Bloom Box claims to have designed a power generator that combines oxygen and natural gas, biogas or solar energy to create electricity. ”6O Minutes” interviewed the inventor and his financial backer, who are going extremely public after years of secrecy. Among the initial companies testing the hype — Google, eBay, and Walmart. Take a look at the video for yourself.
With nearly 2 feet of newly fallen snow on the ground and more in the forecast for tomorrow, I thought this instructional time lapse video was pretty enticing. Using a kitchen knife, a storage tub, a snow shovel and a lot of repetition, this guy builds the ultimate backyard igloo.
Innovation has found its way into the realm of mobile housing. Designer and painter Kevin Cyr has created a functioning structural piece of art that considers “habitats and housing; recycling and ecology; exploration and mobility” in his design of Camper Bike. A condensed version of a camper built for trucks, this redesign can be pulled with a pedal-powered bike.
Stevie Famulari, an environmental artist and a landscape architecture professor at North Dakota State University, takes time to color snowfall that collects on her Fargo, N.D., lawn.
Taking creative liberty to spray each layer of snow a different color as it falls, she expects to have a rainbow effect as the winter progresses. Famulari said. “We shove it aside as if it doesn’t exist. We need to celebrate it.”
Some creative people make anything their canvas, and Famulari is one of those people.
Theo Jansen, Dutch artist and engineer known for his wind-walking kinetic creations, is one of the most creative minds in design today. His 20-year career of creating sand-stomping, beach-roaming sculptures has resulted in having his life’s work presented in print, used in a major motion picture and even described at speaking engagements like TED.
The animation above shows Jansen’s most famous work, which recreates the natural movement of a horse walking. Some of the models he has created even utilize solar energy to power the gears.
Looking further into the work of Theo Jansen, you can find many videos and pictures showing how his creatures move by incorporating a robust system of kinetic features. This is one designer worth looking into.
Katie Thompson (Owner & Designer) Recreate
Katie is a South African interior designer who started Recreate, a repurposed range of furniture and lighting, in February 2009. By blending South African craftsmanship with high-end finishes and items of unused or discarded junk, she has created an original end product with a new integrity that epitomizes the very best of South African design.
Explain to readers how you arrived in the design world creating furniture and accessories. After studying interior design at the most fabulous school in Cape Town (Design Time School of Interior Design), I worked in the Interior Design industry with fabrics and furniture for 7 years. I was always drawn to the conceptual and creative side of design. This, and the fact that I am a hoarder at heart with a love of junk, naturally led me to this area of design.
At what point did you realize you were a designer; what was the experience that seemed to be a defining moment? My second job after leaving design school was working for Roger Martin Architects and Interior Design. I was involved in the design of a Thai Restaurant, Kitima. On the first day of installation, three delivery trucks arrived with glass. Roger Martin (the Principal Architect and Designer)said, ‘So Katie, where do you want the glass to go?’
What appeal does Cape Town have to a designer as far as cultural influences, local artisans and available materials. Designers in Cape Town are spoiled for choice when it comes to cultural influences. We are able to bring together various elements of these diverse cultures to create hybrid works. I am interested in the extremes of the art world and enjoy combining high-end art works with grassroots level artistic influences.
You have shown there is a wealth of used objects such as suitcases, cookware and household items. What recycled medium do you look forward to using in creating more work based on reused objects in the future? I don’t usually source an item of junk for a specific function. It is usually the other way around, as the junk tells me what it wants to become in its next life!
I love being able to look at an item of ordinary junk, for example, someone else’s trash, be it broken, old or discarded and see a new function through it. Rummaging through garages, storage rooms, old warehouses and the garbage tip allows me to source endless recycled materials.
To whom do you attribute your sense of style and aesthetic? Is there any particular art movement or artist you consider an influence? Dadaism and Surrealism have been major influences on my work. I studied Art & Art History in school and remember being quite disinterested most of the time until the day we learned about the absurdity of Surrealism and Dadaism. These movements influenced the artworks I was making and allowed me to extend the conceptual boundaries of my work.
The most influential artist I have come across is Marcel Duchamp who signed a urinal and declared it art. I love the questioning behind this. Why should an artwork be on canvas with a brush and paint? Who determines what form a chair should be? Why not a suitcase? Can an old Hoover not be a fully functioning lamp?
What is one thing you had to learn out of school about designing; something only experience could lend? Experience has taught me to avoid over designing.
What is your approach to incorporating ergonomics using found objects? What is compromised when it comes down to it – visual appeal or comfort? Ultimately all of my products have a new function from their previous purpose. So if The Suitcase Chair is not comfortable, or the Milk Bottle Lamp is not shining then the products are not functioning.
They are also designed as high-end recycled furniture items. The same quality fitting you would buy at a high-end lighting store is used on The Milk Bottle Lamp. Similarly, the foam, fabric and upholstery techniques used on a high end quality armchair are used on the suitcase chair.
That said, they are occasional chairs and are not designed for curling up with a blanket and watching a movie.
How do approach designing; is it collaborative, do you have a daily routine, do you sketch very much? Like most creative minds, mine does not follow a linear process but functions more like a washing machine. It is a process of perpetual conceptualization and turbulent creative thinking. I cannot paint, or draw and I can barely sketch. I scribble. And my handwriting resembles hieroglyphics.
Share your advice for people wanting to bring their creative thoughts into tangible objects? Nothing is impossible except falling upwards!
With cold weather all around us, many people who use touch interface devices are going to find that they will have to shed a layer to check email, answer a phone call or navigate their MP3 players. Instead of taking off your gloves, try creating a conductive pad on your finger tips.
These gloves can be purchased, but what is the fun in that? Try making your own gloves with a few simple items. Using your ordinary gloves, you can create an extraordinary interface to communicate between your fingertips and your electronic touch surface device.
You can order a sample bobbin of conductive thread for a small amount of money compared to the cost of a large spindle. Instructables even has an article about creating conductive glue if you choose to go that route. The idea is to create your own active conductive surface with a little creativity and know-how. The possibilities are limitless.
Geometric package designs for snacks are coming from all directions. Doritos has had a conceptual design overhaul, making a play on its famous triangular snack shape.
Impact extrusion is used to create this new Coke can redesign. Looks cool, I just hope it feels cool and can match the structural integrity of the current can.
A perfect way to reuse a CD case.
Cashed in the clunker and need to rid the trunk of unused objects? Why not give your funnel a second life?
Wipe down mirrors, glass or electronic wires with a coffee filter. You can even divide stacked chinaware to avoid scratching.
Run an old toothbrush through the dishwasher then use it to clean the hair out of razor blades to extend the life of a razor.
Use baby wipe containers for markers, craft supplies, and sewing items.
See how to even transform a light bulb into a ship in a bottle. Anything can be reused if you take the time to be creative!
With Halloween right around the seasonal calendar, a lot of people are going to begin designing their own costumes. I have found a few creative costumes for your enjoyment and inspiration — some cute, some scary, and some just really clever.
Construction machinery dinosaur with a cage baby monster baby Nacho Libre chicken crossing the road Indiana Jones video game monster iPhone vending machine Bumblebee
