Solar energy and cycling are seen as sustainable alternatives to transportation powered by fossil fuels. This efficient design brings the two together in a solar-powered cycle stand called SolarCell that produces a 70-watt light. Motion detectors integrated into the cycle stand have a range of 80 meters, triggering the embedded LED lighting to illuminate the area around it. In winter months, when light levels are low, a long-life battery provides an additional power source to boost the power generated by the solar cells.

The cycle stand can also be used as a sensor-activated light source that lights the way for pedestrians, dog-walkers and motorists leaving their car. A series of cycle stands can be linked to illuminate altogether when an individual sensor detects a human approaching. The cycle stand is an excellent choice for remote locations such as country bus stops, or any area where energy saving is required.

SolarCell is designed by Henrik Sørig Thomsen for Nola.

There are several reasons for someone to become deeply emotionally involved in designed objects. A straightforward explanation of the functionality of aesthetic design is to use the concept of “imprint”. There are multiple types of imprinting but they seem all to be somehow connected to learning the characteristics of some stimulus, thus a learning mechanism “imprinted” onto the subject . A radical learning experience, such as when a baby learns who its mother and father are, or when someone learns something new for the very first time can create an imprint effect that remain for the rest of our lives. Not only does this model explain the value of nostalgia and cultural preferences, but it also tells us that if we can orchestrate a learning situation, we can create great value. Long lasting value.

In high stress or anxious situations, when encountering frustrating technology or insecureness the task is to reduce stress. A good example is the design of hospitals and hospital equipment. Formal designed the LED luminaire Halo for D-tec, a producer of lighting for dentists. The stress reducing issue was the leading  idea behind the form language of  the luminaire. Familiarizion by stress reducing programmable colored light effects and the soft  forms of the Halo that encapsulate the technical solutions is effective in a potentially high-anxiety situation such as at the dentist.

The psychology of Design attraction and DRM can be used as a sophisticated tool for design direction. Another stress situation is sometimes the insecureness wether a product  is “appropriate” within its category. This is a common issue when we create ground breaking innovations, or when the brand behind the product isn´t trustworthy enough. People may think it´s fun but they don´t invest because they don´t trust it.  A category is a “Label” that we group certain products, activities, people etc within in order to simplify how to relate to the world. Familiarization is the tool here for anchoring the new product to something that is relevant to the consumer.

Familiarization is effective for creating an imprint when the subject is experiencing an overwhelming challenge. By reducing the perceived challenge, the subject is immediately brought down to the “Flow Channel” of learning. This reduction, if radical enough, could possibly have an imprint effect. The more anxiety in the subjects initial experience there is, the more effective the imprint. If people were frustrated with complex looking mobile phones with tricky functionality, the more imprinted they became when a clean-looking, tech-stress reducing Iphone entered the scene.

In the next article in this series, I will examine the notion of Defamiliarization, the other side of Familiarization. To learn more about DRM check out the videos at www.designrhetorics.com

One of many signs of the back to basics trend that dominates fashion, beauty and lifestyle worldwide. First was the organic cloth, then came the gypsets and now it is time for the in-grocer’s salon.

The detox hotpot set 

The anti-aging pot

This place offers real fusion between Zen Principles and Italian-French inspired cuisine. Cozy décor and few tables, so please, take the phone and book in advance. They owner speaks just enough english to guide you through.

Popular among beauty addicts, it gained supporters after being featured in hotpepper, a popular discount magazine in town.

full name: エステティックレストラン　La Beaute (ラ ボーテ) MENU

address: 東京都新宿区四谷２－３－１９　四谷大新ビル2F MAP

phone: 050-5815-6930

The thought of a comfort zone breaking aesthetic experiences may seem odd. Most people would say that an aesthetic experience is a pleasing experience connected to sensuous delight and caused by harmonic expressions.
But, as briefly discussed in my post on the sublime and the complex expression, pleasure can also arise when you are confronted with complexity, destruction, chaotic structures, and unexpected compositions. A different kind of pleasure, that is. A comfort zone breaking and mind expanding kind of pleasure. A pleasure-kind that is much like the feeling you get when you all of a sudden take a huge step in a difficult learning process. Or when you do something – even though it frightens the hell out of you and makes you feel insecure – and manage (perhaps even brilliantly).

The aesthetic experience that is connected to complexity and unexpected combinations shakes up our expectations. Some objects can not be immediately understood; they challenge our need to conceptualize, to generalize, to organize… And our imagination is shocked by the encounter; we are forced to strain our minds.
But why do we need the challenge, the shock? How can this be considered pleasurable? Aesthetic?

According to french philosopher Jean-Francois Lyotard (1924-1998) the importance of sublime aesthetic experiences consists of the fact that something happens. When shocked by unusual combinations, asymmetrical compositions or chaotic structures we are pulled out of our daily routines and away from our dominating expectations. And we are all of a sudden very present and very alert. The sublime something is happing before our eyes, and we are fighting to grasp it.
In the encounter with an object that forces us to experience the world with a “beginners mind” (i.e. we have never seen anything like this before), we are momentarily thrown off course and pulled out of our comfort zone. But we will move on after the experience with a widened horizon.

The comfort zone breaking aesthetic experience is a human need. Without challenges we stagnate.

Torus is a new bracelet for women designed by Claesson Koivisto Rune and produced by DFTS Factory. Claesson Koivisto Rune holds a deep respect for the traditional handicraft so etched in Swedish culture but blends this with a fervent appetite for the most cutting edge techniques in the industry and it’s this element which has been important in making Torus.

“Through modern 3D manufacturing and selective laser sintering (SLS), new shapes are possible. Shapes that cannot be made either by conventional machines or traditional handicraft. Torus is such a shape. The torus can be described as a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three dimensional space about an axis coplanar with the circle. It is now also the name of a bracelet” says Eero Koivisto from Claesson Koivisto Rune.

Torus is built solely out of 2208 individually loose plastic links that together form the shape of the bracelet. The whole process of making one bracelet takes four hours. With precision made distances between the links, the bracelet feels like something that can only be described as textile fabric. With Torus, Claesson Koivisto Rune has pushed the boundaries for what is possible within the SLS manufacturing technique. It is a bracelet that perfectly shows the infiltration of architectural construction into fashion and visa versa. A bracelet that couldn’t have been made any day sooner than right now and with the feel and look of how the future might be.

“Always modern, always innovative, always fresh. That’s how we think of Claesson Koivisto Rune, it doesn’t matter if they’re making a house or a paperclip,” says Gustaf Kjellin, ceo and co-founder of DFTS Factory. Yet it’s not this which drew DFTS Factory to the company for a collaboration. “They’re a lot like us. They’ve got their eyes open, a real keenness to know what is happening in popular culture, music and tapping into that for inspiration. They’re like adult youngsters with a hunger for the new,” explains Andreas Aaltonen, co-counder DFTS Factory.

Form Us With Love and Cosentino present a project exploring the quartz surface Silestone. Silestone Slab Vases were shown at the Form Us With Friends exhibition at the Swedish Museum of Architecture during Stockholm Design Week. The project aims to break away from the familiar Silestone slab form and explore the material’s tactile dimension.

The Slab Vases consist of rings of Silestone, which have been slipped over a metal bracket to create a sculptural vase. The rings vary in size and are cut so the shape of the vase changes with each assembly. The material is of Iberian origin, but Scandinavian sensibilities run through the Slab Vases project.

Swedish designer Thomas Bernstrand has made a portable park chair called Share for Nola. Share chairs are lightweight outdoor seats designed to nest within each other as they attach to an immovable base. Like the attachable trolleys used in super- markets and airports, the chairs are equipped with coin-operated locking mechanisms that link them together when not in use.

Made for parks, city squares and shopping centres, the chairs are mobile seats that individuals can place where they want to. Share chairs provide more flexibility than fixed seating, as they can be positioned to face the sun, enjoy the shade, or take advantage of the view. The chair’s locking mechanism can be operated by a coin or a token, encouraging users to return the chairs to the correct location after use.

Designed similarly to stackable chairs, Share nests inside each another, making them easy to store when returned to base.

Ever wondered what it would be like walking through a rainbow? I imagine this is exactly what Olafur Eliasson has made possible with his work titled “Your Rainbow Panorama” on permanent exhibition at Aros, a modern and contemporary art museum in Aarhus, Denmark.

Olafur Eliasson describes his vision like this:

“Your rainbow panorama enters into a dialogue with the existing architecture and reinforces what is assured beforehand, that is to say the view of the city. I have created a space which virtually erases the boundaries between inside and outside – where people become a little uncertain as to whether they have stepped into a work or into part of the museum. This uncertainty is important to me, as it encourages people to think and sense beyond the limits within which they are accustomed to moving”

The current exhibition was curated to support the opening of ”Your Rainbow Panorama” and consists of various artworks from the artists past & present – the panorama being installed on the roof of the museum. The exhibition opened already in June 2011 – so this post isn’t really news – as much as a declaration of love and fascination for the works of Olafur Eliasson.

Once again I was blown away by Olafur Eliasson’s ability to affect and play with our senses. I was once again reminded of how often we underestimate the effect of light and colour…  How used in the interior and light it can create energy and emotions – Just look at the kids in the picture below!

Your Rainbow Panorama will stay as a part of the permanent collection at Aros. Some of the other notable works from the exhibition are “Beauty” (1993), “The Inverted Panorama House” (2004) and “Your Atmosperic Colour Atlas”. The rest of the exhibition will only last on the 26th of February – so if you’re planning a trip to Aarhus anytime soon don’t miss out on the opportunity to see this.

Beauty, 1993

The Inverted Panorama House, 2004

Your Atmosperic Colour Atlas, 2009

Designboost – Design Intelligence takes place February 8–9 at the Audi Forum, Hamngatan 17 in Stockholm. The event offers a range of speakers that talk about the importance of creating better design solutions. There will be a photo exhibition in which 50 world-renowned designers reason about the importance of daring to make mistakes. You can also test drive the latest models A1, Q3 and Q5 hybrid from Audi and at the same time get a preliminary edition of the book ”Designer Fuck-ups,” to be published by Arvinius in October 2012.

Here’s the full program:

Wednesday 8/2

13.00 Lectures by Swiss designer Alfredo Häberli, designer Mårten Claesson and design journalists Ingrid Sommar and Susanne Helgeson.

18.00 Opening of photo exhibition ”Designer Fuck-ups”.

18.00 – 19:00 Lectures that include Finnish designer Ilkka Suppanen, Anne Mieke Eggenkamp/Design Academy Eindhoven – chairwoman, Petra Lilja och Jenny Nordberg/Apokalyps Labotek – designers

10.00 – 17.00 Test drive Audi models A1, Q3 and Q5 hybrid. Test drivers will receive a preliminary edition of the book ”Designer Fuck-ups”.

10.00 – 19.00 The photo exhibition is open to the public.

18.00 – 19.00 Lectures that include Swedish designer Monica Förster, New York based designer Andrea Ruggiero plus speaker from Audi.

10.00 – 17.00 Test drive Audi models A1, Q3 and Q5 hybrid. Test drivers will receive a preliminary edition of the book ”Designer Fuck-ups”.

Designboost-Design Intelligence also offers 36 workshop sessions and different social activities with 50 specially invited guests. These are by invitation only.