Thoughtful material expression can be so utterly gorgeous. Check out these pieces from Rosendahl – simple details that give just the right amount of edge to the products.
This Grand Cru oak cutting board is beautiful. I love the little thumb notch for ease of carrying.
I also really like the simplicity of this beer glass. The glass isn’t overly thick. There is just enough of a rim on the glass to prevent small spills after every sip. And the shape is designed well enough to give the beer room to breathe (or whatever it does. I’m not a beer drinker), without being overly designed.
And how could you not love these monkeys!? Look at that belly, that smile. Made of teak and limba, I’m sure they get a fine patina with age.
This rocking horse is simple and well designed. It would look perfect in any budding aesthete’s room.
Find your local dealer here.
[all images via Rosendahl]
I have an infatuation with books. Sure, I like to read them. But more than that, I like to look at groups of them. My preference has traditionally been for older books – those with a slightly musty smell, that have accumulated the oils of hands turning pages. But with all the amazing design for hardcovers lately, it’s hard to pass them by.
Coralie Bickford-Smith is a senior cover designer for Penguin. I’ve often drooled over books with covers she’s designed, and only today discovered it is she who is behind them.
I particularly enjoy the 1001 Arabian Nights series. The one above manages to appeal to several of my many types of geekery.
And I absolutely love all the covers in the Gothic Horror series. They might be a bit too scary for me to read (I still get nervous thinking about The Hound of the Baskervilles, which I read almost 20 years ago), but boy, would they look splendid sitting together on my shelf.
[all images via Coralie Bickford-Smith]
This is kind of an interesting take on creating an aesthetic appeal for solar panels, created by the Swiss Drzach & Suchy. Small solar cells, called piksols, project horizontally from a building facade, projecting shadows that create constantly changing images throughout the day.
The concept is really a modification of an earlier project called “Relativity.” I’m unsure how viable this concept is as a means of significant solar energy harvesting. But the panels are super cool. Just check out the video below.
The application of these on a building facade could potentially be beautiful or exceedingly lame. But on a smaller scale, how can you not love an image of Yoda that transforms into the Pope?
[via Unplggd]
I love the idea of having a range of scents perfectly suited for different occasions or seasons, but find myself so underwhelmed upon leaving most perfume stores. Christopher Brosius’s “CB I Hate Perfume” is a bit different.
With scents such as “In the Library” and “Winter 1972,” CB aims to evoke singular experiences and memories. They seem to be the perfect way to complement the change of seasons, or perhaps to transport yourself to warmer times in the dead of winter. I can imagine “At the Beach 1966” would be quite a treat in the middle of February, with its scents of Coppertone 1967 and accords of the North Atlantic, Wet Sand, Seashell, Driftwood and Boardwalk.
Like the main in the movie Perfume (but hopefully without all the weirdness and murder), CB seems to be able to distill nearly anything into an accord (a single-note scent). His limited selection of accords for sale include 18 different types of wood and 13 different water scents. He even has accords for Crayon and Baby Aspirin.
The packaging itself is wonderfully understated. I imagine having a multitude lined up on a shelf would look fabulous – almost mysterious and alchemical.
I wonder, though, how it’s possible to narrow down the options and purchase only one or two…
[via Design Milk]
Remember in middle school, when we folded up pieces of paper and played games that would tell us who we were going to marry, how many kids we would have, etc.? They looked something like this, except not nearly as sophisticated, beautiful or relevant.
Francisca Prieto has created several series of gorgeous paper work. Her “Between the Folds” series explores the subtle variances in security envelope patterns.
She used the same methods in a textural (pun not intended) exploration of The Complete Works of Shakespeare – all 1300 pages.
I am curious how the pages are organized. Are they grouped by act? Are they in chronological order? Are all the comedies together? It would be fascinating to see the piece in person and try to discern the pattern.
Prieto has a considerable history with typography, as well. I’m intrigued by this piece, “The Antitype.” A 3D typeface, the piece plays with the removal of half of each letter. In the mirrored surface, some letters are completed in their reflection (such as A and C), while others are confused further (such as N and E).
[via Design*Sponge]
GOOD magazine recently teamed up with Design for Haiti and held an infographic contest focused on the Haiti earthquake. They announced the winner last week: Emily Schwartzman, with this informative design.
It’s easy to read, aesthetically pleasing, and shares some interesting information. The comparison of Haiti’s and the United State’s GDPs is pretty astounding. The population of the U.S. is 30 times larger than that of Haiti, but our GDP is 2,043 times greater!
GOOD also featured another graphic, by Claire Kohler, which doesn’t solely focus on Haiti, but explores some interesting information. It correlates the depth and magnitude of the ten deadliest earthquakes over the past 15 years with the number of casualties caused.
The bottom portion of the graphic focuses on the money donated to Haiti, but I find the upper portion more interesting. Of course, there are other factors that affect loss of life, such as proximity of the epicenter to metropolitan areas, etc. But it’s amazing that the Haiti earthquake falls in the middle of the pack in terms of magnitude, but killed more than all but the 2004 tsunami.
You can check out the other submissions here. And, if you’re feeling ambitious, submit one of your own here.
[via GOOD]
I also really like the simplicity of this beer glass. The glass isn’t overly thick. There is just enough of a rim on the glass to prevent small spills after every sip. And the shape is designed well enough to give the beer room to breathe (or whatever it does. I’m not a beer drinker), without being overly designed.
