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You don’t have to be a designer to appreciate great design.
Does it get any better than the Apple iPod?
In terms of function, all it does is play music from a small computer hard drive. This may not seem all that impressive given that transistor radios were unleashed upon us in 1954 and other portable music players like the Sony Walkman have been available since 1979. Yet with sales figures exceeding 2 million IPod’s in the last financial quarter compared with 860,000 in the previous quarter you can’t argue with the numbers.
It’s a great success, which is now evolving into a photo and music album in the form of the recently released iPod Photo.
So why is the iPod so successful?
Simple really, really simple design.
It does what it’s supposed to do, it’s easy to use, it works with the other machines it needs to work with, its fun to use and, as an object, its very desirable.
Now, I’ve never used an Apple Mac, but I often sit behind my ubiquitous beige PC box, desperate to find a reason why I need an Apple G5 and one of those big floaty screens.
On top of the design chic there’s the warm fuzzy feeling of buying an Apple product.
Currently, everything about the look and feel of the company and products feels right and they also do their bit for the planet by using materials in an environmentally sound man
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In conjunction with the Milwaukee Art Museum exhibition Eva Zeisel: The Playful Search for Beauty, Eva Zeisel will visit the Museum for a film screening and conversation Sunday, November 7 at 2 p.m. The film Throwing Curves documents the life of this 97-year-old artist known for her softly curving, intimate ceramics. After the film and conversation with Zeisel, the artist will be available to sign copies of the exhibition catalog and some of her products available in the Museum Store.
Designer Eva Zeisel has had a long and fascinating life. Born in Budapest in 1906, Zeisel studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts but decided early on to become a potter. After working in Hungary and then as a designer in Germany, she moved to the Soviet Union in 1932 and began working in the ceramic industry there, against a backdrop of turbulent political change. In 1936, Zeisel was arrested in a Stalinist purge and imprisoned for 16 months, spending most of the time in solitary confinement.
After her release, Zeisel moved to Vienna but was soon forced to flee the Nazis, and finally came to America. Here she created the work for which she is famed today: ceramics that marry the Surrealist style of “biomorphism ” with the clean modernism of the best mid-century design. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see many of her early de
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"Furniture trends? It's the Philippines that actually sets the pace in furniture design not other countries."
It was an audacious claim that design critics would normally pronounce with caution-and with accurate backup data.
Its source, however, was neither designer nor critic, but Filipino furniture and handicrafts exporter Olga L. Monti. Her assertion was based on 22 long years in the furniture, woodcarvings and ethnic handicrafts trade. And no other person, she says, would be in the best position to make such a claim than the exporter, who's always right in the middle of all the action.
"I've seen it all," she strongly avers. "Most of the furniture designs abroad were inspired by what first came up in here. People just don't realize that."
Monti was arguing her case amid the frenetic crowd of trade visitors and buyers, who were marveling at the exquisite pottery she had on display. The lady exporter of Olm Treasures Enterprises Inc., which occupied stall H22, was standing next to some 540-strong Filipino exporters who were at last weekend's Manila F.A.M.E. International show.
On her elaborate showcase for three consecutive days at the World Trade Center were big, big pottery adorned with Mimosa leaves, plus a large selection of tribal ornaments.
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After days of grueling testing, the Motor Trend editors agreed the Land Rover LR3 sets a new benchmark for its segment in terms of design, packaging, technology and functionality. The crisply executed exterior styling is clean, confident and cutting edge, and wraps around a roomy interior with third row seating that will comfortably accommodate adult passengers. Land Rover's unique Terrain Response System brings together the sophisticated electronics controlling the LR3's height adjustable air suspension, 300hp V-8 engine, brakes, and transmission to provide optimized settings to suit surfaces from freeway to gravel, snow, mud and rocks. The correct settings are selected via a knob on the centre console.
"The LR3 resets the sport/utility benchmark in terms of the compromises between on road refinement and off-road ability," said MacKenzie. "You just point, click, and drive. Whether it's Rodeo Drive or the Rubicon Trail, there isn't a sport/utility in the world that will cover the terrain as quietly, confidently or comfortably."
Each year since 1949, the editorial staff of Motor Trend has evaluated eligible vehicles based on three key categories: Significance, Superiority, and Value. Significance refers to innovation in engineering, technology, design, safety and packaging. Superiority levels the playing field and looks f
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The Ford Mustang was recognized as the most accessory friendly new vehicle today at the California International Auto Show in Anaheim, capturing the first of three SEMA Vehicle Design Awards.
"As America's foremost performance car, the 2005 Mustang is extremely important to the aftermarket," said member voter, Dario Orlando, Steeda president. "As an all-new vehicle, it will create a huge demand for all new performance and restyling equipment. The previous generation Mustang is one of the most popular vehicles for the aftermarket; the 2005 Mustang will only add to the demand for parts and accessories."
Those included in the Vehicle Design Awards selection process were SEMA member companies who regularly participate in technology sharing programs; the Mustang received 33 percent of the votes.
"This is a really exciting category because there are so many new accessory-friendly vehicles this year," said Carl Sheffer, SEMA vice president, OEM relations. "The 2005 Ford Mustang was up against a host of mentionable vehicles from the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum to the Corvette and the Scion tC."
For several months, the 2005 Mustang has been among the vehicles included in SEMA's information sharing programs between original equipment manufacturers and SEMA members. Ford's participation in data sharing, measurement sessi
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2005 Ford Mustang Wins SEMA Vehicle Design Award
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