Clever shaped microwaveable (?) cake moulds make up the component parts of retro digital figures, allowing you to make a cake shaped like any number, for any birthday… and we won’t tell anyone if you lick the spoon.
CrisisCommons is Community Technology + Humanitarian Relief
Nina pointed me to Crisis Commons, an organization that brings together professionals to create useful tools in times of need. They have been conducting something called CrisisCamp where people get together on a specific day to work on projects.
In their words:
“Crisis Camp is a gathering of technologists who come together to build platforms to assist with the releif efforts in Haiti.”
“We are an international network of professionals drawn together by a call to service. We are developers, specialists, communicators, first responders, project managers, and people who just want to help!”
More here: http://crisiscommons.org/
Check on their site, top right corner, for upcoming CrisisCamp meet-ups in London, New York, Boston, Boulder/Devner, Los Angeles, Miami, Portland, Sillicon Valley and Washington DC.
Slant-Ruled Notebook
A lot of people sort of twist their notebooks when they write in them, this Slant-Ruled Notebook by Matt Brown has lines that are at a 45 degree angle- good if you have to write in a tight spot, like on an airplane. Made me look.
Pants for Parents
I must say, this Pants for Parents idea by Matt Brown made me chuckle. Given that G is 6’4″, I know Ella would appreciate a pocket on his shins.
Zen Humidifier
The Zen Humidifier uses no electricity: Instead, water is drawn up through the wood and evaporated into the air. According to the designers — the Japanese firm Okada — this process evaporates water six times faster than if you left in in a glass. At that pace, it’d be quite effective.
(thank you scott)
♥ / Carbonmade
A big thank you to my friend Spencer over at Carbonmade for kicking off the swissmiss RSS feed sponsorship.
NYC based Carbonmade offers one of the easiest ways to display and manage your portfolio online. What you get after uploading your designs is a clean canvas to show off your work. (Have a look at my portfolio as an example: swissmiss.carbonmade.com) Carbonmade’s user interface is extremely intuitive and humorous (ever logged into an account by pressing a mustache button?) Within minutes your portfolio is up and you don’t even need any HTML experience to do so. You can upload images, flash and even video. Carbonmade is being used by over 184,000 designers and artists worldwide.
To try out Carbonmade for yourself, sign up here.
(Learn more about the weekly swissmiss syndicated feed sponsorship!)
For the love of Ampersand
Yes! A blog entirely dedicated to the beauty of Ampersands: ampersandampersand.tumblr.com
(thank you Kai)
Dear Van Gogh
Dear Van Gogh is a mug by Mike Mak with a silicone ear-shaped handle that twists and flexes. Probably a little odd the first time you use it, but it would made me chuckle, for sure.
Panda Hat
This crocheted Panda Hat makes the world a better place, no? A tiny little bit!? Yes?
Jacket+Bookmark
These Jacket+Bookmarks put a huge smile on my face. An idea by Igor “Rogix” Udushlivy who tought it would be great if we can use dust jackets and bookmarks together to create a unique image of a paper book.
Happy Check Button Down
Oh my, I need to get this awesome button down shirt for little swissmister, who is a mere 3.5 weeks away of arriving. Love it!
Stock and Flow
Here’s an interesting article by Robin Sloan on “Stock and Flow“:
There are two kinds of quantities in the world. Stock is a static value: money in the bank, or trees in the for est. Flow is a rate of change: fifteen dollars an hour, or three-thousand tooth picks a day. Easy. Too easy.
But I actually think stock and flow is the master metaphor for media today. Here’s what I mean:
Flow is the feed. It’s the posts and the tweets. It’s the stream of daily and sub-daily updates that remind people that you exist.
Stock is the durable stuff. It’s the content you pro duce that’s as interest ing in two months (or two years?) as it is today. It’s what peo ple discover via search. It’s what spreads slowly but surely, build ing fans over time.
Read the full article: Stock and Flow
(via bobulate)
No Pants Subway Ride 2010
Read more about the No Pants Subway Ride Mission by Improv Everywhere.
A4 Dinner Plates
Having grown up with the A4 Paper Format, I admit, I do miss it. The A4 piece of paper is the iconic inspiration for this series of porcelain dining ware. True to its roots, the A4 dining plate measures exactly 297 by 210 millimeters across. The sideplate is based on the A5 size (210×148.5) as is the soup bowl. With an A5 being exacly half the size of an A4, arranging the plates together in different ways becomes an art in itself. Portrait dining, anyone?
(thank you thomas)
test pattern puzzle
How much fun is this Test Pattern Puzzle? And while we’re at the Test Pattern Subject, check out the Wall Mounted Test Pattern Clock.
Handmade CMYK
Evelin Kasikov, an artist and designer working in London pointed me to her tactile work of handmade prints. I have fallen in love with her handmade CMYK. I am sure this will make printers chuckle.
CMYK embroidery is a hand-made printing process, based on computer generated halftone screens. Images are halftoned according to conventional screen angles: Cyan 105, Magenta 75, Yellow 90 and Black 45. Dot screens are the transformed into cross-stitch screens, printed on paper and marked for embroidery. Evelin uses cotton threads in CMYK colours; the intensity of colour depends on the number of strands used. The final outcome is a printed page created by hand.
Hand painted peanuts gang
This Hand painted peanuts gang gets my vote!
d-sledge
This sled is based on the archetypal wooden workhorse that used to be made by laymen and carpenters alike in Dalvik. The sleds came in different shapes and sizes, depending on intended usage: anything from plunging down a hillside to dragging groceries through the snow-covered landscape. The project endeavors to celebrate a useful object from the past and present it t. D-Sled available on icelandicmarket.com
Humble Pied
Studio mate Jessica Hische is giving some advice over on Humble Pied!
Humble Pied originally started as a crowd-sourced AIGA student presentation, with friends and peers alike offering their words of wisdom within the creative industry. www.humblepied.com houses all of the great bits of advice, and to stimulate dialogues along the way.
The White Balance Lens Cap
You may think automatic white balance is good enough. But if you’ve ever had to fix dozens (or even 100s) of photos with just slightly different colors, one-by-one, you know the true meaning of pain. The White Balance Lens Cap leaves you no excuse for not properly white-balancing every situation you encounter. Simply flip your camera into custom White Balance mode, snap a photo with your White Balance Lens Cap on, and your camera creates a perfect profile of the actual lighting in front of you. Best of all, unlike a gray card, the White Balance Cap takes no extra room in your gear bag. Just replace your existing lens cap with this one and you’ll always be able to white balance with no additional equipment.
Tatoo Bike Helmet
The Armadillo inspired Tatoo helmet is a lightweight, low-cost and recyclable helmet by French industrial designer Julien Bergignat. Totally made me look. Read more over at Popwuping.
Classy Camera Strap
This Classy Camera Strap made me look. It comes with a quick release swivel snap that leaves only a small keyring attached to the camera. The strap is adjustable and the overall length is 36 inches when fully extended.
(thank you matt)