A brilliant concept for obtaining safe, clean drinking water. The Savior Bud, by Kim Hyo Jin and Seol Ah Sun, is a concept product that looks to help those around the world who are subject to extreme drought or lack safe drinking water. By acting as a mini green house, the Savior Bud encapsulates a group of leaves and extracts moisture, within four hours obtaining up to a cup of water. To me it is this type of design brilliance that will lead to the revolutionizing technologies that can solve the worlds most difficult problems. And while with this product there are many other factors to consider, the most significant of which being cost, the idea alone represents the innovative thought process needed to solve big problems.




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The Kiran by d.light is fantastic! Described as "the most affordable lantern light source in the world" the Kiran ('ray of light' in Hindi) provides 8 hours of bright white light after one days solar charge, and costs a mere 10 USD. Designed specifically for families living in developing countries who do not have access to a reliable source of electricity, d.light hopes the Kiran lantern will replace kerosene lamps on a global scale.
This kind of technology and design always excites me, affordable products that offer high function and can be used and acquired the world over. Most design we see is for those who can afford $500 facets and flashy entertainment centers, but its exciting to see folks are putting their genius into devices from which we can ALL benefit.


Kiran v. kerosene

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Delta's Pilar Touch-Activated Faucet is so simple its a wonder we haven't seen this before. The problem: Your hands are dirty and you need to turn on the faucet to get them clean, but by turning on the water invariably gets the faucet as messy as your hands and requires a wash up itself. The solution: A touch activate faucet!
A simple touch turns the water on, the same turns it off. So sensible! So simple! A little expensive at around $500, but a great technology.


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What a great idea! By constructing angular, somewhat trapezoidal, wooden boxes, street artist Posterchild is transforming old flyer boxes into planters! Taking these often unsightly abandoned metal containers and reincorporating them back into the streets of Toronto as a beautiful planters is inspired AND ascetically pleasing! Well done sir.
According to the artist:
"I tried to think of better ways...to re-imagine the interior spaces of these flyerboxes- better ways to make use of the whole box- not just the exterior walls.

This is what I came up with. I think it’s pretty great, if I do say so myself. The boxes makes a perfect platform for planters- and with them you can guerrilla garden almost anywhere in the inhospitable concrete city! Best of all, it leaves the sides open for writers and artists.

…and with this “impending collapse of print media”? You may just see these appearing in old, abandoned Newspaper boxes."

More photos!
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This sleek little device is just what I need! Hate having several different handheld devices, each with its own charger? Hate the tangle of cords that's inevitable as a result of having all these different chargers? Well cheer the fuck up! Introducing the Powermat! Regardless of the device, be it iPhone, GPS, iPod, or cell phone, the powermat will charge 'em with just one cord! Comes in a portable folding version, and a more stationary non-folding type for the home or office. Pretty sweet device, looking forward to the next step in this technology...perhaps a single device that emits a charge for everything in the room...perhaps the house? Get on it!




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Great talk. Advertising from the view of Rory Sutherland.

Very interesting campaign from Sony. Soundville:
New Sony Soundville campaign by “Cadbury Gorilla” creator Juan Cabral. In March 2009 a small town in Iceland was filled with speakers and music from the likes of Death In Vegas, Bob Dylan and the Guillemots. The Seydisfjordur village was turned into an extraordinary sound-system for a week. The objective of the brand is inviting people to believe in experience superior sound and promote the latest audio technologies from Sony, offering an experience never before experienced.


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So apparently tomorrow morning October 9th, 2009 at 715am, NASA will be firing a missile into the surface of the moon. Traveling at twice the speed of a bullet, the missile is intended to expose deposits of water under the moon's surface. The impact is expected to result in a huge explosion releasing a plume of debris visible from earth. For some reason this news rubs me the wrong way. While a manned drilling mission would require a ton of money and planning, the unforeseen consequences of firing a missile into the moon seems too unpredictable to go along with without question. I guess we'll see what happens, but if there's some unholy rain of debris to planet earth or worse tomorrow, don't say I didn't warn you! Thanks Jett for the heads up.
To watch the whole thing unfold go HERE.

Really nice dish rack from Black + Blum. Architecturally inspired, the high&dry dish rack features a wave of spikes for wine and champagne glasses, an adjustable drainage spout, and a completely collapsible design for compact and easy storage. Love that some clever folks are still thinking about us apartment dwellers, and applying some smart design to boot!

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Though it was never a problem to use the two separately, I really like this soup spoon/chopstick combo, by Aïssa Logerot. For me, this piece points to the interconnection of the objects we take for granted in our lives. Finding ways to combine the separate tools we use is always a healthy way to have a new look at our surroundings. Here Logerot comes up with a pretty clever combo.





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The first episode of 'Design for Life' is now up on vimeo. A reality show in which twelve young British artists compete to work for world famous designer Philippe STARCK. Pretty psyched on following this series, STARCK is not only a great designer with a powerful philosophy about design, but also a pretty entertaining character. Enjoy:

Design for Life from design on Vimeo.

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Adaptable furniture! With two pieces that can function as a small table and kids bench, the Embrace by John Green, can also be assembled to create one piece of furniture with multiple functions. Great idea, and I love the simple, minimalist design.


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