Dieter Rams, Design Veteran // Video

Dieter Rams is a designer’s designer.

The man who was the chief of design at Braun from 1961 to 1995 is a revered designer in all aspects of the word. Rams serves as influences for many people in the design world, not least the senior industrial designer for Apple, and was featured in the documentary “Objectified.”

His motto for design is simple: Less, but better.

Here, for your viewing pleasure, is Dieter Rams.

Good design:

• Is innovative - Rams states that possibilities for innovation in design are unlikely to be exhausted since technological development is always offering new opportunities for innovative design. He also highlights that innovative design always develops in tandem with innovative technology and can never be an end in and of itself.

• Makes a product useful - A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain criteria, not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic. Good design emphasises the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could possibly detract from it.

• Is aesthetic - Only well-executed objects can be beautiful. The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products used every day have an effect on people and their well-being.

• Makes a product understandable - It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product clearly express its function by making use of the user’s intuition. At best, it is self-explanatory.

• Is unobtrusive - Products and their design should be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user’s self-expression. Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools and are neither decorative objects nor works of art.

• Is honest - Honest design should not attempt to make a product seem more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It should not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.

• Is long-lasting - It should avoid being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years – even when the trend may be in favor for disposable products.

• Is thorough down to the last detail - Dieter Rams states that nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance in the design of a product since care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.

• Is environmentally friendly - Good design should make an important contribution to the preservation of the environment by conserving resources and minimizing physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.

• Is as little design as possible - Dieter Rams makes the distinction between the common “Less is more” and his strongly advised “Less, but better” highlighting the fact that this approach focuses on the essential aspects thus, the products are not burdened with non-essentials. The desirable result would then be purer and simpler.

UFO Audio Player

The designers at MobiBlu have seamlessly threaded together music and bluetooth technology. This mp3 player (originally dubbed the ‘A10′) comes with built-in speakers (2 watts) and is compatible with mp3, wma and ogg audio files.

The player has 15 hours battery life with headphones and 5 hours battery life with speakers, and comes in a variety of memory capacities. 

And if that’s not entirely enough, be rest assured that when you purchase the UFO mp3 player, it will arrive on your doorstep wrapped in recycled newspaper – as the website state: “green – good for Blu, good for you.”

Get Acquainted:

HERE

Andrea Innocent

Above are some of the brilliant works by Australian illustrator Andrea Innocent. After receiving her B.A. in Fashion Design and her M.A. in Multimedia Design, Innocent spent three years in Japan, living and breathing the culture of the locals. 

She is an artist of caliber, and she moves seamlessly between Eastern and Western styles, almost never noticing the borders society has put upon them. The degree to which Japan has had an influence on her work is obvious, and welcomed.

Otoshimono (meaning lost and found in Japanese) is the name of her website and also provides symbolism. On her about page on her website, she clearly acknowledges her ability to move into a head space between her home country of Australia and Japan.

I am completely in love with her work, having lived several years in Japan myself. She has captured what the culture gives to the life of a Westerner.

I suggest you Get Acquainted:

HERE

Chromoly Has Some Dangerous Tacks

These are some deadly thumbtacks so that you can attack that project you’ve been weary of with new style.

No, seriously, I’m buying these. The fact that they DO look like throwing stars means props to the art director (Adam Pickard), who used injection molded ABS plastic to make the shape, a chrome finish to make it look deadly, and stainless steel pins to make it function- worthy.

And lets not forget the immensely talented Jonathon Sabine, the other half of the design duo behind Chromoly, a Canada-based production design company. Sabine, an alumni from The Sheridan Institute where he studied furniture design, has worked in various capacities, including graphic designer, design engineering, and cabinet making. His work has been featured in several fashion and style magazines, such as I.D. and Design Lines.

Adam Pickard is an Art Advertising Director in Toronto. He has worked with firms all over North America and has had his designs featured in several publications, such as Communication Arts and D&AD.

Together they have come up with some pretty interesting designs, including the bourgeois brass knuckles (wine opener), smuggling plates (you heard me right), and the tastemaker bag.

I’d post photos, but then I’d make you Chromoly-jealous.

Get Acquainted:

HERE

Cityabyss Has My Attention

And it should have yours as well.

Beata Szczecinska, aka Cityabyss, is a 30 year old artist from Poland. After graduating from school with an MA Honors in Graphic techniques, she has gone on to establish her works (handmade graphics and traditional artworks that are digitally processed) in several online and print publications, among them Computer Arts Magazine and Varoom Magazine. 

The main idea around which Cityabyss rotates is city as “agglomeration,” in its creation, including almost (if not all) aspects of art and design.

The ideas which Cityabyss rotate around are the same ideas that I have come to research, and am intrigued by. The work symbolizes a strong connection to the city, which I understand (living in more than a few of the largest cities in the world). 

Ms. Sczecinska established Cityabyss in 2006.

I hope you will check her out and

Get Acquainted:

Dripbook or Website or Blog

 

Appilya

Appilya Inc, one of Japan’s foremost iphone app publishers, is known for creatively bringing Japanese culture and style to iphone users. They formed with financial support from Softbank Inc., the exclusive mobile provider of the iPhone in Japan.

My favorite apps would have to be the Wild Orchids Borneo (a bunch of photos of wild orchids that only bloom in Borneo), and the horoscope app entitled First Half horoscopes (although why don’t they do Year of the Tiger?).

I’m interested in Appilya, considering they’ve been a company since October of 2008 and have already become successful. Their mission is simple: to bring joy without much money. They’re also one of the few Asian publishers that have a Twitter, showing they are ready to move into a more technological age.

So I’m wondering – when will American publishers follow in their footsteps?

Get Acquainted:

HERE

Tokyo Flash Watches

These are the coolest watches you will ever see – in your entire life.

 

This watch is the Star Performer in black. 

It really is something you need to check out for yourself…because it’s comprehensive. Go HERE for this watch.

Tenmetsu watch is more complicated than the first. So go HERE for this watch.

The importance of these watches (which range from $100 USD – $300 USD) is that they are innovative and advanced enough for us to realize that this is the future of technology and digital entertainment.

Get Acquainted:

HERE

LUMI Rainwater Tanks

The Aussies are always combining style with eco-conscious design.

Full Tank, an adjunct from a Melbourne-based architectural firm, is one of the first environmentally conscious design firms. As such, they built this style-conscious rainwater tank.

That’s right, I said rainwater tank. 

If you live in any big city, you know by now that rainwater tanks help save on water by taking the rain that falls off buildings, purifying the water and then sending it straight back to the building.

Only problem is, the tanks are mostly ugly and unappealing. So Full Tank came up with LUMI, which illuminates during the day and at night, and comes in an array of cool colors.

Someone tell me that these tanks will soon be available in America, because I want one.