Just as Smule's ocarina app yields the gentle sounds of a woodwind instrument by simply blowing into an iPhone, Squeal promises to emit theremin-esque noises from the iPad with easy fingerplay. Developed as a collaboration between Hong Kong musician/producer/composer Gaybird Leung and interactive designer Henry Chu, the musical app is a work-in-progress for Henry's ongoing experimental music project Digital Hug.
Following in the footsteps of great historical figures is a great way to learn about them. Michael Wood famously did so in the 1980's for his PBS documentary and book In The Footsteps of Alexander The Great. This March, UK-based marketing director Chris Worth completed a similar endeavor—not by tracing the path of a real-life emperor or explorer, but a humble video game character. One known simply as "The Courier".
Designer Andrew Clifford Capener has made an alternative to the classic Scrabble board that celebrates the expression of typeface. It isn't in production yet, but Capener's set would offer tiles in a variety of different fonts:
In the far away land of Japan, gold is out, glow-in-the-dark is in. LED "grills" were recently conceived of by two Japanese designers/hackers for a winter advertising event at clothing store Laforet Harajuku. The LED teeth attachments quickly became a hot item. Foreseeably, one of the two designers demonstrating the teeth in the video above is the familiar Daito Manabe (our favorite "self-electrocuting" mad hacker). Manabe's partner, Motoi Ishibashi, came up with the idea when "he saw a video...
Fashion designer Manel Torres has teamed up with scientists at Imperial College London and designers at the Royal College of Art to invent spray-on clothing, an instant, sprayable, non-woven fabric-in-a-can.
Uh-mazing...London based designer team Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz have created a dress embroidered with 24,000 LEDs.
Recently I've been interested in spicing up my choices in undergarments, but as some of you may know, designer underwear for men can be quite expensive. Prices usually range from about $20+ for one pair. With this helpful tip, you can turn any pair of cheap high rise briefs into a fashionable pair of low rise briefs.
This is Episode one of our new show/series of "Minecraft: Hardcore Objective". In this episode we will be trying out a little design that flag made up in around 20min. This episode is the the best due to the fact it was recorded 40min after it was decided to be done. All future episodes will be harder, more planned out, and better objectives. If you have any ideas feel free to leave them in the comments below.
The Metal Gear series is pretty famous for being gonzo-meta with it's easter eggs and extras. Take this one for instance. To get the 'Hideo Kojima' achievement in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD, you have to recruit Hideo Kojima, the lead designer of the entire Metal Gear series.
Did you know that you can "write" in polyhedra? I just stumbled across a $24.99 font called Divina Proportione. Created by Brazilian graphic designer Paulo W, the typeface is constructed with beautiful geometric renderings by the famous Renaissance printmaker Albrecht Dürer.
Epic Games announced today that the free version of Unreal Engine 3, Unreal Development Kit or UDK, is now compatible with Mac OS X. Apple users will now have access to arguably the most powerful piece of free game development software available in almost exactly the same way as their PC counterparts, minus some small tweaks.
Google+ is taking over the world. But first, let it invade your computer! Google+ is inspiring a lot of graphic designers and artists to have fun with the plus icon and Google colors. All of the below icons and wallpapers are free for you to use.
If you've got a knack for gardening and an inclination for recycling, then you need to know about these six garden hacks. Some of the trash inside your bathroom and kitchen is actually garden gold, so get your recycling hats on.
Things have only gotten more exciting for +Bradley Horowitz, VP of Product Management for Google. After launching Google's highly buzzed social networking sites, he took his girlfriend +Irene Au, a designer for Google, to Paris. While there, he proposed to her, and she said yes!
UK-based artist Matthew Nicholson is a man of many talents: designer, photographer, professional free runner and papercraft engineer—and in the latter of which, he generously posts free downloadable DIY kits for your folding pleasure.
Not since JC de Castelbajac's infectiously fun LEGO fashion line have I seen such energetic geek-inspired ware. Japanese designer Kunihiko Morinaga pays homage to ye olde 8-bit days with his extensive catwalk of video game inspired womenswear—ranging from dresses to suits to streetwear. The pixel-printed Fall/Winter 2011/2012 collection debuted during Tokyo Fashion Week under his label Anrealage. Not only did the models don classic pixel prints, but they also strutted to a live pianist perfor...
The ancient craft of origami gets an update in Oritsunagumono, where environmentalism meets photoelectricity for the first time. Its name translates into "things folded and connected," and its agenda aims to bring awareness of the environmental impact of pollution to native marine wildlife in Japan's coastal waterways.
Superb costumes generally fall into two categories; artfully crafted, time intensive, pricey facsimiles or the low budget option—ingenious, cheap and scrappy. When undertaking the admirable task of creating "one cool (or not) idea every day, for 365 consecutive days, from January 1st until December 31st", option two is most viable. And the most fun.
Wow... look at those cash..Congratulations to the designers of the new Philippine Peso currency. Although only a small portion printed are in circulation I finally saw them thru a friend.They really look nice.. And so good to look at..Except for one major thing. The value didn't change. New look same value. For which I don't know how this could help alleviate the growing hunger of the Filipino people.I just wish our economy grows sooner.
Norwegian designers Timo Armall, Jørn Knutsen, and Einar Sneve Martinussen visually capture invisible WiFi signals by light painting signal strength in long-exposure photographs. The trio set up a four-meter long WiFi-detecting rod with 80 LED bulbs to depict cross-sections through the WiFi networks of various Oslo neighborhoods. Armall says:
Too lazy to take your phone out of your pocket? If so, then here's a must-have: a customizable inPulse wristwatch that can check into Facebook Places. Created by inPulse designer Eric Migicovsky, the hacked watch uses Bluetooth to pull Facebook Places from a connected Android smartphone. The app sends real time latitude and longitude stats from the smartphone's GPS to Facebook, which then transmits nearby places to the watch, navigable by a one button interface.
You never know when the zombie apocalypse may hit your hood, and now, thanks to writer and designer Mike Lacher‘s new Google streetview mashup, you can test run your evacuation plan. Just enter your location and dodge those little red markers (re: zombies) on the map. As you move with the arrows, zombies come at you from all directions (choose your level: Easy, Normal, Hard, I Am Death Incarnate) and try to eat your brain. The game is in beta, and you can currently play it on Google Chrome. H...
Colored smoke bombs never get old. Add a glass laboratory bell jar and a simple rewind camera trick, and you have a beautiful "60 sec experiment with the color Indigo" by photographer and designer Paul Octavious. More explosive art:
Scanner photography + sandwiches = Scanwiches (simply put: "scans of sandwiches for education and delight"). The web-famous Tumblr is the invention of Jon Chonko, a NYC-based designer at thehappycorp global.
First came the Rubik’s cube, a simple 3x3 puzzle. Then came Rubik’s Revenge, a 4x4 monstrosity. Eventually, the real whizzes attempted to conquer the V-Cube 6 and the V-Cube 7.
Below, designer Chris Woebken's Flicflex isn't a new concept (Woebken displayed it at MOMA in '08), but still amazingly cool. And still not on the consumer market. Watch his paper thin, magazine-like "page turning": "Opening a letter, unfolding it and feeling the texture of the paper is a very tactile experience compared to receiving an e-mail. On top of the content itself, the behavior and micro-interactions adds a level of engagement to the medium. Flicflex explores the possibilities of fut...
Like the anti-privacy spy doorknob, the transparent clutch isn't for someone with something to hide. But for those who hold no secrets, there's something truly elegant about the design, which has made an appearance on several different high fashion runways:
Dutch designers Marcia Nolte, Stijn van der Vleuten, and Bob Waardenburg are the masters of illusion behind We Make Carpets. Look, then look again. What you initially see isn't what it appears to be...
Japanese artist and visual designer Akira Nakayasu creates robotic plants that not only respond to human touch, but anticipate human touch.
While I don't find Mattijs van Bergen and Anouk Vogel's "Living" dresses aesthetically earth shattering, I'm wowed by the concept. The fashion designer and landscape architect created a collection of dresses made from recycled inner tubes and flowers for a late summer exhibition titled “Fashion & Architecture” at the Amsterdam Centre for Architecture.
The economic mini-camper isn't a particularly new idea, but German designer Cornelius Comanns' Bufalino concept is about as sleek as I've seen them.
Melbourne-based graphic designer Benjamin Hammond just launched a site called One Minute Portraits, where the artist draws quick portraits in less than a minute. It works like this: email a photo of yourself, Hammond creates the portrait, and you can choose to buy the original if you like it. (OR pick up a few drawing lessons and do-it-yourself.)
You can get Alien Swarm for free on Steam starting today. Alien Swarm is a 4 person co-op adventure with an updated Source engine and the ability to create custom levels. Think of this as a top view Left 4 Dead or Killing Floor, but with aliens. Too bad they are not zombie aliens, but it's a free game so we can't complain.
Lock up your grandfather clocks; there's a new lady on the scene. Meet "365" by German designer Siren Elise Wilhelmsen, an electric grandmother clock that completes a two-meter (or six-and-a-half-foot) knitted scarf once every 52 weeks.
Goodbye, point-and-click; hello, point-and-splash! This water-based touch screen by Japanese designer Taichi Inoue is more than just clever and ergonomic, it's downright summery.
What do these egg-carton lamps by American designer Victor Vetterlein have in common with Frankenstein's monster? More than you'd think! Both are green. Both have bolted necks. And both are assembled from materials most would be happy to let decompose.
Did you know you can use your Nike sneakers as a fishbowl? Or video game controllers? Or dueling race cars? In honor of Nike's 78th birthday, Paul Jenkins, a graphic designer in the UK, held a themed "redesign" initiative for this year's London Design Festival. The results are incredible.
I guess it takes the designer to explain, but it's the altitude that's affecting the unpredictable movement on the ball, not the ball itself. Defending himself, he says the ball's been around since December and no one's complained until now. I know it's a problem in Jo'Burg and Nelspruit (highest venue in WC history). But Cape Town's at sea level, does anyone know if the problem exists there?
Here's a little inspiration for the aspiring fashion designers out there. Having majored in textile design (printing and weaving), I am totally stunned by these West African ritual garments.
Atlanta based designers Amy Flurry and Nikki Salk collaborate on some fantastic paper installations, which are “fueled by a love of fashion and an appreciation of grace and nuance of this humble material.”
