Stairs

Check out these awesome and scary and weird staircases.
Click.

The Hollywood Sign

There has been talk of getting rid of the infamous "Hollywood" sign way up in the hills of Hollywood, California. However, there is a huge group of non-supporting protesters, hoping to keep the sign because of it's meaning and significance. Core77 posted about a designer's new idea for the sign.
"As far as I know the original "Hollywood" sign isn't anything close to the size depicted here, but you've gotta love Danish architecture firm Bay Arch's concept of turning it into a mixed-use commercial complex. The chief draw would be a 300 room hotel in the facade, but the nine letters would also house a wellness center and spa, a nightclub and of course, a movie theater."
Check out the links, they are worth a peek!

Phone Locked when Driving

NYTimes posted an interesting article about the solutions to the danger of texting and calling while driving. There is an obvious problem of too many people using their cell phones while their car is in motion, even though they know how high risk it is, and yet, we all keep doing it. New apps have come out to try and change the game.
They lock your phone while the car is in motion. it detects motion by the car's GPS. The phone literally shows a "phone locked" sign on the screen and doesn't all you to do ANYTHING except call 911. the texts and calls go straight to voice mail, not even making a sound to tempt you. the one problem is what if you're not the one driving? some of the apps set up a puzzle to solve in order to unlock it. if you're a passenger, that is totally possible.
This idea is really good, except no one is really going to buy the app. no one is going to set a parental restriction on themselves. It is a shame, because it could be really helpful. But, I don't see this succeeding.

David Carson

David Carson is a Texas born graphic designer mostly known for his use of experimental typography. During his early years Carson worked as a sociology professor but put most pride in his professional surfing career, ranking ninth in the world during his college days.

In the early eighties Carson worked as a teacher for the Torrey Pines High School in San Diego but soon he found himself attending a two week course in commercial design. Carson had found his new calling and spent a bit of time as a part time art director for a surfing magazine and then part time at a skateboarding magazine called Transworld which allowed him to experiment and create his signature ‘grunge’ style dirty type combined with unconventional pictures.

Carson became the art director of the magazine Beach Culture in 1989 and even though the journal only produced six issues until it folded Carson received over one hundred and fifty awards in design. David Carson was hired as the director of Ray Gun Magazine in 1992.In Ray Gun, an American alternative rock and roll magazine, Carson’s “layouts featured distortions or mixes of 'vernacular' typefaces and fractured imagery, rendering them almost illegible. Indeed, his maxim of the 'end of print' questioned the role of type in the emergent age of digital design” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Carson_(graphic_designer). Within three years the circulation of Ray Gun tripled thanks to Carson’s innovative ideas. David Carson has been named ‘the father of grunge’ for the work he had done with his dirty type. He was immersed in the hippy bohemian culture of California and had found his bliss.

After taking leave of Ray Gun in 1995 Carson founded his own design company which holds offices in both California and New York. This is also the same year that Carson publishes his first book the “End of Print” selling over 200,000 copies and printed in five languages this became the best selling graphic design book in the world. The “End of Print” features various one-man exhibitions throughout Europe and Latin America, Asia and Australia.

In 2000 Carson opened a small private studio in South Carolina and only four years later became the Creative Director at Gibbes Museum of Art located in Charleston, South Carolina, the same area as his studio. Carson’s design firm continues to flourish and has had major clients such as Ray Ban and Pepsi Cola. He is attached to his creations; his work is different from other designers at the time. Carson created a type of work that allows the viewer to become immersed in the art, “ I.D. magazine chose Carson for their list of "America's most innovative designers", a feature in Newsweek magazine said of Carson "he changed the public face of graphic design"” (http://www.davidcarsondesign.com/?dcdc=top/s).

Carson has achieved numerous design awards including Designer of the year and Master of Typography. In 2004 Carson received the great recognition of being the most famous graphic designer on the planet by the London Creative Review magazine. Recently Carson has decided to branch out into film and television, directing commercials and videos. He made a short film with the same title of his first publication, “The End of Print”. He appears in others work and continues to keep his firm running. There is a documentary on Carson that is currently being filmed and looks to include much of Carson’s work along with a pleasing soundtrack.

Looking at David Carson’s work is truly an experience. Your eye focuses on what is most important, like the product brand name, and then moves around the work to focus on the other aspects of design and color. Posters created for the tsunami benefit in 2005 has you center on the text which is separated to seem like a letter is missing in the word help. Its quite creative, youre eye visually adds an extra ‘l’ to make hell .Carson’s posters made for the Obama campaign convey all the hope and change Obama had hoped for in the campaign. His text and placement makes the poster easy to look at but also incredibly fascinating to the viewer with letters that can interchangable with a consistant organic style.

Personally I believe that Carson’s work with Ray Gun Magazine is his most successful and creative pieces. The grungy text that jump started an era of design still stays as a common design technique today and I think it is beautiful. The text conveys a feeling which is what I believe a lot of designers try to achieve. Ray Gun not only started David Carson as a world phenomena but shaped Carsons work. Carsons designs at that time were new to people and really sent an image of grunge eighties style simply through text. Everyone else is simply trying to attain what Carson was able to do and still does today.

A world without texting

NYTimes posted a really fantastic article about how huge texting has become. It talks about a school in the Bronx who decided to do a project on not using texting for 2 whole days. This article really grabbed me. It is so hard for people to abstain from texting, facebook, chatting constantly through any kind of social medias. For me, it isn't hard at all. I do not have a facebook, I text very rarely, and when I do want to interact, I do it the way it should be done--call, meet up.
Kids these days are getting to used to communicating through technology and sooner or later, it will effect their social skills. Fathers can't put down their blackberries because they have so much work. Kids can't put down their phones because they feel they have to, want to be in constant touch with everyone, who ever it is that is messaging them. It takes up so much time! They've forgotten what it is to go outside, have a day out, be with their family, etc. I hate that this message isn't being screamed louder, I wish it was. I wish people would stop and realize.
get outside and live, interact face to face.

Solar Beats

Coolhunting wrote this article about this new music box. "UK-based Luke Twyman's Whitevinyl recently released Solar Beat—a music box looped using the orbital frequencies of our own solar system. It's one of those simple concepts where astrophysics is translated into a pleasing ambient loop soundtrack more profound than your average web diversion."
("Oh, and while it may take 248 "earth years" for Pluto to chime in, it's totally worth it.")

This reminds me of Apple's visualizer--starring into weird graphics and shapes and colors as your music plays.



Check em out-- white vinyl.

Evolution of Apple

This new site I found is reporting on the history and evolution of Apple.

Check out delicious.com

new USB

According to Core77 the newest memory stick allows you to see the data in the actual sick because it is CLEAR!
Designer Mac Funamizu's clever prototype, the Funny USB Memory Stick #6, allows users to physically see the digital contents contained on a mini flash drive.

The clear glass device uses lights to indicate the amount and type of data stored. A fully lit stick means it's at capacity with different colors representing file contents, like blue for images and green for documents.

The idea is that lights of different colors--pink for images, blue for documents, green for movie files, for example--would accumulate as you added files, letting you "see" how much data, and what sort, you had on the thing.

No prices have been listed yet.

Ford Sync

Coolhunting is reporting on this new app that allows your car to control the apps on your phone. Cool and safe!

Ford calls this new product Applink.

"The new addition to the system allows drivers to navigate mobile apps on a device using Bluetooth (no data plan required) to connect to the vehicle's controls or voice commands—starting with the 2011 Fiesta, with all Ford and Lincoln models to follow eventually. While the initial launch supports programs developed for BlackBerry and Android platforms, a version coming this fall will include Apple's too."

I don't know what apps you can control exactly besides the mentioned Pandora, Stitcher, and OpenBreak, but it is a start. This new piece of technology will improve and it will be available everywhere in no time. The sync system starts at $395 and can be an add-on to your new Ford.

Steampunk Keyboard

Everyone has heard of steampunk by now.

Here is something really really REALLY cool by these guys.

The victorian keyboard/computer.

I first read about it on designobserver.

These guys decided to take the computer look to a whole other level--something that wasn't the typical PC or Apple. While I am a die-hard Mac-Head, I would definitely convert the iMac to this style. It looks so unique and awesome and still totally technologically advanced.

This is great design and innovation. Cheers, steampunk nerds.

Evan Roth

Evan Roth came to Hofstra to speak. What a treat!

According to Google, he is the "biggest bad ass motherfucker on the internet."

Hearing such a famous, talented, and successful speak in such a small, relaxed setting was really something. He showed us his latest--the video for Jay-Z "Brooklyn We Go Hard."

His work is posted on his website, and he really likes art that involves the most brilliant piece of technology--the internet. I can't blame him. In fact, I totally agree with him! He utilizes the internet to make his art, spread his art, and spread messages. He showed us a video he did with skewing the USPS and bashing Bush. That idea, so simple, but so loud and intricate.

Music Posters

This article posted on coolhunting talks about Jason Munn and his really cool and simple music posters. His new limited edition book "The Small Stakes" (named for his studio) shows off his skills as a thoughtful and conceptual poster designer, including over 150 of his works. Included in the SFMoMA collection (where his book sold out in an hour at the recent signing), the Oakland-based illustrator has admirers the world over, creating works for magazines from ReadyMade to Wired and enlisted by almost every in-demand band to personify their album with one of his minimalist illustrations.

They include really bands; and the design is incredible.

Buy it at San Francisco's book store for $25.

Phones for the rich

Just skimming over the NYTimes, I find this article about the most expensive cell phones. Frank Nuovo is chief of design over Nokia, the world's largest producer in cell phones. Personally, I think their style is by far the best--the sleekness and yet simplicity of their phones are like Apple computers, except sexier.

The article talks about Nuovo's latest endeavors. He is upping the anti and making the most expensive phones. The Vertu. The phones are made with gold, titanium, platinum, stainless steel, and some even are covered with ostrich skin and diamonds. The phones range from $5,000-$25,000. The special editions, however, start at $80,000 and go all the way to $325,000.

I just want to emphasize that number. The cost of that phone isn't even a salary for the majority of America; and yet it is the cost of a freaking cell phone. These phones are just so the rich stand out even more. That 1% of the population that can afford this phone are the only people this phone is aimed towards. So, this guy is going though all this trouble for such a small group of people. To me, it seems absolutely ridiculous. Stop wasting your time. You are obviously a talented designer--use your skills for real use. Luxury is nice, but there is a limit. These phones have crossed that limit.

*Notes--Logo

Phone Speakers

New gadget posted by the NYTimes are the new speakers for your smartphone. LiveSpeakr makes them for the iPhone, but now they expanded and are selling them to the Google Nexus One, the Driod, and Palm Pre.
It connects with a 3.5 mm jack, that won't show up in ads.
"Livespeakr has its own lithium-ion battery and the company says it will last 16 hours on a charge. The battery recharges through a mini-U.S.B. plug, but it must be connected to a wall socket to charge the battery; it can’t charge through a computer U.S.B. slot."
It even rotates!
The sound, according to reviews, is supposed to be very nice and clear.
These bad boys will cost you $80 and can be found online anywhere from Amazon to Urban Outfitters.

Back-up battery

This article in the NY Times is about the latest slim back-up power device to power your iPhone longer. It sucks when you're stranded without a charger; but it also sucks that most back-up systems are so bulky, it deters you. This one, however, is slim and sleek.
"The $60 Jump Start, from DLO, doesn’t cover the entire back of an iPhone or iPod. Instead, the device, black and rubbery, slips over about the middle two-thirds of the phone, allowing it to maintain its sleek shape. It holds on to the phone with 12 tiny suction cups."

It still fits in your pocket. Another nice feature is a button on the back that illuminates an LED status light. Blue means charged, flashing blue means charging and red indicates it’s time to charge.

Definitely worth it.

David Carson Paper

My intro thus far:

David Carson is one of the best graphic designers of our generation. He’s American to boot—born in Texas! His highest reign was during the nineties, but he is still popular, influential, and going strong today.

David was born September 8, 1952 in Corpus Christi, Texas. But, the big, bad Texas didn’t get the Carson’s for long because they moved to New York City four years later. His father had a job that permitted them to travel the world. They visited places like Puerto Rico, the West Indies, and all over America—but they have maintained a base in New York.

He studied at San Diego State University and Oregon College of Commercial Art in the late 1970s to get a Bachelor of Arts in sociology. In 1980, he went to a graphic course at University of Arizona that lasted for two weeks and greatly affected him. Nothing happened yet until 1983, when he went to Switzerland to take another graphic design workshop as part of the degree. There he met Hans-Rudolf Lutz—the teacher of the course and his first great influence.

Wrap and Protect

Coolhunting shows us this new thing called SkoobaWrap. It is a wrap, protecting anything from a laptop to a nice big expensive camera. It comes in 3 sizes.
This fun item starts at about $13-$40.
I think this is a quick way to wrap something up and just go. It is for the college student on the run, the photographer who is always carrying his naked camera, but this is a way to keep things protected and safe and comfy even.

Tegra's tablet

Every single blog is blowing up about the release of the iPad. So, instead of reporting on that same old bit, I'm reporting on Tegra's new tablet, that Engadget says is better! The iPad sales are through the roof, but all the blogs are not impressed. I think it is because they put too much pressure on Apple. This Tegra plays flash!!! That is the catcher, because the iPad does not.
There are a bunch of really nice specs, but unfortunately there is no word on when this is coming out, or for how much...