Design Something.

Design Boom is a great site for the best in design news of all types and disciplines, Luckily I am subscribed to their RSS feed. This allows me to receive each of their articles into my Google reader inbox each day. Here I am going to round-up some of my favourite articles from which they have released in the past few weeks.

Lego Big Mac

Ever Wanted your chips made of bricks?

Istvan Kulinyi: Mobil Pixel Lamp

This is one sexy lamp, made by Hungarian designer Kulinyi.

Lava: Tower Skin

International architectural firm LAVA has developed a simple, cost effective, easily constructed skin that promises to transforms aged 1960′s buildings in Sydney, into sustainable, iconic buildings.

Augmented Reality T-shirt

The future in augmented reality is amazing to think of!

Solar Powered Lawn Mower

Creative design thinking at its best!

Monopoly Revolution

The classic board game undertakes a new look.

Notion: Air Helmet

A new form of head protection for snow sports.

Airmouse

The concept aims to prevent repetitive stress injuries by dissolving the standard desktop mouse into a floating device worn on the user’s hand.

Julien Renault: Hand Forged Aluminium Stools

Hand craftsmanship at it’s very best.

House Made with 15 Shipping Containers

How can you not be a little interested in this concept?

2010 Vancouver Olympics Medals

Everyone is buzzing over the Olympics, check out the medals the athletes are vying to win.

Olympic Medal Design

The design process by Omer Arbel.

Karim Rashid for XO

You’ve seen him on Objectified now check out his furniture and stools collection.

Toronto Interior Design Show: Prototype

Love some great prototype designs.

Article written by Jared Thompson

Owner and writer of Design Juices, currently studying Product design at the University of Central Lancashire in his final year. He has interest in minimal, clean and simplistic design styles.

Follow Jared (@Jthompsondesign) on twitter!

One of the most common examples of great graphic design is packaging, apart from holding the relevant information for the product itself it becomes a brilliant tool for sales. Illustration often is the main feature in packaging but color and typography are also major factors.

Which design is your favourite?

Did you disagree with any of my selections?

Drop us a comment below.

Article written by Jared Thompson

Head writer of Design Something Blog, currently studying Product design at the University of Central Lancashire in his final year. He has interest in minimal, clean and simplistic design styles.

Follow Jared (@Jthompsondesign) on twitter!

Will Christmas and New Years all happening in what if often a hectic time of year, many of us wake up in the afternoon of the first day of a new year and tell ourselves we won’t drink again, or we will go to the gym at least one a week for that year. But do any of us actually stick to these resolutions?

In the design community we are a different bunch of people and interesting eclectic mix of personalities. I wanted to see what the design community thought of being their New Years Resolutions, whether design related or otherwise. I want to say a big thank you to those people who responded to my messages and I look forward to any responses made in the comments below!

You may be interested in the following related articles as well:

What are Designers Thankful for this Thanksgiving?

My New Year Resolution for 2010 is …

bkmacdaddy: Web and graphic designer

I resolved many years ago to not make new year’s resolutions but instead to strive to continually improve, grow, learn and give.

crflores84: A rising designer trying to find my footing

I’d love to see the widespread popularity of minimalism with the simultaneous death of clutter and disorganization.

FredzGraphics: Freelance artsy dude

I haven’t given it much thought to be honest but I guess it would be to either take some courses or go to school to learn graphic design. =)

designthatrocks: Creative Director for Design That Rocks

My design resolution for this year is to do more creative/inspiring things in my life. This year was thin on concerts and events, which greatly inspire me to be and think more creatively, so this year I am going to attend more shows and events!

McConnellDesign: Web, print, brand design studio

Our design resolution this year will be expanding our blog audience and client base through awesome posts and great design!

gaksdesigns: Freelance Graphic Designer, Illustrator

My new years resolution for 2010 would be, to put out more personal work, better management of my time and to finally get my site/sites up and running.

sarahspooner1: Trainee designer, interested in logo design, illustration and digital art.

My design new years resolution will be to create my own website so that all my work is in one place.

mistygirlph: Graphics/avatar design, blogger.

To be able to make more designs and try to influence more people to bring out their creativity in a medium that they love

kalstudio: Designer. design & architecture affectionado.

To learn a new design app or something related; to schedule some time each week to draw or sew.

trudesign: Graphic, logo, web designer from VA(NY).

2010 will be an iconic year. More color, more design, more awesome than ever before. Take my skills to the next level. I resolve to develop my color use, continue to learn and hone my design skills, and increase my involvement in the community at large.

designshard: Lover of Typography, Web Design, CSS, XHTML , Illustration, Rock Music.

Try to make the best designs out of the the worst possible assets and not settle for anything less.

noellebydesign: Long time Graphic Designer/Visual Artist.

hhhmmm…. design resolutions? To continue acquiring knowledge and transitioning my Graphic Design degree into Interior Design.

francoispham: French graphic designer and illustrator. Games, music, manga, football, cinema, photos and drawing. PC user for now.

For 2010, I would like to experiment new ways about webdesign. I want to finish the next blog about stories and illustrations to, aswell as draw, draw, draw.

robertoblake: Ever since I was young I always knew I wanted to become a visual artist. Learning about Photoshop put me on the path to achieving that dream.

I think getting featured in more publications is one of my resolutions, and finding a cause I can put my designs behind would be the other.

mathewballard: Graphic designer, amateur photographer & random person.

That one is easy. To get my new website launched and get more freelance gigs then I did for 2009. Also, to become a stronger programmer.

nymphont: Dweeb. font geek. freelance designer. single mommie.

Personally my new years resolution for design is to start using my domain (nymphont.com) and to stop procrastinating on design projects.

myinkblog: I am a designer, blogger, twitter’er, wordpress’er, silverstripe advocate, blessed father and husband.

Improve the usability of the sites that I create and write better code.

GraceSmith: A 26 year old Freelance Web and Graphic Designer in ♥ with web standards and social media. An unashamed Apple Fangirl.

As a designer it would be to spend more time creating and developing my own projects and work with a wider range of talented designers and developers. Outside of design, I would like to focus on becoming a better photographer, as this summer I bought my first DSLR – a Canon 350D. I want to keep progressing and learning in all aspects of photography as it’s something I have developed a real passion for.

A laptop skin cover is a new wave of thinking in personalisation of your laptop, they can come in all sorts of styles, sizes and colours. Whether you want to brighten up your Macbook or your new shiny Netbook these laptop skins simply peel on like a sticker and give your laptop a new burst of life. They can easily be removed and interchanged, they can also help in preventing your laptop from undertaking such wear and tear.

‘rege indrastudianto’

‘Mapiurka’

‘Firefoxzilla’

‘MacMan’

‘skin for mac’

‘Blokk’

‘Swinging DAIM’

‘Red Metal’

‘H.R Giger’

‘Lady Lion’

‘Union Jack’

‘Fun 2 Funky’

‘Pop Skin’

‘L’

‘Depth styles’

Leave Your comments below!

Article written by Jared Thompson

Head writer of Design Something Blog, currently studying Product design at the University of Central Lancashire in his final year. He has interest in minimal, clean and simplistic design styles.

Follow Jared (@Jthompsondesign) on twitter!

Check out his Design Portfolio here!

Be sure to subscribe to the RSS Feed for the best in design blog posts every week of the year!

Philippe Starck is a French born Product design and probably is best known to me for two things, claiming that “design is dead,” and for his functionless juicer design. (Something which is a pet hate of mine.)

Philippe Starck has made designs in all kinds of industrial design and product design areas, from interior to mass produced consumer goods such as toothbrushes and chairs. He has been working as an interior and product designer since 1975 and has accrued a vast reputation for several things across the design world, his work his wide ranging and something which can often found to provoke a response. His product designs are often usable household items which Starck himself helps to market for mass production. His awards are too long to list and his work is admired by many allowing him to work with many large multinational firms, so why does he have this success? Does he deserve this attention?

If you haven’t already seen it yet Starck has been the face of a new product design reality television show, the producers must love his wacky personality and style, (because the students themselves are nothing to shout about.) The show is about whittling down 12 students hand-picked by Starck to compete to win a place at his design studio. ‘Design For Life’ is a good show in the sense that it has brought the idea of product design into the public viewpoint and has shown the viewer what product design is. Starck provides for the viewer that eccentricity and exuberance most televisions shows showcase, it’s a shame he picked such mindless idiots who have little imagination and ideas to win a priceless place at his design studio.

The ‘Leggy Chrome Juicer.’

This is one of the single most useless products i have come across, what is it’s purpose? It has zero functionality and is simple a style piece. But it’s a juicer, surely the minimum it should do is it set function. Yet I have heard many designers speak of how much they love this item and confess to owning one at home, why? It is one of the main reasons I have had a black mark against Starck’s name.

Article written by Jared Thompson

Head writer of Design Something Blog, currently studying Product design at the University of Central Lancashire in his final year. He has interest in minimal, clean and simplistic design styles.

Follow Jared (@Jthompsondesign) on twitter!

Dieter Rams started out his life in Germany in the 1930s and did first begin as an apprentice carpenter, he then worked his way up as an architect and interior designer before working for Braun. It wasn’t until the 1950s and working for Braun did his interest move away from architecture and interior design and move towards the design of products.

Dieter Rams is probably most famous for his work with Braun in the 1950s and 60s, many of which can be found in the Museum of Modern Art as they are such iconic pieces of product design. His work for Braun is highly regarded as being a huge influence over Jonathan Ive who’s work on the iMac and iPod began Apple’s huge rise to fame and fortune in the late 20th century and to the present day.

Dieter Rams has a great passion for simplicity and honesty in design, people looking at Rams should also recognize his work on the “ten principles of design.”

1. Good design is innovative.

2. Good design makes a product useful.

3. Good design is aesthetic.

4. Good design helps us understand a product.

5. Good design is unobtrusive.

6. Good design is honest.

7. Good design is durable.

8. Good design is consequent to the last detail.

9. Good design is concerned with the environment.

10. Good design is as little design as possible.

The first picture is the Braun T3 pocket radio, this has the same styling characteristics as the original iPod. Its simplistic design and minimal functions showcase his design principles and this is one of my favourite Dieter Rams product. The second picture shown above is the Braun T1000 Radio heavily influential on the Powermac G5. The third picture being the Braun LE1 speaker which has the complete look and feel of the Apple iMac. Dieter Rams work ended up providing the basis for Johnathan Ive who has recycled them into new and improved design products of high quality.

Other Products Dieter Rams Designed for Braun:

Article written by Jared Thompson

Head writer of Design Something Blog, currently studying Product design at the University of Central Lancashire in his final year. He has interest in minimal, clean and simplistic design styles.

Follow Jared (@Jthompsondesign) on twitter!

Your taught how to tell the time as a young child, whether it’s through a small wristwatch or a big grandfather clock you had in your living room. These clocks attempt to confuse you further and look at new and interesting ways in which we can tell the time.

Vadim Kibardin: ‘Killer Clock Concept.’

Myznik Egor: ‘Soft Clock Concept.’ (This was selected for a red-dot design award in 2009.)

Yiran Qian: ‘vice versa’

The computer mouse is a recognizable product which has a defined shape and look, but why does it have to be so uniform? Can the interface be made over and move into a new and exciting design strategy? Here are a few concepts and ideas in re-vamping the way we see the computer mouse.

Demat Computer Mouse: Could this mouse be the ultimate in bare bones design and minimal material usage?

Mus2: Is a great cordless mouse which takes its inspiration from the cursor we are all familiar with, designed by Artlebedev.

Ez Keypad Mouse: flipping open the mouse cover allows use to use the numbers if you needed to write a long list.

Heartbeat Mouse: The mouse has a unique selling point for when the user grasps it, his or her thumb and palm will touch on its sensors which are inside the mouse and it starts to detect the user’s health situation. It also reminds the users how long they have worked.

Logitech MX Air: The MX Air combines laser optics for millimeter point accuracy, touch controls for parts of its interface, and Freespace’s innovative motion sensing technology to track hand gestures.

Flip Top Skype USB Mouse: Combines the computer mouse we all know and recodnise to open up as a skype phone for those internet calls.

Dormino: Entered in the Greener gadgets design competition for core77 this computer mouse tries to harness and help remove the wasted heat energy emitted by laptops to power a mouse, a common periphery used.

Jelly Blow up Mouse: Found on everyone’s favourite product design concept site, Yanko design. Whenever you need a mouse, blow up the Jelly Click, attach the USB cable and you’re good to go.

Zero Mouse Concept: Toxel profiles this much loved concept also seen on Coroflot, designed by German designer Oliver Rosito.

Comments are always welcome!

Article written by Jared Thompson

Follow Jared (@Jthompsondesign) on twitter!

Resources: Yanko Design