I’ve been researching Coffee Makers for a product design studio project I’m working on (shameless portfolio plug), and I ran across the WMF Coffee Pad. “Charming” is the word that pops into my head first, I’m really in love with the design. The use of color to highlight the form of the mug does a great job at putting focus on the item we associate with coffee the most, while letting the machine itself visually fall into the background. It doesn’t seem like an extremely small machine (from the photos) but the visual impact happens where it counts, and I think as a consequence it comes across smaller than it is. Although, I know the white background in the photos from the website are contributing to that effect.
BMW recently unveiled their new GINA concept car. They’ve taken the body panels of the car, typically sheet metal, plastic, or fiberglass, and replaced them with a stretchable cloth. Beneath the cloth there are a series of structural supports that can be moved around, changing the form of the car. These days, the rigidness, safety, and ride quality of a car is mostly affected by the structure of the vehicle, while the skin is mostly aesthetic. In this video, Chris Bangle (Director of Design at BMW) talks through some of the philosophies behind the study, and explains the implications it may have for BMW as a company moving forward. We won’t see it on the road any time soon, but GINA may represent a shift in focus at BMW toward non-traditional solutions to very traditional problems.
BVD Collective, a design team out of Appalachian State University’s Industrial Design department, has some great work on exhibit at New York’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair 2008. They have created several luxury items from 100% post-consumer material. I saw the plastic knife lamp on display at the 2008 SouthEastern IDSA conference, and I’m excited to see it and other pieces get much more national attention. Be sure to check out the BVD Collective website for more information on the project, its origins, and the team behind it, as well as many more photos.
Designer David Andrew Bottom has built a very clever convertible seating/storage system, Rox Bench. The unit is a 3 seat bench with two end tables. The unit collapses, and the end tables turn into caps, making a storage box. There are also lights inside the bench that are charged through solar panels, so at night you have some nice underlit effects. The build quality looks great with a lot of attention to the details. (I love the hardware used) David, I’m a fan. Check out the Yanko Design post for more photos. I can’t find a website for David.
Simkom.com has a page full of amazing car/transportation sketches and hand renderings. These completely blow me away, and should be a great reference resource for anyone sketching cars.
I’ve been researching Coffee Makers for a product design studio project I’m working on (shameless portfolio plug), and I ran across the WMF Coffee Pad. “Charming” is the word that pops into my head first, I’m really in love with the design. The use of color to highlight the form of the mug does a great job at putting focus on the item we associate with coffee the most, while letting the machine itself visually fall into the background. It doesn’t seem like an extremely small machine (from the photos) but the visual impact happens where it counts, and I think as a consequence it comes across smaller than it is. Although, I know the white background in the photos from the website are contributing to that effect.
