The Clutch (Drinking Straw) Chair

The "Clutch Chair" was designed by Scott Jarvie and consists of 10,000 drinking straws inspired by the disposable culture of our society. This design showcases Jarvie’s unconventional approach to product, furniture, and graphic design. He believes that "the solution to any design problem can be assimilated by creative interrogation, research and thought".

While the Clutch Chair only exists as a theoretical piece, Jarvie is sure to produce more physical designs that will surprise people, making them question the underlying cultural and philosophical meanings behind everyday objects.

AOL's Re-Branding Logo Design Nightmare

Hoping to revive their brand, AOL revamps its logo and recreates their image as "Aol." Moving away from the traditional running man logo, Aol. will implement a series of over a hundred changing backgrounds of different shapes, sizes and colours as their new "logo". As shown above, the typography stays constant, but the backgrounds will change. Where's the consistency?

"The new AOL brand identity is a simple, confident logotype, revealed by ever-changing images. It’s one consistent logo with countless ways to reveal. The new brand identity will be fully unveiled on December 10, 2009. Our new identity is uniquely dynamic.We have a clear strategy that we are passionate about and we plan on standing behind the AOL brand as we take the company into the next decade." -- Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO of AOL

What I did find was a video sneak preview of the brand in which, in moving media, the concept works well. But isn’t the strength of a brand its ability to work well when applied in all possible ways? I feel in its most native form, as shown above, it feels weak and unsure of itself. Although my opinions on this re-branding "strategy" are quite obvious, I think this image describes it quite well. One word: disaster.

LH20 - Unique Water Bottle Packaging

These LH20 scientific water bottles are part of a research project that allowed distilled water company Água de Luso and design firm Pedrita to collaborate. The project aimed to come up with an innovative bottle design that illustrates the qualities and unique properties of Água de Luso. "The elementary form of LH2O results from the intersection of two geometric solids: a simple cube (bottle neck and cap) and a truncated cube (package)." The design of these bottles allow a number of bottles to be regularly grouped together in several configurations that suppress empty space between them. This way, these bottles can maximize storage either in your closet or on the shelves of a grocery store.

Twilight's Cullen Residence Now For Sale

Does this beautiful house look familiar at all? Well it should! It's the infamous Cullen residence from the Twilight and New Moon movies... and guess what? It's for sale! Perfectly perched on half an acre on a creek-side lot, this 5-bedroom, 5,000 SqFt property was designed by award winning architect Arthur Erickson. Located in West Vancouver, this property is on sale for a minimum asking price of $3.3 million. More pictures and details can be found on Soprovich's website.

Is This The End of Radio, TV, and Print?

[This is a mandatory response piece for my MIT 2412 Blogging course. More designs coming soon!]
Hosted by CBC's Pop Culture Specialist Jian Ghomeshi, the segment entitled The End ponders the future of radio, television, and print. "Is this really the end of TV and radio as we know it?"

The End of Radio
The one thing that personally drives me away from terrestrial radio is the constant interruption of advertisements and commercials. Now, with the rise of podcasts, satellite, digital and internet radio, this can be avoided. SIRIUS is a satellite-radio company that is continuously growing in popularity. With strong signals that stretch across North America, listeners are able to use their Sirius subscription virtually anywhere. Our society currently lives an "on the go" lifestyle and the technologies we choose to use must reflect this. Nowadays, rarely do people have the patience or time to listen to traditional radio bombarded with advertisements and little quality content-- especially if they have the choice not to.

The End of Television
With innovative new technological devices such as PVRs, TiVos and especially the Internet, why would one watch television in real time when they could easily watch it at a later time with less disruptions? Youtube is a powerful tool when it comes to revolutionizing traditional television and video watching. It is powerful in the sense that absolutely anyone has the ability to make and upload their own videos that can be easily distributed across the globe within minutes. Unlike traditional television, new forms of video watching can occur inexpensively anytime and anywhere.

The End of Print
Publishing a hard copy book or article in the newspaper requires a long grueling process and is not openly available to everyone. Now, with the growth of citizen journalism and blogging tools, anyone with accessibility to the Internet can have their voices heard. As Ghomeshi stated, citizen journalism provides "more opportunities for people who wouldn't otherwise be published". Although popular Canadian author Margaret Atwood strongly disagrees with the demise of printed books, the Amazon Kindle proves to be a device that will be increasingly popular in the coming years.

At the end of the day, technology is constantly changing, improving and finding new ways to revolutionize our lifestyles in society. So what do I think? Yes, this is the end of traditional radio, TV and print as we know it, but this change will again happen in ten years, twenty, ...fifty. It's inevitable.

Palais Bulles - Literally a Bubble Palace

I've been to a fare share of resorts and vacation destinations, but I have never experienced anything like this. This villa is called Palais Bulles (literal translation is "the bubble palace") and was designed by Antti Lovag. This modern masterpiece was surprisingly built in 1989 and is located 10 km away from Cannes, France. The unique thing about this villa is that all bedrooms, amphitheaters, living areas and pools are circular (including the beds). More pictures here.

Electroluminescent Liquor Packaging

Designed by London-based design firm "The Core", Balantine's new campaign is called "Listen to Your Beat" and includes electroluminescent liquor packaging (animated, self-illuminating liquor labels). "Rolling out across bars and nightclubs in 35 key markets, the initiative is based on the idea that by listening to your own beat and following your own instincts, you will make choices that leave an impression on others." Other liquor companies are starting to follow the trend of electroluminescent technology -- click here to see an example.

Fruit-Shaped Sticky Notes

Normal Post-It Notes are usually fun enough already, but D-BROS (Japanese design firm mainly focusing on graphic design) stepped it up and creatively designed these simple sticky notes in the shape of fruit. Unfortunately, they are only available for purchase in Japan, but if they ever become available for purchase in North America, I would love to have some fruit-shaped stickies on my desk.

Axe Calendar Advertisement Objectification

Click here to view the full size advertisement.
Created by a South Korean advertising agency Gee Seoul, this ad for Axe Body Spray wraps a women’s College dorm in a giant calender in order to suggest that a man who wears Axe can have a different woman in the dorm every night. Axe, of course, has a history of ads that demean women. The use of a college dorm specifically, however, encourages people to see female students not as scholars and learners but, primarily, as participants in male sexual gratification.

Personally, I am not offended by these advertisements, although there are many female bloggers out there who have expressed their anger towards Axe's "sexist" ad. I must say, although somewhat demeaning, it was a creative concept. Thoughts?

Top 3 Design Magazines

Over the years, I've spent countless hours browsing and perusing through a variety of design magazines. My top 3 favourite design magazines are:

1. PRINT Magazine: Design for Curious Minds - Founded in 1940, PRINT is a bi-monthly American design magazine that focuses primarily on visual culture and graphic design.

2. Communication Arts - This magazine covers all spectrums of design including graphic design, advertising, illustration, photography, and interactive media. Although there are only six issues released yearly, each copy is full to the brim with high quality design content.

3. Computer Arts - This UK-based magazine showcases the best illustrators, graphic designers and web designers from around the world. There are easy-to-follow tutorials as well as insightful advice articles for freelance designers of all levels and ages.

New MSN Butterfly Logo... Not So Fly?

Microsoft gives the iconic MSN butterfly a makeover and there have been many mixed emotions and opinions on the matter. The old MSN butterfly logo (left) was bold, colourful and at least it actually looked like a butterfly. To me, the new logo (right) looks more contemporary and simplistic, but the type face looks too stretched out and "weak". The gradients on the new butterfly wing look distorted, and wait... where's the body?! I am clearly giving two thumbs down on this new logo and I predict it will work against Microsoft, similar to the Tropicana Redesign controversy.

What are your thoughts? Hit or miss?

Godiva Chocoiste Store Design in Japan

Ever want to visit Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory? Well this is even better! Take a look at Wonderwall's (previously featured on Design Runway) delicious new concept flagship store for gourmet Belgian chocolatiers Godiva in Harajuku, Tokyo. "The shop features humorous design details such as the “melting chocolate” ceiling combined with the primarily classical interior design."

Atlanta Cupcake Factory Packaging Design

Recent graphic design graduate Timothy Young created this packaging and identity design for a small, family-owned cupcake bakery called The Atlanta Cupcake Factory. One-colour screen printed cardboard creates a budget friendly packaging solution with kitschy sayings adorning each box. While I think the packaging alone is cute, I think the way this photograph was set up is the real reason why I am attracted to it. Brown cardboard boxes aren't so interesting on it's own, but throw in a couple cupcakes and rainbow sprinkles and we're all good.

Condom Package Design Concept

If you are a reader on my Livejournal, you would have already seen these a year ago. However, I felt the need to showcase this amazing condom package concept here at Design Runway because not only is it witty and creative, it was also created in less than 24 hours. This concept was created by Mads Jakob Poulsen and Robert Nagy for a packaging competition in conjunction with Danish non-profit organization Sex & Sundhed. The target market was young people between the ages of 15-25. "The message should come across in eye level with the target group with out being patronizing or judgmental." To see bigger images, click here.

Holt Renfrew Showcases Fashion Bloggers

This past summer, high-end Canadian department store Holt Renfrew paid tribute to some of the most popular fashion bloggers on the Internet including The Sartorialist, Bryan Boy, Jak and Jil, and my personal favourite, Sea of Shoes. These blogs were presented as Holt Renfrew's summer window campaign, and were showcased in stores across Canada.

According to Creative Director John Gerhardt:

"Bloggers have become the fashion world's new celebrities. They're knowledgeable and influential contributors to the modern media landscape. Their opinions and visuals are relevant, creative and thought-provoking, providing a constant source of inspiration. We are honoured to pay homage to their style."

More pictures from the "fashion blogosphere" showcase can be found here.

V Water Viral Animation Video by 20/20

This animated viral video for V Water was made by digital innovation agency 20/20 and submitted to the Behance Network (a platform for creative portfolios, projects and collaborations). I found this video very quirky and catchy and I especially liked how the obtrusive product placement was not found until the very end. Did you like this video? What are some of your favourite viral videos? Animations?

Mind Blowing Flash Website: Wonderwall

The mind blowing interior design firm Wonderwall has updated their website with the help of Flash master Yugo Nakamura. Wonderwall is based in Tokyo, Japan and is headed by creative guru Masamichi Katayama. This website blew my mind away. It is probably one of the most fun, creative and funky Flash sites I have ever seen. The only downside is the load time, but it is definitely worth the wait.

This site is a portfolio that showcases Katayama's designs including commercial spaces such as retails spaces, restaurants and bars, as well as office showrooms and building complexes that are distinctly unique in design and yet attentive to function. I will touch upon some of the breathtaking designs showcased on this website in upcoming entries, but for now, click around the website and get ready to be amazed.

Nuit Blanche: #1 "The Apology Project"

At long last, my absolute FAVOURITE #1 installation piece at the 2009 Nuit Blanche was... The Apology Project by Maria Legault. Fifty-five volunteers were dressed in large brown paper bags and congested the Liberty Market Building Atrium. Each of them personally apologized to every person that bumped or ventured into them. "The uncanniness of this human blockade will disrupt the regular flow of traffic and provoke reflection about passive aggressive behavior. Who are these people? Why are they here? Why are they wearing brown paper bags over their bodies? There is an enigma about what precisely they are sorry for and why they are choosing to continue doing something that they find reproachable. If it is their awkward presence in the space that they are apologizing for, why do they chose to remain there? Why not just stop an offensive behavior rather than continue to indulge in it and apologize?"

In today's society, we toss around the word "sorry" even when it is not accompanied by action. This installation exposes a double image that makes you question the sincerity behind the words "I am sorry."