SOUND OFF » Design

Food & Typography & Illustrations

darlamarks — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:41:50 +0000

There are foods that are nothing without the other, like peanut butter & jelly, spaghetti & meatballs, coffee & donuts. Now combine those dynamic duos with font’s counterpart, the ampersand aka ‘&’, in a brilliant series by illustrator and graphic designer, Dan Beckemeyer. In Ampersand Food Groups: Typography Illustrations, Beckemeyer creates digital illustrations of the almighty ampersand made out of the classic food duos. Feast your eyes on this.

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Hello, McFly

darlamarks — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:17:53 +0000

Footwear giant, Nike, is going back to the future. They’ve filed a patent for “automatic lacing sneakers” reminiscent of the kicks that Marty McFly wore in Back to the Future Part II. The patent that was filed in 2009 states that the automatic lacing system would provide a set of straps that can be automatically opened and closed to switch between a loosened and tightened position with the press of a button near the heel. In the 1989 classic, McFly travels to the year 2015, so Nike isn’t too far off from making the movie a reality if the patent is approved.

The Reebok Pump is so 2000 and late. C’mon, Nike. Just do it.

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Pretty Boo Boo

darlamarks — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:35:43 +0000

Fashion designer Cynthia Rowley has already conquered the boo-ties, why not the boo-boos? Using glitter, sequins, lace, gems and more, Rowley has teamed up with Band-Aid to design a limited edition set of adhesive bandages for a good cause. One dollar from the sale of every $10 tin will go to Design Ignites Change, an organization that engages high school and college students in design and architecture projects that address social issues in their own communities. So ditch the Hello Kitty or boring flesh-colored Band-Aids, and jazz up that cut or scrape like a real fashionista.

Blinged out bandages, plus healing power. So fierce.

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Color-In’

darlamarks — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:26:47 +0000

I won 1st place in a coloring contest in 3rd grade. I loved coloring then, I still love coloring now, and I love the concept of this dress. The wearable Color-In coloring dress by the creative minds of Berber Soepboer and Michiel Schuurman is a simple black and white patterned dress that allows you to have your way with it and create the color palette of your choice, with the multi-colored textile markers provided. A coloring book you can wear.

Only 50 dresses were produced, and sell for 238 Euro (roughly $300 USD.) For that chunk of change, I’d rather have a professional design my dress, personally, but pretty neat idea nonetheless. Ah, the Europeans.

Ashes to Ashes

darlamarks — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:37:17 +0000

Ashes to ashes, dust to… vinyl? Hardcore music lovers live and die music. Now, they can literally die music… or die on music… or something like that. UK company And Vinyly is offering people the chance to press their ashes into a vinyl recording of their own voice, their favorite tunes or their last will and testament. They warn that “minimalist audiophiles might want to go for the simple option of having no tunes or voiceover, and simply pressing the ashes into the vinyl to result in pops and crackles. The process itself involves embedding the ashes in raw vinyl before the record is pressed. This means that when the plates exert their pressure on the vinyl in order to create the grooves, the ashes are pressed into the record.” Founded by electronic musician Jason Leach, And Vinyly was the result of his mother’s job at a funeral parlor bringing death closer to home, and his realization that he “might not be invincible.” Vinyl immortality doesn’t come cheap. The basic package will run you £2,000 (about $3,100) for up to 30 LPs — and that’s without a personalized portrait (also containing your ashes), an original song, “global distribution of your record in vinyl stores,” or a FUNeral (for which prices start at £10,000).

Creative way to be immortalized or super creepy? I say the latter, but you have to admit, it beats being six feet under or trapped like a genie in a bottle.

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The Heidelberg Project

darlamarks — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 17:14:08 +0000

Another great example of creative urban renewal is Tyree Guyton’s 24-year-strong mission, The Heidelberg Project, where the forgotten neighborhood on Heidelberg Street in Detroit’s East Side has been turned into an outdoor art exhibition. Similar to the Favela project in Brazil, the Heidelberg Project is about healing communities through art. Guyton, founder and artistic director of the Project, uses everyday, discarded objects to create a two-block area full of color, symbolism, and intrigue to tell a story about the current issues plaguing society. It’s symbolic of how many communities in Detroit have become discarded. Now in its 24th year, the Heidelberg Project is recognized around the world as a demonstration of the power of creativity to transform lives. It is art, energy, and community that offers a forum for ideas, a seed of hope, and a bright vision for the future. It’s about taking a stand to save forgotten neighborhoods.

Is it junk? Is it art? Either way, it gets you to think and not forget these neighborhoods.

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The Hello Wall

darlamarks — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:46:45 +0000

Wasted Spaces is a non-profit organization created to help stem the decaying effect of empty and disused buildings on local areas, while also providing artists with free exhibition space and a chance to reach a wider audience. By recycling disused buildings, Wasted Spaces animates local areas, brings local artists together with new communities and encourages artistic innovation. One of their most recent projects is The Hello Wall, in which London-based artistic duo Hellicar & Lewis were commissioned to develop and installation that uses Twitter to let the public interact with the huge wall projection. Users can interact with the wall by tweeting to @thehellowall using words such as shapes (triangles, squares, circles), commands (more, less, shake) or just say hello to @thehellowall.

VIDEO HERE.

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Balloon Chic

darlamarks — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:46:07 +0000

The Japanese just do everything right, especially when it comes to fashion, creativity and innovation. Rie Hosokai, aka Daisy Balloon, is no exception. Hosokai was introduced to balloon art in 2002 when she, ironically, was working in a flower shop. From there she started her own business, then went on to reign supreme in almost every balloon folding competition she entered. Yes, there are balloon competitions, and believe me, they are fierce.* She garnered the attention of the art and fashion community with her haute couture dresses made from balloons. Currently, Hosokai is showing a solo exhibition at Sunday Issue, an art/lounge space in Shibuya. The show will run until September 5th. She plans to unveil a spectrum of new work under the art direction of frequent collaborator Takashi Kawada of kotenhits.

(*I have no knowledge or affiliation with balloon competitions, but can only imagine how fierce they can be, merely due to the lack of oxygen the competitors are deprived of. The statement was merely for entertainment purposes for the benefit of this blog and you loyal readers out there.)

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Big Stone

darlamarks — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:03:55 +0000

When you’re a sculptor, the next natural step in your career is mini-golf course designer, right? For artist Bruce Stillman, it was. A long-time fan and creator of landscape sculpture, Stillman decided to turn his Minnetrista, MN farm into a fully functioning mini-golf course, with his works standing in as the props and obstacles to hit the ball around. At Big Stone Mini Golf and Sculpture Garden, the organic forms populate the 12-hole course that are far from the gigantic clown face or giraffes you’re accustomed to seeing at a mini-golf course.

When you play, animals from Stillman’s adjacent farm sometimes wander over, making for additional moving obstancles. Massive tables for chess and checkers and big fire pits for social gatherings also adorn the course to make the fantasy land that much more fun and surreal.

If you’re in Minnesota, yah, drop by, dontchaknow.

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Klik Klik

darlamarks — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:27:16 +0000

Magnetic bracelets in the athletic and wellness worlds may seem like another money-making scheme, but in the fashion world, it is a pretty neat concept, joining science with art. Al Kelly and Kellar Williams’ new magnetic jewelry kit, KLIK KLIK, sets itself apart from other magnetic jewelry lines by introducing new geometric pieces to mix and match to personalize your own piece. What you create with the jewelry is limited only by your imagination.

Each kit comes with 300 nickel-plated neodymium magnets in three different shapes—216 polished metal spheres, 56 cubes and 28 wands to be exact. Mix and match at will, or follow one of the provided patterns, to create custom bracelets, anklets, necklaces, chokers, armbands, rings and more. Part of the goal is to empower creativity by making it fun for people to design their own patterns. The instructional posters help out with a little inspiration, showing six design suggestions, ranging from easy to more difficult and requiring varying numbers of the metal pieces. For those who want more, there are over 500 designs available at Klik Klik’s online gallery, with step-by-step videos detailing how to make more jewelry designs.

The kit sells for $65. What a deal for a kit that can possibly create over 500 pieces of jewelry – that’s like $0.13 per piece. What?!

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