December 2008
15 posts
Manned Cloud
Ok, I think this is my new favorite thing ever!
Its a whale-shaped luxury floating hotel designed by french designer Jean-Marie Massaud. It makes me think of the Wind Fish from ‘Zelda: Link’s Awakening’ (geek!)
Designed to hold 40 passengers and 15 staff, it has luxury facilities and a range of 5000km. The Manned Cloud is currently undergoing feasibility studies… I...
New Minimalism
I have a real thing for minimalism. Maybe its just my taste or the way I work, but I adore the beauty of products with a minimal aesthetic.
With minimal designs comes simplicity of use and interaction that doesn’t bombard the user with buttons and features that may or may not perform the task they are trying to perform. (That said, it is also true that lack of visual indicators may also...
Exclusive Design?
A common design faux-pas which often goes unnoticed are the attempts at making ‘inclusive’ products that completely exclude the majority of users. Mobile phones designed just for the elderly, navigation devices for the blind. I agree that these user groups should be considered when designing inclusively, but treating them in isolation and designing without considering the wider user...
Sleepy - night light range
This child’s night light, which I designed a couple of years ago, takes its inspiration from a friendly octopus.
The idea is that the child wears a wristband at night which monitors their pulse. When the child is scared and their pulse starts racing, the wristband sends a signal to the light to come on and pulsate with a gentle glow until the child has fallen back to sleep.
Zzz
What’s on my iPod? or The loss of ownership in the...
Only a few years ago at the birth of the iPod the question favoured by celebrity interviewers in magazines was “What’s on your iPod?” The Answer: A few choice tracks that get them through the day or their most beloved albums. The more pertinent question nowadays is “What’s noton your iPod?” Gargantuan mp3 players hold all you can throw at them: entire back catalogues, albums you haven’t listened...
Future Perfect →
I’ve been reading Jan Chipchase’s recent posts on his Future Perfect Blog. There is some extremely insightful stuff about the way people from different social backgrounds use and interact with objects.
