Over the past few centuries, the classic folk tale of Little Red Riding Hood has been told many different ways. Tomas Nilsson, a graphic design student from Sweden’s Linköping University has put an exciting new spin on the time-honored tale. Through the use of animated infographics, Nilsson crafts a vastly more enjoyable version for adults as we follow ‘Hood’s Royskopp-fueled journey through the woods, scanning the periphery for things such as Grandma’s nutritional value and the forest’s wildlife density.

Via Flowing Data

Sure, you could waste your time making sure your belt matches your shoes. But it's 2008, and now it's time to make sure your headphones match your cell.

Following up on their hit limited edition Nokia WeSC 3250 phone in 2006, Swedish style gurus WeSC have again teamed up with Nokia for the launch of the new XpressMusic 5220 and 5320 phones. In a new “sound and color-coordinated collaboration”, WeSC has created headphones available in three colorways: metallic green, red, and blue. Their website goes beyond the traditional technical specs pitch into the science of color and sound, explaining that “broken down to its smallest component, the hue of a specific color is the result of its unique electromagnetic radiation – a frequency, or basically a rhythm. Sound is equally dependent on wave formations. The equivalent alphabet is the pitch of a sound, which in turn is its specific frequency.”

Long story short, music will sound way better if your headphones are the same color as your phone. Who knew? And here we thought you'd just look hot rocking metallic blue headphones.

This exclusive series is only being sold in select mobile stores and at WeSC concept stores in Scandinavia. Adding to the exclusivity factor, the headphones are only available with the purchase of one of the new Nokia XpressMusic phones and won't be sold separately. So, if anyone is hanging around Sweden right now, be sure to pick us up a pair.

Need a new backpack for school or an Arctic journey? Which ever is your current challenge Fjällräven bags have you covered.They’ve been making bags for 50+ years in Sweden (in Swedish design years they have the expertise of a 200 year old company). Despite having their inherent natural Swedish high quality design skills, the founder of the company was a hiker who frequented the Arctic treks. So when they dumb down their bags enough for you to pack them full of books while ordering a latte, remember that this bag could be saving your life in the Arctic. As for the kid in the picture, he goes along with the company’s advertising history and we just couldn’t pass it up.

What do you do if you want to be a standout artist in a saturated genre? If you’re Swedish born Theresa Andersson, you approach the challenge in a non-conventional way. Andersson, who played every instrument on her new album, drew inspiration from her surroundings and combined them into 12 tracks recorded in her kitchen-turned-recording studio. “Hummingbird, Go!” is a musical journey with sounds reminiscent of the music you may have found on the radio 30 years ago. The music of each instrument (wine glasses, a violin, and vibraphone among them) is relatively simple but there is a complexity in how they are layered. The album is slated for release on September 2nd. Pick it up for a wonderfully relaxing, laying on your hammock on a Sunday afternoon, experience. In the meantime, you can watch her music video for “Na Na Na”

It looks like Swedish design studio Look Down has created quite the impressive collection of handmade Adidas Stan Smith sneaks. Monochromatic coloring is endemic to the collection, although each of the 7 (I counted) various designs provide individual flair all their own (Small World, Twisted Muscles, and Toontech designs shown here, from left). Ranging in price from 230-300 â‚, it’s debatable whether you’d be committed to an institution for actually wearing a pair of these, but then again, this isn’t the first time we’ve written about footwear that is best suited to come out of the box and go straight to the wall. Have a look at their site to get a better idea for the insane detail that went into these.

Via fubiz

How did the Swedes become such good designers? Their idea of Wall-Mart is IKEA, the people are gorgeous, and their streets are always clean no matter what time of night you are out. It’s a question we may never solve. Stina Persson is no exception, as she walks the line between designer and artist, showing her work in big galleries around the world and creating advertising designs for major brands. It's no wonder she has all this attention. Her illustrations are sexy pictorials of attractive urbanites and the fluid surroundings of Europe. Persson is part of the Le Femme show opening at L.A.’s Nucleus Gallery, May 10 through June 3.

Normally, when we think of Swedish design there is a certain smoothness simplicity that springs to mind. However, all things Swedish aren't as clean cut as that IKEA shelving unit you attempted to put together last week. Some Swedes practice a noticeably anti-IKEA aesthetic. One such designer is ceramic and glass design specialist Gustaf Nordenskiold, whose creations have turned the perceived Swedish design sensibility on its ear by highlighting a certain complexity in things as normal as lighting fixtures and coffee mugs. Nordenskiold's creations eschew symmetry in favor of more natural seeming deformities and entanglements that despite their jagged and chaotic nature still appear to give off an air of order, which is more than we can say for that shelving unit that you lost half of the screws for.

In an attempt to “add emotion to a square shaped device,” the designers at Syntes Studio of Sweden developed the Domino, a progressive- and very sexy- concept phone. Backed by the concept that disruption, as a strategic method, creates a temporary imbalance that then uncovers brand insights and new opportunities, the developers decided to transfer some well-known concepts from the world of old-gaming into a new, high-tech product. The resulting phone became something much more emotional than the average cell phone (which, while developed creatively from some perspectives, ultimately tend to follow a classic blueprint). I love the end result (braille for numbers? Brilliant!), and am also feeling a little enlightened by Syntes’ disruption theory. Nice work, guys; we’d love to get our hands on this one day!

The work inside the Graduate Design Exhibition for Lund University in Sweden called Emergence Design is truly remarkable. It’s a collection of work and concepts from their 2007 industrial design student body, all of whom appear to be incredibly talented young individuals. Their work is up for viewing at The Form & Design Center in Malmo through the 10th of June, followed by a week at the IKDC and then the London Design Festival the 20th to the 24th of September. Even if you can’t make it to one of these openings be sure to stop by the online exhibition website to view some of the work — that’s a lot of fun, too!