The challenge I have with fashion is that is overwhelmingly driven by stylist in search of fads and less about problem solving as I believe drives the other design practitioners. But on occasion I have gladly given props to Nike for changing athletic apparel category through design. Now I gladly acknowledge G-Star for its progressive and innovative approach to fashion, specifically its RAW 3D denim jean designs. Article: Best G Star Jeans   ¶ 9:20 AM 0 comments

  Its Been Awhile Since Ive Posted.... I guess there are moments when life is full and blogging takes a back seat, but I will now get back to the task of posting interesting design stuff.  ¶ 11:29 PM 0 comments

  Bringing a Low Cost Light to the Developing World Little Sun website  ¶ 12:07 PM 0 comments

  The New Industrial Revolution In a nutshell, the term “Maker” refers to a new category of builders who are using open-source methods and the latest technology to bring manufacturing out of its traditional factory context, and into the realm of the personal desktop computer. “Until recently, the ability to manufacture was reserved for those who owned factories,” Anderson says. “What’s happened over the last five years is that we’ve brought the Web’s democratizing power to manufacturing. Today, you can manufacture with the push of a button.” Read more: http://business.time.com/2012/10/01/how-the-maker-movement-plans-to-transform-the-u-s-economy/#ixzz2GppAe6OQ How the ‘Maker’ Movement Plans to Transform the U.S. Economy Book Review: Maker: The New Industrial Revolution  ¶ 11:06 AM 0 comments

  Google is Going Though a Redesign The iconic simple search homepage is being updated. The changes are subtile but can have a tremendous impact on the user experience. Fast Company Article  ¶ 3:19 PM 0 comments

  The Creator of the Barcode: Norman Joseph Woodland Dies the guardian article Wired Article  ¶ 10:22 AM 0 comments

  Oscar Niemeyer, the Brazilian architect who did so much to shape his nation's capital, died last week, aged 104. photos of his work  ¶ 10:13 AM 0 comments

  Auto Design: Why Do Electric Cars have Grills? I thought this was a great question(see the attached article). The opportunity to replace this once useful requirement for air intake needed for the internal combustion engine. Something to watch for is how auto manufactures handle this. Come to think of it rear engine car like the Porsche 911, did not have front facing grills in the past but now they do...hmm .Article: Why Do All These Electric Cars Have Grills  ¶ 5:04 PM 0 comments

  Surpreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer Talks Design Prior to being nominated to the high court, Justice Breyer served as an appeals judge in Boston and played a leading role in the architect selection process for the courthouse (the eventual winner, Pei Cobb Freed).   ¶ 2:33 PM 0 comments

  Inside the 'NYT' Graphics Department Lessons from the leading graphic design team. The New York Times graphics department discuss how they operate and how to they create powerful work.   ¶ 4:48 PM 0 comments

  Wearable Gadgets a New Frontier Smart phones are here, so what's coming next? Gadgets that you wear and that provide personalized information. (i.e. Nike's Fuelband shown below) Fast Company Article UP by Jawbone  ¶ 2:22 PM 0 comments

  Designers and Book Fair 2012 This looks like an interesting gathering of designers and great books. So if you find yourself in NYC the last weekend of October check it out. Designers and Book Fair 2012  ¶ 3:27 PM 0 comments

  Panel Discussion with Cooper Hewitt 2012 Design Winners A great discussion among design professionals, sharing their life and design stories.   ¶ 4:32 PM 0 comments

  The Prophetic Words of Steve Jobs (1983) Steve Jobs in a presentation about 30 years before the introduction of the personal computer shared is vision for Apple and much of life as we experience it today. The “Lost” Steve Jobs Speech from 1983; Foreshadowing Wireless Networking, the iPad, and the App Store   ¶ 12:17 PM 0 comments

  The Computer History Museum Computer History Museum, billed as “the world’s largest museum for the preservation and presentation of the computer revolution and its impact.” Computer History Museum Online Exhibition: Revolution Computing Timeline NYTimes Article: Computer History Museum...  ¶ 12:13 PM 0 comments

  The Making of the Eames LCW Chair For the most part, these processes are virtually identical to those developed by Charles and Ray Eames over 65 years ago.



But in very quiet but telling ways, is still guided by humans simply because the materials are natural and don’t lend themselves to automation.  ¶ 5:09 PM 0 comments

  Movie Scene: Fight Club A short commentary on consumerism's psychological influence on how Ed Norton's character, Jack, reflects on  the objects in his apartment as a mirror into his identity. Spoiler alert: He was not successful.

But what do the objects that we acquire say about who we are?


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  Design Icon: Thonet Chair No. 14 The world's best selling chair when introduced in 1859 by Michael Thonet, a cabinet maker, was innovative in that it was made from machine-made and hand-made parts. Still in production 150 years later No. 14's consist of only six components. This first ready to assembly chair could cheaply and easily be shipped around the world. More than 50 million of these chairs have been sold.



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  A Brief Interview with Architect David Adjaye The international renown architect David Adjaye sits down for a Q and A with Time magazine. His work can be seen in the DC area, two recently opened public libraries and the planned Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (2015).

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  Marc Newson has a Book of on the Way The breath of work produced by Marc Newson is truly amazing. The designer of this generation as impacted both the Art and Design worlds with some of his best known works. In the video below he discusses his forthcoming book.

Book: Marc Newson. Works.

Article: 10-minutes-with-marc-newson



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  What is an Open Ended Design Process? 3D model making is offering opportunity to include more input from clients and end users in the design process.


NYTimes Article: In a Shifting World of Product Design  ¶ 4:40 PM 0 comments

  The Passing of the Father of the Laptop  Widely viewed as a father of the field of interaction design, a discipline that focuses on improving the human experience with digital products.A founding member of IDEO, a leading product design consultancy based in silicon valley. Bill, as he was affectionate called was recently appoint as director of the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum will be missed. R.I.P.
NYTimes Article: William Moggridge Dies  ¶ 4:22 PM 0 comments

  Interior Design: Designing Set for Televison Anton Goss, 41, a Los Angeles-based set designer who’s carved out a niche designing sets for single-named daytime talk-show hosts, including Oprah, Tyra, Ellen and now Ricki. 

NYTimes Article: Designing Sets for Oprah, Ellen...  ¶ 4:10 PM 0 comments

  Video: Learning to See as a Way to Think  Inge Druckrey has been teaching design for more than 40 years. But what she has really been doing is teaching people to see.
Inge Druckrey: Teaching to See from Edward Tufte on Vimeo.

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  Branding: Twitter Twitter has dropped its wordmark for a blue bird.

Fast company  ¶ 3:49 PM 0 comments

  Designer Beats: Music that Inspires Creativity When I think of the music that has inspired me this year Robert Glasper (Black Radio), Rebecca Fergueson (Heaven) and most recently Emeli Sandae (Our Version of Events) come to mind.


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  Exhibition: 40 under 40 - Craft Futures The exhibition 40 under 40: Craft Futures investigates evolving notions of craft within traditional media such as ceramics and metalwork, as well as in fields as varied as sculpture, industrial design, installation art, fashion design, sustainable manufacturing, and mathematics. The range of disciplines represented illustrates new avenues for the handmade in contemporary culture.

Smithsonian American Art Museum Site
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  Design Exhibition: House and Home The House & Home exhibition at the National Building Museum April 28, 2012 - May 1, 2017. This look at the American domestic life considers what 'home' means.Remarkable transformations in technology, laws, and consumer culture have brought about enormous change in American domestic life.

National Building Museum Site  ¶ 5:46 PM 0 comments

  The Architect and the Lost Art of Drawing Drawing is fundamental to the architect/designer catching and communicating their visions. The tools have changed since the days of old, but now the computer is causing concern among purist in the field. Architect and the Lost Art of Drawing Drawings with a Purpose   ¶ 10:58 AM 0 comments

  Graphic Design Exhibiton: Now in Production The exhibition explores some of the most vibrant sectors and genres of graphic design from 2000 to the present. Last day to catch this exhibition is September 3rd, 2012.  ¶ 12:16 PM 0 comments

  The Federal Government Goes Digital “I want us to ask ourselves every day, how are we using technology to make a real difference in people’s lives.” – President Barack Obama Presidential Memorandum Digital Government Strategy Document Press Release: Census Releases Its First Mobile App GSA Digital Services Innovation Center Opens   ¶ 10:56 AM 0 comments

  MicroSoft's New Logo The Seattle based software company has refresh its logo for the first time in 25 years. Its waving flag and Helvetic typeface has replaced by a more static colorful square and a softer typeface, Segoe. Microsoft's New Look  ¶ 4:22 PM 0 comments

  Design Legend: George Nelson George Nelson was one of the founding designers of American modernism. Creating a Design Driven Company   ¶ 4:53 PM 0 comments

  Challenge: Bill Gates Looks to Redesign the Tiolet Gates Foundation: Inventing a Toilet for the 21st Century   ¶ 11:22 AM 0 comments

  A Better Ketchup Container If you've stopped by a fast food establishment recently you my have experience a new way to place ketchup on your fries. Heinz "Dip and Squeeze" packet offers users the choice to squeeze or dip their fries. Article: Dip and Squeeze Patent Lawsuit   ¶ 11:16 AM 0 comments

  Sustainable and Customizable iPad Case I looked into available iPad cases and concluded that the offering came up short and so I have yet to purchase a case. The Papernomad case may just change that. Their simple solution really strike me as very fitting contrast to the device. A paper case for the device that is in many ways replacing the printed page. Papernomad.com  ¶ 12:03 AM 0 comments

  Product Design: Digital Master Lock Wow! Who would have thought one of the iconic mechanical devices would move to a digital interface. Article: A Padlock with a Digital User Interface  ¶ 5:14 PM 0 comments

  How Unique Must a Design be to Get a Patent? A new frontier in patent history is being battled in the courts as Apple defends its patents for the designs for the iPhone and iPad. NPR Artilce: Samsung Fight Among Many in Apple's Patent NyTimes Article: Apple-Samsung Trial Highlights
Apples Wins a Billion Dollar Verdit: What Does it Mean?   ¶ 2:36 PM 0 comments

  Infographic that Help End Slavery The drawing became a key visual weapon in the 18th- and 19th-century fight against slavery, information design that changes minds. Fast Company Article  ¶ 4:58 PM 0 comments

  Architect Frank Gehry – Part 1 Architect Frank Gehry – Part 1  ¶ 3:53 PM 0 comments

  Architect Frank Gehry – Part 2 Architect Frank Gehry – Part 2  ¶ 3:52 PM 0 comments

  Consumer Product: Omega Juicer When a product addresses the issues around its use from ease of use, performing it function well, its construction and choice of materials to ease of clean-up it should be applauded. In this case the Omega fruit and vegetable juice fills the bill. Omega's Website A Guide to Storing Fruits and Vegetables  ¶ 7:33 AM 0 comments

  Audio: The Digital Democracy of Sound Digital technology has changed how we find, make and listen to music. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation investigates in an eight part series how electricity change the way we experience music. The Wire Episode 8  ¶ 12:04 AM 0 comments

  Automobile Design: Renault's Twizy Win Design Award The vehicles of the future are appearing more often as the variety of electric cars finds its place among high end and low end offerings. NYTimes Article  ¶ 11:16 PM 0 comments

  History of the Olympic Logo The internationally recognized five interconnected rings signifying the unity of humankind, according to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics, a French aristocrat who designed the symbol for the 20th anniversary of the Games. NYTimes Article: Who Made the Olympic Rings? More History of the Rings  ¶ 3:24 PM 0 comments

  Bill's Design Talks: Scott Wilson Scott Wilson has had a string of successes in his career most recently the Nano wrist watch (TikTok) that rocked the Kickstarter funding site and winner of the 2012 Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Award winner for Product Design. . Scott sat down with Bill Moggridge as part of his design talk series.

Scott Wilson Talk Metropolis Interview with Scott Wilson  ¶ 2:02 PM 0 comments

  Technology Policy Reports The federal government is hard at work considering the future. To know what's next checkout the many reports online associated with the Big Data Initiative.

  The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)—in concert with several Federal departments and agencies—created the Big Data Research and Development Initiative to:


 White House Site

• Advance state-of-the-art core technologies needed to collect, store, preserve, manage, analyze, and share huge quantities of data. 
• Harness these technologies to accelerate the pace of discovery in science and engineering, strengthen our national security, and transform teaching and learning; and 
• Expand the workforce needed to develop and use Big Data technologies.

Today’s initiative responds to recommendations by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, which last year concluded that the Federal Government is under-investing in technologies related to Big Data. In response, OSTP launched a Senior Steering Group on Big Data to coordinate and expand the Government’s investments in this critical area.  ¶ 1:36 PM 0 comments