Posted on May 3, 2007
Filed Under Design, Misc. Stuff | 1 Comment
Almost two years since its announcement, the Optimus keyboard from the Russian design Studio, Art Lebedev, has a price tag. It’s a pretty hefty one at that… $1500 USD.
For those not familiar with the Optimus concept computer keyboard, it has a small organic light emitting diode (OLED) display in every single key, allowing the user to customize to whatever program or alphabet he is using. The intent I’m sure was to improve productivity while incorporating some style and the “wow” factor, but I wonder just how well it’s going to go over. They’re only releasing around 400 of the units to begin with and I’m sure they’ll sell out to those “gadget people” who have bought into the hype. I’m curious to see how well it will do.
It’s definately great looking, has the cool monikor all sewn up, but if it’s really geared towards power users, I wonder how many of them really spend that much time looking at their keyboard anyhow.
Posted on May 3, 2007
Filed Under Design, Fun Stuff, Misc. Stuff | 22 Comments
Okay, you were proud of yourself when you learned how to make an origami swan weren’t you. Come on. You know you squinted at it and envisioned it floating on a serene pond somewhere. You spent all that time staring at the tutorial, so carefully folding and creasing to make it happen. Guess what… You’ve been one-upped by some students at M.I.T.. This is some really complex stuff.
This isn’t the origami you’re used to seeing and I doubt you’ll find too many tutorials out there on how to do these. A little paper, some math, and a whole lot of patience and look what you can achieve.
Posted on May 3, 2007
Filed Under Design, Misc. Stuff, Web Development | Leave a Comment
Bruce Nussbaum, Business Week’s assistant managing editor, recently wrote a really compelling article about the nature of design today. With all of the customiztion tools of websites like MySpace and other social networking sites, free graphics applications, online design tools, etc., almost everyone and their grandmother is a “designer” of some sort these days. Whether it’s a product design, a print piece, a website or even an architectural project, many professional designers are having to be more interactive with their clients when it comes to design. It’s becoming more of a “Design Democracy” if you will. As Bruce puts it, a shift from “designing for” to “designing with” a client. Maybe it’s time to change your thinking. Then again, maybe not.
I can’t say that I agree wholly with what Bruce is saying. I belive that as designers we should always strive to involve our clients as much as possible in the design process, listen to them intently, and do our best to intepret their vision. I disagree with the notion that all controls regarding design should go out the window just so everyone can have their place in the “design sandbox”.
Earmark a few minutes to read and consider this piece. If you’re a professional designer, you’ll more than likely get your feathers ruffled by some parts. Stick with it though, it seems just a little off balance but he raises some interesting points and there are some well thought out comments you’ll really want to read as well.
Posted on May 3, 2007
Filed Under Design, Fun Stuff, Misc. Stuff, Web Development | Leave a Comment
A lot of “designers” seem to overlook type as a true design element. It’s relegated to just blocks of boring copy when it could shine ever so brightly. What a shame. I’ve become increasingly enamored with type-based designs and the powerful images they can create. I know Matt has a passion for type as well so he’ll probably enjoy this. Typo Generator will get your juices flowing. Just type in some text, press the button and see what kind of interesting artwork you can come up with. Not happy with the first version? Make a few tweaks and go at it again. I guarantee you’ll end up with something you’ll like. Go ahead. Go be inspired by type. You know you want to.
If you want to know more about designing with type, here’s a super resource to get you started.
Posted on April 28, 2007
Filed Under Design, Misc. Stuff | 3 Comments
In contrast to the previous post about making art in your cup of coffee, these fine folks use coffee as the medium for actual paintings. Think of a nice watercolor that smells like mocha. What could be better. They say they have a special technique to get the really dark values in there… something that others have missed so far. Jump over to the Coffee Art Gallery to see what they can do with a cup of joe.
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