Design Year Book

The Anatomy of a Cupcake

2012-02-24T15:12:00.000+08:00

What is starting as a personal gift- a cupcake print has travel the world, popping up on blogs everywhere from Spain to Australia. The Anatomy of a Cupcake, an art print from Allen Hemberger and Sarah Wilson (Small Batch) for their friend Lesleigh's birthday in New Zealand has captured the curator of I Love Chart, which subsequently featured on the Forbes website.

In addition to the print, you can see the process of making this poster here.

+ Small Batches

Secret Wave Formation in Arizona Desert

2012-02-20T14:24:00.000+08:00

Stunning photos captured by British photographer- Simon Byrne deep into the secret place of Arizona desert.

Described as one of the 'most beautiful geologic formations in the world', The Wave is a staggering 190 million-years-old sandstone formation in the Arizona desert located somewhere in the 112,500 acre Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness

The phenomenon is made of sand dunes that have turned to rock. They are stacked one atop another and the dunes have calcified in striking vertical and horizontal layers.

+ dailymail

Volim Honey by Kitchen Prague

2012-02-17T18:40:00.000+08:00

Seldom we saw a really nice and quality packaging design come from a far country, small producer such as Serbia. The brand’s name, identity and packaging was developed by Prague-based design firm Kitchen.

We have seen many honey bottle packaging employed a minimalist style but this one, the Volim Honey really make me warm from the heart. Probably because the honey is from the small country of Serbia, the illustrations remind me of all the fairy tales origin from all the far reach Southeastern European country. The hand drawn cartoon-feel illustrations successfully sending a warming and seasonal message to the shoppers. Overall, the packaging help to create an original and distinctive identity, with a hint of freshness for a small honey producer.

+ Kitchen

Gold and Silver Paperweight by Arik Levy

2012-02-17T09:15:00.001+08:00

Gold and silver prices are sky rocketing, but owning them isn't a dream anymore.

Designed by Arik Levy, these gold & silver paperweight or doorstop shows complete carelessness with money. Show them you are just above it all. Leave what's left to your dog. After all, only the little people pay taxes.

Also see this Pure gold Mount Fiji Jewellery by Ginza Tanaka.

+ unicacool

Digital Morphologies Chair by Riccardo Bovo

2012-02-15T08:06:00.000+08:00

An ongoing project for designer Riccardo Bovo, the intention behind Digital Morphologies Chair was to create a contemporary piece of furniture, influenced by technology developments in fabrication methods and computational strategies.The goal for this project was therefore to get rid of old archetypes influenced by well known methods of furniture making.

In order to achieve the goal, Riccardo has been working with digital technology that allowed him to explore novel shapes.The outcome is also the result of practical experimentation with digital fabrication technology such as CNC and other more traditional upholstery methodology.

+ Riccardo Bovo

The Story Behind Ferrari Logo

2012-02-08T09:30:00.000+08:00

A brilliant little piece of history found on Ferrari:

“The horse was painted on the fuselage of the fighter plane of Francesco Baracca — a heroic airman of the first world war. In ’23, I met count Enrico Baracca, the hero’s father, and then his mother, countess Paulina, who said to me one day, ‘Ferrari, put my son’s prancing horse on your cars. It will bring you good luck’. The horse was, and still is, black, and I added the canary yellow background which is the colour of Modena.” — Enzo Ferrari

+ logodesignlove

Zest Branding & Packaging by Designers Anonymous

2012-02-03T16:01:00.000+08:00

A new collection of all-natural range of pasta sauces and pesto with the motto 'nothing to hide', Zest introduced a fresh and free styles of packaging seldom see in a natural produce market.

Designed by London based Designers Anonymous, the packaging range features naive 1950's style illustrations of male and female naturist characters each proclaiming the 'free from artificial anything' message, whilst preserving their modesty with a key ingredient. The characters are found again on the back of the jar, this time displaying the complete list of ingredients, proof that that there is nothing to hide.

With each of the characters appear distinctive and holding a sandwich board with the speech bubble, the artwork very well reinforce an informal yet important message across, that is all natural and nothing to hide ingredients.

+ Designers Anonymous

The future of Online Shopping Trends (Infographic)

2012-01-31T11:12:00.001+08:00

2012 going to be a great year for online shopping. With exploding buying from the past few years, retailers of all types (especially the traditional business) eager to get a piece of online sales that estimated to hit more than £50bn in 2012. It’s getting harder to tell pure play Internet retailers from the bricks and mortar shops with online portals, and all of them are reinventing how we’ll shop online in the future. Over the last five years internet retailing has improved substantially thanks to the use of affordable 'always-on' internet connections, simple and secure payment systems and the increasing popularity of mobile devices, combined with the growth of mobile-based retail sites.

Here are the top 5 trends to watch:

1.In-store pick up. More shoppers choose to pick up themselves in-store, the reason: to save on the shipping cost and easy product inspecting.

2.Pick up depots. With increasing sales, many retailers may open pick up kiosks for goods ordered online. Such as French retailer chronodrive.com

3.Mobile Apps. The vastly use of smartphone and tablet with WiFi & 3G made it easy for shoppers to place goods online.

4.Social networking. Facebook and Twitter are the two most common platform for retailers to launch their sales & promotion strategy. It's easy to get million of Facebook users to know their deals.

5.Daily deals and flash sales. Mushrooming site such as Groupon Inc provide daily great discounts to shoppers. The discount not only limited to F&B anymore, but all kind of deals.

It is widely acknowledged that the recession has boosted the appeal of online retailing and UK consumers are more determined than ever to make every penny count.

Via: Trend Micro

Wood Clock by Mikiya Kobayashi

2012-01-31T10:00:00.000+08:00

Natural wood is a precious resource in design. A good design should minimize the waste, a great design will use the waste to create something aesthetic & useful. That what Japanese designer Mikiya Kobayashi done for the wood Clock.

This clock was made out of small pieces of woods that are reminded in the production process of other wooden products. Enjoy the unique expression of this clock with wood rings and colors, shadows appear in the inter-space.

+ more trees other projects: Perpetual Calendar | Tree Ring Clock

Agate Jewelery by Rablabs

2012-01-27T16:27:00.001+08:00

Designer Anna Rabinowicz of New York Rablabs has created many lovely jewelery inspired by nature, fusing ancient, precious materials in a luxurious palette with modern design, layering semi-precious gems, including crystal and agate, with the finishing touches of pure gold and sterling silver . . .Such as the PRATO necklace features pure silver-edged, semi-precious Brazilian agate paired with sterling silver detailing; the CINTA belts represent the ultimate convergence of nature and luxury for the waist. These belts are created from hand-polished agate, suede, and Italian leather while the JOIA ornaments are hand-polished agate stone in an assortment of six vibrant colors, adorned with a shimmering organza ribbon.

+ Rablabs

Drip Tease Tea Set by Reiko Kaneko

2012-01-23T13:48:00.000+08:00

Drip Tease Mug are a classic tea set with a contemporary twist: unwanted marks and stains become desirable decorative details. Here, tea spills are playfully turned into generous drippings of precious gold. They also have the Lip Tease Tea Set where lipstick marks are turned into a cheeky decorative feature.

+ Reiko Kaneko

Oscar Umbrella Stand by Emanuele Magini

2012-01-20T08:43:00.000+08:00

Oscar is an umbrella stand with the function of a console table. Created by Emanuele Magini, Oscar is materialization of the designer's desire of being greeted, every time back home, from someone constantly friendly and smiling; someone that takes care of whatever is in his hands and pockets. That pretty much explained the welcoming shape and opening, just like a kitten.

+ Emanuele Magini

The Upside Dome by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh

2012-01-16T19:30:00.000+08:00

One might not noticed any visible dome when visiting the St Michiel Church in Leuven, Belgium. The architects from Gijs Van Vaerenbergh decided to build an art installation that takes this seemingly trivial fact as a starting point and generate the missing dome in a remarkable way.

The installation casts light on the architecture of one of the most prestigious baroque churches of the Low Countries from a contemporary perspective. Using the design technique of the catenary, a new structure emerges in the church. The Upside Dome is a real size scale model, comprised of hundreds of meters of chain, which is literally and figuratively the counterpart of the unfinished dome.

+ More Gijs Van Vaerenbergh's works

S-XL Cake Mould by DING3000

2012-01-12T00:00:00.000+08:00

Have you facing this before? When cutting a cake, one of your friend said she on diet, a small piece will do; another friend said he was really hungry, bigger is better...If your answer is yes, then the S-XL Cake Mould designed by DING3000 is what you really need.

S-XL CAKE is a baking dish with a new approach: The shape of the cake is inspired by the permanent issue "how to divide a cake?". S-XL CAKE plays with our individual need for different sizes of cake-pieces in a decorative, provocative and ironic way by taking advantage of the new possibilities that flexible silicone baking dishes offer.

+ DING3000

Ayelet Naturals Facial Scrubs Rebranding by oh!

2012-01-05T10:30:00.000+08:00

Buenos Aires based collective, oh! has been commissioned to design a series of new label for Ayelet Naturals- an organic, aromatherapy and skincare business predominantly retailing products via online stores from New York. For their facial scrubs lines, oh! develop a label system that looks fresh, natural and beautiful to costumers' eyes. oh! used clear hues and hand drawn illustrations showing the main ingredients of each product plus little geometric shapes with powerful colors used as accent in the general color scheme. The label bright color palette successfully stand out against the deep & rich tones of the products. The result is an attractive label system easy and cheap to print and stick on standard glass jars.

+ oh!

Design Museum 'How to Design...' Books

2012-01-04T02:30:00.000+08:00

Another design books series published by Design Museum, the 'How to Design...' isn't means for the DIY people but offer a solid foundation for appreciating the accomplishments of established designers.

"How to Design a Chair" tells you everything you need to know and looks at the principles and processes of designing a chair, from its symbolic and functional properties to materials and mass-production techniques. In a working case study Konstantin Grcic, one of the world's best-known furniture designers, traces the design and development of one of his most successful chairs - the Myto - from start to finish and reveals what it takes to create a successful design.

"How to Design a Light" tells you everything you need to know and looks at the principles and processes of designing a light. In a working case study Arnold Chan, one of the world's best-known lighting designers, traces the design and development of one of his installation at the London restaurant Hakkasan, and reveals exactly what is involved in creating a successful design.

"How to Design a Typeface" tells you everything you need to know and looks at the principles and processes of designing type, from its historical roots and interaction with materials and techniques to developing digitized type for modern use. In a working case study Jonathan Barnbrook, one of the world's foremost typographers, traces the design and development of his typeface Priori from start to finish and reveals what it takes to create a successful design.

"How to Design a House" tells you everything you need to know and looks at the principles and processes of designing a house, giving an insight into the design and building process. In a working case study John Pawson, one of the world's best-known architects, traces the design and development of his own house and reveals what it takes to create a successful blueprint.

Buy it here| Other Design Museum Books

+ Design Museum Shop

Sea of Gold

2011-12-24T02:30:00.000+08:00

A truck overturn in Taiyuan, Shanxi province in North China had spilled the road into the sea of gold.

The truck loaded with twenty thousand kilos of fresh eggs had skidded the road during heavy morning fog on December 3 2011. Fortunately there were no casualties.

+ cri online

Kimono Owl Moneybox by Rigby & Mac

2011-12-22T01:00:00.000+08:00

Love this Kimono Owl money box from Rigby & Mac- handmade from Japanese Kimono silk, this lucky kimono owl moneybox will probably make its owner rich beyond their wildest dreams. Great gift for kids and anybody in this festive season.

+ Rigby & Mac

Moderna Christmas Ornaments by Helena Rohner

2011-12-19T23:30:00.000+08:00

Spanish designer Helena Rohner latest collaboration with Danish ceramics company Kähler are four unique Christmas decorations with well known motives in an updated version. Known all over the world for her characteristically gentle and sensual designs, the Moderna Christmas Ornaments consist of a bell, a dove, a spruce and an ice crystal, all of which appears like silhouettes, punched out from a thin, ceramic plate. The coloured string is a stylish contrast.

Simple and beautiful, the four Moderna Christmas ornaments marked with the distinct signature of the renowned designer.

+ kahlerdesign

World Longest Yule Log Cake at 1068m

2011-12-18T22:30:00.000+08:00

To celebrate the festive seasons, a 1,068-meter long Yule log cake is fresh out of the oven in Shangri-La Shanghai Hotel's pastry kitchen on December 1, setting a new Guinness World Record by replacing the previous 207.8 meters.

+ ecns

Nativity Scene by Alessi

2011-12-16T00:07:00.000+08:00

The Nativity scene family from Alessi is growing bigger and bigger every year. A perfect contemporary update to a heartwarming custom and a collector series of Christmas figurines, the nativity scene features hand painted key characters with their trademark quirky facial expressions. With Alessi behind the scene, no surprise that all the characters are pretty and witty. Display the entire collection to your guest and have it in sight when you tell the nativity story this Christmas.

The idea of the nativity scene first mooted when Alessi created a hand-painted porcelain nativity scene for a Christmas window display in the late 1990s. Back then, Italian cartoonist and illustrator Massimo Giacon has created the quirky interpretation of the Christmas story with his cute figures which instantly become a hit. By 2007 Alessi produced the first porcelain figure and since then, the range has been expanded each year, with input from designer Miriam Mirri and artist Marcello Jori.

+ Alessi

Urbania Tea Light by Kahler

2011-12-14T23:25:00.000+08:00

Light a candle in these townhouse-shape tea-light holders, and let the flame glows & heat flows from its window. Designed by Mette Bache and Barbara Bendix Becker of R7B Copenhagen for Danish ceramics company Kahler, Urbania ceramics tea-light holders were inspired by the varied building in the modern city of Copenhagen, from blocks of flats to town houses.

So why not create yourself a cool and minimal mood this Christmas, build your own little town from these urbania tea-light holders!

+ R7B

Level Ground Dried Fruits & Sugar Packaging by Subplot

2011-12-14T17:30:00.000+08:00

After the successful launch of Level Ground’s 2010 Complete Brand Redesign and Coffee Packaging overhaul, Canada based brand design agency Subplot has continued to redesigned Level Ground’s Organic Dried Fruit and Organic Cane Sugar Packaging, and has helped launch Level Ground’s first MicroLot offering. All products are on shelf today.

The packaging platform extends the system created in 2010, with innovative kraft paper, vapour-barrier bags with resealable zips for freshness. The Dried fruit build on the coffee platform with full-colour fruit imagery, to help play up the extraordinary taste and freshness of the product itself. Clear bags for Can Sugar allow the colour and texture of the sugar to shine through. And a new stamp graphic signifies the MicroLot system, with a revised design layout to help distinguish it from the line of regular coffees.

The portrait of a farmer inspecting his produce continue to dominate the packaging through simple single colour and half-tone execution against the earthy tones background. While the colorful label with dried fruit photo and texts cleverly make the whole packaging stand out and easily differentiate. This not only creates the image of locality, small production and fair trade, but also resolves the issue of having different design for different dried fruits.

For the sugar products, a transparent pouch is used to showcase the quality of the raw sugar combined with half-tone screen print image and white label.

+ subplot

Re-Wine Classic by Miniwiz

2011-12-13T00:19:00.001+08:00

Re-Wine Classic is a packaging solution for wine bottle. Made from Miniwiz's innovative material POLLIBER™, Re-Wine Classic™ is partially biodegradable and planet-friendly. Like a hard cardboard wrapping the wine bottle from two sides, the hard case has a clip system that allows the case to interlock with each other to create unlimited display ideas. The durable POLLIBER™ will help prevent your wine from breaking or spilling.

The blank canvas of the hard case also suitable for any graphic presentation.

+ Miniwiz

Chocolate Smurfs in Nanjing

2011-12-12T00:14:00.001+08:00

Two pastry chefs from Crowne Plaza Nanjing Hotel had taken five days and 10kg of chocolates to create a five square metres castle that houses frolicking Smurfs from the recent popular 3D family film- The Smurfs.

The Smurfs (French: Les Schtroumpfs) is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958. The original term and the accompanying language came during a meal Peyo was having with his colleague and friend André Franquin at the Belgian Coast. Having momentarily forgotten the word "salt", Peyo asked him (in French) to pass the schtroumpf. Franquin jokingly replied: "Here's the Schtroumpf — when you are done schtroumpfing, schtroumpf it back..." and the two spent the rest of that weekend speaking in "schtroumpf language". The name was later translated into Dutch as Smurf, which was adopted in English. (Source: Wikipedia)

+ peopledaily