Design firm Pearlfisher was tasked with the job of redesigning the brand identity of Swedish urban smoothie brand Froosh “to solve the ’smoothie confusion’ in the Nordic regions and communicate pure fruit health benefits.” I think that the new look is far improved from the current look and feel (see below for the current bottle packaging design). The old look was a bit childish and ambiguous. The new branding features bold colors with a modern and sophisticated look. Whereas the old look gave off a childlike vibe, the new design grabs at the health conscious adult.

The only negative is that you need to live in one of the Nordic regions that carry Froosh in order to have a taste of this seemingly refreshing and healthy drink.

And for comparison purposes, you’ll find a photo of the current Froosh bottle branding below.

Dexter is one of my favorite televisions shows and so when I saw these Dexter themed coasters I began craving new episodes featuring my favorite serial killer. It’s a good thing that I don’t have to wait too long. The 5th season of Dexter beings on September 26th!

“With a drop of blood from each victim placed between two glass slides, Dexter creates a morbid memento or ”Trophy” of each kill. These Dexter inspired coasters come packaged in a beautifully-crafted wooden box with golden hardware and a slotted interior to display each coaster. These clear acrylic coasters feature an iconic ‘blood spatter’ and have rubberized feet to protect your table. Each coaster is also imprinted with the Dexter logo in red. The storage box has the Dexter logo carved on top and the Showtime logo carved on two sides.”

Buy the Dexter Costers from Showtime for $34.95.

Whisky is the ultimate man drink, but what would you say about drinking a shot of whisky made from the urine excreted by elderly diabetic patients? I don’t care how much of a man you are, if the thought of drinking fermented sugar extracted from human urine doesn’t make you squint and gag a little – you’re not human.

And if you think this is a joke, well, it’s not. James Gilpin is doing exactly this, not to make a quick buck, but instead to bring awareness to the growing diabetes epidemic.

“Sugar heavy urine excreted by diabetic patients is now being utilized for the fermentation of high-end single malt whisky for export. The Whisky market is growing faster then any other alcoholic beverage worldwide. With a prevalent genetic weakness being exposed in the northern hemisphere leading to a sharp rise in type two diabetes, economists have found a new exportable commodity to exploit and are keento capitalize on this resource quickly.”

“Large amounts of sugar are excreted on a daily basis by type-two diabetic patients especially amongst the upper end of our aging population. As a result of this diabetic patients toilets often have unusual scale build up in the basin due and rapid mould growths as the sugar put into the system acts as nutrients for mould and bacteria growth. Is it plausible to suggest that we start utilizing our water purification systems in order to harvest the biological resources that our elderly already process in abundance?”

Though Gilpin Family Whisky is not for sale, you can get a taste and view Gilpin’s exhibit at 100% Materials, a design and architecture event in London in September, and the Abandon Normal Devices festival this October in Manchester.

Via Wired UK.

Tropicana, the famous orange juice maker is venturing into weird territory to satisfy the palates of their Japanese customers. The new Orange with Rare Cheese flavor is supposed to offer a “sweet and sour” flavor akin to that of combining oranges and cream cheese. In Japan, apparently “rare cheese desert” is just another name for the popular American desert known simply as cheesecake. Still, the liquid combination of oranges and cheesecake make me wonder exactly just how the concoction tastes. Admittedly, I’d definitely give this drink a try, though I’d recommend that Tropicana give it a more inviting name.

Question: Why does this product not exist? Alas, the Cookie Dipping Mug is just a concept from designer ENTLO.1A and the inner child in me can’t stop gawking at this marvelous idea. Having said that, I see a few problems with this conceptual mug. First off all, cookies come in different sizes, from Chips Ahoy small to the monster sized cookies they charge an arm and a leg for at Starbucks. I’m sure that once you start increasing the size of your cookie, you’ll run into the same problem as you would if you were using a regular mug (only be able to dip a 5th of the cookie tip). Secondly, the cup is pretty darn ugly. Thirdly, there’s no handle so holding this thing will be pretty awkward.

So Cookie Dipping Mug, I say great idea but poor execution. I needed a Cookie Dipping Mug that 1. has a handle bar (so that I don’t look a 2 year old fumbling with his first cup), 2. is aesthetically pleasing, and 3. expands (somehow, not sure how) with the size of my cookie. Deliver a product that fulfills those three criteria and then we’ll talk.

So this is pretty cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen MelloYello sold in Hawaii before but I do remember it as being the brand that sponsored Cole Trickle’s car in the 90’s flick Days of Thunder. Although MelloYellow was released in 1979 to compete with Pepsi’s Moutain Dew, it has been regulated mainly to the Midwest and Southeast parts of the United States.

That’s about to change, though, as the Coca-Cola Company is set to bring MelloYello to the masses (that means the Northeast and Western United States) complete with a vintage 1979 redesign. the redesign comes to us courtesy of Norwegian graphic designer Mats Ottdal and was designed at Stag & Hare in New York City.

My only question is, MelloYello, when are you coming to Hawaii?

The USB Zinfandel from Peltier Station might be the perfect wine for your next geeky get together. This desert wine has hints of “chocolate balanced with ruby cherry and spice.” Sounds yummy to me!

So does this wine require a USB port? Nah! In fact, the back label of this interesting wine tackles this topic head on:

“The back label reads: “United States Bureau for trade signed an im____ant agreement with the European Union to protect ____ugal’s geographical indication of this type of wine. Our Unidentified Secret Brand is therefore no mystery wine …Be the Ultimate Savvy Buyer by including our USB ____ in your ____folio of wines. PS…Peltier Station Winery mission accomplished.”

I rarely drink out of public water fountains these days, and it’s not just because they tend to be nasty filthy but also because they are increasingly becoming rare to find. Tap water at home, on the other hand, is something that I do still drink. Maybe it’s because I live in Hawaii and we have great water here. Or maybe it’s because tap water is free (sort of) and it’s not as wasteful (those darn plastic bottles). Needless to day, the Tapi is a nifty device from the wonderful inventors at Dreamfarm that turns any plain sink faucet into a fun home water fountain.

The Tapi is made out of rubber and won’t affect the taste of your water and it fits into any faucet with a straight spout. Pretty nifty, I think, especially for those times when you need a quick drink or want to do a quick rinse minus the need for a cup.

Buy the Tapi from Dreamfarm for $4.95.

According to the official Beer Savers website, Beer Savers are good for 10 reasons:

1. Durable, stretchy molded bottle cap charms
2. Designed to help keep beer fresh and safe
3. Dishwasher safe and reusable
4. Made of food-safe silicone
5. Come in multi-colored sets of 6 – the perfect party pack.
6. Make a great housewarming or hostess gift for any beer lover.
7. Fits most standard beer bottles
8. Make for a great talking point at any dinner party or beer tasting party.
9. Help homebrewers keep their beer bottles clean and sterile before bottling.
10. Helps keep your beer safely identified when in clubs, bars and restaurants

I’m not sure about you, but I would feel a little weird carrying around little silicone bottle caps when going bar hopping. It should be law that if you open a bottle of beer then you should finish it!

With that said, Beer Savers, send me a few caps and I’d be more than happy to test out your product. I’ll start off in the comforts of my own home and then work my way out!

Buy a 6-Pack of Beer Savers from Beer Savers for the sale price of $7.99 (Retail: $12.99).

I like geeky cool stuff and the Merlot-Bot falls right into that category. The bot itself kind of looks like an elongated Johnny 5 from Short Circuit (If you have no idea who I am referring to then I must be showing my age).

“Prepare yourself for a robot invasion of the cutest kind with this helpful household sculpture handmade by Utah artist Fred Conlon from recycled steel – factory discards and reclaimed parts from junk yards, construction sites and pawn shops.”

Buy the Merlot-Bot from Uncommon Goods for $90.