Atypyk, a Paris-based design shop, offers an array of cheeky, Chindogu-like (warning: link contains seriously bad flash) yet elegantly designed products.

‘Bear rug’

‘Pizza slice plate’

‘Cheese sponge’

‘Time is money’

 

 

There is a branch of commercial design out there now being roughly categorized as ‘motion design,’ which in almost all instances describe ‘motion graphic design,’ a screen-based artform used in tv bumpers and commercials, flash-heavy interactive websites, and street signage (check out Motionographer for good coverage of this emerging practice). But designer Ben Hopson wants to apply an aesthetic of motion in physical, product-based applications:

My goal is to add beauty and interest to products by investigating the different ways that movement can be designed. While designers have numerous techniques and tools at their disposal to improve the appearance of objects, when it comes to creating ways for objects to move through space, designers are often at a loss.

To remedy this problem, I have developed methods for sketching kinetic concepts and a working vocabulary to discuss them. What you will find recorded here are my initial investigations into this approach to product design.

Check out his work here.

[via Core77]

Adbusters has an interesting piece about how Nike, once distrusted by skaters because of its enormous bulk, financial clout and marketing savvy, insinuated its way into the skateboarding subculture. Midway through is a pertinent passage about the sneakerhead’s — he or she of 14-35 years of age who appropriates kicks less out of an athletic or (sub-)cultural impulse but rather for the pure material/aesthetic pleasure of having the product itself — role in burnishing Nike’s street bonafides.

[Thanks JB!]

 

Snowboarding whiz Shaun White (winner of the gold at Turin earlier this year) does a composite-heavy — no green screen! – spot for HP.

[link via Motionographer]

Red, the most goofy and whimsical of the generally amazing Adicolor motion shorts … Brought to us by The Directors Bureau (aka Roman Coppola and Andy Bruntel)

And if you, like me, spend a lot of bloodshot hours staring at Flash in a general state of despair and hallucinatory disorientation (debugging actionscript at four in the morning is AWESOME), then you will find this animation most amusing. For it poses the question: as bad as you have it, how do you think Flash feels? Check out Animator vs. Animation here.

(Those in the know will recognize and appreciate this clever updating of Osvaldo Cavandoli’s iconic La Linea cartoons …)

This t-shirt gives expression to the massive political groundswell … of graphic designers opposed to the war(s). Drop shadows, as you know, are their own form of carpet bombing. If you know it, you’ve abused it — it’s the crude but effective daisy cutter in the designer’s toolbox.

For 30 bones here.

[via BoingBoing]

The magnetic knitted katamari ball. Just keep it away from hard drives and credit cards. These are for sale here.

I dunno what it is, but there was something about this one-armed tree-sweater that filled me with pathos …

The Wooster Collective has a post regarding Adidas’ brilliant viral street poster campaign in Berlin for their recently launched Adicolor paintable shoes:

We love the new campaign that adidas launched recently in Germany for adicolor.

Here’s how it works:

First, adidas put up a series of mostly white flyerposters - branded with the adidas logo - that subtley encouraged people to tag the billboard and basically fuck it up.

But then, days later, they came back to those same ads and placed another poster over it. The new poster features the adidas adicolor show, now with the original tags from the previous poster incorporated into the show design.

Of all the recent street campaigns we’ve seen lately, this is our favorite one by far. It’s extremely clever, but most importanly it fits the brand perfectly. It takes advantage of the street to the fullest. And most of all, it turns the tables in an absolutely brilliant way that is extremely impressive.

We’re sure that not everyone will agree with us, but whoever came up with this idea is really fuckin’ smart.

Fuckin’ smart indeed. More photographs and info here.

Gizmodo recently linked to this clearinghouse of information regarding the most highly anticipated and disappointingly problematic release since the Spruce Goose. It’s hard to separate the promise from the hype, the real critics vs. the haters. But the games under development that they list here — and they are legion — will bring the simmering stew of anticipation to a boil and send the fanboys home to change their shorts.

 

 

When branding kills …

Starts at the tongue and ends … in the end. I love the cognitive dissonance – cute and fuzzy execution of a gross and gooey inspiration. The mind reels … ! Designed and knitted by a Eugene, Oregon biology student named Matie Trewe. From her FAQ:

Q. Why does your site suck so much?

A. Seriously, I’m a Biology grad whose main hobby is knitting. I know I’m not much of a web designer, but I’m learning.

Q. What on earth compelled you to knit the human digestive system?

A. The tube is one of the most basic structures of multicellular life and of knitting. It seemed like a great way to combine my two fascinations.

Q. Can I buy/commission a knit item from you?

A. The short answer is no. A large knit item such as a sweater or digestive system can take anywhere from 40-80 hours of work. If you think you can fairly compensate me for my time, I would be willing to consider it your offer. If not, I’m working on writing patterns for most of the items on this site. Perhaps you can find a friend or relative who could be persuaded to knit for you, as a labor of love.

Recipe (aka pattern) located here. 

[via Cool Hunting]

 

As an admitted time-piece fetishist, I truly dug this ‘fuzzy’ time-telling device. How dope is this:

‘This is the way they work. The first watch, called “AboutTime”, gives you an approximation of the time. “Going on quarter past one”, “almost six”, “a bit past three”, etc. Perfect if you want to take life a little more easy.

Then, there’s the “Timeline” watch, in which you’re only shown the hour, and not the minutes. Then, the numeral will slowly make it’s way from the bottom the the watch’s face, to the top. The minutes are thus expressed as a proportion of the distance traveled. In other words, if the number 2 is halfway up, you know it’s 2:30.’

[from The Talus Watch via OhGizmo]

 

And on the flipside, a decidedly non-fuzzy, mechanical wonder (and only 220,000 bones, too):

‘This really spectacular architecture seems to be absolutely original. The mechanical design of the Cabestan, including its tourbillon, is totally transversal. The indications (hour, minute, seconds, and power reserve) appear on the cylinders located at the four “corners” of the watch.

Starting from the lower left, we find the barrel, which transmits its driving power to the movement by the intermediary of a chain. This chain is connected to a second cylinder, at the upper left, made up of one part of a fusee (placed horizontally as opposed to the traditional fusees that are always vertical), and the other of the cylindrical power reserve indicator (a total of 72 hours).

Still on the upper end, but this time on the right, we find two cylinders next to each other, providing the perfectly readable hours and minutes. In the lower right hand corner, we can see the tourbillon, which is also placed vertically and is directly linked to another cylinder, which quite logically gives the seconds indication, as the tourbillon makes one rotation per minute.

This completely original mechanical movement, with manual winding, a fusee and a tourbillon, integrates six ball bearings into its operation. It is also water-resistant to 30 metres. The entire movement is visible from above and from the side, under a double sapphire crystal (”Trimaran” model) with three recessed and curved sides, taking the form of a “hood”, all in a very sturdy design.’

[from Europa Star via BoingBoing]

 

Adorable.

[From The Girls via BoingBoing]