Design Year Book

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

First Glimpse Inside Apple's Grand Central Store

2011-12-08T23:52:00.001+08:00

Apple will show off its new store in Grand Central Terminal this Friday. This one-of-a-kind Apple retail store overlooks the 140-year-old train station. Also one of Apple's biggest retail outlets in the world, the store is huge- occupying 23,000 square feet.

Shoppers will be greeted with the iconic glowing Apple when they walk up the staircase to enter the store. Creative interior design and space planning complement the Grand Central’s marble floors, high arched ceilings and orb-like chandeliers, which is no surprise since Apple has stores in historic spots all over the world, like underneath the Louvre and London's Covent Garden.

The new Apple store features two Genius Bars for free technological support; rooms dedicated to personal device setup; training room; and “Personal Pickup” where customers can buy items online, but then pick up their purchase at the Grand Central Terminal store.

The store will open this Friday at 10 a.m.

+ apple

Karmøy Gravlaks Norwegian Salmon Concept Design

2011-12-07T23:00:00.000+08:00

Five students from Norway were tasked with redesigning a typical Norwegian product identity & packaging for international launch, primarily in France. The group picked up Karmøy Gravlaks, an established premium Norwegian salmon brand.

The goal was to pay attention to cultural differences and create the packaging which would help the product stands out in the typical French retail environment. In addition to a standard package containing the usual sliced pieces, we also designed a longer, narrower package containing smaller slices ready to eat.

The five students are Matias Klingsholm, Kristian Allen Larsen, Catherine Sagaute, Ole Fredrik Ekern and Audun Aas. The project was exhibited in france at Axe Sud, a french school of graphic arts and visual communication.

+ popsop

Philips Desktop Speaker by Distil Union

2011-12-07T00:30:00.000+08:00

A replacement desktop speakers for Philips aging but very successful speakers lineup, the SBA1100 & SBA1200 desktop speakers were designed with a bit of iconic style, reduce the size, and increase the quality of the materials. The ability to join all the speakers together and the rethought of the cable management created a clean little object that nests to form a little ball that you can throw in your bag or store on your desk. It protects the speaker grill in traveling and de-clutters your cable mess.

SBA1100 Philips Desktop Speaker were designed by Distil Union.

+ Distil Union

Architect Stylus by Pedro Gomes for Arctic Accessories

2011-12-05T17:31:00.001+08:00

A good product must come with a good name, that what Architect Stylus does exactly. Taking its name from the creator and designer of buildings, a highly specialized and age-old profession. This instrument draws inspiration from the shared principle of exacting precision and well-thought out sensibilities characteristic of the craft.

The Architect Stylus is a capped, 9.5mm thick stylus engineered from a solid block of aircraft grade aluminum. Its surface is anodized to a smooth, matte finish that gives a pleasant, tactile feel. The dual purpose cap protects the silicon rubber tip from the elements for lasting effectiveness. The 7.0mm smooth silicon rubber tip is designed with accuracy and ease of input in mind. The silicon tip glides much better over glassy screens than those make of foams. At 16g, the Architect has been ideally weighted; just enough to guide each stroke the user makes, and not fatigue the user with excessive weight.

With bunch of cheap generic stylus designs out there, Architect Stylus by Arctic Accessories will definetely be a favorite among architects and designers and others prefer a distinctive style with their ipad.

+ Arctic Accessories

Condoms Decorated Tree Celebrated World AIDS Day

2011-12-05T15:38:00.001+08:00

A tree decorated with water-filled condoms appears on the square of a flower market in downtown Nanjing, east China's Jiang Su Province, December 1, 2011. The work titled- "Drops of Love" was to spread the HIV prevention message. The market handed free flowers and condoms to customers to mark the 24th World AIDS Day.

+ chinahumanrights.org

The Cube Pop-up Restaurant by Electrolux

2011-12-02T23:30:00.000+08:00

A new restaurant concept by Electrolux, the CUBE is a pavilion designed to house an itinerant restaurant in unexpected & dramatic location around European historical landmarks. Two Electrolux Cube’s will travel across Europe offering a memorable dining experience for 18 guests per setting in magnificent locations. The transparent and semi-transparent structures will be seen atop of monuments, buildings and even water platforms for three months at each location.

The interior of the CUBE has been designed to suit different arrangements; the pavilion consists of a large open plan space with an open kitchen concept and a single piece Corian top dining table that can be made to disappear by raising it up to the ceiling to form a lounge area for use after eating.

The CUBE has been designed with the lightness & versatility of an exhibition stand yet with the design complexity of a building. It uses materials that are highly innovative in terms of technology, eco-sustainability and energy saving as well as enabling constant re-use.

The aim is to create an experience that surprises and inspires with fantastic tastes, gastronomic hints and tips from some of the world’s greatest chefs – supported by Electrolux as the provider of professional kitchen appliances, and never-before-seen views.

Started with a placement on top of the Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels, Belgium from 30 March to 3 July. The next destinations on the waiting list will be Milan and Stockholm.

+ Electrolux

Unusual Christmas Tree by Giles Miller

2011-11-30T23:07:00.001+08:00

This unusual cardboard made Christmas Tree was designed exclusively for the Design Museum by award winning interior and surface designer Giles Miller. Simply attach the wooden base and bird and slide the cardboard segments around the central shaft to style as you desire.

An inexpensive Christmas gift, the Giles Miller Christmas Tree is only available through Design Museum Shop.

+ Design Museum Shop

Starbucks Christmas Packaging Campaign

2011-11-30T22:48:00.001+08:00

This year Starbucks celebrates the launch of the holiday season with an innovative free Starbucks Cup Magic app that let customers find and scan all five Starbucks Holiday Characters- on Red Cups, Christmas Blend bags and then watch as they magically come to life on your mobile phone. From carolers singing holiday tunes, to an ice skater practicing her spins, to a boy and his dog having a wonderful time sledding down a hill, the Starbucks Cup Magic app allows customers to interact with Starbucks characters in a festive and fun way, Starbucks-style, for the very first time.

Develop in-house by Starbucks Global Studio in Seattle, the Starbucks holiday will features the usual red cups, Christmas blend & VIA Ready Brew and new Holiday beverage coffee.

+ Starbucks

Nokia Lumia 800 Illuminate London's Skyline in 4D

2011-11-29T08:56:00.001+08:00

To celebrate the launch of Nokia new smartphone Lumia 800, Nokia is bringing together world renowned producer, deadmau5 and the world’s leading 4D projection team for an unprecedented projection show on this November 28.

Plans are to put on a spectacular light show on the full length of the 120 meter building of London’s Millbank Tower. The show will use the 800 windows of the skyscraper as the canvas for the spectacle accompanied by a live music performance. deadmau5 will be performing two new tracks created especially for the event.

The 30-minute show will be able to be viewed from both the north and south sides of the River Thames, and will also be broadcast live online on Nokia UK's Facebook page.

Known as a "4D" projection (a term the team made up to distinguish it from normal projections), the 4D team scanned the exterior of the tower using lasers, and built a 3D model of it accurate to within 5mm. They then create animations and map them exactly to the building. The Millbank Tower will be effectively blacking out to project images of it back onto the building.

Of course, the show will culminate with a giant mobile phone appearing to mark the launch of Nokia's Lumia 800- to signals a new dawn for the company.

+ Nokia