'adidas grun' modeled by amelinda l. & ching t.

side view

our friends over at core77 are currently hosting the '1-hour design challenge: play-doh kicks',

in which they are asking readers to recreate their favourite footwear (sneakers, high-heels -

anything goes!) out of play-doh.

'cut loose and give your imagination a stretch. maybe you'll create a miniature tribute to your

favorite sneaker designer of all time. or, honor your humble, beat up kicks by sculpting

their likeness, busted soles and all.'

built on a lola racing chassis, this ultra efficient car features a unique clear plastic body that was designed and built

by high school students at the automotive design studio at the delasalle education center. the car gets around 300

mpg thanks to its lightweight plastic shell. the students originally wanted to use fiberglass, but this proved too

heavy. the plastic they used is a 3m products that is typically used to shrink wrap windows. a metal wireframe

serves as the structure for the plastic, which is then stretched by hand and heated up to conform perfectly around

the frame. the cost is inexpensive and weighs only 39 pounds. the car uses an old racing chassis that was repaired

image: paul loebach

the great camp collection is a new series of wood furniture by american designer paul loebach. the series was

inspired by adirondack furniture that grew in popularity since people began visiting the area in upstate new york

for leisure.  loeback explains, ‘in the mid-to-late 1800’s, affluent city-dwellers built elaborate country cabins in

the adirondack wilderness known as ‘great camps’, and rustic high-society was born.’ local craftsman began

creating furniture for these homes, eventually reaching a more mainstream audience throughout america.

loebach’s collection re-interprets these designs using 4-axis cnc machining to create a rustic look. 

'safari' themed pentax optio NB1000

japanese imaging company pentax's optio NB1000 point and shoot camera has a front panel

which is covered in a lego-like piece compatible with nanoblocks (a construction block system

similar to lego) from japan's diablock. different sizes of these blocks can be attached to the face of

the camera so that you can personalize it with patterns, mini sculptures. the blocks also have more

than just an aesthetic appeal. they can be used to help capture your images - arrangement around

the lens can form frames for your pictures.

nelson

nelson

coupland

coupland

coupland

alice

alice

'type 01'

japanese company abee has come out with 'type 01', the first all aluminium iphone 4 case.

the super thin, 3mm aluminium jacket comes equipped with a seat cushion that has a moderate

repulsion soft texture. its anti-slip, vibration and shock-absorbing effects protect the iphone.

the case is available in 6 different colors.

hardware details

the case comes in 6 different colors

‘painting (hugo ball in cubist costume at the cabaret voltaire). self-portrait’ by kimiko yoshida, 2010

courtesy paco rabanne. ? kimiko yoshida

artist kimiko yoshida left japan and based herself in paris where she has been continually exploring gender

and the body through her on going series of self-protraits. these large sqaure photographs depict the artist in

a series of poses and costumes, each with a mostly monochromatic colour theme. yoshida ‘s monochrome

approach is described as a ‘disappearance’. as she describes ‘art is a subtle process of transposition,

an assiduous struggle with the state of things. to be there where I think I am not, to disappear where I think

artist to be out of breath, 1991

mixed media

image ? designboom

seungtaek lee (b. 1932 kowon, korea)'s sculptures and environmental interventions take their inspiration from

elemental natural forces, as well as libidinal drives and bodily processes. much of his work in environmental

intervention shares a kinship with both american land art and korean shamanic traditions and embraces

chance and ephemerality in its attempts to form a collaborative partnership with natural phenomena such as fire,

water, wind and smoke (each of which lee has made the subject of a series of works). in addition to these

elemental works, lee has also intervened

image: nissan

nissan recently revealed its townpod ev concept which aims to combine private and commercial features with

an electrically powered drivetrain. the townpod EV was on display at the paris auto show, with only a few details

revealed. the vehicle has a sizable frame that allows ample space for passengers and cargo.. the back seats are

removable and adjustable giving a lot or a little more truck room. the trunk hatch itself splits into two horizontal

swinging doors to make loading and unloading easy, while a small sunroof like opening in the roof allows larger

objects to squeeze inside.

image lookbook

kermit tesoro is a rising fashion design talent from the philippines who displayed his latest collection

which feature among other designs, a pair of skull heels. the shoes are an alabaster finish that integrates

a small skull into the heel. the shoes come in variety of styles from straps to suede. this unusual motif

was carried throughout the collection as demonstrated by the designs which used milled foam,

bent wire or rubber tubing. the full collection was quite avant-garde despite its mostly monotone

colour palette.

image:

'tasting memories'

all photos by cécil mathieu, courtesy of gandy gallery

wine is associated with sharing, with moments of pleasure and with the 'terroir'

(regional soil, climate etc.): the universal appeal of these themes encouraged

french designer matali crasset to explore them, with respect to the glass bottle

as a vessel serving to contain wine.

as part of her collection 'in vino veritas' which is currently on show at the MUDAC, lausanne,

crasset has designed

'constrained ball'

'constrained ball' is a drawing aid created by korean product designer giha woo.

once attached to the pen, this device helps to draw straight lines without using a ruler.

normally, a ball point pen rolls freely in accordance with the ball located at the tip of

the pen. however, this writing tool prevents winding lines by helping to move

the ball in one direction only. using the installed measuring wheel indicated on the

product, users can draw the exact desired line length in both a horizontal and vertical

direction, as well as strokes in 45 degree angles.

the

thematic pavilion expo 2012 yeosu, south korea by soma

all images courtesy soma

austrian firm soma has recently finished the work on the construction plans of the thematic

pavilion for the expo 2012 yeosu in korea. their winning design proposal was announced in

2009 and now has successfully been adapted to fit the building budget and exhibition concept.

the kinetic media facade was developed according bionic principles to underline the expo’s

'ginkgo' leaf-it

the work of korean designer sangwoo nam from appree was featured in 

designboom's 'asia now' exhibition at dwell on design in los angeles.

with a focus on nature oriented designs, 'ginkgo' is the latest in his series of 'leaf-it' memo

pads. created in two version of green and yellow, it can be used for daily reminders or

as a bookmark.

'ginkgo' leaf-it used as post-it notes

detail

'leaf-it'

taking its shape from leaves, 'leaf

'tatris'

'tat-ris' by singaporean industrial designer gaenkoh is an interactive modular seating

design that encourages the active behaviour of children. the project focuses on how kids

can grow insight into the linguistic and conceptual structures and, in turn, looks at the influence

this has on their pattern of learning and reasoning. through the endless configurations of 'tat-ris',

the furniture design seeks to teach children about teamwork and the importance of team bonding.

'after studying children’s movements, I realized that most children at their age are the