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Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

High Tech to High Fashion: Upscale 3D-Printed Designs

01 May

[ By Steph in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

3D Printed Fashion main

Pioneers in 3D-printed fashion are showing off the capabilities of rapid-prototyping technology with dresses, hats, shoes, swimwear and jewelry. Machines layer buildable materials like nylon or steel according to computer-generated blueprints, eliminating the need for fabric and conventional soles and fasteners. The results are delicate and architectural, but surprisingly strong. Designs are custom-printed to the wearer’s exact dimensions for a perfect fit.

N12 Bikini by Continuum Fashion

3D Printed Fashion N12 Bikini
While 3D-printed fashions have been showing up on runways for a few years now, the N12 bikini was among the first to actually be available for purchase. Every single piece of this bikini is 3D-printed including closures, and snap together without any sewing. Order through the Continuum Fashion shop.

Exoskeleton 3D Printed Shoes by Janina Alleyne

3D Printed Fashion Exoskeleton Shoes 1

3D Printed Fashion Exoskeleton Shoes

The Exoskeleton collection by Janina Alleyne is a futuristic, vaguely alien-looking series of footwear inspired by the structure and silhouettes of marine invertebrates and insects. With 3D printing, shoes and garments can be printed to the exact size of the wearer, making uncomfortable-looking designs fit like a glove.

Parasol Hat by Heidi Lee

3D Printed Fashion Cocktail Hat

Artist and milliner Heidi Lee created this parasol-inspired cocktail hat, modeled by Andrej Pejic for WILD Magazine’s Woman issue.

Invisible Shoe by Andreia Chaves

3D Printed Fashion Invisible Shoe 1

3D Printed Fashion Invisible Shoe 2

Created in collaboration with rapid prototyping studio Freedom of Creation, fashion designer Andreia Chaves’ Invisible Shoe features a 3D-printed base that is then covered in a mirrored shell. This produces an optical illusion effect, making the wearer’s feet seem to blend in with their surroundings.

Jointed Jewels by Alissia Melka-Teichroew

3D Printed Fashion Jointed JEwels

3D Printed Fashion Jointed Jewels 2

A ‘selective laser sintering process’ enables jeweler Alissia Melka-Teichroew to create a range of unusual jewelry from plastic powder, which is fused into solid form using a computer-controlled laser.

Seed of Life Corset by ThreeForm

3D Printed Fashion Seed of Life Corset

This piece of wearable sculpture features a segmented design with movable joints and hinges, and it’s made to fit your body perfectly. The Seed of Life Corset from ThreeForm is available at Shapeways for $ 2,500.

Escapism Dresses by Daniel Widrig, Iris van Herpen and .MGX by Materialise

3D Printed Fashion Escapism Dress

This incredibly complex series of dresses from Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen was produced in collaboration with London architect Daniel Widrig and digital manufacturers .MGX by Materialise. The digitally-printed dresses are lightweight and flexible, amazingly detailed and yet easy to produce.

Biomimicry Shoe by Marieka Ratsma and Kostika Spaho

3D Printing Biomimicry Shoe

Look closely at the heel of the biomimicry shoe by Dutch fashioned designer Marieka Ratsma and American architect Kostika Spaho. It’s modeled on a bird skull. The hollow structure of the skull creates a high platform sole that is nevertheless lightweight, using less material than a solid structure.

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High Tech To High Fashion Upscale 3d Printed Designs

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Symbiotic Design: Life-Saving Meds Hide in Spare Space

01 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

creative packaging

It is a strange fact that Coca Cola is so widely distributed it is easier to obtain in some places than clean water. That powerful distribution network has sparked a brilliant packaging idea: utilizing empty space is Coke shipping crates to house vital medication.

creative colalife distribution network

Like a pathogen finding a way to sneak a ride in past an unsuspecting immune system, ColaLife packages slips into the interstitial space between bottles to provide diarrhea medicine, addressing the second biggest contributor to childhood mortality rates in many parts of Africa. Unlike many design projects, the point is not what specifically is sent out, but how things can be shipped (the ‘what’ comes second).

creative spare space medicine

Simon Berry credits his wife with the essential and (only in retrospect) obvious realization that the best way to piggyback on Coca Cola’s established process was to use the leftover area in the crates they are already shipping. Thus the AirPod was born – a small and strangely-shaped packaged made to be wedged in that extra sliver of void.

creative developing world meds

For now, the kits are subsidized as the system proves itself workable. But aside from donor contributions, at just $ 1.00 US, these life-saving packages may yet be profit potential for retailers in the developing world. Either way, they are breaking ground toward future social entrepreneurship possibilities.

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In The Fold: 10 Futuristic Folding + Flexible Computer Ideas

30 Apr

[ By Delana in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

flexible computer concepts

The concept of computers has changed dramatically over the past 50 years. They have gone from room-sized monstrosities to desktop beasts to laptop machines to tiny powerhouses that we can carry in our pockets. But it would be a mistake to think that computers are done evolving. The materials we use to build computers are constantly changing, and their form factors will undoubtedly change rapidly as well. These concepts show just what might be possible in the very near future of computer design.

Napkin PC Concept

napkin computer

Operating on the idea that most great ideas start as napkin sketches, designer Avery Holleman decided to design a computer system that looks just like a group of napkins. A stack of napkin-like screens and a set of “pens” are kept in a handy holder, allowing collaborators to simply grab one of each and sketch out an idea.

napkin pc concept

The holder is actually a base station and computer, allowing all of the processing to be done in the case so that the “napkins” themselves can remain small and easy to handle. A couple of napkins can roll up and be secured with a kind of napkin ring that holds two pens, letting the system go with you to impromptu meetings or anywhere great ideas might strike.

Feno Foldable Notebook

feno foldable notebook concept

Designer Niels Van Hoof had a compelling vision for the modern laptop: why not eliminate wasted space and make the screen itself fold up to make the entire machine smaller? The screen would use OLED technology to let it fold in half without damaging the display.

feno foldable laptop concept

The keyboard could then shrink significantly, allowing just enough room for the keys and eliminating the vast amounts of space under the keyboard that is usually dedicated to the trackpad. A pop-out mouse takes care of that, letting you navigate naturally and then store the mouse inside the laptop’s body when you’re done.

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In The Fold 10 Futuristic Folding Flexible Computer Ideas

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Buildings That Don’t Exist: Fake Facades Hide Infrastructure

30 Apr

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

Fake Building Facades 1

From the sidewalk, this Paris building looks just like those around it, complete with doors, windows and balconies. but take a look at Google Maps, as Paul of the blog Paris by Cellphone did, and you’ll notice something strange: there’s nothing behind that facade. Like many others all over the world, this ordinary-looking building is just a shell to disguise unsightly infrastructure.

Fake Building Facades 2

Fake Building Facades 3

The building, at 154 Rue La Layette, is hiding a giant ventilation chimney for the metro. The chimney is about as large as one of the real buildings that surround it. In another location in Marais, artist Julien Berthier constructed a false door to go on the side of one of these buildings that wasn’t quite as well-disguised.

Fake Building Facades 6

The facade meets local architectural codes and bears an address plate reading ‘J.B. & S.B. Specalistes.’ Wonder how many people have knocked on it over the years, waiting for someone to answer?

Fake Building Facades 4

BLDGBLOG discovered another such facade, in Brooklyn. The windows of this particular house are blacked out, making it a bit curious. What are those people trying to hide? Upon closer examination, answer is revealed: it’s a ventilator for the subway. Once, it was a real brownstone, built in 1847, but it was gutted in 1908 when subway service was started in Brooklyn. See more photos of the facade at BLDGBLOG.

Fake Building Facades 5

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle explains, “the exit disguised as a brownstone leads to a grimy-lit set of metal stairs that ascend past utility boxes and ventilation shafts into a windowless room with a door. If you opened the door, you would find yourself on a stoop, which is just part of the façade.”

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Private Playgrounds: 13 Amazingly Fun Houses

29 Apr

[ By Steph in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

Private Playgrounds Fun Houses Main

If you had your own pirate ship fort, multi-story slide, climbing wall or indoor skate park, would you ever want to leave your house? Some homeowners have turned their residences into private playgrounds and theme parks, incorporating fun elements to liven up home life for kids and adults alike.

Home Library with a Wooden Slide

Private Playgrounds Library Slide 2

Private Playgrounds Library Slide 1

Bookshelves and a slide are built into a set of stairs in the Panorama House by architect Moon Hoon from South Korea, encouraging kids to spend a lot more time in this fun little space. And as if those three functions weren’t enough, the steps also offer a stadium-style home theater seating area. Says Hoon, “The multi-use stair and slide space brings much active energy to the house, not only children, but also grown ups love the slide staircase. An action filled playful house for all ages.”

Indoor Skate Park House

Private Playgrounds Skate Villa

An abandoned hunting lodge in the woods of Salzburg, Austria was remodeled into a skater’s dream, filled with ramps and curving surfaces to make it an indoor skate park and residence in one. Designed by professional skateboarder Philipp Schuster, Skate Villa retains its lodge character with antlers, rifles and rustic furniture.

Colorful Home with Spiral Stairs, Slides and Trap Doors

Private Playgrounds Three Story Slide 1

Private Playgrounds Three Story Slide 3
Trap doors, slides, bridges and bright three-story spiral staircases make this ‘magical oasis’ by AB Rogers and DA Studio much more enjoyable for kids and adults alike than an average home. Not only does the house feature secret doors that can be thrown open to slide down to the next floor, it has a special oversized sofa designed specifically for jumping and bouncing.

Pirate-Themed Playground with Treehouse and Slides

Private Playgrounds Pirate Ship

Private Playgrounds Pirate Ship 2

Private Playgrounds Pirate Ship 3

A floating pirate ship bedroom with a rope bridge, offering a magical place to sleep, is just the beginning in this fun-centric house by Kuhl Design. A hidden slide spirals three stories down to a basement with a climbing wall and video golf room.

Tokyo Three-Story Slide and Ball Pit

Private Playgrounds Tokyo Slide 1

Private Playgrounds Tokyo Slide 2

Would you rather take the slide, or the stairs? This Tokyo house by Japanese studio Level Architects lets you choose at each of the three floors. Stairs wrap around one side and the slide wraps around another. Another fun feature is a small light-filled ball pit.

Amazing Indoor/Outdoor Home Climbing Wall

Private Playgrounds Tokyo Climbing Wall 1

Private Playgrounds Tokyo Climbing Wall 2

Tired of taking the stairs? Climb from one floor to the next instead. The 3-Way House in Tokyo by Naf Architect & Design incorporates a modern climbing wall as a main visual component, placed in a glassed interior courtyard that can be seen from various rooms in the house.

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Fill in the Blanks: Illustrated Sky Spaces Between Buildings

29 Apr

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]

sky art

Street art uses roads, sidewalks, walls and infrastructure as canvasses, but one of the brightest and blankest slates of all may be the spaces in between.

sky scape cloud canvass

Thomas Lamadieu, a French artist, looks up and sees subject, not void, in blue and clouded city skies, then uses his imagination to fill in the picture, playing on notions of figure and ground.

sky art infill drawings

His Sky Art series shows a given and take between shapes being worked with and what he puts in, often working with minimalist lines and splashes of color.

sky art interactive sketch

In the process, he turns tapering alleys into uncomfortable figures, sinuous spaces into leaning ladies, and cramped courtyards into crouching pranksters, all the while challenging us to see back and forth between positive and negative space (and selectively breaking the boundaries in between).

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Child’s Place: 10 Eerie Abandoned Orphanages

28 Apr

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned orphanages
Orphanages served as repositories for unwanted, illegitimate and unsupportable children in relatively recent yet still socially unenlightened times and places. Modern initiatives in family planning and social welfare along with the realization that institutionalizing children adversely affects their development have seen a steep reduction in the number of functional and operating orphanages. These 10 eerie abandoned orphanages represent a fading vestige of “the good old days” whose loss is in no way disappointing.

Greek Orphanage: Büyükada, Turkey

abandoned Greek Orphanage Buyukada Turkey(images via: Archaeopop)

The former Büyükada Greek Orphanage (Büyükada Rum Yetimhanesi) was designed in the Ottoman Beaux-Arts style by French-Turkish architect Alexandre Vallaury and opened in 1899. Its remote location on Büyükada, one of the Prince’s Islands just off Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara, probably contributed to its preservation even though it’s been abandoned since the 1960s.

abandoned Greek Orphanage Buyukada Turkey(image via: Archaeopop)

The orphanage closed in 1936 after running afoul of official regulations and was subsequently used as a government administration building. A lengthy court battle that finally ended in 2010 saw the title of the building returned to the Greek Orthodox patriarchate. It remains one of the world’s largest wooden buildings.

Abandoned Orphanage: Jena, former East Germany

abandoned orphanage Jena Germany GDR(image via: ashes_and_sackcloth)

This abandoned orphanage in the German city of Jena displays a jarring combination of hope and despair on its grimy facade: bright, colorful window frames epitomize the former while dull, lifeless masonry blighted by graffiti typify the latter. In its heyday, administered by authorities in the former German Democratic Republic, the place may have been almost cheery compared to the trials and tribulations of everyday life. Thanks to Flickr user ashes_and_sackcloth for capturing this unique emotional image.

Abandoned Orphanage Nursery: Pripyat, Ukraine

abandoned orphanage Pripyat Ukraine(images via: Nige820, Wikipedia and BBC)

State-funded orphanages were common in most medium to large cities of the former Soviet bloc, though they are gradually giving way to family support programs and foster care. The process is slow, however – as of 2011 slightly over 100,000 children were residents of orphanages in Ukraine.

abandoned orphanage Pripyat Ukraine(image via: Imgur)

Bad as that seems, at least children no longer reside in the orphanage at Pripyat, the city of 50,000 founded in 1970 and abandoned 16 years later in the wake of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Judging from the cramped conditions in the nursery above, life must have been difficult at best; depressing at worst.

St John’s Orphanage: Goulburn, NSW, Australia

St John's Orphanage Goulburn Australia abandoned(image via: Viewed At Once)

St. John’s Orphanage (also known as the Goulburn Boys Orphanage) located in Goulburn, New South Wales, opened in 1912 and closed in 1976. At any one time, approximately 100 boys aged 5 to 16 called the Goulburn Boys Orphanage home. After the orphanage closed, the Christian Interdenominational Organisation conducted discipleship training courses in the building before it was finally abandoned in the late 1990s. The structure is reputed to be haunted and although entry into the interior is not allowed, nocturnal ghost tours are regularly conducted by a local company.

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Brand Re-Versioning: Trading Logos with the Competition

27 Apr

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Graphics & Branding. ]

coke pepsi logo swap

Our brains recognize brands before we even get to the text … but what happens when that second of the process process yields the reverse of what we expect?

logo trade branding identities

In this series of experimental logo swaps by Graham Smith, our expectations are subverted right at the point of recognition – Coke replaces Pepsi, UPS becomes FedEx and so forth in realms ranging from fast food to digital technology.

logo brand swap designs

The result is a kind of temporary cognitive dissonance, and poignant reminder of just how much we rely on visual cues – from shape and layout to color and typography – to interpret input and apprehend iconic designs.

logo exchange visual exercise

Some of the trades work relatively seamlessly – a surprise number actually work visually – you could almost believer that Twitter, Facebook and Google could simply have gone a different direction with their designs.

logo swap tech brands

But given our own familiarity biases when viewing them, it is hard to say in some cases, too. Either way, it is clear that our experience and associations play a major part in the power of branding.Thanks to our partners, you can find ties online to suit every preference and budget, from budget to top-of-the-range super stylish models.

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The Wilds of Panama City: New Street Art Animals by ROA

26 Apr

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

ROA Panama City Street Art 1

The streets of Panama City are now crawling with exotic birds, iguanas, lemurs and other creatures measuring up to three stories in height after a visit from famed Belgian street artist ROA. Following his exhibition in Brussels last February, ROA made his way to the Latin American nation to work on new mass-scale pieces in his signature monochromatic style, set against broad stripes of color on stained, peeling urban surfaces.

ROA Panama City Street Art 2

ROA Panama City Street Art 3

Animal are ROA’s favorite subject, and the artist often chooses species that are native to the areas in which he’s working. This faunal imagery contrasts with the stark concrete and asphalt spaces of the city, bringing in a connection to nature as well as some spectacular art that people from all walks of life can enjoy as they go about their daily routines.

ROA Panama City Street Art 4

ROA Panama City 5

“Since I was a kid I drew animals, so I wanted to paint like I draw, but more plastic and looser. I gave it a try on the wall… I got inspired to go up to paint in left-behind factories and hidden places and experiment with lines and scales. I was still enjoying it because every wall is different; the environment, the social life around it, the external conditions, the depiction, the challenge is always there.”

ROA Panama City Street Art 6

Check out ROA’s previous work in Mexico City as well as some panoramic pieces and lenticular art, which changes depending on the angle from which you view it.

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Origami Kayak: Packs Flat, Folds Up to Form its Own Case

25 Apr

[ By WebUrbanist in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

kayak flat pack

Portaging in the wild is one thing, but try walking your canoe or kayak down the street (let alone through an airport) and you may smack someone right in the head – hence this city-friendly creation (25 pounds, 25 inches wide, and 12 feet long when deployed!).

kayak portable folding design

Compact, portable and light-weight, the Oru kayak folds in on itself to form a shoulder-ready carrying case containing, well, itself. It then unfolds and assembles in just five minutes – perfect for those living in crowded urban environments with little storage space.

kayak mobile folding form

From its creators: “Stash it in a trunk. Check it on a plane. Stow it on a sailboat. Hike it in to remote waters. No garage, SUV or roof racks necessary. The Oru Kayak makes boating simple, easy, and accessible— so you can spend more time on the water.”

kayak beach water deployed

But it is not just about mobility and transit – how the Oru works as a water vehicle matters as well: “The Oru Kayak is fast, stable, and handles incredibly well. Its light weight makes it fast and easy to paddle. The hard chines offer excellent tracking. And the 25″ width makes balancing easy, even for beginners. Check our blog for upcoming demos near you!” The catch? You may need to find the perfect flat-pack paddle to match!

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