At the beginning of the year, we found ourselves with a modern, more secure alternative to the classic wallet. Something that went ages without a sufficient redesign (the money clip doesn’t count) is getting another makeover this year. The new Flipside 2.0 wallet is resized, reinforced, and recolored, now available in an appealing shade of orange. The price is also a bit friendlier. We’re feeling the new inlay of the logo most of all. It’s a bit chunky if you’re a back-pocket carrier, but if you’re hunting for something new and unusual (and are afraid of RFID theft) it’s worth a peak.
The old street lamps in your neighborhood may still do their job of illuminating those darkened city streets with a flicker and a buzz here and there, but as time has gone on they’ve also managed to remain quite the drain on the electrical grid. The thoughtful folks at Urban Green Energy ask the question, “Why continue all of that energy consumption, when you could just as easily achieve the same effect off the grid?” Their Hybrid Wind/Solar Street lamp seems like an absolutely perfect environmentally friendly alternative to those old flickering lampposts littering city sidewalks. Instead of sucking at the teat of the local power source, these divinely designed sources of street illumination use nature’s own goodness in the form of the sun’s rays and the whispering wind to make sure you feel safe as you traipse from corner to corner and block to block once the center of the universe has set.
Always inspiring to see conceptual work like this:
The ATNMBLis a concept vehicle that represents the end of driving and an alternative approach to car design.
Upon entering ATNMBL, you are presented with a simple question: “Where can I take you?” There is no steering wheel, brake pedal or drivers seat. ATNMBL drives for you.
The ATNMBL project is meant to provoke a broader conversation about the future of cars and to promote a shift from styling cars to redefining the entire experience. More pictures over here and after the jump!
All thischatter of Mos Def and his album on a t-shirt makes us happy. Music Tee’s we spotted last week are coming out in full force. My next question is simple though: What stops people from taking a camera phone picture of the download code on the t-shirt without purchasing it? Similar to the days kids used to bring razor-blades into the record store and slide out the CD quick and undetected. I hope we don’t ever have t-shirts locked up behind security as records and other hard media (DVD’s etc) have now. Â I’m excited to watch for sales figures of the Mos Def T-shirt ($40) to see if it has legs.
Peace: 100 Ideas is a collaborative book project put together by Chen Design that juxtaposes 100 illustrations next to 100 ideas for achieving a more peaceful world. The book is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled, elemental chlorine-free paper using soy-based inks. Ten percent of all net proceeds are donated to wagingpeace.org for their efforts in promoting peace around the world. The book has also expanded into a bit of a traveling exhibition and a line of t-shirts worth checking out.
We had the fortune of being General Motors’ guest to the 2007 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, and the world’s largest auto show was an eye opener in more ways the one. We got a first-look at the directions many auto manufacturers will be taking in the near future with their designs and drive technologies. Our experience was much like an abbreviated relationship. It began with a honeymoon phase– in awe at the sheer magnitude of the venue and the millions of visual effects– including mesmerizing light displays, gorgeous cars, and beautiful women (the kind every hetero man wants to fill his exotic sports car with). Then enter the dating portion– repeating the process of vehicle viewing and photo taking to the point where only something brand new and astounding would really satisfy our expectations. Then of course, the marriage: meeting with representatives from different car companies– designers, marketing heads, and executives. Usually it goes well, but it's a pretty short relationship at best, and in a blink of an eye it's over and you're back at home watching news snippets on CNN, feeling a sort of cautious optimism for the future of the auto industry. But all that aside, let us get to our top 3!
I almost forgot to mention, while the other JS and I were down devouring art fairs in Miami, we had a chance to spend a few minutes hands-on with (fondling inside and out) the new devilishly-fast looking Audi R8. The car was a bit of a surprise, it was placed inside the entrance to Design Miami, the event was apparently entirely sponsored by Audi (the A8’s in the entryway with Zaha Hadid’s name in the window must have tipped us off). The fender flares were mean, as expected, and the interior as we had dreamed. We didn’t get to actually drive the car, but I could feel the 650hp turbo diesel engine just dying to be started– unfortunately, no keys in the glove box, under the seat, or anywhere to be found. We’ll check in with the R8 again this weekend at the Detroit Auto Show again, I’m sure. More eye candy after the jump. READ MORE…
We just heard Jay Leno say, “I’m the president of the more money the brains club”– and we’ve got sound-bites to prove it. With that said, we have to give him a light round of applause because we think endorsing a vehicle like the one we saw a preview of tonight is a nice gesture toward the future. Leno, eco-friendly, jet engines and GM weren’t words we ever imagined being in the same sentence at once– even though we knew Leno to be a big-time car addict. These shots are from the unveiling of his new brain child, the Eco Jet: 650 horsies, 583 lbs of torque, a Honeywell LTS-101 jet engine found in coast guard helicopters– all fueled by bio-diesel. In jest, Leno mentioned that you would only be able to drive this toy during peak harvest season in Kansas with bio-diesel availability where it currently stands; nevertheless, it is a concerted effort toward solid, environmentally sound design for GM– one of the foremost American car manufacturers. We had high expectations for what GM would unveil tonight (or else we wouldn’t have come to Vegas), but we were truly pleased with the array of crafty details that made this car stand out– from environmentally sustainable paint to a classic design nod at vintage F1 race cars. Jay presented the car alongside Ed Welburn, GM’s Chief of Design (interview with him forthcoming). Jay said, “We live in an era where liking cars and liking the environment don’t really seem to fit– especially high performance cars.” He not only wanted to disprove that, but wanted to inspire America’s youth to explore the possibilities and follow their dreams– this car for Leno started as a pipe dream, “and went from zero to here in seven months.” Although the Eco Jet was not designed to be a production car — and we may never see it for sale — after a few good conversations with folks at GM, we’re confident they understand innovations like these are crucial.
With all that said, we don’t want you to think we are gloating for GM– they have a long way to go. Seeing this unveiling and speaking to the GM executives and designers makes us wish that this transition towards eco-friendly performance vehicles could happen on a mass-market level sooner than late (before the ice caps melt). More candid shots after the jump…
I’ve been a WorldChanging blog reader ever since I learned of them through my first invitation to the TED conference last year (I wasn’t able to make it, but can’t wait for this year’s lineup). They just released their first book: Worldchanging: A Users Guide for the 21st Century. The book starts out with a foreword by Al Gore and an introduction by Bruce Sterling, followed by 600 pages of innovative ideas for creating a bright green future, divided into chapters about stuff, shelter, cities, communities, business, politics and planet. The book is set to hit bookshelves November 1st– I can’t wait to grab my copy! They’re also doing a book tour, check the schedule to meet the authors in a city near you. Well done WorldChanging team and congratulations!
PingPongPixel is an amazing art experiment. It’s an output device for a computer consisting of 8100 ping pong balls in 6 different grey tones. The machine interprets images, building them out of shaded ping pong balls at a larger than life, 2 by 3 meters size– taking up to 3 hours for each picture build. Rather then try to explain the whole process–I suggest you go watch the (amazing) video after the jump. READ MORE…
We are still a couple of years away from electric cars totally catching on, but the Tesla Roadster is giving us something to look forward to. The folks at Tesla have shifted their focus beyond the gas-electric hybrid platform that we have seen in recent years, an have gone all out by designing a fully electric sports car. The Roadster will whisk from 0-60 in less than 4 seconds, is as quiet as a whisper (the motor only has one moving part!), and fully charges its batteries in 3.5 hours. The thing is fast, that’s for sure–I saw it road-tested on the Today Show this morning and it was pretty impressive to watch. The design is top-notch as well–especially the interior. The only thing that bothers me about the car — and this is definitely a catch 22 — is that it IS quiet. To me, there is something very special about the roar of a V-12 gas motor. The quietness of the Tesla Roadster is kind of emasculating, don’t you think? That said, I don’t want to judge the quiet ride until I have the chance to get into one and experience the ‘quiet flight’ myself. Tesla will be shipping its pre-orders in about a year, at the cost of about $120,000 (this is what I remember hearing, but if anyone knows this price figure to be false, let me know). I have to give props to Tesla for what it is doing–it designed a fast sports car that produces 1/10 of the pollution and is 6 times as efficient as top sports cars–the quiet ride notwithstanding.
Audi has the reputation of producing high-end, stylish, and consumer-popular all wheel drive cars. But Audi’s image is beginning to change a little with its movement into the ‘my car’s faster than yours but cost more than my house’ market. Audi had an impressive and unprecedented win at Le Mans this past summer with its turbo diesel, 650 hp V12 R10, showing its savvy with engine technology. Building on its success at Le Mans, Audi is set to release the new R8 in the middle of 2007. Boasting a mid-mounted V8 that puts 420 hp to all four tires, high-rev concept engine technology, and a 6-speed R-tronic sequential gear box (via paddles or joystick), the R8 promises to be a good ‘first try’ by Audi to jump into the high-end sports car market (and should be one hell of a company car for us next year). Audi did a great job with the R8’s sexy, yet beastly design–if I had to pick a two-animal mix … great white shark, and black panther. Check out those LED headlights! And as we are fans of well-designed websites, it is worth pointing out that Audi’s site for the R8 is top notch; the site also does a good job explaining the innovative technologies that I just glossed-over.
Phillips’ design probe program SKIN takes a far-future look at the kinds of clothes we may be wearing in 2020–let’s just say they will display more than just cleavage. The SKIN program challenges the present societal notion that our lives are better merely because we live in a digital world. SKIN’s futuristic garments incorporate ‘analog’ phenomena such as emotional sensors to give them ’sensitive’ and ‘emotional’ attributes, rather than ‘intelligent’ features. Have you ever tried to throw a vibe across a bar to a member of the opposite sex and for some reason think that they didn’t pick up on it? The SKIN garments would act as proxies for those emotional feelings you have difficulty communicating. Using biometric sensing technology, the Bubelle-Blush Dress would sense your emotions on its inner layer, projecting them out onto the outer layer, and the Frisson body suit would display the wearer’s appropriate level of excitement on its many LEDs. In short, the SKIN garments would act as proxies for those emotional feelings you have difficulty communicating. Obviously, these emo-clothes are far from boutique shelves, but the idea is intriguing and thought-provoking nonetheless.
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We are still a couple of years away from electric cars totally catching on, but the 
