So, I admit, I am not much of a quilt person, but these very minimal and graphical designs by b/perrino made me stop and look.
(via juneberryjam)
Today’s Interjection: YAY!
YAY is today’s Interjection of the day! Why? G and I closed on our new apartment! We have been working on this deal for 2 years now and can barely believe that we will have to get into packing boxes mode shortly. (We will be moving a whopping one block!)
So, once more, YAY!
Dumper
Dumper is a truck not just for kids. It will also look after your keys, wallet, small change and whatever else you may have in your pocket! Totally adorable. (Make it in red and I’ll buy one for my studio desk.)
Custom Photo Notepad
Joanna had these adorable Photo Notepads custom made. (How cute is her son Toby?) This would make a perfect gift for my family in Switzerland. You can order them here, over at Pinhole Press.
(Thank you Joanna)
“The Power of Side Projects and Eccentric Aunts”
I am very excited to be speaking about “The Power of Side Projects and Eccentric Aunts” at an upcoming SVA Interaction Design Talk Series here in NYC. It is taking place on Wednesday March 30th, 2011 from 6-8pm.
Remember:
‘Everything is going to be OK‘ is a refreshing daily reminder by printmaker Rachel E Foster.
Pixel Oven Mitts
Pixel Oven Mitts. Yes, seriously. Made me smile.
Upside Down Apron with Cooking Guide
Fed up of frantically thumbing through cookbooks while your goulash explodes? Or coating your keyboard in baked mac and cheese while looking up cooking times and measurements on Google? Fear not! There’s the Upside Down Apron that puts all of that useful info right at your fingertips.
Magnetic Wooden Building Blocks
These Tegu Magnetic Wooden Building Blocks look like so much fun. And you can buy the stylish Tegu Travel Tote to put them away or take them with you on a trip. Oh, the possibilities!
(via Minor Details)
Girl from Ipanema
Is it me or is Astrud Gilberto completely emotionless during this performance? Nevertheless, I love the song.
(via byrd and belle)
BrickBox
BrickBox is a modular bookcase composed of stackable boxes used to transport and store. Brilliant? I would say so!
(Wouldn’t this be perfect for a teenager that is soon going off to college!)
Plant Based Bottle
PepsiCo unveiled a breakthrough in bottle technology earlier today: It announced the world’s first petroleum-free plastic bottle. Read more over on PSFK: Pepsi Reveals World’s First 100% Plant-Based Bottle
The Committee
Brad Denboer of Auditorium Toys just came out with another beauty of a four wheeled grown up toy called The Committtee. (Some of you remember The Boattail Racer?)
Here’s how Brad describes The Committee:
Six business-attired figures, viewed from above in diagrammatic form, are passengers in a vehicle on a relaxing outing. However, one of the passengers is restrained. The trunk reveals various instruments and tools (length of rope, tape recorder, baseball bat, shovel, etc.). While each element in this scenario is individually innocuous, together they make up an undeniably sinister collection.
“The Committee” exposes the risk to the potential of an idea when driven by a collective will — when the original motivation and criteria take a back seat to the impulsive decisions of individual committee members.
You are the ultimate driver in this unfolding narrative of control.
I don’t know about you, but I would love owning one of these limited edition cars (25 pieces). I can see myself playing with it during meetings here in the studio, sending subliminal messages or simply having fun. Wroooom. Wrooom.
Solo – bringing beauty to Project Management
Solo is a new, stunningly designed project management app. The UI is a serious work of beauty. (Hello there, grids!) This app almost makes me want to take on clients again. Hat tip!
(thank you Jerome)
Help Japan Poster by Zac Neulieb
Wow, this Help Japan Poster by Zac Neulieb is powerful. $22.50 printed on semi-gloss photo paper, 100% donated.
(Via ThisisColossal)
Help Japan
Max Erdenberger of W+K studio designed this print to raise relief funds for the devastating earthquake and subsequent massive tsunami that struck Japan March 11, 2011. They are asking a donation of at least $25 for a print, with 100% of the profits going to the relief effort. They will of course accept and pass along a donation of any amount. Their W+K Tokyo office is currently deciding which NPO the funds will be going to. Spread the Word!
(Thank you Max)
FOMO — Fear of Missing Out
Caterina Fake wrote an interesting post about FOMO — Fear of Missing Out and Social Media.
FOMO —Fear of Missing Out— is a great motivator of human behavior, and I think a crucial key to understanding social software, and why it works the way it does. Many people have studied the game mechanics that keep people collecting things (points, trophies, check-ins, mayorships, kudos). Others have studied how the neurochemistry that keeps us checking Facebook every five minutes is similar to the neurochemistry fueling addiction. Social media has made us even more aware of the things we are missing out on. You’re home alone, but watching your friends status updates tell of a great party happening somewhere. You are aware of more parties than ever before. And, like gym memberships, adding Bergman movies to your Netflix queue and piling up unread copies of the New Yorker, watching these feeds gives you a sense that you’re participating, not missing out, even when you are.
Camera Bag Insert
The Any Bag Camera Bag Insert is a camera version of a laptop sleeve that turns every bag you own into a camera bag. Smart!
King Philip IV
Leave it to Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere to come up with an idea like this one: King Philip IV of Spain is signing autographs in front of the 400-year-old Velázquez painting of ‘himself’. “He is 400 years old but doesn’t he look good?”
(via FoundbyJames)
Happy Pi Day
The above image is by Paul Octavious. Read more about the magic number here. And if you’re wondering exactly how long Pi is, here you go:
Pi = 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510
58209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679
82148086513282306647093844609550582231725359408128
48111745028410270193852110555964462294895493038196
44288109756659334461284756482337867831652712019091
45648566923460348610454326648213393607260249141273
72458700660631558817488152092096282925409171536436
78925903600113305305488204665213841469519415116094
33057270365759591953092186117381932611793105118548
07446237996274956735188575272489122793818301194912
98336733624406566430860213949463952247371907021798
60943702770539217176293176752384674818467669405132
00056812714526356082778577134275778960917363717872
14684409012249534301465495853710507922796892589235
42019956112129021960864034418159813629774771309960
51870721134999999837297804995105973173281609631859
50244594553469083026425223082533446850352619311881
71010003137838752886587533208381420617177669147303
59825349042875546873115956286388235378759375195778
18577805321712268066130019278766111959092164201989
38095257201065485863278865936153381827968230301952
03530185296899577362259941389124972177528347913151
55748572424541506959508295331168617278558890750983
81754637464939319255060400927701671139009848824012
85836160356370766010471018194295559619894676783744
94482553797747268471040475346462080466842590694912
93313677028989152104752162056966024058038150193511
25338243003558764024749647326391419927260426992279
67823547816360093417216412199245863150302861829745
55706749838505494588586926995690927210797509302955
32116534498720275596023648066549911988183479775356
63698074265425278625518184175746728909777727938000
81647060016145249192173217214772350141441973568548
16136115735255213347574184946843852332390739414333…
Kind Of A Big Deal
Never despise small beginnings, and don’t belittle your own accomplishments. Remember them and use them as inspiration as you go on to the next thing. When you venture outside your comfort zone, wherever the starting point may be, it’s kind of a big deal.
– Chris Guillebeau, Kind Of A Big Deal
Deb Roy: The birth of a word
The below TED Talk is awe-inspiring:
MIT researcher Deb Roy wanted to understand how his infant son learned language — so he wired up his house with video cameras to catch every moment (with exceptions) of his son’s life, then parsed 90,000 hours of home video to watch “gaaaa” slowly turn into “water.” Astonishing, data-rich research with deep implications for how we learn.
I would give so much to have a map of my very first words in chronological order. What a lucky little boy.
(thank you Jessi!)
Benjamin Franklin’s Daily Schedule
(originally uploaded by Nick Bilton)
Studiomate Chris pointed me to Benjamin Franklin’s Daily Schedule. The non-clutter-person in me loves that he alloted time in the evening to ‘put things in their places’…
Word Puzzle Wrapping Paper
Word Puzzle universal wrapping paper was designed by Fabio Milito and Francesca Guidotti. Wrap your gift and then simply locate the holiday you need, circle it, and you’re all set. Made me smile!
(via Design Milk)