This chair was designed by Preben Fabricius and Jørgen Kastholm of Düsseldorf, Germany. Manufactured by Walter Knoll, the chair has a beautiful shape and light appearance due to its three legged base. The chair has an organic upper shape of warm materials which are nicely contrasted by the rigid metal base.

The beauty of Watch People’s watches is in the chunky but pleasing proportions and dramatic design of the face. This watch was designed by Hans-Gabriel Schroll. Developed in Rheine, Germany, the WEEK watch’s most interesting feature is that it displays the week number on the face. The watch features Swiss movement, week number display and seconds dial. Made of stainless steel, mineral glass and hypoallergenic leather. Available with black or white face here for $400.

Shepard Fairey’s new show E Pluribus Venom opens to the public this saturday at Jonathan Levine Gallery in NY. This show will be the artist’s first solo show at Jonathan LeVine Gallery and will feature a second, off-site exhibition space for the artist to exhibit large-scale installations and murals on wood and canvas. Shepard Fairey’s provocative collection includes politically charged paintings, screen prints, stencils, album covers and mixed media pieces rich with metaphor, humor and seductive decorative elements.

E Pluribus Venom, which translates “out of many, poison,” is derived from E Pluribus Unum (out of many, one) an early motto adopted by the U.S. government, which appears on U.S. coins and dollar bills. For Shepard Fairey, many becoming one, or a loss of power and the influence of the individual in favor of homogeny is a symptom of a society in decline. E Pluribus Venom entails a two-fold metaphor: referring to the poison in the American system and the individuals who are motivated by venom and have anger towards this system.

The exhibition is comprised of artworks designed to scrutinize the dichotomy of symbols and methods associated with ideologies of the American Dream. Fairey’s artwork comments on underpinnings of the capitalist machine, critiquing those who support blind nationalism and war. Fairey addresses monolithic institutional authority, the role of counter culture, and independent individuals who question the cultural paradigm. Utilizing currency motifs and a Norman Rockwell aesthetic, Fairey employs the graphic language of the subjects they critique. Blending Art Nouveau, hippie, and revolutionary propaganda styles, he celebrates subjects advocating peace. His works blur the perceived barriers between propaganda and escapist decoration, political responsibility and humor with the intent of stimulating both viscerally and intellectually.

This stainless steel mailbox has a nice formal, sleek shape. The letter box was designed by Stotz Design for Blomus. Made of stainless steel, the box is available with or without a small window. The prices are $312 and $290 respectively, although an internet search can find it for less. Additionally, you can pick up the coordinating newspaper holder which has a list price of $90.

UnitedVisualArtists is a London studio combining art direction, production design and software engineering for spectacular results. The collaboration between these disciplines results in live, immersive interactive experiences. Photographs by John Adrian.

The installation shown, titled Volume, was exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It features an array of columns emitting light and sound, which responds to movement in a variety of ways. You can watch a video of the piece to get more of an idea of the experience.

Read the rest of this entry »

London based industrial design firm Industrial Facility has designed a coffee maker for Muji. The cylindrical design was achieved by wrapping the water reservoir around the filter. A non-directional design ensures that it will look good from all sides. The coffee maker features a vacuum stainless steel pot five with five cup capacity.

In a tribute to the classic video games of the 1980s, these scenes were constructed out of LEGOs. Above you can see a LEGO version of Duck Hunt. The image below shows Excite Bike (complete with rider running to crashed motorcycle). You can view all eleven images in the series here.

I don’t know about the lot of you, but personally, I haven’t read a novel since I graduated the 10th grade. In an increasingly visual culture, I find my stimuli by building relationships between narrative AND aesthetics. However subjective; it’s compelling, intriguing, and fairly integral to any creative process. Not to mention, I can wiki any piece of info, get the gist, and spew the jargon necessary to seem intelligent and well-read.

Cara Barer presents an interesting evolution to this. ‘My photographs are a documentation of a physical evolution. I have changed a common object into sculpture in a state of flux. The way we choose to research and find information is also an evolution… the ephemeral and fragile nature in which we now obtain knowledge, and the future of books.’

Thanks to Boca and Ryan Uhrich for this tasty little animated short.

We get blown away every time we consider that we may one day get to travel into space. In 2004 Burt Ratan’s SpaceShipOne capurted the Ansari X prize by building a craft that could support 2 pilots and 2 passegers and break Earths orbit 3 times in the span of 2 weeks. The goal of the Ansari challenge was to open the door to passenger travel into space, and apparently that is exactly what has happened.

Squaring off in the challenge of pimping your space ride are arguably two of the biggest names in industrial design today- Phillipe Stark for Virgin Galactic, and Marc Newson for French Aeronautics Giant EADS. Virgin Galactic is set to start offering flights in 2009 and EADS expect to have seats available in 2012. A mere $200,000 buys you a 3 hour flight on Virgin Galactic, while a proposed $265,000 get you a seat on a EADS voyage. Booking is already available for flights on Virgin Galactic’s website.