Good Design
 

We've been writing a good deal about architecture, fonts, art (high and low), fashion, etc. Thought we could use a thread dedicated to good design (in general). Book design, packaging, ID, etc.

Came across this today on BoingBong, and found the concept delightful.

However you define "good design", if you come across something you like, please share it.

Also came upon a site dedicated to film titles and credits, which I often enjoy more than the film or tv show (True Blood being a good example).

http://www.artofthetitle.com/

Oh, those sandwich boxes are an extremely aesthetically pleasing!

Love it! Cool find!

We had sandwiches in boxes like that (without the artwork) at Edinburgh airport. It was GREAT package design.

There is a place called Structural Graphics that specializes in in three-dimensional and interactive printed pieces.

They have the coolest business card (which I hope to find again some day). It is a standard size fold-over card. When you open it up, there is a "pop up" fax machine and as you open the card, a "fax" is coming through the "machine."

Does good craft design fall into this category?

I fell in love with these pincushions - which I'd love to get for my sister and mother.



And while examining the artist's archives, I came upon this her terrific quilted tikis.

So is this the Diverse Design Deliberations Thread?

Is it just me, or does the snowman look mildly distressed, as if he is fully knowledgeable that someone might thrust a pin into him at any moment?

Love these!

Mr. Bill the Snowman.:eek:

I think he's worried about rolling off that steep hill.

Want

I was just admiring something similar:

I'd say the pin cushions fall under design, since they are in some way functional. (I include graphic design, since it's purpose is also functional: messaging, advertising, etc.) Cool find!

I love when designers take ubiquitious visuals from everyday life nd turn them into art or craft.

Google Print Sari



Google Dish Towls.

Aww, I was totally going to wear that to the party. You ruined the surprise! ;)

Most coveted [book] covers.

Further, I have a major girl boner for Penguin's.

The Gothic Red series (not available in the US, and a bit pricey - for me - to purchase from the UK) is also STUNNING. Painfully so.

Stunning indeed! :eek: Gorgeous.

Once upon a time I wanted to be a book designer. And then I chose to attend a college that had no emphasis in design...and, for my first two and a half years there, had little more technology than computers that could process words.

Looking at these jackets, I feel a painful lack. Gah. But I thrill at the beauty.

Courtesy Boing Boing, 2 sets of illustrated alphabets:

Modern Design

Star Wars

Why are there two each of the B, E, N, and W?

Umm, indecision and lack of an editor?

I tried come up with some use for the extra letters for, but was unable to (other than Newb, which really didn't seem to fit in this instance).

I think one of the hallmarks of good design are simple changes that bring new functions to every day objects....

Stop for a second and ask yourself how you might improve a bedside lamp and then look at this idea

Simple, elegant and useful not to mention costing next to nothing. That's good design.

Reminds me of a Carrot Top joke prop. And if you really need it (I'm apparently a freak in that I just remember where I was in books so don't generally use bookmarks at all) that lamp already has a bookmark function without the phallic addition. Two, by my count.

<librarian>

That will damage the spines of books. Not recommended, not good design!

</librarian>

I look at it at say "Cat Toy!"

Because the bookmark is too thick? Would it help if the lamp's "member" was ultra thin?

I'd say that would make it much more viable. Leaving it to hang there for a long period wouldn't be good regardless.

Most bookmarks today are awfully thick things and it constantly surprises me that people buy and use them. There are plush bookmarks, for crying out loud. Those metal wedge ones aren't much better. If it's your own book it's your own problem, I guess, though I try to treat mine well.

I know what you mean. It's so much easier to just fold over the pages.

Or just tear off the pages you've already read, and throw them out. You don't need them anymore.

That takes too much effort, you can always just set it face down on the table open to your page.....

Technically speaking, anything inserted into the pages near the spine is not good for the spine. But that is just on a pure theoretical basis. In reality, a standard thin (paper) bookmark will not cause harm. I agree that the thick bookmarks are stupid not only because they can harm the book, but also because they fall out too easily.

If you do that in our house, Susan will cut your nuts off. Me: if it is a paperback, I don't care.

However, she uses paperclips as her bookmarks as they are far less prone to falling out. When I point out that they mark the pages akin to the marking left by folding overs pages, she doesn't have a strong response. Oh well.

Cramming something deep into the spine of a book isn't good for it, and this design, by using the books weight, guarantees that.

But on the other hand, that lamp is really only designed for paperbacks. For larger books you're going to start facing a tipping problem; either of the lamp because the book is heavy or of the book sliding off one side or the other when you are near the start or end of the book. But who really cares about keeping a mass market paperback in good condition (not even most libraries particularly care about the lifespan of them).

I wonder if there is a floor lamp for larger books?

I don't see the real potential for damage given the couple of days it takes to read your average paperback. In fact having a nice safe place to stash the book is great. I just lost the copy of "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" I was reading when my psychotic dog ripped it to shreds all over my bedroom. I guess he must be a democrat.

The answer is post-it notes. Did you know that they were originally invented as bookmarks for people in choirs? The guy sang at his church, and if you hold the book up while you sing, your bookmarks and notes fall out. He was pleasantly surprised to find his sticky disposable bookmark notes were useful at the office.

Alex is right, per usual, though I'm a particular stickler for keeping any type of book in good shape.

Well, sort of true according to Snopes.

Interesting, I didn't know about the Secretarial Test.

That was actually the first story I had heard about Post Its. That was what I was searching for when I got the Snopes story.

A perfect combination of form and function.

A Mousetrap Coffee Table Uses Its Victims For Fuel

my thought being, if you have enough mice in your house to warrant that...you probably should be spending the funds on an exterminator instead of a fancy coffee table.

but its an interesting idea none the less.

I suppose if you scaled it up a bit it could also work with cats and then Leo would purchase one....

well hell...lets crank it up a couple notches and .....

nah, nevermind. the prison system has enough trouble

When I build my Lautneresque villain's lair, that's the chair I'm putting in it!

:snap: :snap: :snap:

Sweet!

Saw this in the Napa Style Catalog. Painfully overpriced, but beautiful none-the-less

Wow, great find! It would totally match our decor, too. I wish!

That reminds me a bit of our chair! Though it is red, not patterned.

I heart your chair LSPE! It's comfy!

Where did you get that chair LSPE? Cool stuff.

Thank you! We love it and drooled over it forever before buying.

We got it a few years ago at a terrific store called EQ3, in Burbank. They also have a website and a mail-order catalogue.

It seems they're still selling that chair! You can pick the upholstery from a wide array of available fabrics.

Also by the company who brought us the Villain Chair...

(I wonder why did Lisa came to mind when I saw those?)

And this is special too! :)

Love the Villian Chair! So evil!

Okay, I admit these may not be the coolest designs ever, but some of these are just plain cute and fun! Some of my favorites are:

-Alphabet Ice Cubes

-Genie in a Bottle

-Dead Fred

-Sun Jar

-Origami Sticky Notes

Those would be great for the bunnies!

OMG! Did I really type "why did Lisa came to mind?"??? Jeez....

Does it come with the bottle of HRC wine?

When typing about her, all typos are automatically forgiven.

Is that the "Lisa Clause"?

If add: Typed while thinking about NA to my sig line would that get me blanket coverage?

No.

Well then, I guess it's a good think I'm gifted with perfect grammar.

It might earn you a restraining order.

I guess I'll drop the idea then, I sure don't need another one of those.

Didn't want to go for the Baker's Dozen?

You know I've seen the way you dress. I can't imagine why you would ever read a thread called "Good Design" let alone post in it.



(I might just make that bakers dozen yet.....)

That link's sidebar led me to the c0ck c0ck Slide (safe for work? it IS a kids slide but.. shaped like a... OMG) The soundtrack is a flatulant version of Bohemian Rhapsody !!

I might need to put this in Youtubery !!

good gawd! What the hell is up with that slide?!?

Orla Kiely is apparently a person that some people know exists. Not a name I'd heard of. But Target's now got a line of kitchenware designed by her.

Want

I actually went to Target a few days ago looking for the Orla Kiely storage boxes but they were out. I think my office need them.

I like her designs quite a bit. I have an Orla Kiely wallet that is one of my all-time favorites wallets as well as a fantastic sweater I got at a steal.

WANT!!!!

Isn't melamine the stuff I ate off of as a kid? If I'm not remembering wrong, I'm kind of surprised that they haven't come up with something new since then.

But I do like that design.

Yeah, melamine is the old school plastic ware stuff. It allows for the colorful, sharp design and is sturdy stuff (usually, anyway, I haven't handled these). Regular plastic plates they came up with since then aren't as good.

Just a historic note: Melamine fell out of favor in the 70's after the introduction of microwave ovens. The original Melamine from was not microwave safe. They have now reformulated it so that you can use it safely in your microwave... Hence, the resurgence.

One of the reviews I read on those dishes said it was either not microwave safe or dishwasher safe - I forget which. Read the box first if that makes a difference to you.

They say not for microwave and dishwasher top rack only.

Ah, there's the rub. Bummer. Don't know if I could remember not to stick them in the microwave.

So...what happens when you put them in the microwave? Maybe that in-itself is reason for purchase - like Marshmallow Chickies

Peeps aren't as pretty as these plates!

The plates remind me of the olive green fridge in the kitchen growing up. Where's the orange shag carpet to go with it? ;)

I'll leave that and stick with the nice 1940's era vernonware (that is also not dishwasher safe).

But, I do need some new everyday flatware. Must remember to look at Target.

Tres cool!

Having been released from work early for Good Friday, wanting to give my new sandals a walking test, and actually being in Orange during hours when things are open, I spent a couple hours wandering antiques malls. I was mostly keeping my eye out for a little garden table (shockingly, among 7 giant consignment malls, I found exactly zero. WTF?).

But I came across the following. Unfortunately, we have absolutely no use for any of it. But it's a gorgeous array of mid century furniture, and the marked prices are surprising:



The display cabinet in back was marked around $300. The lamp/table that's cut off on the right side of the picture was about $120. And the coffee table, the piece I desperately wish I had space for, $140! It's got a drawer underneath, which is marked "Stanley Distinctive Furniture" and it's in wonderful shape (at least the top. I didn't really inspect it to see what kind of shape it's in underneath).

But All of the pieces looked in beautiful condition. Anyone interested, I can direct you to the mall and the right stall.

Here are a few detail shots.

That is a great price for that coffee table, especially considering the wood used in it.

Can I assume that the white rectangular thing in the lower corner is just a price tag?

Yes, just a tag.

Here's some nice furniture I'd like to have around the house:
Human Furniture by David Blázquez

Possibly work safe. It's nudes, but you don't see any naughty bits.

Either that or a racing stripe.

I'm generally not one who cares much for crystal chandeliers, but I think this is damn cool.

Dragon Bag
Gawd I would love to have one of those!

The designer, Bob Basset, has a LiveJournal page, but I don't read Russian (Ukrainian?).

He's made some other things too.

more info

his eBay auctions

This site is just choc full of neato designs. I particularly enjoyed the Cloud sofa and the Color Picker pen.

Ooh, now I am addicted to this site.

Many of these I've seen before but this is a great listing of many many innovative watch and clock designs.

In a completely different direction, but something dear to me...

100 Creative Business Cards

My faves:

I actually have one of these cards somewhere. It is a fold-over card and as you open it, the fax is coming through the fax machine!

If this does not win some award for creative design, well it would be a pity.


A Bikini that dissolves completely in water.

I'd love to see them make a banana hammock version of that.

"Oh here Wally, you can swim in this."

seems the UK is honoring British design with a series of stamps:

Mmm, British design.

Assuming the UK has the same guidelines for who can be depicted on postage stamps...my condolences to the family of the young lady on that first stamp.

They may not, GD. Betty is on every one of their stamps, and as far I as I am aware, she is still alive.

I'd like to see someone try and sit in that chair!

Long, but fascinating....

Why you NEVER talk to the police.

Pattern book sets published by the V&A (Victoria & Albert) Museum in London.

Just came across this blog on an image search. Even scrolling fast, it took me forever to take in all the cool things on here.

Okay, please tell me that this doesn't look like what I think it looks like Spidey is doing to Ariel:

TheDieLine.com, a blog entirely about product packaging.



Rellana Wool


Volta batteries


Dalmore Sirius (a £10,000 bottle of scotch, only 12 ever bottled)

Name the corporate logo.

I got 34 out of 36. One of the two I missed I definitely recognized, and when I saw the answer it was a bit of a "duh" moment, but I would never have come up with it (the game gives stats when it reveals the answers, and that one is the most missed). The other one I missed I feel really dumb about. And not because I should have recognized the logo, per se:



There's a Second set to try as well, but that one has a slightly more European bend, so I did far worse, only getting 22 right, though with 3 that I should have gotten.

I know my logos, missing only the one named above and John Deere which is turns out is not actually called "John Deere". Mostly the test reinforced what a crappy speller I am dragging down my score significantly.

... And what the heck is this doing here? It was supposed to be in the Youtube thread. Obviously there is some serious database corruption going on. Someone better get on that before it gets worse...

Only 28 out of 36. All car company logos look the same to me.

22 on the second one, but I can't spell (nor, apparently do I use my credit card enough).

What can I say, I'm a corporate tool. I got them all in 5:01 minutes, but I admit I did have to look up spelling on a couple of them.

Oh-I-know, right? The first one you mentioned, I was sure I had it spelled right and I was certain it was the logo but I was spelling it wrong.

I missed

sh'more schweet schtuff via OutNext:
Stacking Glasses
A Perfect Champagne & Slipper Combo
New York Spaghetti
The Dyson Air Multiplier: A Bladeless Fan

I saw a review of the "bladeless" fan and I call foul. There most certainly are blades, they just happen to be hidden inside of the base. It's still nifty and all, but bladeless it's not.

Attachment 1261

Attachment 1262

Bar codes, the humble isbn or on the back of the can of Progresso soup, I love Japan

TINI: This Is Not Ikea

515 S. Fairfax Ave,
Los Angeles

I've been waiting years for these:

Photochromatic Contact Lenses.


(The article has better photos)

But they are still just in the lab so I suspect I'll have to wait a few more before I can order them....

Yeah, because so far that looks like €uro's 12th birthday cake.

Hmm, I have to take my sunglasses off to see the screen on my cellphone...

Computers in my eyeballs!! Aughhhh!!!!


Actually that's pretty cool

Resistance is futile.

I missed 3, and all 3 were DUH once I saw the answers. One I see on a daily basis too, so if I weren't so tired I think I would have only missed 2.

See Greg's spoiler for one of yours.

I want a Giant Tarantula Backpack!

NSF BTD

He has a Dalek on his mantle. Geek! :cool:

I like the not safe for BTD warnings. :D

Doh! I thought you were saying BTD was uneasy with arachnids. Then I saw that other thing on the shelf. Well played sir. Well played indeed.

Although I do wonder what effect this might have were BTD careless enough to click on it:

BTD does not like spiders OR clowns. BTD has not clicked on any links that have warnings or taunts. Unless they are checked first by some trustworthy friends.

I am trustworthy. I have checked it out. I would suggest not clicking.

BAH!

You wound me sir. To the heart.

I'm not clicking.

I'd trust both of you with many things. Links and spoilerized things?

Not so much.

Moonie: even I jumped at that one. That is one MEATY looking Sp*der you found. I hope we don't have them in Australia. :eek:

World's Smallest "Snowman"

Okay, it's not made of frozen water, but it does have the shape of a snowman and it's only ten microns wide!

That is awesome. Perhaps all buildings should be gigantic versions of whatever service they provide :)

Traffic through Pahrump would increase significantly. And proctology practices would be zoned out of existence.

Although the Urology district would be popular for some people.

LOVE the tikis!!

A friend just turned me on to this site: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/

My favorite (Mildly NSFW):

There are some really cool ads if you search by "NSFW"

Only because I didn't want it to get lost in my previous post, there is also:

Also, http://www.coverbrowser.com/

While it is mostly comic books, there is also Girl's Love Stories

I had forgotten how delightful the credits were for Dr. Doolittle until I saw these pics on one of my favorite design blogs, Black Eiffel.

Heinz Revamps Ketchup Packets


Cool, but what the hell took them so long? ;)

Lego Does Wright



The Guggenheim (big)



Falling Water (big)

I'm pretty excited about this. :)

Oh wow, I admired this at a co-worker's house 20 years ago, she just gave it to me. [THUD]

Attachment 1357

WOW! What a gorgeous clock!

Cool!

Wow, SF! Just, wow!!

And GD - YES WANT!!

I really like the yellow loveseat in that collection.

That provides some great inspiration for a fantastic MCM sofa I found for my friend Amy (discarded by the side of the road).

While not 100% germain to this thread because it's not an "art item", this looks like a handy item for dog owners.

It's like a water bottle that rabbits use. Pretty cool. I like the demo video with the owners trying to give their dogs water. lol
:D

They appear to be the same people who are incapable of understanding the deep secrets of how to operate a blanket, thus necessitating the Snuggie.

Heather's would argue "yes". She pointed out that dogs can understand their owners no matter what language we speak, as well as other dogs. We can't understand anything dogs say and can barely understand other people.

Indeed, she was only thinking of cutting it in half, but thirds - now that has some possibilities beyond the standard magic acts

They have started email advertising, highlighting a new piece each week (shown via video - pictures don't demonstrate what they can do). I liked this week's piece.

I thought this site was well designed - good bit of Flash:
http://www.baselworld.com/en-US.aspx

But then, I am easily impressed.

Creative Wall Treatments

My favorite is this one:

Living in those rooms would give me a headache!

The OLED wallpaper gives be a big ol' geek woodie.

When Graphic Artists Get Bored

There is one in there for Coaster Matt and one for BTD (although it may be the wrong team - I can't remember)

Very cool! I especially loved the KISS pandas.

On threadless

I'm one who is gaga over Gaga... But this image is cool:

I ran across this today...

There's a slide show of some of the other offerings including this taxidermy lighting:

Didn't know where else to post this, so I'm putting it here.

The Blue Room in the White House circa 1890. Decor by Tiffany Studios. Color digitally reconstructed based on historic sources.



Contemporary sources described it as looking like a jewel box.

Cell Space Architects. The site's a bit of a pain to navigate but the work is beautiful.

That reminds me of our last PS house.

Since there isn't a "Bad Design" thread, it seemed like this was a good place to put Bad MLS Photos.

I Wonder How These Neighbors Feel About Each Other?

...Which led me to find this. Holly crap, that's a god-awful house!

Located in the klassy part of Woodland Hills I like to refer to as "SOB" (south of the boulevard)

I saw the first shots there and wondered why you were so down on it. It's a lovely exterior.

Then I saw the interior. Oh my! It certainly isn't... understated! :eek:

Though I love the irony of the realtor's surname: Goldin.

That exterior is anything but lovely! It's tacky med-rev (I think I'm being redundant there) at its worse. I'm taking away your gay card, mister!

I stand by my comments. You're welcome to disagree.

I'm with SM on this one - the exterior wasn't that bad

The exterior has issues. The style isn't my first choice, but I don't find it offensive. However the particular execution sucks. The weird horizontal proportions that are so poorly stretched out, that silly columned railing, and the complete lack of transition to the brick driveway. The whole thing is out of scale with the property. Bleh.

Everything is oddly proportioned; massing, columns, windows the balconies... And nothing really goes with anything else. Corinthian columns (in two sizes!) with no entablature; the odd flattened arches on the windows; the oversized balconies that cling to the facade for dear life; the odd "eyebrow" curves on the eaves; the cheap Home Depot lanterns stuck all over the place... The marshmallow quoins (Dear god! Those quoins!) That strange boxy thing over the front entrance looks like it's just been plopped down and the two tall columns are struggling to hold it up. It's bad architecture; a mish-mash of roman classicism and spanish revival slapped on to a oversized shed with no attempt at elegance or subtlety.

And yet you put it in SLO and people will drives hundreds of miles out of their way to pee in your fountain.

Frequently, landmark architecture is simply ugly architecture that didn't get torn down quick enough.

I'd like to think it is a single owner. About the only reason I can think of for ever owning a house is so I could piss off the neighbors with exterior painting and landscaping decisions.

Anyone wanna come over and gold leaf my china cabinet?

If you want to get an idea of how out of scale that house is, pull up the address on Google streetview and look at the house next door to the right.

Did anyone else notice the "ladies" that appear in several of the photos? I wonder if they come with the place? They certainly looked as if they were for sale.

Now cut that out you kids...



This one reminds me of the tree of parts from a model:

Makes me think of that horrible program "moment of luxury"

How many parts trees would it take to build a 1:!6 scale model of the 80s?

Three

Humanoid Transmission Towers:

:eek:

Visible MOJO!!!

They reminded me of the photo essay you did a couple of years ago on the transmission towers. If I recall correctly, you captured some humanoid-esque features in those images.

Speaking of Good Design:

3D + Imax + Porn.

Link SFW.

I considered posting this in The Gay Thread, but Good Design won out.
Golden Girls Nesting Dolls

I don't know: they might also qualify for the "WTF Stories of the Week" thread.


I don't remember much about the show (I only watched it a couple of times and that was a LONG time ago: do they have the hierarchy correct?

It's certainly accurate as far as relative sizes go.

Smith and Wesson Military and Police Tactical Pen

Those humanoid transmission towers are awesomely freaky.

Sign of the Times: Your Personal Hobo-mobile
Perfect for the Dust Bowl 2.0!

Full Story

Cut-away view (more images at the link):

Vandalized Vintage by trixiedelicious on Etsy

I like the dork/nerd cup and saucer set

Genius!

For Capt. Jack and NM (and anyone else into cars and art)

James Corbett Car Part Sculptor

holy carp! those are fantastic!....Im trying to get a sense of scale on some of those, but I can barely see what the parts are for sure, but he uses them to a great effect.

thanks a ton for this. its inspiring

Yeah, I have spent a fair amount of time looking at the images my BIL sent me in an email, trying to figure out what some of the parts are.

that last pic you posted, the carbs are spark plugs of some sort, so that thing aint tiny. prob 2-3 feet long overall.

I could have the dog on the leash in my house all by himself.

I want one!

I want to know about the Troop Transport Capsules coming next week!

WANT!


And unlike some "want's" this one only costs about $30.

A reference library desk made of books

That one actually bothers me. I hate seeing books destroyed to make something. Books are for reading, not for arts and crafts projects.

Perhaps the paper has degraded, and they were no longer readable, or perhaps they are very out of date technical materials, at the very least it will keep them out of the land-fill for awhile and in good repair if nothing has been done the attach them to each other . . . or it is just sad.
Can't tell, too thoughtful today to keep emotion out of it.

Libraries throw out tons of books that are "donated" even though they are garbage - water damaged, missing pages, extremely out of date (ie, now full of misinformation), or otherwise useless. This reality is usually hidden from the public, because there is always an uninformed outcry. Being able to give these books new life is awesome.

Lovely desk.

Cynthia, CP, I know all that. It still bugs me on an emotional level.

From the comments on the linked article:

New books? That is lame.

It's just paper and ink.

New books? That's just sad.

Even new books are thrown away or otherwise destroyed all the time. There's nothing magical about any general mass market book.

As long as they're using books nobody wanted (whether new or as the linked to page says recycled) then I don't care.

But yeah I remember the various hysterical people from my public library days. We'd explain it was a book that had been on our shelves for 40 years and hadn't been checked out in almost 20 and even the local prison didn't want it and the Friends of the Library weren't able to sell it for $0.05 so yes and by the way this book is in the collection of the local university library and so available through ILL, so yes we're throwing it away so that we can put a book people will actually use on the shelves.

Most libraries are not archives. So long as that desk didn't remove from availability any piece of information then have at it as far I'm concerned. Though it makes for an ugly desk with the books in that orientation (and I suspect that none of the titles are visible to minimize the complaints).

One person made this comment but at least 15 other articles about the new library - including a relatively in-depth look at the new facility - refer to the desk as using recycled, reused, repurposed, or upcycled books for the construction.

A massive fire destroyed the original library and as much as possible was salvaged and re-used from the original facility.

I personally prefer upcycling, repurposing or whatever you choose to call it over filling up a landfill.

Information can't be harmed. Books are just a historically convenient way of storing and transporting information.

Same here.

Ahh Haaaa!!


High Fashion with a real a-peel! :cheers:

So do I. Just not for every piece of paper to which which ink and binders glue has been applied.

Wow, check out the rest of this guy's stuff, too. Some favs:

Or how about...

[kinda NSFW]


Oh, and I didn't really get that firs one you posted, CP, until I saw this shot of it...

To follow a theme bookshelfporn.com

I absolutely LOVE the way that book look when organized by color. I've had the passing thought of doing the same thing more than once, then realized that I would never be able to find a particular book again. Plus, it is sort of akin to buying a set of leather-bound classics that are never read just so they look good on a shelf.

Art and books shouldn't be purchased to go with the couch.

But books are awfully decorative, don't you think?

love it. wouldnt fit anywhere very well in my house but thats just sharp

If I had a bookcase that pretty I'd have to buy books I actually want to display.

It's not a choice I would make, but I do think it's a very interesting concept: Claw-footed tub couch

OMG, these shirts make me chuckle.

This one is for Mindy!

Our lovely ladies who sew might already know about this site, but here's a link in case you don't...

I was reading a discussion about last week's Project Runway, and someone had the link.

West siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide!

WANT!

OMG that reminds me of my Fossil sundial watch, LOL. I bet the wood is an awesome substance, in terms of feel :)

Great site JW, though I usually need about ten yards of whatever fabric, that would be great to design something groovy for a small project.

Reminds me a lot of the styling cues of the Countach (in a good way).

According to this site, the car only weighs 2,200 lbs. Datsa lighta cara

When I started biking I vowed I'd never end up wearing a cycling jersey.

But I would consider making an exception for this

I've always found cycling gear a bit odd. With the exception of actual races*, cyclists are out there primarily for the workout. Why then do they insist on the most aerodynamic clothes and lightest bikes? It seems counter productive. Wear some nice baggy cloths and ride a vintage Schwinn 3-speed. That will give you a work out.



* commuters might also fall under this exception.

good biking incentive. I'm sure the dogs would be chasing you if you wore that.

I dunno, he's already chased by the Bears. ;)

Love it!

I expect her to make whistling and beeping noises.

Strangely, that works for me.

This is unexpected. A Microsoft product worthy of a post in "Good Design".

The Microsoft Adaptive Keyboard.

I don't know if this was already posted, but I love how this website was designed and really love the pictures therein.
http://www.abandoned-places.com/

Along those same lines:

http://amusementparksoftheworld.com/...arks-on-earth/

Abandoned Theme Parks

Is it wrong of me to think the coat (and just the coat) is actually kinda cool?

That is totally wicked cool!

Yes, it pretty much is.

I think it's great if you want to dress as Sully.

looks like a cross between a smurf and a wookie.

but at halloween, Id totally wear it.

a smoofie?

Playboy bachelor pad 3D tour.

A friend who is doing a book on the Trousdale Estates posted this on FB, I thought it was cool and I also thought JW Bear would enjoy this (well, maybe not the blow up doll in the pool).

Is it SFW?

Oh yes, sorry, totally worksafe.

It's a 3D animation tour of a Playboy pad inspired by an article in Playboy of a 3 story townhouse

Keen gear! Thanks!

Darn!


Still cool however.

It wouldn't be that difficult to build. If I had any spare time.

A room in a new Hotel in Tokyo - each room an art project

Read about it here

When Hummel meets Horror
Here's a tease:

Bwahahahahahahahahahorrorhahahahaha!

City of Books

very cool stop motion animation

On the engineering side of design: Machine that semi-automatically lays brick roads

Would be like staying in a Murakami dream. I approve!

some of these are pretty cool designs

Cool Strollers

pantone iphone cases

I don't normally read this thread but something made me click on it - seeing this, I'm glad I did !!! :snap:

"The Family House" In Pavilniai Regional Park, Lithuania

Am I the only one who looked at the stairwell and thought, "Well, THERE'S an accident waiting to happen."?

Yeah, that really needs a guard rail. Not sure what they were thinking on that...

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Well, the article doesn't say whether the couple still has their two kids.

Personally, that looks like a house built to be looked at not lived in. Which makes it an ugly house. Though a very pretty box in which to store old bricks.

They were thinking, "This looks AWESOME." :D

my thinking exactly. its a nice sort of place to look at for all the various artistic and archi-'techie' aspects, but I dont think I could ever feel at home there.

the steampunk house....yeah. could totally dig living in that. but not this

touché CP!

I would totally live there (except for it being in Lithuania).

New take on a prosthetic limb

while many may not agree, I totally love this design.

iotacons

squeeeeeee! Love it (them)!

I'd have to fill it with warm furniture to counter the cold starkness it could easily fall victim to, but otherwise, I could totally live there. Love all the windows. But yeah, the no rail thing is a hazard - maybe some borderless glass to help preserve some of the look?

Wouldn't that kind of ruin the point?

Depends on what you like. Myself, I like the way it brings the outside in, as if you're sitting in a garden, next to a garden wall.

I can appreciate stark as an art form, but I wouldn't want to live in it.

I'm on board for most of this but I will never understand why people like exposed concrete walls (or floors).

While pretty, it doesn't (like so many of these fancy places) look like a house I'd actually want to live in). However, it really does emphasize that I should write a calculus textbook.

To me it's akin to the FLW aesthetic of exposed joints and such. Sure concrete may not be as "beautiful" in the traditional sense as the woods that FLW would use, but still it's about the structure, the form of the structure, and the materials themselves becoming the aesthetic interest, and not structurally superfluous adornments.

And concrete, if properly sealed, is very maintenance free.

While this may not be architecture, I like the design of the web site and the music that it produces: http://www.incredibox.fr/

Very nice!

But Ferris' house (which I drive by almost daily) is not for sale. (It is the first one, Keith.)

As somebody who paid a lot of money to be specifically trained on the value and methods of organizing information for best access, many of those pictures actually give me mild cases of the willies (such as shelving books based on color cover).

oh Im boned now. I wont get a single thing done the rest of the day.

thanks! :cool:

Yeah, I had to force myself away from the site too!

Color coordination isn't part of the Dewey Decimal System?

People coming and asking for a book but they "can't remember the title but think it had a red and blue cover" is a common industry joke for reference desk librarians.

And that's why it's called "porn" not "text book illustrations of proper book cataloging."

Yes, but I define porn as the gratuitous display of something I want to see. Especially in a thread about good design, which means (to me) fulfilling a functional purpose with a certain flair.

That's why I don't like many of the houses that have been presented in this thread. They may be quite striking as art objects but strike me as horribly designed as residences for actual people.

That's one definition of porn I suppose. But I tend to consider porn to just be something purely about the visual aesthetic, not the practicality. Lord knows most of what one sees in porn (of the sexual variety) hardly fulfills a functional purpose, though it often has a certain flair.

Point taken from the "design" standpoint, but I still find value in design taken to non-practical extremes for purely aesthetic or theoretical purposes.

727 home - interesting

We have a guy over here in Honolulu who has renovated old tour buses into temporary homeless shelters. I like the plane idea better!

cool clock


But it's not worth a grand!

Not sure if this is "good" but it's certainly clever if not creepy:

why creepy? wish Id thought of it...and now, cant STOP thinking of it.

hmm.....well, ok.. guess that explains the 'creepy' part.

Those two often intersect.

Control room of a Russian nuclear power plant.

Or the movie set from a Bond film.

Gauge 40-43 seems to be a little high. I hope someone checks on that.

Can you take a check?

Sure!

It's a pretty house and it'd be great for hosting parties, but there's no way in hell would I want to live in it. I need my privacy.

The property is fenced and gated, and has a couple acres of trees between the house the road. Privacy shouldn't be an issue.

It looks cool - not sure how functional it would be:


Proposal for the Stockholm Public Library by Olivier Charles

"Wait, you want to actually be able to get the book you want? That's crazy talk!"

"Wait again, after you have the book you want you don't want to have to stand around in a dystopian post-apocalyptic concrete wasteland in order to actually read it? What loony bin did you escape from."

There better be an elevator hidden somewhere. I ain't climbing 10 stories of stairs to find a book!

The first think that popped into my head after seeing that design was the Kafka Airport.

I don't see how it's any different from LAX...

You do like your mega-yachts; when are you going to get one of your own?

When someone gives me a few hundred million dollars.

I'll write you a check.

God Damn I hate excessive flash sites. Wanted to see the boat and my patience simply ran out.

Great house!

Back in the 50's my father remodeled an old bungalow into a "modern" ranch house. There's irony in there somewhere.

Don't know where to put this, but this seems closest.

Bitchin' Highway Design.




Actually, really cool advert.

Again, for lack of a better place to post:

http://www.break.com/pictures/fainti...h-cake-2036433

it looks great....too good in fact. I can see that going horribly wrong in the blink of an eye

All of a sudden I'm hungry and want to talk about my mother....

A bit of an oddball for this thread, but I like it

I LOVE these!

cool!

Want!!!!

Workplace Propaganda
 

Workplace Propaganda

love these

I want to work in an office just so I can put these up!

One More:



Oh, and the logo:

MicroSD card reader masquerading as a miniature 5 1/4" floppy drive

That's so cute, I could die!

ok, thats kinda cool. now I need a cell phone shaped like a tiny C64

Kinte, behold the only thing greater than yourself.

The Universe in one photo

Good design work God, Yahweh, Bhagwaan, Waheguru, Allah, Jehovah, Gia, Nature, or Random chance.


(And yes, I did in fact do this with both of my kids when they were about that age)

USB Typewriter

Did you hear some company bought the brand and is creating new ones that look like the old C64, but have modern equipt. inside!

Did you have dramatic music playing in the background too? ;)

Wish I were bold enough to hit the market with this.

Pulseless Artificial Heart

with thanks to Audra for linking to this on FB. fascinating article

This place really puts to the test the adage that one can never have too many book shelves.

Needs more books.

yikes! dont really wanna dust that place

Imagine cleaning up after an earthquake

considering it's within a few hundred miles of Fukishima, an earthquake might be the least of their current worries

Yikes, radioactive mutant books!

Pop Art by Mr. Whait

OMG I love this guy, and I'm just going to go ahead and post a bunch of sh*t from his site because it's full of awesome.



Attachment 1629



Attachment 1631

Cool stuff - me likey!

I like 1 and 4. 2 and 3 not so much.

I was envisioning #s 1 & 3 as really cool (actual) neon signs, which I believe is the look he was going for.

This is actually kind of funky cool. Not something I would want, but interesting.

Reminds me of "My Two Dads"... anyone remember that show?

For fans of graphic icons - The Noun Project

Aaah, I had seen those before, didn't connect the two. Love those.

Tree House

How very charming, my backyard needs one, a much smaller one, perhaps I should rethink the gazebo.

Oooooooooo..... Me wants!

Selected (scroll right for more)

Inspired!

Eh... They're all photoshopped.

Shangri La from Lost Horizon, in real life

Love it!!!!

OMG, I LOVE these.







LOTS MORE...

Much coolness.

Bwahahah, love 'em!

I like this one.

Hahahaha, awesome.



Um, am I a bad Star Wars fanboy if I don't recognize who every one of those characters is supposed to be?

Yes.

Some of them are pretty abstract (the Noir one, particularly so), but it's the same set of characters in all of them, so you should be able to extrapolate who is who.

Need a Starbucks?

Use Jonathan's card.

The card even has it's own twitter account.

Some nice images, but am I missing something because in most of them the only thing that is at all Star Wars seeming about them is a title under the image that includes the word "Wars"?

They are all stylized versions of the main Star Wars characters. So the first image in my post is the Star Wars good guys as if Star Wars were actually a 40s sci-fi serial. From left-to-right, R2, C3PO, Luke, Chewie, Obi-Wan, Han, Leia. In the Noir one it's R2, Leia, 3PO, Obi-Wan, Han, Chewie, Luke.

In the dark side group CP posted, Storm Trooper, Vader, Boba Fett.

Some take more liberty than others, but they've all got some thematic reference to the source character.

Oh, I realized that. And I figured the other western dude was Boba Fett, but I wasn't sure. Easy to get the serials and the samurais, but the noir was tough for me. Thanks for the key on that one.

If this is true, Holy crap!

Let the countdown to antiviral resistant strains begin!

The drug targets the double-stranded RNA produced by the infected cell not the virus itself. If the virus "adapts" it will no longer be able to infect the cell.

The main issue with this breakthrough is that it seems to be based on a single trial and was released to a somewhat dodgy journal.

I like it!

Unless the cancer is spread from person to person, how would it develop a resistance within the population (as opposed to the odd person for whom it is ineffective)?

The Marvelous Floating Stage of the Bregenz Festival In Austria

Social Media Propaganda Posters