Best Ads of ’08

For a split second we asked ourselves, are we really going to do another “Best of…” list this year? The debate was short, and in the aftermath we’re proud to announce that we’re expanding our tradition for the third straight year. For 2008, we’ve added new categories to the mix, which now includes: Ads, Threads, EcoGreen, Gadgetry, ArchiBuild, Community, and Artistes. More importantly, we’ve also injected our favourite runner ups, honourable mentions, or whatever you want to call them, and dragged the entire thing out over the course of an entire week. Confused? Don’t be. Strap on your NYE party hat, and get ready to re-live the “Best of 2008″ according to HC2.

Best Ads 2008, Saatchi & Saatchi, X-Ray Lungs, Arcor Bubble Gum, Gorge Grown Farmers Market

Advertising is something we refer to a lot around here, so we decided to dig a bit deeper within this new category and uncover the best ways to communicate corporate messages and schlep cheesy wares. Saatchi & Saatchi top the list with their X-Ray Lungs, which are essentially transparent lung x-rays affixed to the front of cigarette butt containers. Honourable mentions go out to the playful 3D pulp for Arcor Bubble Gum, and the Godzilla-sized produce care of the Gorge Grown Farmers Market. Don’t forget to check back tomorrow, when we’ll list the top threads of ’08.

Lego Album Covers

After examining our analytics over the last year, we found that we got a lot of hits when we ran a story about famous pictures that had been re-imagined with Lego. Really? Are people that enamoured with the toy of the century that they’re consistently hitting our flagship site with their Lego-related searches? In hopes that some of these folks found other useful content in our Design News, we’re breaking out one last Lego post for 2008.

Lego Album Covers, famous album covers, hip hop album covers, hip hop album covers in Lego, Run DMC, A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, Old Dirty Bastard

Today’s post takes aim at Lego in a whole new, thug life wearing, champaign poppin’, Masarati squealing sort of way. From Run DMC, to Mos Def, A Tribe Called Quest and even the Old Dirty Bastard (RIP), take a look at 20 hip hop albums that have been totally revamped with Lego.

Lego Album Covers, famous album covers, hip hop album covers, hip hop album covers in Lego, Run DMC, A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, Old Dirty Bastard

Ice Wall

A giant Ice Wall was erected outside the Royal Festival Hall, which encompassed an array of fruit, vegetables and seafood magnificently suspended in ice. This artistic display showcased the freshness and high quality of frozen foods. Say what? At five meters wide and two meters high, the Ice Wall, unsurprisingly, was a real crowd puller amongst the many day-trippers and office workers milling around along the Southbank. According to Brian Young, Director-General of the BFFF “The purpose of the Ice Wall was to strip away the packaging and showcase the freshness of this essential food item. It was frozen food ‘naked’ and on display for everyone to see. This exhibit proved that frozen is one of the freshest and most natural forms of food you can buy.”

Ice Wall, Brian Young, BFFF, Royal Festival Hall, ice sculpture

Trace a Face

‘Trace a Face’ is a collaboration between Konst & Teknik and Jonathan Puckey. 13 fellow artists and designers were asked to trace a face using the ‘Delauney Raster’, a custom-written image vectorization tool for adobe illustrator by Jonathan Puckey. The tool combines the intuitive and motion based character of a brush or a pencil with the distortive and manipulating characteristics of a filter. The publication aims to encourage and discuss the development and usage of modern tools in contemporary graphic design practise and is the first in an ongoing series of collaborative publications initiated by Konst & Teknik. Contributors include: 1:2:3, Europa, Fageta, Florian Ludwig, Harm van den Dorpel, Kristina Brusa, Laurenz Brunner, Martijn Hendriks, Martin Ström, NODE Berlin Oslo, Ola Persson, Stefan Narancic and Abäke.

Trace a Face, Konst, Teknik, Jonathan Puckey, 1:2:3, Europa, Fageta, Florian Ludwig, Harm van den Dorpel, Kristina Brusa, Laurenz Brunner, Martijn Hendriks, Martin Ström, NODE Berlin Oslo, Ola Persson, Stefan Narancic, Abäke

Torre Bicentenario

Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) has designed what will be the tallest tower in Latin America, to be built in the centre of Mexico City. The 300m tall Torre Bicentenario (Bicentenary Tower) will be completed in time for the 200th anniversary of Mexico’s independence in 2010. The building is to accommodate 160,000 m2 of office space, a convention centre, site museum and gym as well as retail and restaurants. In addition a 170,000 m2 public parking garage is part of the project. The high-rise is conceived by the stacking of two pyramidal forms. This produces a form that is at once familiar yet unique. At the junction of the two pyramids, a sky lobby acts as the transfer point between shuttles and local elevators. This space will offer extensive views over the park and the city beyond.

Torre Bicentenario, Office for Metropolitan Architecture, OMA, Bicentenary Tower, green building, LEED building, sustainable architecture, Mexico

Two voids penetrate the building at its widest point providing ventilation and natural light. Whilst traditional high-rises tend to internalize this feature with an atrium, the Torre Bicentenario, projects it onto the facade cutting into the building. A pattern of reflective glass panels covering 50% of the interior surface maximizes light penetration. The void twists at its midpoint, opening at the bottom toward the park and at the top toward the city, connecting the building to its surroundings. The two districts adjacent to the Torre Bicentenario, Las Lomas and Polanco, are separated by a major highway. To provide a link between them, a new pedestrian bridge is proposed establishing a shortcut reconnecting formerly disengaged sections of the park and the city.

Torre Bicentenario, Office for Metropolitan Architecture, OMA, Bicentenary Tower, green building, LEED building, sustainable architecture, Mexico

Nest House

Life in the city is complicated. Basic necessities such as housing are subject to complex and absurd obligations. Freedom is reduced depending on what you have or need. Birds don’t pay the rent. They settle into a place (usually my garage) and use the nearest resources (my garbage). Their nests form part of nature. Learning from them, someone decided to build the Nest House, a simple metal and rope structure completed with natural materials such as leaves and branches. It doesn’t take up room, it hangs from a tree with a thick tape so as not to harm it. Once installed, it can be used as an observation point or as an essential habitat where one can spend the night. The Nest House allows us a perception of the natural space, as a set for animal, plant and human life.

Nest House, tree house, hanging house, hanging shelter

Bloomberg Newcontemporaries

Don’t Panic has some wonderful coverage of Bloomberg Newcontemporaries, an exhibition that displays a wide range of works from oil paintings, to print, films and sculptures. The jury of Ken Lum, Ceal Floyer and Richard Billingham chose 57 fine art students from around the country in an effort to give them a proper stage to show their works to a broader audience. St-Clair Clarke’s sculpture, “The Unconscious Significance of Hair: Queen” is a massive, black creation with soft shapes and romantic details, mainly made out of synthetic hair. Grossly appealing, but not as amazing as Steve Bishop’s “Suspension of Disbelief”, a twisted mix of taxidermy and light.

Bloomberg Newcontemporaries, Ken Lum, Ceal Floyer, Richard Billingham, Steve Bishop, Don't Panic

At the entrance of the exhibit, Littlewhitehead’s masked man “So Many Fellows Find Themselves” welcomes the audience. “The installation is a man in a chair, looking relaxed and thoughtful. It takes a while to decide if it is a performance or not. Last but not least, Paul Westcombe’s filthy “Coffee Cups” gives the sense of dirt poured into your imagination, with a decaying world of sex and self abuse and watercolour comics. Yes, it’s fun the whole family can enjoy on this XMas day.

Bloomberg Newcontemporaries, Ken Lum, Ceal Floyer, Richard Billingham, Steve Bishop, Don't Panic

Falling Tetris Bricks

Yay…more Nintendo art. From the mean streets of Sydney, Australia, massive falling Tetris block sculptures are floating overhead the narrow corridors of Abercrombie Lane. Unfortunately, the exact location of these falling Tetris bricks is unknown, but finding them might be worth the extra effort. How I would love to have a set of these floating around my backyard. Though I doubt my neighbours would appreciate the retro gaming decor. For more information and visual goodness, check out Justin James’s Flickr gallery.

Tetris Sculptures, Tetris art, floating art, Abercrombie Lane, Justin James

Kate Kretz

Kate Kretz was raised on a visual regimen of Catholicism and Technicolour films. This rich, lurid vocabulary, full of resplendent light, is used as a seductive device to pose questions about the more complex or convoluted aspects of the world surrounding us. Her work demonstrates her interest in issues of class, power, manipulation, and internally coherent systems of illusion, whether occurring on a personal or global scale.

Kate Kretz, painting, art, fine art, pop art, Jesus art, religious art, modern religious art

Kate says: “I create across media boundaries, in materials deemed most suitable to the content, often worked to the point of obsessiveness. The cathectic aspect of my work is vital: a gift given to the viewer. As our world becomes more virtual, I find myself increasingly seduced by the tactile and handmade.” We just love her work, specifically her paintings which include the Holy Mother (Angelina), Jesus night lights, which are pretty suitable during the holiday season.

Kate Kretz, painting, art, fine art, pop art, Jesus art, religious art, modern religious art

6emeia

The 6emeia project was created and developed by the artists Anderson Augusto, also known as SÃO, and Leonardo Delafuente, also known as Delafuente. The duo live in the Barra Funda neighborhood of São Paulo where they began the project with the purpose of changing and transforming daily life. The duo’s objective is to modify the means within which we all live, proposing a new way to view things by reflecting upon themes generated through creative and unusual works. Such modifications are made by painting storm drains, light posts, manhole covers and any other object which makes up the urban scenario.

6emeia, SÃO, Leonardo Delafuente, Delafuente, Barra Funda, São Paulo, urban art, graffiti

With the painted storm drains, a new type of communication is proposed between art and the city as well as between art and the residents. Art then becomes within the reach and at the service of everyone. By looking with care at the most forgotten and indifferent objects, one can take in art in a new way. The painted storm drains are like colourful drops falling into an immense ash-coloured canvass. The work itself has been well received by the residents of the places which are painted, which affirms the fact that art does not always need to be viewed on the walls of galleries and museums.

6emeia, SÃO, Leonardo Delafuente, Delafuente, Barra Funda, São Paulo, urban art, graffiti

NYC by Iosa Ghini Associati

A new building ‘New York Residence’ designed by the Iosa Ghini Associates is under construction and will be ready in June 2009, adjacent to New York Palace Hotel in Budapest. The project includes three main parts: (1) the expansion of the New York Palace Boscolo Luxury Hotel including sixty new rooms and a floor of dedicated office space; (2) a conference centre that will be connected to the business areas of the New Palace Hotel; (3) a 500 seat Auditorium with adjacent business and leisure areas, all designed by Milan-based Iosa Ghini Associati.

Iosa Ghini Associati, New York Palace Hotel, Budapest, Erzsébet korut, Rackozi Ut

The ground floor will have a large Commercial Gallery and business centre, with five entrances that will connect the hotel to the boulevard Erzsébet korut to Rackozi Ut, where there will be the new building, drawing and enveloping visitors with artistic lines. Lastly, the project will also comprise 140 condominiums including penthouses with large balconies.The apartments are designed with flair and particular attention to material and details.The residential apartments are of two types: simplex and duplex.Simplex condos, from the first to the fifth floor, are with areas of 30 Sqm to 90 Sqm. Duplex condos will be on the sixth and seventh floor, with areas of 70 to 100 Sqm. All duplexes have large balconies.The design of the apartments are characterized by the fluidity of the lines of the gibs layers.

Iosa Ghini Associati, New York Palace Hotel, Budapest, Erzsébet korut, Rackozi Ut

Hypnos

French car manufacturer Citroën have designed Hypnos, a diesel-electric hybrid 4×4 concept car, which was awarded concept car of the year by British motoring magazine Autocar last month. The 4.9m car features rear hinged back doors and an offset seating arrangement with seats upholstered using “prism-shaped components”. Strangely enough, a camera installed in the ceiling monitors the driver’s facial expressions and alters the cabin’s lighting and smell according to their mood.

Citroën, concept car, Hypnos, Autocar, diesel electric, hybrid, Leighanne Earley, Paris Motor Show

The British designer of Hypnos’ interior, Leighanne Earley, won the Autocar award for Automotive Leader of the Future. The design was shown at the Paris Motor Show in October. Citroën has released more details about the spectacular Hypnos concept as the car makes its world premiere at the prestigious Paris Motor Show. A bit too futuristic for my liking, but worth a nod nonetheless.

Citroën, concept car, Hypnos, Autocar, diesel electric, hybrid, Leighanne Earley, Paris Motor Show

Paraquad Ad

Paraquad is a not for profit community organization serving paraplegic and quadriplegic individuals in South Australia. They are committed to serving and promoting the best interests of people with disabilities in a manner which recognizes their worth and dignity, their right to experience life’s events and develop their full potential. In an effort to raise awareness, and ensure that the general public has a better understanding of what it is to be disabled, they’ve created a clever anti-drinking and driving campaign that’s been installed in various bars. Essentially, the ads are wheels that can be tacked onto regular chairs to give the appearance that they are wheelchairs. The visuals are pretty effective, and hopefully enough people will make the connection and arrange alternative transpo when they’re tying one on.

South Australia, Paraquad Ad, paraplegic advertisement, quadriplegic advertisement, paraplegic awareness, quadriplegic awareness

Gwanggyo Power Center

Rotterdam-based architects MVRDV recently won the Gwanggyo City Centre Competition with their design of this incredible new city just south of Seoul, South Korea. Envisioned as a verdant acropolis of organic ‘hill’ structures, the proposed complex is a fully self-sufficient city for up to 77,000 inhabitants. Similar nodes, common in South Korea, concentrate residences, work and play all in one interactive centre, reducing dependency on auto or train travel and building a strong sense of community. MVRDV’s masterplan provides space for housing, offices, shops, and educational facilities.

MVRDV, Gwanggyo Power Center, Seoul, South Korea, Gwanggyo City, concept design, green building

Designed as a cluster of structures rising up in concentric rings, each floor in the city is lined with lush box hedges that improve ventilation while reducing energy and water usage. An internal irrigation system stores extra water from the buildings and uses it to sustain these green facades. MVRDV states: “This diverse program has different needs for phasing, positioning and size. To facilitate this all elements are designed as rings. By pushing these rings outwards, every part of the program receives a terrace for outdoor life.” The concept is currently being reviewed for development and feasibility at Gyeonggi provincial authority’s Urban Innovation Corporation. Development is to be completed in 2011 and construction will start shortly after.

MVRDV, Gwanggyo Power Center, Seoul, South Korea, Gwanggyo City, concept design, green building

8-Bit in 3D

Regular readers of this small intersection on the Interweb will know two things. Firstly, that we’ve probably started numerous posts with the phrase “regular readers…”, and secondly that we are video game junkies. Specifically, we have an affinity for most Nintendo-based art forms, as it truly reminds us of our roots, and past lives as NES, SNES and now Wii fanatics. Not to be repetitive, but we’ve talked about how awesome the blurred line between video games and reality has become, which sort of leads us to today’s post.

8-Bit in 3D, NES, SNES, Sega Dreamcast, N64, art

Again, the likes of the Wii, and moreso the PS3 and XBox 360 have propelled the world of gaming into new, ultra realistic realms. But there was a time when simple 3D, the kind that was popularized by systems including the N64, and Sega Dreamcast, was a feat in and of itself. Given the ability of PC-based artists to render pretty much anything they want, a small group has set out to re-create 8-bit gaming scenes in the raw, junky 3D that pioneered the way for Gran Turisimo, Gears of War, World of Warcraft, and all the rest. They remind us how far gaming has come over the past decade, and answer the what if regarding how Mario Brothers would look according to the standard set 10 years ago.

8-Bit in 3D, NES, SNES, Sega Dreamcast, N64, art

Baloon Designs

Last month I celebrated my champagne birthday, and while I was at my parent’s house, some younger family members were playing around with balloons. After a while, the static clinging antics got extremely annoying, but I had to remind myself that there was a point in time when I would have been mesmerized, nay enamoured with a handful of balloons. I remembered that my grandmother used to put coins, and paper money in balloons, and after a birthday meal, we would be permitted to select one, and lay claim to the prize therein. To be a kid again…

Balloon Designs, balloon animals, balloon shapes, creative balloon, unique balloon, award winning balloon

Think that’s creative, then you have not seen the likes of the world’s best balloon designs. From tanks sculpted entirely out of balloons, to anatomically correct portrayals of skeletal balloon animals, and even the worlds most elaborate air balloons. Although you couldn’t pay me enough to take a ride in the latter, I invite you to join me on an inflatable journey through the wonderful world of balloon art. Keep your body parts inside the train at all time, and enjoy your flight.

Balloon Designs, balloon animals, balloon shapes, creative balloon, unique balloon, award winning balloon

Newton Running

Last summer, I renewed my interest in running by warming up to a significantly sized loop in my city. My interest in man’s oldest sport was undoubtedly tied to the purchase of a new pair of proper running shoes, which not only jump started my new pursuit, but also saved my feet and shins from excruciating pain. While I was in the local sporting goods store, I was shocked to see how much packaging came with a pair of runners. Rather than take it all home and recycle it myself, I left it at the register when it was time to cash out. My rationale is that if enough people follow suit, retailers will complain to manufacturers, who in turn, might cut down on over packaging. On that note, Newton has come up with a new way to package running shoes, which is a step up from the current standard, but it falls short of my personal vendetta to rid the running shoe world of any packaging. That said, my solution might not be conducive to shipping standards, whereas Newton’s recycled containers are at least stackable.

Newton Running, Newton running shoe, running shoe packaging, renewable packaging, sustainable packaging

Marshall Alexander

We’ve featured some pretty neat foldable designers before, but today’s artist should be considered a leader within this growing field. Marshall Alexander’s obviously been busy growing his repertoire of downloadable goodies, and the end result is truly worth a look see. Whether you’re a fan of paper toys, or his new set of foldschool heroes, I doubt you’ll go away unimpressed, or within the urge to try ‘em out. How hard can it be.

Marshall Alexander, foldschool heroes, paper sculpture, paper art, downloadable paper art

On his site, Marshall states: “growing up in the seventies and eighties, my childhood memories basically consist of videogames, bright plastic toys and TV cartoons. Any time that was left I spent drawing and programming games for my Commodore 64. At a later age a few of my childhood dreams became a reality when I temporarily moved to Melbourne, where I worked as a videogame programmer, did oil-painting in a studio and had my work displayed in one of the local galleries. After a course in Graphic Design I made a career-switch and became a graphic designer/illustrator. Currently back in The Netherlands I work at a small design company and spend my spare time illustrating my childhood memories and designing papertoys.” He’s livin’ the dream.

Marshall Alexander, foldschool heroes, paper sculpture, paper art, downloadable paper art

Glitter Herpes

As soon as I saw this print, I knew I had to write about it. Although my disdain for glitter as nothing to do with the movie, or my past experience with crafting, but rather it has everything to do with female fashion. Too many times I’ve sat down on my couch, or buckled into my car only to find that the person who occupied the space before me had shed 5 lbs of sparkles. And thus, I was now covered in sparkles, which regardless of how much cleaning, would pester me and my attire for weeks to come. For that reason, I love Because Studio’s Glitter Herpes.

Because Studio, Glitter Herpes, I hate glitter, glitter craft supplies, glitter sucks

Matthew Carden’s Small World

Photographer Matthew Carden’s “Small World” photographs are a poignant, artistic reminder to cherish every tiny morsel of food this Thanksgiving (for American readers), or during the upcoming Christmas etc… Finding bounty in each bite will help preserve the planet and foster a healthy, mindful approach to consumption. On a global scale, Slow Food (as opposed to “fast food”), is an organization which seeks to educate people with regard to their relationship to food. They “believe that the food we eat should taste good; that it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work.”

Matthew Carden, Small World, Slow Food, 100 mile diet, food art, food sculpture, food photography

Matthew Carden’s pictorial elicits an understanding of the paradox that food is both a whimsical pleasure and a precious, vital gift. Carden’s aim is to “make viewers more aware of what they eat, and to simply think about food as an integral part of our world.” Via the juxtaposition of tiny figures amidst “seemingly colossal” food, his photographs, “speak of abundance and the ultimate waste produced on a daily basis in our land of plenty.” Great tilt shift photos if nothing else.

Matthew Carden, Small World, Slow Food, 100 mile diet, food art, food sculpture, food photography

Souther Salazar

Did you watch your Lost like a good little reader? Well, good then. From the depths of dreams, imagination and creativity lies the artist named Souther Salazar. Familiar with a variety of techniques and materials, Salazar has created a fairytale world, where nothing is off limits and everything is breezy, beautiful and untamed. Thus far, his work has been unveiled in Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo. With his go-with-the-flow attitude, Salazar has created fantastic illustrations, sculptures, and installations that have captured a throng of people’s curiosities and kept them glued to his visual stories, wondering what is next to come.

Souther Salazar, illustration, sculpture, art installation, painting, modern contemporary

Regarding his preference to draw animals instead of people, he states: “there’s more room for invention with animals. I feel like I can just have fun and make things up without referencing anything and it can still be true to the strange variety of the animal world. But ultimately I think animals, humans, buildings, plants… they don’t necessarily represent themselves. They are all just things that come out of my mind so they’re me and my imagination and my memories of people and places, all mixed up and regurgitated. A cat could be a girl, a hill could be an old man, a rock could be my house.”

Souther Salazar, illustration, sculpture, art installation, painting, modern contemporary

Lost on Big Cartel

Hello reader. Today we’re travelling to the wonder world of t-shirt designs, and another BIG community driven creator known as Big Cartel. Now, we’ve never really given Big Cartel their due props, but essentially, I would describe their scheme as more open than Threadless, as anyone can submit and get their products online for sale. Sure that seems cool for the average Joe, but honestly, who wants to spend a little bit more (for shipping, currency conversion, originality etc…) for average tees? So, when a cool design or designer comes along on Big Cartel, we take notice.

Flight 108 Big Cartel, Big Cartel, Threadless, Lost, Sawyer, Jack, Locke, Lock, Kate, Hurley, Ben, Ethan, Juliette, Jacob

For instance, the new Lost t-shirt series have us chewing our fingernails in preparation for the upcoming season of Lost. What’s that, you haven’t heard of Lost before. Okay, seriously, before you can read another post on this online diary of designs, you must go out and at least rent the first disk of the first season of this hit show. I’m not even sure it’s a hit anymore, as it’s more like crack. In all seriousness….stop watching re-runs of Seinfeld and Cheers and give Lost a chance, and then perhaps you’ll want to purchase some of this cool Flight 108 paraphernalia.

Flight 108 Big Cartel, Big Cartel, Threadless, Lost, Sawyer, Jack, Locke, Lock, Kate, Hurley, Ben, Ethan, Juliette, Jacob

Milk Glass LED Lamp

Now that I am a homeowner, I feel that my time and attention have focused moreso on the world of tangible design items. Whether it’s a paint scheme, or theme for a room, I am logging many hours around the house to make our new nest fit for the pterodactyls king. Although we have yet to tackle painting or furnishing the bedroom, I noticed these cool LED lights, which appear to be glasses of milk. Pretty useless, especially if you actually take a cold glass of milk to bed with you, but sort of neat. Considering the fact that my frosted lamps were demolished in the move to the new place, these might have a chance…okay, not really. But they’re still pretty cool.

Milk Glass LED Lamp, LED lamp, glass of milk, glass of milk sculpture, glass of milk lamp

Honda FC Sport

Honda’s FC Sport makes significant improvements over their infamous FCX Clarity’s weight and performance. To make these advances, HC2′s favourite car manufacturer drew upon their expertise in developing sports racing cars. The ultimate goal was to develop a lightweight vehicle with a low center of gravity and a high performance electric power train. The key to this design concept was the modular distribution of the stack of fuel cells. This allowed them to properly balance the weight of the vehicle while creating a larger cabin space. Damn, why didn’t Toyota think of that, well because Honda is better of course.

Honda FC Sport, FCX Clarity, Honda, Honda concept car, Honda future model

The FC Sport’s unique profile has also been finely tuned to increase its efficiency. The vehicle rides quite low to the ground, and the slim shape of its body improves its aerodynamic profile. The design team from the Advanced Design Studio of Honda America also visualized a variety of green construction techniques that would be incorporated into the vehicle’s design. Although we may never see the FC Sport outside of motor shows, it clearly shows that car manufacturers are pushing forward in their quest to create innovative, greener vehicles.

Honda FC Sport, FCX Clarity, Honda, Honda concept car, Honda future model

Laptop Bench

This outdoor seating project is the work of Adriano Design, a Torino based studio. The team is now working with Colomer, who will begin manufacturing these pieces in the next few months. While most cities have lots of benches and similar street furniture, these designs are centuries old and not designed with contemporary needs in mind. So when Adriano Design set out to meet the needs of city dwellers today, they had to re-examine what was needed. Their findings led them to design a two-level seat (aka the Laptop Bench), where one level is used for sitting and the other functions as a surface for eating or using a computer. As a laptop convert, I would love to see this trend increase in popularity and make its’ way across the pond.

Adriano Design, Laptop Bench, laptop table, laptop park, Torino, Italy

Best of Tilt Shift

This thing called WikiPedia describes tilt shift photography as: “positioning the lens relative to the image plane and using a large aperture to achieve a very shallow depth of field. The technique relies on the Scheimpflug principle and usually requires the use of special lenses.” In case that makes no sense to you whatsoever, simply look below this body of text, and take in some of the best tilt shift artists the Internet has to offer.

Tilt Shift Photography, tilt shift, miniature photography, tilt shift photo

We’ve featured this type of art in the past, with the likes of Thomas’ City Shrinker, but these miniaturesque images are la creme de la creme of the artists who’ve created them. There are simply too many favourite pictures and creative minds on this list to mention them all, so that said, I strongly encourage you to explore and get lost in a beautiful world that was built for ants.

Tilt Shift Photography, tilt shift, miniature photography, tilt shift photo

BLOC28

Disney has collaborated with well-known contemporary artists Aroe, Bojorquez, Ewok, Rime, Suiko and Tenga to create unique Mickey Mouse inspired art. Each artist has created a rare, one-of-a-kind piece in their signature style. From limited edition Washfurn guitars, to New Era hats, and even a huge collection of numbered prints, it was all up for grabs in the BLOC28 charity auction.

BLOC28, Aroe, Bojorquez, Ewok, Rime, Suiko, Tenga, Greg 'Crayola' Simkins, Greg Simkins, Crayola

This is the second wave of artists to take part in teh BLOC28 project, which has previously been graced by one of our faves, Greg ‘Crayola’ Simkins. BLOC28 helps raise funds for Art Share LA – a community arts incubator whose mission is to shape lives through art, education and community action. Go check out the portfolio, and if you’re lucky enough to have the opportunity, bid on their next auction of cool stuff.

BLOC28, Aroe, Bojorquez, Ewok, Rime, Suiko, Tenga, Greg 'Crayola' Simkins, Greg Simkins, Crayola

CIV

You could be looking at Bond’s newest toy, or something nerdy climatologist use to get to the poles. Designer by Kieron Bradley, who gained experience designing formula 1 race car chassis, is now the lead mind behind CIV (Concept Ice Vehicle), which was built as a manned scout rover for a trans-Antarctic expedition. Andrew Regan, the expedition’s leader, states, “If you can run bio-fuels successfully in the most harsh and extreme environment in the world, then there is no reason why you can’t use them to get to the supermarket!” The engine of the CIV is a supercharged BMW 1150 that has been adapted to run on biofuels. The propulsion system is via propeller and the 800 pound vehicle has a top speed of 84mph.

Concept Ice Vehicle, CIV, Andrew Regan, biofuel, BMW, Ice Penetrating Radar, IPR

This CIV is a cross between an Ultralight and a snowmobile. The machine comes equipped with an Ice Penetrating Radar (IPR) that scans for weakness in the substrate that might threaten the expedition. There is room for little else besides the pilot as this is meant to be a scout, and if necessary, man hauled over nasty terrain. Now all they need to do is make these things 10 times bigger, so that rich morons can trade in their Humvees and Escalades.

Concept Ice Vehicle, CIV, Andrew Regan, biofuel, BMW, Ice Penetrating Radar, IPR

SMART Car Vending Machine

SMART cars are anything but new, and in all honesty I’ve been rather disappointed with the lack of new, and upgraded models since the launch of the original. I suppose it’s also comforting to know that it’s makers put out a product that they think will stand the test of time (or at least for the time being), so that it doesn’t need to be re-vamped and re-released every quarter. In an effort to drum up interest in the SMART Car in Japan, advertisers have created a life size, car-dispensing vending machine, which allows consumers to select one of two options: coupe or cabrio. Pushing the button on the vendor won’t exactly eject a new car, but it does dispense a branded tube containing pamphlets on the models, dealer information, and a sheet of SMART Car stickers featuring the available colours. Pretty smart (pun intended, deal with it).

SMART Car, SMART, Vending Machine, Shibuya, car vending machine, creative advertisement

Transparent Billboards

I am a child of the Nintendo generation. I can still remember opening Duck Hunt and Super Mario Brothers as a part of my brand new gaming console. I spent hours perfecting my skills, and when it came time to upgrade, I followed Mario’s exploits with the SNES. As I grew older, I had no real interest in purchasing future generations of Nintendo consoles, as I relied moreso on computer games such as Doom and Half Life for my fix. Now as a twenty something, I own the latest Nintendo console, which meets my sporadic spikes of casual gaming.

Play Station, Sony Play Station, Sony Play Station Portable, Sony PSP, PSP advertisement, see through billboard, Transparent Billboards

Sure the Wii is probably the least powered machine on the market today, but that said, it makes up for it with it’s revolutionary controller and a modest selection of games. As for the other consoles, they’re certainly worth mentioning as a cause of the hyper-realistic graphics and game play. Gone are the days of squashing Goomba’s and spitting fireballs towards Koopas and Hammer Brothers. Today is the era of hi-def street racing, post traumatic stress inducing D-Day assaults and the always popular grand theft auto. To drive home the realistic aspect of the lastest generation of PSP games, transparent billboards were erected to highlight the blurred line between gaming and the world around us. They’ll make you do a double take.

Play Station, Sony Play Station, Sony Play Station Portable, Sony PSP, PSP advertisement, see through billboard, Transparent Billboards

Dot Envelope

Slovenian architects Ofis Arhitekti have completed the facade of a shopping mall in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Due to budget constraints, the architects were commissioned to decorate three walls of the building using only enough material to cover one wall. Their solution, called Dot Envelope, uses bronze-painted steel panels on parts of the facade, with discs cut from the panels arranged over the rest of the concrete surface. Plants will be grown over chains linking the disks.

Ofis Arhitekti, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Dot Envelope

The facility has a customer-centric vibe with parking facilities on 3 sides of the building. Hence it was important to cover 3 sides with a decorative, but stay within a budget that accommodated only one side. To accommodate the budget and dynamics of the facility, the architects divided the exterior surface into three partial coverings of various lengths.

Ofis Arhitekti, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Dot Envelope