The Collective Loop

Playlist-34 Compiled by Damion

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:12:07 PST

Playlist-34 has arrived and it's ready for your listening pleasure. In this month installment I wanted to add a little bit of chill dubstep but also a couple of remixed indie songs like the Bon Iver re-rub. I also added in some other great tracks by Phantogram, Grimes, and Navigateur. So go ahead and hit play and spread the music.

If you want to check out any of the other Playlist then click on Archived Playlist in this post or on the right hand side of this blog or in the menu.

Cover art by: Damion S.

Tracklist

1. Street Halo by Burial
2. Energy is for Henrik by Bliss
3. Fourth Time in the Sun by Navigateur
4. Genesis by Grimes
5. 16 Years by Phantogram
6. In the Water by Beat Connection
7. Another Girl by Jacques Greene
8. spanish Sahara (Mount Kimbie Remix) by Foals
9. Radiohead vs Nirvana vs NIN by Pretty Lights
10. Tonight, Tonight (Chill Dub Remix) by Smashing Pumpkins
11. Hearbeats (Solarcube Bootleg) by Jose Gonzales
12. The suburbs (Arcade Fire Cover) by Mr. Little Jeans
13. Towers (Karma Kid Re-Rub) by Bon Iver

Atlas Cutouts

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:27:40 PST

Artist Claire Brewster has created these paper silhouettes of plants, birds and fish from old maps. Her work is about retrieving the discarded and bringing life to the obsolete. She uses old and out of date maps and atlases as her fabric of choice. The cut-outs are either pinned directly to the wall as a large scale installation or they are captured in a box frame. The shadows created from the light gives these installments a 3D quality and creates almost a feel of movement. These cut-outs are very creative and give a different feel on how someone else's trash can becomes someone's art. Check out more of her work on her blog.

Source: illusion

Waterscapes

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:46:42 PST

These beautifully stunning waterscapes were taken by Budapest-based amateur photographer Akos Major. The detail and full depth and minimal composition gives the photos an eerie yet calming feeling to them. I'm not sure either how he got the water to look so flat but its sweet however he did it. Check out more of Akos Major work, I'm sure you will enjoy his other sets as well.

Source: Behance

Smoking Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:29:26 PST

Smoking children is a controversial topic I would assume but photographer Frieke Janssens wants you to see a different view. The series was inspired by the YouTube video of the smoking Indonesian toddler.

By using kids as models, the artist wants viewers to focus on the act of smoking rather than making assumptions about the person. The feel of these images are almost retro with the time period of the "Mad Men", when smoking on a plane or in a restaurant was not unusual. Frieke went on to make a good point and to clarify his props.

The aesthetics of smoke and the particular way smokers gesticulate with their hands and posture cannot be denied, but among the different tribes of "Smoking Kids," - Glamour, Jazz, and The Marginal - there is a nod to less attractive aspects, on the line between the beauty and ugliness of smoking.

To assure you of the safety of the children, there were no real cigarettes on set. Instead, chalk and sticks of cheese were the prop stand ins, while candles and incense provided the wisps of smoke.

Source: Toxel

Monolith Solid Wood iPhone Back Panels

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:39:41 PST

I'm not sure which I like better the packaging for this product or for the cool wood back panels. Monolith the company behind these designs has created three clean elegant wood back panels that come in oak, teak or walnut for the iPhone 4 or 4s. From what I can tell they're complete back panel replacement and I'm only assuming since it will run you $55 bucks for one of these. So if you want to make your high-tech glass and metal iPhone a little bit classier then you can head over to Monolith and pre-order one today.

Source: notcot

A Wooden Book Rack

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:43:39 PST

I'm always looking for sweet looking pieces for my room or just about anything that I think would look cool. I came across this wooden book rack from a friend on Facebook and immediately thought this was awesome. It was created by Gustav & Agusta from OldAndCold on Etsy. This custom made wooden book rack in Wenge wood ($199) comes with a set of 10 pins/bookmarks. These pins are detached and can be moved around on the rack. The books rest on a small wooden plate so the pages stay intact (see inlay on pic 3). The plates can be moved back and forth on the bottom of the book to control the height of which the book hangs, making it possible to use different sized books. Check out more of their items on Etsy.

Beavis & Butthead In Real Life

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:29:35 PST

I couldn't pass this up since I've always been a fan of Beavis and Butthead. So when I saw these real life prosthetic models of Beavis and Butthead I had to repost this. The creator behind these creations is special makeup effects artist Kevin Kirkpatrick. Who I guess wanted to terrify or even shock the world with how creepy Beavis and Butthead would look in real life. Then it begs the question, what would Daria look like in real life?

Source: Buzzfeed

The Sounds of Trees

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:20:44 PST

If you've ever wonder if a tree could make music, it can and it sounds beautiful yet haunting. In the video below a record player was modified to play slices of wood. The year rings on the wood were analyzed and then translated into music.

A tree’s year rings are analyzed for their strength, thickness and rate of growth. This data serves as basis for a generative process that outputs piano music based on the year ring data. Those are analyzed for their thickness and growth rate and are then mapped to a scale which is again defined by the overall appearance of the wood (ranging from dark to light and from strong texture to light texture). The foundation for the music is certainly found in the defined ruleset of programming and hardware setup, but the data acquired from every tree interprets this rule set very differently.

It's intriguing that each note is a season passed in the life of the tree. The smaller intervals on the wood were harder years for the tree and the longer silences filled with seasons of growth. So really when you listen to the wood record you're listening to the whole life of the tree.

Beolit 12 Portable Music System

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:41:02 PST

Bang & Olufsen have just announced a new brand, a follow up from the company's previous release, the BeoSound 8 sound system. The B&O Play Beolit 12 Portable Music System ($800) was designed by Danish designer Cecile Manz, the Beolit 12 has a stylish sleek look that's topped off with an Italian leather carrying strap, and is equipped with Apple's AirPlay. It has a built-in power supply and a rechargeable battery which can charge an iPhone or any other connected device and play back music for about 8 hours. It currently comes in the gray style but the company is releasing later this month the yellow, blue and light gray versions of this music system. It will also be available as well in the Apple Stores as the company's authorized outlets.

Source: ecoolgadgetss

House S

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:07:08 PST

This home is located in a residential neighborhood of central Tokyo, Japan and its called House S., a single family residence for Tokyo-based studio Keji Ashizawa. The home use to be the site of an old samurai residence and is filled with beautiful pines and zelkova trees which gives this home a connection with nature and combines both nature and urban living. Each floor in this home has planting and the interior wood floors on the first level open up to a lushly vegetated garden, allowing the greenery to permeate the wood interior. The planting and the openness as well as the staircase are just a few things in this home that give it a open calming feeling to it.

Images by: Daici Ano

Source: Designboom

Airport Runway Posters by Jerome Daksiewicz

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:54:29 PST

These screen print airport runway posters were created by Jerome Daksiewicz, which feature runway patterns of airports around the world. I actually like this series due to the minimal design but also for the structures and layouts of each airport. If you're interested in buying any of these prints they are available on Jerome website. He currently has editions for Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles International, and Minneapolis St-Paul, but will soon be adding five additional cities. Two dollars from every purchase goes to the Challenge Air Program that introduces children with specials needs to aviation.

Source: Colossal

Punk Meets Swiss Design

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:27:01 PST

Swissted is an ongoing series by graphic designer Mike Joyce and owner of the Stereotype Design in New York. He took two things that he enjoyed swiss modernism and punk and redesigned vintage punk show flyers into international typographic style posters. Each poster is sized to the standard swiss kiosk dimensions of 35.5 inches wide by 50 inches high and set in berthold akzidenz grotesk medium.

He states that all of these shows actually happened in his series. So I wanted to pick out some of the posters of bands that I have seen in concert. See below.

Check out all the other posters here: http://www.swissted.com/

Source: Wanken

Teenage Engineering OP-1 Portable Synthesizer

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:52:23 PST

The team at Teenage Engineering has created a stylish looking portable synthesizer but it will cost you. It has a hefty price of $1,100 and it's such in high demand that they're currently sold out. The OP-1 synthesizer was created to be the world's preeminent, portable synthesizer. It merges the best of classic, analogue soul with the latest in digital technology. It's more like a hybrid of sorts with a digital synthesizer and MIDI controller with tons of features.

It has 8 synthesizer models (FM, Virtual Analog, String, +), 8 samplers, on board effects, OLED display, battery powered, built in microphone, FM radio, built in speaker, mp3 export, and some really unique sequencer to explore.

More info here: http://aiaiai.dk/store/things/op-1

See Youtube videos on the OP-1 here: http://www.youtube.com/user/teenageengineering

Vizio Joins The PC and Laptop Game

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:48:28 PST

Vizio has joined in the market of computer business and the company is ready to announce its new line of all-in-one computers and laptops at CES this week. Vizio really took in the motto "design is king" when they designed these machines. They definitely raised the bar when it came to the all-in-one desktops and laptop designs. They kept them clean and minimal but yet functional and practical. The Vizio Computer Lineup ($TBA) consists of a 27 and 24-inch all-in-one desktop. If you're wondering where the PC part is, it's at the base of the monitor. Their lineup also consists of a 14 and 15.6-inch slim notebooks, and a 15.6-inch full-size notebook. These beautiful aluminum and stainless steel crafted machines will be launching in the spring of 2012.

Source: Gear Patrol, Uncrate

Samsung Series 9 Monitor: Sleek Design

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:02:19 PST

Samsung Series 9 Monitor 27" Quad hi-def ($1,199) is nothing but a cutting-edge, sophisticated design that blends with any decor. It has a brushed aluminum finish and screen that almost seems like it's floating in mid-air. The connections on the monitor are integrated into the base allowing for a streamlined appearance. It even has anti-glare edge-to-edge tempered glass display and a slim profile. The Series 9 monitor also has the ability to produce over one billion colors with an amazing resolution of 2560 x 1440 (WQHD), which is four times more detail than a traditional HD panel. One of the coolest features on this monitor is the Mobile High Definition Link (MHL) for MHL-enabled smart phones and tablets.

By linking their Android MHL-compatible smartphone, users can enjoy content from their mobile devices directly on the much larger screen and with the benefit of rich, built-in stereo audio. They can also keep an eye on their smartphone, seamlessly browse to it and even charge the device for added convenience.

Source: Samsung, Gizmodo

Mekkanika Experimental Typeface

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:27:36 PST

Riccardo Sabatini designed this Mekkanika typeface which was inspired by old technical mechanic drawings and modern machinery. They are mixed together to form letters and numbers and this typeface was originally based on the letter form shape of DIN Alternate Black. Below our some of his typeface done in poster size.

Source: Tundra Blog

Monotunes - 8Bit Characters That Make Music

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:53:36 PST

Monotunes has created a neat little website where 8bit characters come to life and play sounds. It gives you the option to make your own remix and watch the characters go nuts. It has actually been quite entertaining for last 20 minutes. Go ahead give it a try; it even has a remix button which randomly selects the characters for you. So either way you're making 8bit character music.

Bikespiration Part 4

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:58:45 PST

Welcome to Part 4 of Bikespiration and enjoy all of these sweet bikes. The last image is a polo bike that was made by Louis Vuitton. I personally wouldn't use it for bike polo if I paid what they were asking for it. If you find any bikes out there that you think would be great in Bikespiration series. Please send me an email at pdragon65[@]gmail.com.

Check out the other installments - Part 1, Part 2, Part3

Cut Out Number Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:29:35 PST

So did you get a horse or cat calendar this year? Wouldn't it have been cool if someone got you this Cut Out Number Calendar ($23.00) made by Present & Correct. It's a simple graphic cut out of numbers that form this sweet 2012 wall calendar. You can choose from neutrals or bright primary colors. I know I would rather look at this calendar then look at the unicorn calendar I got for Christmas.

Playlist-33 Compiled by Damion

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 08:44:07 PST

Happy New Years from The Collective Loop and to celebrate the first month in the new year. How about a new Playlist. Playlist-33 has some different styles in it with some indie style songs to a little bit of dubstep. I'm sure it has a song or two that will hit a cord.

If you want to check out any of the other Playlist then click on Archived Playlist in this post or on the right hand side of this blog or in the menu.

Tracklist

1. Errol Flynn by Jinja Safari
2. Hurts Like Heaven by Coldplay
3. Shuffle by Bombay Bicycle Club
4. If You Want by Absofacto
5. Curfews by Snowmine
6. Small Boxes by Black Light Dinner Party
7. It's Time by Imagine Dragons
8. Got the Time by Old Tapes
9. Fascinated by Ivy
10. Dragon Queen (Skeletron Remix) by Starfucker
11. Litte Man (Tycho Remix) by Little Dragon
12. Shoulda (Samy Chelly Remix) by Jamie Woon
13. Dancing In The Dark (Proper Villains Remix) by Dev
14. Prituri Se Planinata (NiT GriT Remix) by Stellamara
15. We Are Young (ft. Janelle Monae) by Fun

A Strong Sense of Haze

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 06:40:34 PST

Joakim Eskildsen, a Danish photographer caught my eyes in a haze with these images below. They give that sense of winter or a sense of it creeping up. You can almost feel the chill or the morning glaze of fog slowly moving through. Below are the ones that caught my attention but be sure to check out more of his work.

Source: UnlessYouWill

Sputnik 0667 Casemod Goes Retro

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 06:57:04 PST

Love Hulten went above and beyond in his casemod, who could blame him. It's such a beautiful piece of work. Some of you may even have thought that this casemod was from the 50s and I think the artist captured that. In reality this is a PC modcase that the artist calls the "Sputnik 0667". It takes you back to the time when computers had built-in designs and used trapezoid lines and angles in its design. The designer also went to great lengths to even capture the audience more with poster ads to give it a more realistic and retro feel.

Source: Ubergizmo

Book Sculptures by Guy Laramee

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 06:37:31 PST

Guy Laramee is the man behind these two series Biblio and The Great Wall, where books become the landscape and the pages become the scenery. These books take on the shapes of mountains, plateaus and ancient structures and they capture a sense of peace and time. Check out more of his book sculptures and his photography work on his site.

Advertising from the Mad Men Era

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 08:12:29 PST

Advertising from the Mad Men Era ($59.99) is a two volume collection of fascinating advertisements from the 50s and 60s. It's a collection of thousands of images; this companion set of books offers the best in American print advertising in the age of the "Big Idea". It captures the colorful capitalism that dominated the 50s and 60s and shows the height in which magazines were flooded with campaigns selling everything from girdles to guns. It also includes a wide range of significant advertising campaigns from both eras; giving you an insight into the zeitgeist of the time but it won't be available until February 2012. You'll have to wait 2 months to get a copy but I think it would be worth the wait. Check out the other books as well on Taschen.

The Fundamental Elements of Design in Less Than 3 Minutes

noreply@blogger.com (Damion Schweizer) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:11:47 PST

“The Fundamental Elements of Design” by Erica Gorochow is an interesting and short animated video explaining design fundamentals and how they are used to build an iconic brand. I think this video gives a simple but clear picture that sometimes "less is more" in design. I think that saying of "less is more" is always going to be a big part of the design world. Check this video out and see what its all about, who knows you could save yourself 25,000 in tuition fees.

Source: UFunk.net