Archive for August, 2006
New noise-cancelling mp3 player
Panasonic’s new SV-SD800N, or “D-snap,” digital audio player features a high-quality noise-cancelling function that allows you to listen to music at a reasonable level without intrusion of outside sounds. If this proves to be true, we’ll have one less thing to fret about (if it even makes its way to this country) on our morning subway commutes–screaming, ranting lunatics, other people’s (max-volume blasting) terrible taste in music, and our own near-deafness, brought on by the pursuit of blocking everyone else out.
via scifi tech
…
Originally
from core77.com's design blog
reBlogged
by michael
on Aug 30, 2006, 6:35PM
Who’s your Flat Daddy?
Life-size cutouts of deployed service members
are given by the Maine National Guard to spouses, children and relatives back home.
The Flat Daddies ride in cars, sit at the dinner table, visit the dentist and even are brought to confession, according to their significant others on the home front.
At the request of relatives, about 200 Flat Daddy and Flat Mommy photos have been enlarged and printed at the state National Guard headquarters in Augusta, Maine. The families cut out the photos, which show the Guard members from the waist up, and glue them to a $2 piece of foam board.
Take that, designers of pillows-that-hug, USB-devices-that-emit-fragrance, robots-that-care-for-elders, simulated-dogs-that-soothe. A low-fi (functionally) but hi-fi (representationally) has dramatic (anecdotal) impact. Should we be chastened, saddened, or charmed?…
Originally
from core77.com's design blog
reBlogged
by michael
on Aug 31, 2006, 4:32PM
Vito Acconci
Check out Designboom’s new interview with the notoriously “out-there” artist/architect Vito Acconci.
…
Originally
from core77.com's design blog
reBlogged
by michael
on Aug 31, 2006, 4:42PM
Lomography Sidekick Bag
With Lomo’s reintroduction of their popular Sidekick camera bag today, the quest for the perfect unisex photo bag may in fact be over. Available in two sizes and two color variations, charcoal with purple lining or khaki with blue lining, the updated model is a slightly slimmer version of the all-time classic, done in natural and timeless cotton canvas. Both bags are comprised of two separate components that can be worn together or separately, a large rear bag—big enough for large books or a 15-inch laptop—and a small camera case that holds two Lomo LC-A-sized cameras. More diminutive, the Sidekick “Lite” also features a two-in-one modular design. Its main bag is a bit more compact, but still large enough for a book and your choice daily necessities, while the camera case holds one Lomo LC-A-sized camera and a cell phone or equivalent electro-gadget. Both bags feature an adjustable webbed canvas strap to keep it securely over your shoulders while leaning over a railing to get that perfect shot. Pick up the Lite ($50) and the large Sidekick ($65) from the Lomo Shop.
by Letizia Rossi
TAGS: Accessories, Photography, bags,
Originally
from Cool Hunting
by
reBlogged
by michael
on Aug 25, 2006, 7:08PM
Shalgo
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type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="267" height="200">
Shalgo is the kind of company that not only makes inventive, well-designed and sharp-looking wallets and iPod cases from duct tape, but applies that same winning combo to other projects, like their free downloadable animations for your iPod called Podflips (pictured) and a “Shalgomobile,” a 1972 Volkswagen Squareback ($9,240) covered with 5,000 pieces of duct tape saved from the making of Shalgo’s iPod cases. The cases themselves are everything you’d expect from such a fun-loving company: bright colors, eye-catching, target-like designs, clear plastic windows to protect screens, the right holes for cords, and a touch wheel that works even through the case. And starting at $16, you can start saving up for the Shalgomobile.
TAGS: Accessories, Cases, Los Angeles, iPod,
Originally
from Cool Hunting
by
reBlogged
by michael
on Aug 25, 2006, 7:08PM
The Cocoon from Uono
Uono, a Köln-based coffin manufacturer, offers The Cocoon, designed by Andreas Spiegel. Lightwight (20kg) and made from a soy-based resin and lined with jute, the coffin decomposes in 10-15 years and can also be used for cremation.You’ll rest comfortably in the white cotton or silk liner. It features a water-based varnish and is CO2 neutral. The coffins are finished by hand are available in 14 colors, or use their Haute Couture program to design custom color of your choice.
Fortunately you can pre-order your coffin so your loved ones won’t have to lay you to rest in something less aesthetically pleasing. Delivery is 3 days in Germany, and shipping elsewhere will take more time. The Cocoon will set you (or your loved ones) back $3,500.
Via the New York Times
TAGS: Customizable, Design, Eco-Chic, Germany,
Originally
from Cool Hunting
by
reBlogged
by michael
on Aug 31, 2006, 7:17PM
Bonfire of the Brands
Neil Boorman is exactly the kind of bloke you would expect to see dressed from top-to-toe in labels. As founder of the Shoreditch Twat, DJ at London club 333 and a writer for The Guardian, brands that you or I might covet, from Apple to adidas, have decorated every part of his life. Until now. You see, he’s decided to burn all of his branded gear on a big, cathartic bonfire on 17 September 2006. All the shoes, clothes, designer bags and even furniture will go on it, with only a de-badged laptop remaining.
This kind of reaction to modern consumerism is not a particularly new one, and reminds me of what Michael Landy did in London some five years ago. The fact that Boorman has a track-record as a smart operator, with a deal to write a book about his experience, initially made me quite skeptical. However, the blog he’s writing in the build-up to the bonfire makes interesting reading, and does seem genuine. Even if the £4.99 plimsolls he’s now swapped his Nikes for are actually the most fashionable non-brand in East London right now.
Originally
from Cool Hunting
by
reBlogged
by michael
on Aug 31, 2006, 7:17PM
Multiple Sets of Service Design
There was an article on BBC that I thought was a very interesting account of a traveler stuck in Heathrow during the latest terrorism scare. Many other people were stuck without proper information about the new carry-on rules, or flight delays or what was really going on with their travel plans on a minute-by-minute basis. To be fair to the airlines, it seems as if they didn’t have the whole picture either and were reacting as well as they could.
It got me thinking about how airlines use their communications systems to convey different types of information to their customers. Traditionally, the kiosks, signs and monitors are in place to convey one-way information about flight status or departure information. The gates will tell you you’re in the right place and that you may as well sit down because your flight is delayed.
But what happens in a situation where the need for information dramatically shifts beyond the normal flight status? In the case of Heathrow (or any airport in an emergency situation), the needs of the passengers grew dramatically and there lacked sufficient resources to explain, educate and reassure.
Here is an opportunity for companies to have plans or infrastructure to immediately shift the use of their existing communications systems for a completely different purpose.
Imagine if the airlines were able to turn on new templates and new information feeds to their website, rather than just a simple “Emergency Travel Information Update†page? What if their booking engine transformed into a tool that helped existing passengers re-route their travel? What if the kiosks and monitors at the terminals changed into live updates and alternate travel option information instead of just “Flight 280 is Delayed/Ontime� What if the airline had an RSS feed that could find it’s way into people’s laptops or mobile devices that gave them instructions on what to do (or don’t do) next.
This issue goes beyond a website design, beyond customer service policies. It speaks to the heart of service design and how having a holistic approach to communicating to your audience has a greater impact than one or two good tools.
The companies that get service design already do a good job of uniform communication across all their channels. The interesting challenge for some companies is understanding that they may need to have multiple sets of service design policies to communicate with their customers even more effectively.
Originally
from Adaptive Path
by
reBlogged
by michael
on Aug 28, 2006, 10:53PM
Can the PS3 Save Sony?
A few things popped out of Wired’s September article: Can the PS3 Save Sony?
“With digital entertainment, you have to think about hardware, software, and services that tie them all together,” says [Phil] Wiser, who managed to heave Sony onto the MP3 bandwagon before leaving earlier this year for a Silicon Valley startup. “But it’s very hard to quantify the advantage of good software. If you’re in a hardware company and you analyze it from a financial perspective, you just want to do it as cheaply as you can. Software and services are an afterthought.”
Great. You are selling a game console and the software and services are an afterthought.
Perhaps even more telling:
“At the root of Sony’s precarious position — not just in the industry, but with gamers at large — is the company’s overweening ambition. The PS3 is all about power. Sony has said curiously little about whether this amped-up Linux über-computer will actually be fun to play. Meanwhile, Nintendo wowed everyone at this year’s E3 with the Wii, a console you can play simply by waving a wand at the screen. And Microsoft has upped the quotient by making it easy to play with all your buddies online.”
These are some of the same reasons Disney had to buy Pixar, Ford and GM are in talks with Nissan/Renault and why Will Wright says “It turns out that we don’t use computers to enhance our math skills — we use them to expand our people skills.”
Originally
from Adaptive Path
by
reBlogged
by michael
on Aug 29, 2006, 8:37PM
Display 2.0: A Look Forward to the High-Definition Web and Its Effect on Our Digital Experience
Published: August 14, 2006
In the next few years, the adoption of high-resolution displays—with 150 or more pixels per inch—will significantly alter our conception of what the Web and networked applications can potentially be. As the price of high-res displays comes down to earth and early adopters make way for mass consumers, beautiful visualizations of data will enrich the digital realm. High-res monitors will allow us to chart greater depth in financial data on screen, render finer lines in maps and illustrations of technical designs, and show greater detail in photographs. In specialized areas of medicine, where the price tag of these displays is unimportant, this transformation of the online world has already begun. To describe the enhanced online experience high-res displays will make possible, I’ll build on a term from the broadcast, cable, and satellite industries—high-definition television (HDTV)—and coin the term high-definition Web (HDWeb).
Originally
from UXmatters
reBlogged
by michael
on Aug 15, 2006, 6:10AM
