Creativity « 360Photography

RSS

Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

Anti-Object: A Public Bench Designed to be Everything-Proof

05 Oct

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

camden bench public design

While many individuals desire multi-functional and space-saving furniture, many cities want quite the opposite: an object that one can sit on but that foils attempts at anything from sleeping, littering and vandalism to street theft and drug-dealing.

camden uncomfortable urban bench

Designed by Factory Furniture and named after the city for which it was commissioned, the Camden Bench is largely (and fascinatingly) defined in the negative, its creators boasting what it cannot do rather than what it can do, made to “resist criminal and anti-social behaviour.” It all sounds well and good in theory, but in practice: does this approach constitute a public service or an unnecessarily prohibitive way to design urban furniture?

camden bench in use

camden bench seating area

Made of cast concrete, the bench’s ridged top and sloped surfaces make it hard to lie down on and help keep skateboarders at bay, while its smooth finish is made to be graffiti-resistant. Its solid sides feature no slots or crevices in which dealers could hide drug stashes, while its slight recesses allow sitters to slide their bags safely behind their legs. Its smooth finish and lack of gaps also help keep it clean – dirt has nowhere to accumulate and water washes grime away.

camden bench design diagram

As Frank Swain muses on Medium, “it a strange artifact, defined far more by what it is not than what it is. The Camden Bench is a concerted effort to create a non-object. [It] is strange kind of architectural null point. A piece of the city that by design will not interact with it in any way. It is a bench by the slimmest of margins – hardly comfortable, affording none of the qualities that would make it more than simply a place to sit. This is the bench’s sole concession to being part of the city, and it does it with the least conviction possible.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

365 Postcards for Ants: Impossibly Tiny Daily Illustrations

04 Oct

[ By Steph in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]

paintings for ants 1

The most minuscule details of a floral bouquet, an old-fashioned camera, a jockey on a horse or a VW bus are rendered with incredibly fine paintbrushes to create paintings smaller than a quarter in artist Lorraine Loots’ series, 365 Postcards for Ants. Loots has been creating a new tiny painting every single day since January 1st, 2013, posting each one on Instagram and engaging fans by allowing them to book sentimental dates and request specific images.

paintings for ants 3

paintings for ants 2

paintings for ants 6

The Cape Town-based artist accumulated a year worth of paintings, nearly all of which pre-sold as they were released, and put them on display in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa, before distributing them to their new owners.

paintings for ants 4

paintings for ants 5

“I’ve always had a love for detail and I think that little square space, that little piece of fabric, gives me a place to make something that I feel is close to perfect.”

postcards for ants 10

postcards for ants 9

paintings for ants 7

Follow the ’365 Postcards for Ants’ series on Instagram @LorraineLoots, and check out the archive of nearly two years’ worth of daily paintings over at Tumblr.

[ By Steph in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Space-Saving Sleepers: Sofas Convert to Bunk Beds in Seconds

03 Oct

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

transforming fast quick sofa

Convertible couch beds are great if you are having a couple over to stay and have the space to fold out into, but these double-decker solutions is a great alternative for smaller apartments or multiple-but-single overnight guests. Here are three designs from different companies that show off the potential of this strategy (and give you a few color, size and style options to choose from, too).

couch sofa bunk beds

First, the Coupe deploys as fast as a regular transforming sofa, but expands vertically rather than horizontally to create a pair of beds stacked on top of one another. Based out of Greece, Proteas is a 50-year-old furniture company specializing in high-end designs. The Coupe comes in blue, red, green, brown or beige.

doc convertible sofa design

An alternative option that transforms slightly less quickly but unfolds along similar lines (and may be more robust due to its use of side supports) is the DOC.

doc red orange purplse

Designed by BonBon, a UK company, it likewise lifts up to reveal a ladder and second-level sleeping area for guests, starting as a sofa. The DOC comes in in red, purple or orange.

palazzo bunk bed couch

palazzo double decker sofa

palazzo convertible furniture design

Finally, from Resource Furniture, “the Palazzo bunk bed system, an innovative design that transforms from a sofa to a bunk bed, provides multiple functions while maximizing space. The beds are available with low or high armrests and come equipped with wood-slatted bed springs and removable mattresses. The bunk bed system includes exceptional safety features, including a locking mechanism and a complete barrier around the top bunk.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Insane Yacht’s Floating Garage Doubles as an Indoor Pool

02 Oct

[ By Steph in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

Floating Garage Mega Yacht 1

File this one under ‘billionaire toys that will simultaneously make you envious and give you a rage headache:’ the J’ade by CRN is the world’s first mega-yacht featuring a floating garage, which doubles as an ‘indoor’ swimming pool when not in use.

Floating Garage Mega Yacht 2

The hydraulic-operated bay of this ‘flooded garage’ makes it easy to store and access smaller watercraft (in this case, an 8-meter Riva ISEO speedboat) without the need for a tender lift, drying out in just three minutes. The doors can also be closed with water in the bay to create a protected ocean pool, potentially making open-sea night swims feel a lot less scary.

FLoating Garage Mega Yacht 3

FLoating Garage Mega Yacht 4

The 60-meter J’ade has room for 13 crew members and 10 guests, with an appropriately luxurious marble and rosewood interior, four decks, an outdoor diving table for up to 14 people, an audio/video entertainment system and a marble bar in the main salon with an aquarium backdrop. There’s also a hot tub on the spacious upper deck.

FLoating Garage Mega Yacht 6

Floating Garage Mega Yacht 7

Floating Garage Mega Yacht 8

“Ready for delivery to the billionaire owner,” this insane super yacht doesn’t have a public price tag, but it’s safe to say that only the wealth hoarders of the world can even afford to get a close-up look.

[ By Steph in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Transforming Transit: 13 Compact Scooters, Skates & More

02 Oct

[ By Steph in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

Urban Commuting Chariot Skates 2

Zoom past backed-up traffic and crowded sidewalks on an electric unicycle, motorized skates or a fold-up scooter/backpack combo. Urban personal transit is going electric and ultra-compact so you can reach your destination faster and then pack up your wheels and slide them under your desk or into your locker.

Olaf Scooter Backpack

Urban Commuter Olaf 2

The Olaf is a carry-on suitcase, trolley, kick-scooter and skateboard in one, with an instant ‘pedal transformation system’ enabling the switch from one function to the next. It has everything a business traveler needs in a compact, airline-approved suitcase, but it’s also suited for urban commuting, with a soft wooden longboard that flips up and down with a kick of the foot. The creators are currently raising funds on Kickstarter to bring it into production.

Motorized Skates

Urban Commuting Motorized Skates 1

If you find roller blades too dorky or slow to be a real option for travel around the city, maybe you just need a little boost. SpnKiX are motorized skates that strap on over your shoes, operated by a hand-held remote control so you can control your acceleration at the press of a button.

Snap Folding Skateboard

Skateboards may be portable, but they can be annoying to carry around all day. Enter the ‘SNAP,’ a foldable skateboard designed with students and commuters in mind. The full-sized longboard fits inside any locker with hinges that fold the deck in thirds. According to the designers, dividing the deck in three makes each individual section much stronger and more durable than a full-length wood deck.

Urban Glider

Urban Commuting Glider 2

This lightweight single-wheeled cycle will get you around town quickly, but is as easy to transport as a suitcase. The Urban Glider uses a gyroscopically-stabilized electric mono-wheel to keep you upright as you stand on the pedals, and you control it by leaning back, forward or to either side. While it only goes about 13 miles per hour at most, it’s faster than walking, and the battery lasts up to 6 hours per charge, taking just 30 minutes to juice back up.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Transforming Transit 13 Compact Scooters Skates More

[ By Steph in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

IKEA Flips Condo Sideways to Create Furniture Climbing Wall

01 Oct

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Guerilla Ads & Marketing. ]

ikea sofa winging chairs

Furnishings become footholds, supports and resting spots as you scale the flipped-over floor of this fanciful apartment, opened to the public as a method to market a new IKEA store location.

ikea clever climb

ikea guerrilla marketing campaign

Set up in front of an historic church in Clermont-Ferrand, France, locals were invited to scale various routes (four paths in total) of different difficulties made for both children and adults, created in collaboration with Ubi Bene, a local communications agency.

ikea climbing wall

vertical climbing wall apartment

The mock apartment features beds, bookcases, chairs, tables and other fixtures set against prints, carpets, tiles and textiles, all actually on sale in the store being advertised.

ikea climb wall experience

ikea marketing clermont ferrand

Professional climbers were on hand at the opening to help people get outfitted and learn to climb – probably not something that would have been an easy sell in a country like the United States with its safety restrictions.

ikea climb

vertical climb ikea living

Spanning roughly 30 feet vertically and horizontally, the area is effectively that of (close to) a 1000-square-foot living space.

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Guerilla Ads & Marketing. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Guerrilla Moss Graffiti: 8-Step DIY Guide to Green Wall Art

30 Sep

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

moss graffit artwork examples

Seed bombs and shotgun shell sprouts are not the only weapons in a guerrilla war for urban gardens and green street art – moss is a great material that can be rapidly adapted and deployed to make statements on city surfaces as well.

moss wall art making

Indeed, using mosses allows artists to go above and beyond the ground, shifting from horizontal to vertical spans for a different look and added visibility. And, as it turns out, creating moss wall art is not as difficult as you might guess – do-it-yourself directions are shown in detail below.

moss art recipe process

First, you have to gather some moss, naturally, which you can then mix with water-retention gardening gel and some buttermilk then blend together for a few minutes to form a gelatinous substance.

moss graffiti guide steps

Shift your creation into a portable container then select and paint it onto a surface of choice – if the area will not be exposed to moisture, you may want to come back by and spray on some water from time to time.

anna garforth grow moss

Remember, too, that there are many ways to take this process further and create additional kinds of green artwork, mossy or otherwise.

moss graffiti removal subtraction

Meanwhile, if you find a surface already mossed over thanks to time and nature, selectively erasing sections of growth can be a fun form of expression as well.

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Street Sign Sports: Urban Alterations for Physical Fitness

30 Sep

[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

Street Sports 1

Street signs and lamp posts turn into soccer goals, basketball hoops and mini golf courses with the addition of just a few pieces of plug-in sports equipment. The year-long installation by Florian Brillet and Nicolas Lelievre in collaboration with ad firm JCDecaux, which will be up until June 2015, turns the city of Paris into one big playing field.

Street Sports 2

This urban hack is entitled ‘Mens Sana in Corpore Sano,’ a Latin aphorism that translates to ‘A Sound Mind in a Sound Body.’ The route that leads from one of these installations to the next has become a fitness trail, encouraging passersby to engage with their environment in a new, more active way.

Street Sports 3

Street Sports 4

Take a moment to let out a little bit of stress boxing, try your hand at hoops or kick a ball around. The creators call it “an appeal to the imagination,” saying “each post can be seen as a small chimera hybridizing existing forms to play in the same object sport, the image of the sport and the idea of traveling around the city” [translated from French.]

Street Sports 5

While this project was (presumably) officially sanctioned by the city of Paris, it’s another cool example of DIY urbanism, hacking the city environment to make it more efficient, useful and fun for the people who live there.

[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Future Typing: 15 Creative Keyboard Designs & Concepts

30 Sep

[ By Steph in Gaming & Computing & Technology. ]

Keyboards Wearable Sensors 1

If your hand has ever molded into a claw from typing on a conventional keyboard for too long, or you’re in the habit of hovering over your workspace with a bowl of noodles, pay attention. These 15 unusual keyboard designs include built-in bowls, flip-out panels for the fat-fingered, virtual displays and one-handed grips.

Keyboard-Plate Combo

Keyboard Plate Combo 2

Our computer keyboards are known to be among the most germ-ridden places known to man, but that doesn’t stop most of us from hovering over them as we eat our meals (thus, making the problem even worse.) This keyboard/plate combo by Dutch designer Hella Jongerius aims to solve that problem by adding a bowl to the center. Unfortunately, as much as gamers, students and over-achievers would probably love this to be a real product, it’s just a tongue-in-cheek concept.

Virtual Laser Keyboard

Keyboards virtual laser 2

The future of keyboards is almost certainly virtual, with lasers projected onto a flat surface and optics that track the movement of your fingers. Keyboards like this still seem futuristic to many people, but they’re already available. This model goes for $ 119.99 at Brookstone.

Inside-Out Keyboard

Keyboards Inside OUt 2

The Inside-Out keyboard by designer Min Koo Yeo might just be a peek at what gesture-based keyboards will look like just a few years from now. While the front side is a standard keyboard with its own mini track pad, the back side is one big “smart” track pad for a greater range of gesture-based commands.

Wearable Sensors as Keyboards

Keyboards Wearable SEnsors 2

The tiny keyboards on mobile devices can be frustrating for anyone with larger fingers. What if you could just cuff a couple devices onto your hands and ‘type’ on a flat surface instead? AirType detects the movement of your fingers and translates them into alphanumerical input. According to the creators, the device will learn from you, adapting to your personal typing style and habits.

Paper Keyboard

The Verbatim Virtual Keyboard by designer Florian Kraeutli turns a simple piece of paper printed with letters into a fully functioning keyboard. It puts the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer to work measuring and identifying the location of letters on the paper. At 80% accuracy, the concept still needs work, but it’s an intriguing start.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Future Typing 15 Creative Keyboard Designs Concepts

[ By Steph in Gaming & Computing & Technology. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Sewer Pipe Sofa: Rusted NYC Tubes Recycled as Urban Seating

29 Sep

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

modular sewer pipe chair

The latest in a long line of city-centric upcycling projects, this modular couch turns the ultimate in untouchable urban infrastructure into a chic industrial work of furniture.

modular nyc sewer pipe

Carlo Sampietro created the Cloche Sofa after seeing a section of sewage pipe abandoned by a construction site, its spot being fit for replacement with a new set of tubes.

modular closed pip sofa

modular pipe sofa full

He then fitted the ends with stabilizing structural circles and plasma-cut sections for seats, welding them back into place, hinging them and creating two locked positions (open and closed). Various configurations can be achieved by opening and closing sections to create a pair of chairs, a love seat or a full sofa.

cloche seat closed opened

cloche chair urban art

safety barrel traffic cones

This is far from the first time that Sampietro has reworked urban elements into new forms – his Cloche Chairs turned safety barrels from “symbols of caution into objects of comfort.”

police barrier table light

police line table

Some of his pieces draw on the visual language of familiar street objects, but interpret them in new ways, like this police barrier table constructed from walnut, steel, resin and using LEDs (which light up through its lettering below).

modular pipe love seat

More about the sofa from the artist: “It represents landscape evolution that dismantles established structural standards and elements of construction materials, and repurposes a found material into sophisticated design, reshaping a common object into a meaningful amalgam. This piece harnesses objects that outlived their original uses, were discarded, reclaimed and renovated. The evolution of this landscape design could be achieved by taking in consideration other material such as concrete, stainless steel, wood or marble, all cylindrical forms present in existing construction materials or natural environment. The tube shape is accented by LED side panels and the conic footing. This renders the object’s hybrid functionality almost invisible, unnoticeable at the first glance.”

360Photography

Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

Anti-Object: A Public Bench Designed to be Everything-Proof

365 Postcards for Ants: Impossibly Tiny Daily Illustrations

Space-Saving Sleepers: Sofas Convert to Bunk Beds in Seconds

Insane Yacht’s Floating Garage Doubles as an Indoor Pool