“Never Get Wet” Wonder of Nanotech Fabric

Researchers from the University of Zurich have developed a new fabric that never gets wet. The fabric can be submerged in water for two months and still remain dry to the touch. The secret to this incredible water resistance is the layer of silicone nanofilaments, which are highly chemically hydrophobic. The spiky structure of the 40-nanometre-wide filaments strengthens that effect, to create a coating that prevents water droplets from soaking through the coating to the polyester fibres underneath.
A similar combination of water-repelling substances and tiny nanostructures is responsible for many natural examples of extreme water resistance, such as the surface of Lotus leaves.
Not only could the fabric create a self-cleaning clothing; according to preliminary experiments, it reduces drag in water by 20%. (hint Michael Phelps)

Source:
www.gizmodo.com
www.newscientist.com

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Earth 911

Do you want to recycle, but don't know where to take your cans or bottles? Click the link below and type in what you have as well as your city or zip code to find a recycling center near you. Now there are no excuses!

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Modern Kitchens from the 40's, 50's, and 60's

I came across these images of ‘kitchens of tomorrow’ through various websites. It’s interesting to see what was considered modern in the 40’s, and where we thought we were going to be in the next 100 years.


When one is designing for today it isn’t always a bad idea to take a look at what was classic/modern in the past. In fact, it is how most design is done -- to take design cues from an existing item, and recreate them to make something else that is unique, interesting, and exciting.





Check out the built-in foot pedals for the faucet.



See the video below for a modern kitchen from the 60's.



Thanks to:
www.treehugger.com
www.dwell.com
www.images.google.com

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Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging

Keep your eyes peeled for a new option at checkout the next time you make a purchase at Amazon.com. This holiday season the online retailer is offering Frustration-Free Packaging on select toys and consumer electronics, with plans to eventually offer the packaging option on everything they sell.

Amazon is working with manufacturers to create the packaging, so there is no waste created by repackaging products. The simplified boxes eliminate hard-to-open plastic clamshells, wire ties, and extra materials designed for brick and mortar stores, in favor of efficient, recyclable paper packaging and plastic bags. In addition to being more consumer-friendly, the packaging is better for the environment, as it requires less energy and raw materials to produce, and smaller packages use less fuel to ship. Let’s hope more online retailers follow Amazon’s example.

Check out the tumbler. Sweet.

Check out the efficiency.

Your hands (and the environment) will thank you.

Thanks to TheDieline.com for bringing this to our attention!

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Blade Runner - Yeah, it's an old movie, but...

As as an aspiring Industrial Designer, one of my many inspirations was the movie "Blade Runner" by Ridley Scott and starring a young Harrison Ford. I moved it up on my queue on Netflix recently because I felt I needed to revisit why it was such a significant movie to designers and futurists alike.
Apart from the social commentary of the early 1980’s predicting our dismal future (pre-destined??) the artwork and design to create the vision of this environment was exceptional. Syd Mead’s illustrations of this world helped this movie become the "quintessential industrial design movie" for many of us. By the way, what the heck happened to Sean Young!?

References:
www.sydmead.com
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ILoveSketch..

ILoveSketch from Seok-Hyung Bae on Vimeo.

Can this be the next evolution in 3d software? Developed by lads at the University of Toronto. As described by them: “A 3D curve sketching system that captures some of the affordances of pen and paper for professional designers, allowing them to iterate directly on concept 3D curve models. The system coherently integrates existing techniques of sketch-based interaction with a number of novel and enhanced features. Novel contributions of the system include automatic view rotation to improve curve sketchability, an axis widget for sketch surface selection, and implicitly inferred changes between sketching techniques. We also improve on a number of existing ideas such as a virtual sketchbook, simplified 2D and 3D view navigation, multi-stroke NURBS curve creation, and a cohesive gesture vocabulary.”Click the above video to see the most user intuitive way of skeching in 3d.
http://www.ilovesketch.com/

www.dgp.toronto.edu/~shbae

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Architectural Elegance.

It is interesting to see when famous architects try to translate their signature aesthetics to product design. Case in point is this Wyborowa vodka and its gift case designed by well known architect Frank Gehry. Mr. Gehry is well known for his ground breaking designs of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao Spain and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angles. With twisting forms and angles, the bottle and gift case mimics Gehry’s style. Looking at both pieces, I am more drawn to the gift case than the bottle. Maybe it is due to twisting forms of the wood and its handmade quality, also it just looks different then what I normally see in packaging design. I would like to see both pieces in person but I haven’t had any luck finding it. I have checked out a couple of big liquor stores by me but no luck.

Image courtesy of Wyborowa vodka

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