Philippe Starck — more than just an outrageous accent.

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Designer Philippe Starck — Attempts to answer the question.. “Why design?”

An interesting and entertaining presentation.

Check out Philippe Starck’s full bio via Ted.Com

“…and there is people like me, who try to deserve to exist, and who are ashamed to make this useless job, who try to do it in another way, and they try, I try, to not make the object for the object but for the result, for the profit for the human being, the person who will use it. If we take the toothbrush — I don’t think about the toothbrush. I think, What will be the effect of the brush in the mouth? And to understand what will be the effect of the toothbrush in the mouth, I must imagine: Who owns this mouth? What is the life of the owner of this mouth? In what society this guy live? What civilization create this society? What animal species creates this civilization? When I arrive — (and I take one minute, I am not so intelligent) — when I arrive at the level of animal species, that becomes real interesting.”

 

Filed under: design

Emotive Illustrations by Micah Lidberg

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Here is a sample of some of the talented work of Micah Lidberg that I have fallen in love with on my great internet travels. Michah, now living in Missouri describes his work as “a sincere effort to capture the great beauty and energy I see in the chaos that is our world.”

His signature is to use simple materials to make complete pieces whilst exploring the constant entertainment of ‘making.’

Beautiful/Decay, Computer Arts, Creative Quarterly Journal, Crafty Magazine & Society of Illustrators LA


‘They’ is a piece from a project where I would go venturing through the woods at night snapping all sorts of photos. The illustrations are based on what my imagination was telling me was out there with me.


Code Book from Micah Lidberg on Vimeo.

A small message is encoded in the imagery. The key to the code is laid out on the front and back cover.



‘Angry Cloud’ is the story of a rebellion staged by the creatures of the forest against a power hungry storm cloud.


Wait — This is based off a sketch book project I worked on with a friend, Scott Ener Grover.

http://micahlidberg.com/

Filed under: art

Unique Australian Residential Architecture from Melbourne based firm.

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Edward River House
Deniliquin NSW
The design of this farmhouse located on the Edward River near Deniliquin explores an interpretation of historic farm buildings in the local area typically constructed of timber frames and corrugated iron cladding.
The house is traditionally sited adjacent to the river and the two storey structure is linked to a water tank tower which identifies its position nestled amoungst the indigenous Red Gums on the river frontage.

Melbourne Based architects Jackson Clement Burrows offer highly refined, unique and successful solutions for their clients and public.

The founding directors are Tim Jackson, Jon Clements and Graham Burrows, and are involved and committed to all stage of architectural process, from start to finish.


Armadale House, Armadale VIC


An alterations and additions project to an existing Victorian house in Armadale that had been renovated in the late 1980s. The project involved a complete refurbishment of the existing Victorian House and a new upper level extension separated into two private zones.


The project was Runner-up in the Belle-SAAB House of the Year awards 2004

The team which consists of 20 core architectural staff suggest that their design philosophies lie within their ability to be flexible during the design process —

“Our design methodology is often informed by making intelligent decisions about perceived constraints.”
The Team can also boast a broad and diverse range of collective experience, allowing for the tackling of small residential programs right through to large scale urban design, multi-storey commercial and residential towers and large industrial projects.


Cape Schank House, Mornington Peninsula, VIC


The Primary program is elevate to take advantage of expansive views across the Mornington Peninsula from Bass Strait to Port Phillip Bay.


The house engages with the landscape in both form and materiality. The upper level extends westwards towards the views appearing to emerge from the Ti-tree over an artificial escarpment formed by the lower level.

“Our depth of experience ensures that we can service projects of all types and sizes and our collaborative studio culture combined with the intimate scale of our offices ensures that we maintain consisten and direct contact with out clients.”

The practice has been awarded with wide print media coverage and AIA awards. “We believe our proven ability, intelligent design responses and collaborative team approach make us ideally suited to delivering successful architectural outcomes.”


Port Melbourne, VIC
This project is located on a small infill site of just 120m2. The two bedroom house has off-street parking concealed behind an active facade which is illuminated at night. The project consciously challenges the neighbouring mock-heritage terraces and gives the streetscape a new identity.

http://www.jcba.com.au/

Filed under: architecture

“What are you doing right now?” The Status Calendar

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Twitter, Facebook, everyone’s asking the same thing now-a-days..

For some [myself included] it’s an addiction, when a social media asks “what are you doing right now?” One is compelled to answer —

Designers Burak Kaynak & Cem Has have taken the age old question and created the Status Calendar —

“The web’s big question ” What are you doing right now? ” is incredibly useful for tracking your daily activity.

This is a calendar where you can write your daily “status“.

It simply asks the question, “What are you doing Today?”

And you are invited to answer it!”

A fresh and clever Idea, maybe I’d be tempted to finally use a diary If It followed the same format of web social media.

Can’t wait to see it on the market one day.

Filed under: design

Flickr Finds

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the adventures of Bubi

Filed under: photography

Contemporary Jewish Museum – Daniel Libeskind

Contemporary Jewish Museum

Daniel Libeskind is an internationally renowned figure in the fields of architecture and urban design. An American architect of Polish-Jewish birth, Libeskind was originally a virtuoso performer before turning architect and receiving his degree in 1970.

Libeskind has dozends of completed works and many still under construction with projected completion over the next decade.. I wished to share an introduction to Libeskind’s work and philosophy with this example,
The contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.

With the opening of its new building in June 2008, the Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) will usher in a new chapter in its 20-plus year history of engaging audiences and artists in exploring contemporary perspectives on Jewish culture, history, art and ideas. The new facility will be a lively center where people of all ages and backgrounds can gather to appreciate art, share diverse perspectives, and engage in hands-on activities.

“Inspired by the Hebrew phrase “l’chaim” (to life), the building is a physical embodiment of the CJM’s mission to bring together tradition and innovation in an exploration of the relevance of Jewish values and traditions in the 21st century.  The new 63,000-square-foot facility, located on Mission Street between 3rd & 4th Streets in downtown San Francisco, will enable the Museum to present an expanded array of engaging programming including art exhibitions, live music, film screenings, lectures and discussions, and educational activities for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.


The new addition to the Museum explodes out from inside the traditional building


Minimialsit interior, interesting use of light as well in this shot.

Filed under: design

Book vs. Knife vs. World

image via Packer Gallery

The book business has been in trouble for quite some time now thanks to the glorious digitalisation of…well, everything. No longer are books the prestigious technology, able to transport knowledge in the most effective manner. Instead, we have the internet where information, books and beyond are a mere click away, ready to be viewed on our personal computer screens.

The tangible book, it has long been predicted, is a dying art form, slowly being eroded by newer and more efficient internet technologies. Artist, Brian Dettmer from Chicago, in his ‘book autopsies’ demonstrates this erosion in its most metaphorical sense in his body of work, Adaptations.

Antonia Peacock writes, “As content morphs into miniature geologic landscapes, the natural physicality of the book is accentuated. We experience these deconstructed books as fragile, organic matter that cannot escape eventual decomposition.”

Images via Packer Schopf Gallery

Another, somewhat more optimistic reading of the works is that the intricate sculptural designs carved into the books are symbolic of the depth of meaning present in a printed work, one which is only distinguishable after much carving and cutting away at the physical form. 

For book lovers, on the other hand, it seems like an almost bible-burning pursuit, one which is destroying beloved stories and words of the authors.

Check out more of Brian Dettmer’s work at the Packer Schopf Gallery here.

Filed under: art

Iconic Glamour @ Rough Review.

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It’s getter rare these days to find decent chick magazines these days. Over at Rough Review, they’ve convinced me that Glamour’s 70th Anniversary issue is a welcome change to this trend. 

Rough Review is a review site featuring short editorials covering everything from pop culture, to games and random internet silliness. In this recent post, Rough Review writer (and Design Tavern contributer) Elizabeth comments on the brilliant photospread featured in one of the most popular women’s magazines on the market.

Featured in this issue of the popular women’s magazine is a photo spread dedicated to the iconic females who have helped shape the lives of women across the globe in a myriad of different ways. Actresses, musicians and sports stars – the piece includes them all, displaying most profoundly that magazines are not yet dead and have great artistic merit on occasions. 

You can check out the original post @Rough Review here.

Filed under: photography