Beijing Water Cube

This is the design for the Aquatic Center for the 2008 Beijing Olyimpic Games. The outside of the buliding was inspired by the Weaire-Phelan structure which describes they physical make up soapy water bubbles. The inside gives the effect of being under water (love it!). The building was designed by PWT of Australia. It is currently under construction. I can't wait to see the final result. (Found on yatzer.com).

X-Beam Wrench

This X-Beam wrench is a front runner (in my books) for product of the year. It has already won a Popular Science Best of What's New Award, an ID Magazine Design Award, and an IDSA IDEA Award. And all with good reason. It's a simple adjustment to traditional wrenches with a huge effect on the ergonomics and usability. Designed by Richard Macor of Proprietary Technologies, Inc., this product is effectively a 'wrench with a twist'. By adding a 90 degree twist to the center of the wrench they have created a much more solid area on which to grip the wrench, providing more torque and less strain on the wrist. Definitely file this one respectfully under 'DUH'. Available for purchase at GearWrench.com

Colour of Birds

Colourlovers is a website, much like Adobe Kruler, that allows users to create 5 colour pallets which can be imported into Illustrator (or other image creation software). They also have a blog, which is fabulous. One of my favorite parts of the blog is when they feature the colours of... something. For example the colours of birds or the colours of famous paintings. I love colour but I'm not very good at creating colour schemes, so these are great inspiration.

Your Odds

Do you want to know your odds of dying - well they are 1 in 1 or 100%. Need more specific information - check out this chart created by National Geographic last year.

Pamela Barsky Luggage Tags

I was at the airport a couple weeks ago and I actually saw a guy dive-roll onto the luggage belt after a bag that turned out not to be his. My first suggestion to avoid embarrassing instances like this is, DON'T BUY A BLACK BAG THAT LOOKS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE'S. My second suggestion is to purchase some of these witty luggage tags from Pamela Barsky. 'This is not your suitcase' - Love it.

'Your House'

Apparently commissioned by MoMA, artist Olafur Eliasson has made a 85:1 scale model of his house... inside a book. Each of the 485 pages was individually laser cut, taking about 3 months to complete.

Because it's 'Art', this time consuming process is acceptable but it seems like there must be an easier way. No disrespect to the impressive paper laser cutting skills that went into this, but a mass produced version would be great. The most interesting aspect of this book, to me, is the ability to move through the dimensions of the house as you flip through the book. It would be great to be able to experience that firsthand. (Found through Core77)

Twist and Spout

Why recycle when you can reuse? The Twist and Spout gives you no reason not to. It's a twist on spout turns used beverage bottles into watering cans. The spouts are available in two different lengths, Garden (6.5") and Kitchen (3.5"). The best part is, they are only $5! Designed by Nicolas Le Moigne. Available for purchase on PerpetualKid.com. (Found, most recently, through Outblush)

2007 IDEA Awards

The 2007 IDEA design awards have been announced. Congratulations to my friends and former co-workers JaeHo Choi, Quintin Morris, Eric Johnson, and Curt Croley on their award for the Motorola WT4000 Wearable Computer! For a full list of the winning products go the the IDSA website or the Business Week website.

Michael Cross' Bridge

This art instillation called Bridge, by Michael Cross, was part of last year's London Design Festival. The setting is an old church filed with 60 inches of water. As you approach the water you are met by one single stepping stone. Stepping out onto the stone causes a series of small platforms to rise out of the water creating a walkway. As you walk out to the center of the church, the steps disappear behind. You end up peacefully alone above the water, free to take in your surroundings. Sounds wonderful.

Unfortunately, based on people's Flickr photos it looks like the insurance company stepped in and added lifejackets and an escort to the mix as well as cutting out the disappearing steps. The effect isn't quite the same. (Found through Computerlove).

On The Edge Pots

I like these On The Edge Pots by designer Michael Hilgers. They are flower pots that can be hung over a railing, which is particularity nice to those of us with outdoor space limited to a balcony or fire escape. I find them a much more elegant solution than traditional window boxes. They look good from both sides of the railing and they can still still be used as non-hanging pots. On The Edge Pots are available for purchase from DWR for (ouch) $85.

The Opposite Side of the World

As little kids, my sister and I would often dig in the sandbox. Most of the time the imagined goal was the same - dig to China. I would have been greatly disappointed if I had done all that digging just to find out that the other side of the world was just the middle of the ocean. Luckily modern children don't need to waste their time digging... they just have to go to this website. It shows you what is on the exact opposite side of any point on earth. (Don't get your hopes up too high, odds are the other side is ocean).

Teaposy

Teaposy tea is all about the experience of tea. Their tea comes in a compressed bulb. When you place it into a (preferably clear) teapot of hot water it starts to slowly bloom. Instead of impatiently waiting for you tea to stoop, this allows you to stop, relax and enjoy the process. Click here to watch a video.

Fun with Contact Lists

Haha...this is a pretty awesome idea. Get your friends to pose on scanners or glass doors (anything that gives them that good and smushed look). Then save the images as their contact list photos (this works particularly well if you have an iPhone). It gives the appearance that they are trapped in your phone. Too funny. (Found through NOTCOT.org).

HBO Voyeur

HBO's amazing new Voyeur website allows you to peak into the windows of five New York apartment buildings. It's a stunning Flash website created by the Brooklyn based Big Spaceship that combines video, music and colors to great dramatic effect. At each building you watch the story or stories unfold over a matter of days. There is something disturbingly captivating about watching people through windows. The site is part of a larger experimental 'Hyper Media' advertising campaign by HBO.

Neil Duerden

I was just looking through the online portfolio of UK based artist Neil Duerden. He's a mixed media artist who combines vector artwork with photography. He has a lot of very nice work. I like the balance is able to strike between the real and the surreal, depending on the subject matter and client. I was actually surprised how much of his work I had seen before.

Face Your Pockets

Face Your Pockets is a Russian blog that invites you to show the world what is in your pockets. Just empty your pockets onto a scanner, insert your face, and scan. The result is a strange little glimpse into people's lives. Apparently 50% of people carry a band aid in their pocket... who knew. (Found through Core 77).

Tattoos for the Elderly

These temporary tattoos for the elderly made me giggle. They feature sayings like 'Who's your grand daddy' and 'Really old school' as well as some humorous graphics like a snake wrapped around a pill organizer. It's nice to see that some people have a good sense of humor about aging. Available for purchase through The Spoon Sisters.

Climate Cars Bike Rescue

Climate Cars are a new fleet of eco-friendly taxis in London. They drive hybrid cars and offset their emissions using The Carbon Neutral Company. What is interesting about Climate Cars is their Bike Rescue service. All of their cars carry bike racks. So if your eco-friendly self chose to ride a bike to work but then later questioned your commitment to climate change when it started pouring rain at the end of the day, you can still get a ride home from Climate Cars (complete with bike and a guilt-free conscious). (Found through Springwise).

Cut and Carve

These Cut and Carve chopping boards by Joseph Joseph are a nice twist on the traditional. Designed with Danish designer John Brauer, these cutting boards have a slanted work surface to allow liquid or crumbs to be collected on one side while still maintaining a level edge on the other side for easy transfer of food. The boards are two sided. One side features and grip area to assist with carving. Available for purchase through the Joseph Joseph site or Delight.com.

Transformers Movie

I saw the Transformers movie on the 4th and I thought it was totally awesome. If you are a fan of the original Transformers, a connoisseur of CGI, or just an action movie lover you should definitely see this film at the theater. The visual effects are were done by Industrial Light & Magic, and they are close to flawless. I think Michael Bay and team did a great job of modernizing Transformers without losing their original character and appeal.

If you haven't already done so, check out these high res renderings of the Transformers on Michael Bay's site and this Popular Mechanics Article about the movie's special effects.

Sarah Hood Jewelry

I like this inventive new line of jewelry from Sarah Hood called Landscape. It is made out of model train landscape elements. There is something about the size distortion and the material combinations that really works for me.

Deleted Images

Are you looking through your fireworks photos this morning and wondering 'What was I thinking trying to take photos in the dark without a tripod'? Well before you hit the Delete button on those blurry, out of focus and misdirected photos, check out this new blog called Deleted Images. It's a collection of to-be-deleted images which on their own are just examples of bad photography, but together as a collection become something very artistic.

Diesel Holographic Fashion Show

Check out some of this video footage of Diesel's Spring/Summer 08 catwalk show last week. They used animated holograms to make underwater creatures and graphics swim the runway along with the models. It is a pretty amazing overall effect. For more information read this article on the Creative Review Blog.