one small seed » iPhone | one small seed

THE WARHOL, CYRUS, SCHIAPARELLI, DALI, YSL, MONDRIAN, SCOTT AND PRADA ARTICLE!

one small seed — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 21:59:01 +0000

From the Lobster Dress to that Dirty Hippie… Here’s your front row ticket to a runway line-up of cross-pollinations and hybrid creativity. one small seed magazine / Issue 27 / Digital 02: “Big Brands and Famous Artists” Issue, in partnership with PUMA.

‘Commercial things really do stink’- Andy Warhol

#FYI: Canvas Furniture and other cool shit…

one small seed — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:53:52 +0000

At one small seed we believe in the power of unique ideas and novel concepts. Ranging from technology, design, art and music, we’ve compiled a collection of crazy, fascinating, funny and bizarre findings that we think would be of interest to you. Here are some of our favourite finds this past week. Stay tuned for weekly material…

Coca-Cola ® Remix Bottle

Image: dailybri.com

Image: mumbrella.asia.com

Advertising extraordinaire OgilvyAction has teamed up with Coca-Cola and Japanese DJ-inventor Jun Fujiwara on a social music project to bring Coca-Cola’s ‘Open Happiness’ message to life. The campaign revolves around capturing everyday sounds from a particular time and place, and mixing them into a creative track that can be shared with people to spread happiness. The recordings are available as ringtones and music videos on Youtube.

The project began in Tokyo and locals have been thrilled at the mixes that have been taped from their ordinary sounds. The Coca-Cola ® Remix Bottle campaign is a clever way to position Coca-Cola as a social brand for everyone.

Obake Elastic Touchscreen

Obake: interactions with a 2.5D elastic display from Dhairya Dand on Vimeo.

Image: news.discovery.com

Image: facebook.com

Creatives at MIT’s Media Lab have invented an interactive screen that can be stretched, poked, and pinched. Designed by Dhairya Dand and Rob Hemsley, the display is built from flexible rubber sheets that rest on a set of actuators (a motor variation that can move and control mechanisms and systems). Laid over all of this tech is a camera that projects images onto the display sheet, measures how far the screen is stretched and how deep it is poked.

Dand and Hemsley have named their attention-grabbing design Obake, and have explained the display aims to create a truly 3D experience. The 3D movie-goers see in cinema theatres is an optical illusion, whereas Obake is a tangible display that allows users to have an actual sensory experience through touch and interaction. If the project is available for sale, then maybe the next time you see something annoying on your screen you can poke it, or better yet – pinch it.

Volkswagen iBeetle

Image: digtaltrends.com

Apple fans have excitedly whispered about an iCar for a while now, and although Beetles are an unlikely choice, Apple has collaborated with the German car-makers to produce a motor vehicle that is fully compatible with the iPhone. The car includes an iPhone docking port that syncs wirelessly with its dashboard unlock various features via the iBeetle app. This means that when the iPhone is connected to the car Facebook and SMS messages can be read aloud, and iTunes can be synced to blast some of your favourite tunes. Spotify users will be pleased to know that the app also allows drivers to switch channels between Spotify and iTunes.

Volkswagen and Apple will release the iBeetle Coupe and the iBeetle Convertible. Both cars are designed with Apple’s modern tones and simplistic motif. The exterior and interior are shaded in greys, silvers, and charcoals, but the leather sport seats of the car add a neat flair with tailored cream seams. The iBeetle will be ready to zoom through streets in 2014.

Canvas Furniture

Image: thisiscolossal.com

Canvas furniture is the perfect option for people who struggle to fit furniture into their cramped quarters. Designed by spatial designer Naoki Ono, co-founder of Tokyo-based YOY design studio, Canvas is a collection of two-dimensional furniture that is made from wood, aluminum and stretched elastic canvas that can be hung flat on a wall. Launched at Milan Design Week 2013, each canvas is printed with an image of the furniture it represents so you can add some décor to any bland walls. When you’re in need of an extra chair just take it down from its perch, prop it against the wall and you’ll have a new chair. The chairs won’t last for long periods of time, but if you’re in need of a temporary solution to a spatial dilemma, these clever pieces can give some help.

Animals Carved from Crayons and Other Miniature Pencil Works by Diem Chau

Image: thisiscolossal.com

Artists use various tools and media to create their works, but Diem Chau has re-created her tools into works of art. The Seattle-based artist carves detailed portraits of animals and people from crayon and graphite pencil leads in spectacularly miniature works. Chau is Vietnamese by origin but her family arrived in America s refugees escaping from Vietnam in 1986. She has since exhibited her work in Miami, LA, New York, Seattle and Chicago. You can see more of her tiny works on her blog.

Bloom Bookshelf

Image: dezeen.com

Image: psfk.com

Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay – co-founders of UK-based design brand Raw Edges – have created a bookshelf inspired by a weaving loom called Bloom. The simple design is crafted from a wooden border that frames a series of red threads. Each thread is clipped with a black stopper that can be moved up and down to position books at different heights. The bookcase was commissioned by the British Council and debuted at Milan Design Week 2013. The unique interior piece draws attraction to both the inventiveness of the structure as well as the books it showcases. With electronics gaining interest and pace, it’s easy for books to be lost in the fray, but this bookshelf helps to put book back into the spotlight.

Hublot x Ferrari Watch

Image: highsnobiety.com

Hublot has paid homage to Ferrari’s new supercar ‘LaFerrari’ with a watch dedicated to one of the champions of the motor industry. The MP-05 ‘LaFerrari’ was unveiled at Baselworld and the futuristic design is a definite nod to Ferrari with the watch being modeled to replicate a Ferrari engine. The wrist-piece is not just a cool accessory, it is also a historical record setter with its 50-day power reserve. The interface might seem complicated to look at in terms of practically tell the time, but there’s no doubt that the conceptual design will turn heads.

Underground Rail Public Park

Image: telegraph.co.uk

Derelict revival projects are the new rage with designers increasingly attempting to renew forgotten corners of cities and transform them into social spaces. Pop Down park is an attempt to re-create London’s abandoned network of tunnels into a public green space. People can access the park via street level entries and exists to the underground rail. A mushroom garden will also be planted along the tunnel pathways with sunlight being filtered through sculptural glass-fiber mushrooms located at street level. The mushrooms will create an agricultural space for the green concept and will also be used as food in pop-up restaurants and cafes called ‘Funghi’ that will appear at the entrance of the installation.

McDonalds French Fries Holder

Image: ufunk.com

The modern world is a busy rush where almost everything we do is on the go. Finding time to eat in between hurrying to get to places often leads people to munch their food while driving. Eating while driving can be a messy experience and showing up to a meeting or party with grease on your clothing is not the best start to your planned event. Luckily for the Japanese, McDonald’s Japan has created a French fries holder that prevents your chips from falling into your lap. The handy little cup fits snugly into the cup holder of a car or the water bottle grip of a bicycle, so that cyclists and drivers can enjoy their snack with no hassle.

The useful holder is available in Japan and comes free with any meal that is ordered with a large serving of crispy, salty potato goodness. Let’s see if McDonald’s will expand their nifty fast-food gadget beyond Japanese borders.

YAKKAY Bike Helmets

Image: lostateminor.com

Bike helmets aren’t the most attractive accessory, but YAKKAY has designed a helmet that is both stylish and safe. The hat is a helmet in disguise, and while it appears to be another headwear piece to spruce up your look, the helmet has been tested according to international safety regulations. The cool designs come in an array of colours with various textures and patterns to meet your style needs. Thanks to YAKKAY being safe no longer has to pose a hazard to your wardrobe.

Images: thisiscolossal.com, psfk.com, ufunk.com, news.discovery.com, telegraph.co.uk, highsnobiety.com, digtaltrends.com, facebook.com, dailybri.com, mumbrella.asia.com, digitaltrends.com, highsnobiety.com, lostateminor.com

The iMan

one small seed — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 09:40:16 +0000

‘What you share with the world is what it keeps of you,’ a simple lyric from Noah and the Whale that so effortlessly sums up the legacy of the man in the black turtleneck. The death of Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs has been widely publicised and yet, so much has been left unknown about him. Whether, you were a fan of his or not, its undeniable that his vision has penetrated all our worlds.

A man who understood how integral design is to how we experience and engage with a product. The need to simplify our chaotic lives in every way possible, launching products without manuals, having only one button controlling everything and employing basic human instincts into the core of the product.

That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex (Jobs)

His keen eye on all the smaller things is one of the reasons why Apple is the most successful company in the world today.

As soon as we see the all-important ‘i’ in font of a word, we immediately associate it with Apple, iPhone, iPad, iPod, the list goes on and on. The obvious assumption would be that Apple has trademarked its famous ‘i’ but no, there was never any need. Apple’s convincing marketing has reassured us that any word or product with that vowel is related to the company. The thought of even copying it is rather stupid. This little letter is the tenth most used word in the English language and our favorite pronoun. So, why did Apple find the need to use it? The answer is obvious. We as consumers associate with it so well because we feel that this technology belongs to us and was made just for us. Genius wouldn’t you say?

Jobs stated that:

Design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service.

The Apple Logo is a testament to his clear vision, a sleek and elegant representation of the company. First multi-coloured but now modernized by making it monochromatic, smooth lined, including zero text and above all else a symbol of pop culture. It was designed to portray a lust for knowledge and incase you manage to confuse an apple and a tomato, Rob Janoff, designer of the logo, included the bite.

Serif, sans-serif, kerning – gibberish to most folk but another reason why Jobs was so unique, he actually knew the difference between typefaces and what all this type terminology meant. After dropping out of college, Jobs continued to go to the classes he was interested in and one of those was Calligraphy. If he hadn’t, we might be sitting at our computers with only boring Times New Roman to use. Jobs’s motto of ‘staying hungry, staying foolish’ has allowed us to express ourselves better in this digital age.

The creative community has been altered due to Jobs’ impact. His part ownership of Pixar Animation brought us the first computer animated feature, Toy Story. Artists like David Hockney use the artistic apps on the iPhone and iPad to create their work. He comments that ‘ it is a great drawing instrument, marvellous range of marks, if you get into it. Very subtle colour you can get, probably for an amateur it can be a bit too complicated but you’ve got a dozen different brushes on it and remember, the iPad drawing, you can always go back to them.’ Apple offers so many advantages where art and music are concerned. Outcomes that aren’t easily achieved on a PC as the technology just isn’t geared in that way.