Design-it-yourself (updated) December 10, 2008
Posted by balticdesign in Design Academy Eindhoven, Dutch design, Uncategorized.Tags: design it yourself, john tackara, personalize, Xmas gift ideas
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2O years ago John Tackara (him!!) wrote a book called “Design after modernism”. I find this quote still sounds very contemporary (so it must be what the trend spotters call a “megatrend”;)): ” What counts, is not ergonomics but weather the chair is welcoming (..). It is being realized that consumers nowadays look for something playful, joyful, personal in the objects that they buy. As a result, objects have to develop “sensual” qualities: as well as being understandable, they must be capable of being felt.”
… You are wearing a unique dress, tailor made coat. Why should you drink the same coffee , eat the same muesli, chocolate bar as everybody? You deserve something better! There are many companies around proposing you to “design” you own tea, energy bar, breakfast mix, wine selection etc. They will make it for you and deliver wherever you are (most of the times).
Here are some examples.
Of course, all these things can make wonderful (Xmas) gifts and might give you as well some ideas of things you can actually make/personalize yourself 
!
German company My Muesli are one of the pioneers in this service. They propose “custom made cereals”.
On You Bar website you can “build” you bars and shakes.
Your Gift Label proposes to print your personal label for a selection of alcoholic drinks. 
Sonntagmorgen will make a coffee mix for you just the way you like it.
Design a tea and Blends For Friends are there for you to create the tea with your favorite flavor(s).
Chocri has a simple step by step tool to “design” The perfect chocolate that will make you (or your partner) melt… 
Want a special mm’s design? Here you are.
For those who love wine: Fusebox.
But there is more than taste joys…
On Spoonflower you can design your own fabric.
French brand Les Ateliers Ruby proposes you to design a unique helmet.
And more, and more… Have fun!
Big ego+good marketing= design? December 9, 2008
Posted by balticdesign in Dutch design, Uncategorized.Tags: bbc, Cindy Crauford furniture collection, ego, Marcel Wanders, marketing, Philippe Starck
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I had some fun time this week end reading an interview with Marcel Wanders in the Dutch newspaper Pers. The journalist had asked to Philippe Starck who is the greatest designer and he pointed Wanders. Later it turns out that the Dutch designer thinks the same about his French collegue.
I think you all have heard this spring about Starck’s decision to quit design world. He said that design is dead and decided to quit this discipline because of its material and not useful role in society. Starck apologizes for what he has designed and produced during those past years, he says that all he has done is not useful and Design therefore is dead…simply not important!
So, basicly, he’s telling that everything he has been doing, is not real and he’s been just fooling people who buy his products. At least he brought some confusion and probably made some people think what is it they are paying for what they purchase a design piece of a famous designer.
Well, later Starck has been seen around in a BBC tv show that aims to find “next best British designer”.
It seems to me that it is mostly a matter of a big ego (with some creativity, of course!) and a good marketing. And why do we buy these things? Isn’t it again a story of ego? We want to posses what is recognized and glamurous.. What has a nice brand name. Then we know that it is the “right” choice.
Designers are becoming contemporary pop stars and pop stars become designers. Check out the furniture collection by Cindy Crauford !
But is it really design, what we are talking about? A very small part of design, the most visible, but far not the most interesting or important.
Bridge text project in Amsterdam. December 7, 2008
Posted by balticdesign in Uncategorized.Tags: Amsterdam, bridge text, global warming, Ogul Oz, Turksih designer
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Bridge text project by Turkish designer Ogul Oz.
Ogul Oz: “The “text bridge” project was held at zeilstraat draw bridge in Amsterdam. The bridge has a structure that it can open from one side to allow boats to pass from the canal while traffic stops and drivers face with a wall of 14 meter.
Today even the biggest catastrophes are demonstrated as fiction so I decided to write this text in public where message can be tangible.
Amsterdam is at the first, in the line to face with the problems of the climate change issue. So it was important to bring the subject back by placing the text in this city. “If the water reached this level we would not need the bridge. Drive on may be we will achieve this.”
I was arrested as soon as I finished the text and was the guest of the police station.
I did the project, one of my expectations was to see the disappearance of the text due to the heavy traffic that goes over it. This would prove the point that “we are going to achieve this.” But the city administration erased the text in one day after and achieved it much faster than I expected.”
Online / offline December 5, 2008
Posted by balticdesign in Uncategorized.Tags: internet, Linden lab, reall doll, second life, virtual, web, world wide web
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I was previously shearing some passages form the We Think book. I still keep on thinking about the role of technologies and internet, how it affects our lives now and how will it evolve in the future. I think there is no way back and their influence will just grow and have a control of more aspects of our lives than we can imagine now. So we have to make sure we use the technologies in a smart way. Because they can take over us before we even know it. Charles Leadbeater is talking about the positive sides of the internet, how it can bring people together and help them build something big together. But isn’t it also very often what separates us from our family and friends? These audiovisual stimulators just suck us in! Most of the people I know admit they are or have been at some point addicted to internet or television. And I’m not an exception.
People are mixing up more and more the two realities. A British couple recently divorced because the man had an affair on Second Life with another woman.
For 6 000 euros one can get a relatively realistic “realdoll” and choose to combine a head and a body he/she prefers (well, I have to say, the choice for men dolls is quite undeveloped, as far as I know). So the virtual becomes tangible and almost convincing. It is like a 3d extension beyond the screen…
I have to admit, it scares me a bit. Second Life, the virtual world- game was created in 2003 and it has today over 15 million members all around the world. I was watching the interview with the SL’s creator Philip Rosedale (Linden lab), he explains quite well, what is it about. From the bright side, of course (: . Second Life is used as a platform for education by many institutions, such as colleges, universities, libraries and government entities. Religious organizations have also begun to open virtual meeting places within SL. Several countries, like Sweden, Estonia (!), Philipines etc. have embassies on SL… 10 million dollars /month are circulating on SL. There are people who earn their living entirely on SL. And there is a big part of users who spend more than 100 hours/a week on SL. I doubt a person can have a normal “analogue” life the few hours left…
From one side I regret a little bit that I didn’ t have access to internet at the time when I went to secondary school. But sure, I learned things I would have missed otherwise. Anyway, it’s clear that now it’s something that is changing the world. And as designers, we would be naive to ignore it. Just look at all the new products, services they are testing on SL before producing them and putting in the real market! Look at the young designers who become known through design blogs! We have to find ways to make internet work for us.
Traditional ornaments (updated) December 4, 2008
Posted by balticdesign in Uncategorized.Tags: Afghanistan ornaments, Baiba Lindane, Baiba Linga Berzina, folk patterns, Latvian traditional ornaments, latviesu tautas raksti, Purpurs, sia Umbra
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I was looking through the book “Language of ornament” (James Trilling) and this picture caught my attention. I was surprised to find Latvian traditional ornaments there! But they turned out to be from Afghanistan… details of the tile revetment ot the shirne of Abdullah Ansari at Gazur Gah, near Herat in Afghanistan, 1425-29.
I wouldn’t be surprised by similarities with other East European or Scandinavian countries’ traditional ornaments. But Afghanistan seems relatively far away and I doubt our ancestors had a lot of contacts with them. Below are a couple of examples of Latvian patterns.
And one more from Afghanistan: square kufic script developed in the 12th century.
Of course, if I look closer, I see also a lot of differences, like Latvian patterns (in these examples) are exclusively 45°, while the Afghanistan ones show more variations with the angles. I find Latvian ornaments more harmonious. They also have a contemporary pixel look (: . I think it’s normal that these very old traditions overlap at some points. I just wish there would be more materials (books/www) available on Latvian traditional ornaments. I would be happy if somebody could let me know about some good information sources! I have a few quite old books on the subject and an amazing book by Adrian Frutiger “Man and his signs”. I believe that knowing and understanding better our traditions we become stronger and we can see better why we are the way we are. I’m sure, the folklore is an essential source for that.
I don’t think these ornaments are something out of date. But it’s very rare to see them used in contemporary design. The first example that comes to me is the collection of candles by Latvian designer Baiba Linga Berzina.
And some more, suggested by YOU:
Lamp Skara by Baiba Lindane.
Notebooks and photo albums by Latvian company Purpurs.
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Is there no institution/company/design review in Latvia that would be interested to organize a competition where designers have to use folk elements? That would be a good motivation to get to know more about our traditions and to put them in a contemporary form.
P.S. I’m also a bit desperate looking for Latvian traditional ornaments in vector version. Does it exist? Does anybody know where to find them?
Design Talents 2008 (updated) December 3, 2008
Posted by balticdesign in exhibitions.Tags: design, design graduates, design huis, exhibition, Talents 2008
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I finally went to the Design Huis to see the exhibition with the pretentious title “Talents 2008″. It is a selection of 150 graduates from 30 design academies/universities all over the Europe. Initially 70 schools were asked to choose 10 the most interesting of their graduation projects. And, guess, who was the one to decide which are the best projects to exhibit at the Design Huis? Of course, it was the woman of the future, Li Edelkoort (who else..).
The show presents a wide range of design disciplines, including industrial, graphic, jewelery design etc. And a lot of furniture, of course. Many projects are highly conceptual, so you have to read the card to understand what is it about (and sometimes this doesn’t even help).
There were quite a few projects from Design Academy Eindhoven that I mentioned already in the previous post, so I wont repeat myself (:. 
Here are some of my favorites.
The foldable bamboo chair by Morten Engebretsen (Norway) is a part of furniture collection where joints and hinges are made out of bamboo based textile. The Flatmate chair can be easily folded and hang on a wall when it is not in use. The designer wants to improve the functionality of small spaces. Elegant and functional!
Judith van den Boom (UK, RCA) has been working in China and has studied materials and the ways they are used. This investigation resulted in porcelain seats. It is a fragile material that has large strength capacity to hold up things. Surprising and poetic. Judith has an inspiring website.
Karin Frankenstein (isn’t it just a perfect name for a young designer?! No problems for memorizing it!) from Sweden makes furniture out of a mix of paper, potato, flour, chalk, clay, cow manure (dung), straw and peat. The material properties are related to clay but the possibilities are extensive, there are fewer restrictions on the size and form. I think it’s just totally amazing to reinvent things once again and play with them!
A mobile radiator by Hedvig af Ekenstam (Sweden). The designer was inspired by knitting methods, she uses heating cable as her wool to create a new type of radiator. It seems to be a new trend (I ve seen some other ones around)- to take your radiator in your bed (: .
Skyline by Benjamin Morin (France). A tool that allows to create a hanging garden that is nourished by impulsive purchase of seasonal plants. Fits perfectly into the growing trend of Guerilla gardening, well, at least, it can be a good start.
Malin Henningsson (Sweden) is interested in human decoration, the relationship between clothing, jewelery and body. He blurs the boundaries using electroforming technique. I like the idea of jewelery becoming clothing and the other way around.
Jeanette New (UK) presents amazing pieces of second hand cloths, embroidered/decorated using plastic bags. That’s also almost jewelery!
You can find more information about this exhibition in the January 2009 issue of the Latvian design magazine Dizaina Studija.
Green consciousness December 2, 2008
Posted by balticdesign in Uncategorized.Tags: Gijs Bakker, Patagonia, Philippa K, second hand, sustainability
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I get this feeling quite often that I’m spending my life waisting the resources of the planet and as a designer I probably do it even more than an average citizen. Even if I would create everything in a strictly sustainable way, still most of the new products that come in the market are totally unnecessary and their main reason to exist is to create profit.
(photo by Virginia A. Spiegel)
Gijs Bakker gave a lecture at the beginning of the year at the Design Academy. In general it was quite boring (and I was very disappointed, caus’ I respect him for his work) but he said a nice sentence that “every generation has rights for self expression”. So I can relay on this idea… at least while I’m still studying.
But I see more and more companies getting worried about ecological questions. Even if I think that most of the times they just worry about their image. They know that more and more people want to consume “in a responsible way” so they make efforts to become a little bit greener. Here are just some examples.
On the website of Patagonia you can now find some interesting information. For example, if you have just purchased a Vitality Strappy dress, you can see that it had to travel 26 131 km to be made out of the original fibers. There were 14 kg of CO2 emissions and 425g of waist materials (1,5times the weight of the final product). 35kWh of energy were consumed to manufacture and transport one single dress (equal of a 18W fluorescent light bulb burning for 81 day 24h/day). Do you still like your dress as much as a minute ago? Can just the fact of knowing what we are causing to the nature make us feel better? It makes me feel a bit desperate. Being smart and conscious is not enough, we need some action!
Swedish fashion company Philippa K opened this summer a second hand shop in Stockholm. ”We are incredibly proud to be able to work with sustainability in this way. The fact that the superb quality and design of our products enable us to operate a second hand concept is very much in line with the things for which Filippa K stands,” says Filippa Knutsson, Creative Director. Will the brands’ second hand shops be the new trend?
The Nespresso megabrand is also promoting itself as sustainable. They say they work with small farmers all over the world, they collect the empty coffee capsules (I know lots of people who have a Nespresso coffee machine but I don’t know anybody who brings the used capsules back to the shop! That ’s a huge amount of aluminium waste!).
The Ode magazine promises to plant a tree for every new subscriber! I have to say it’s tempting (the tree and the magazine) ! But do we have to wait for others to do things for us?!
