product design

Before planning your next trip, be sure to review the newly crowned winners of the Travel + Leisure Design Awards, which will be featured in the magazine’s March issue (on newsstands next Friday). The 2012 winners range from the Zaha Hadid-designed Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi to the ultimate in travel-friendly apparel (the 1964 by Scott James blazer and Issey Miyake‘s eminently packable origami folding clothing). Many of this year’s favorites will come as no surprise, including the city-friendly Fiat 500 (best car) and Leica’s drool-worthy D-Lux 5 Titanium Set (best camera). Preston Scott Cohen‘s smart and sculptural Herta and Paul Amir Building at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art got the nod for best museum (edging out the Brad Cloepfil-designed Clyfford Still Museum, alas), and two NYC destinations—Jane’s Carousel Pavilion in Brooklyn and the Freitag Store—won for best public space and best retail space, respectively. Meanwhile, 2012 T+L Design Champion H.E. Mubarak Hamad Al Muhairi, the driving force behind Abu Dhabi’s transformation and evolution as a cultural and design capital, joins past honorees such as ubercollector Micky Wolfson, André Balazs, and Amanda Burden. Tasked with choosing “the best new examples of design” in 20 categories was a jury moderated by Chee Pearlman that included architect Billie Tsien, fashion designer Derek Lam, High Line pioneer Robert Hammond, and artist Michele Oka Doner. Keep reading for the full list of winners.
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Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.

According to VW design chief Klaus Bischoff (pictured), the designers were given the brief to “design a new original” rather than updating the New Beetle, introduced in 1998.

“The new car retains the round headlights of the New Beetle as well as the angular aero chin of the new generation of Volkswagens. A bar along the rocker panel — a vestigial running board, if you will — visually emphasizes the car’s length.

It is the rear end that nags the eye. The symmetrical double arcs of the previous model’s fenders have given way to an elongated rear fender. The lines of the fender, roof and hatch meet haphazardly, like the intersection of three meandering country roads.

Then there is that squashed roof. It makes the car seem deflated — the pneumatic New Beetle with a slow leak. As you look at it you get the feeling that when the designers finished the car they gave it a final whump on top — like the pat you’d apply to fat Dagwood sandwich before you took it to the den to watch the second half of the game.”

-Phil Patton, reviewing the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle in The New York Times. Read his full assessment on the “all-new,” bud vase-free Bug here.

Even the most demanding design purist is hard-pressed to avoid marring that freshly Venetian plastered or de Gournay wallpapered wall with a dull disk of white—or worse, beige!—ribbed plastic: the inevitable smoke detector. A little bird told us that’s all about to change. Meet the Chick-a-Dee, perched perpetually on a branch and ready to emit an 85-decibel-alarm at the first sign of smoke. Originally hatched by Dutch designer Louise van der Veld with an eye to residential interiors, the Chick-a-Dee has winged its way across Europe and is finally bound for North American nests, having been given the all-clear by Underwriters Laboratories. Brooklyn-based neo-utility, the sharp-eyed promoter of “products that are inherently useful but also bring a new and dynamic approach to design,” debuted the device stateside at last week’s New York International Gift Fair (where it was our top pick for the Bloggers’ Choice Awards) and will offer the product on its website this spring for around $75. The whimsical smoke detector, equipped with a battery that lasts 1.5 years, will also be available at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (MCA) Store. Stock up early, Portlandia fans, because this bold new opportunity to “Put a bird on it!” is sure to fly off shelves.

David Stark has made a name for himself with design that is simultaneously innovative and playful, monumentally scaled yet welcoming and thoughtfully customized. His Brooklyn-based firm’s events, for clients ranging from Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and New Yorkers for Children to West Elm and discerning brides often transform quotidian materials—Post-Its, paint chips, bundled newspapers—into one-night wonderlands. Guests have been known to marvel, look closer, and then ask, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Stark’s latest production is WOOD SHOP, a “surprise ambush” of Nina Freudenberger‘s Haus Interior in New York. “For about a month, all of the product that Haus usually carries will be removed and replaced with our limited-edition WOOD SHOP collection that is inspired by the iconic wood worker’s atelier,” explains Stark of the collaborative concept store-cum-art gallery, which opens to the public on Friday at 11:00 a.m. (sneak a peek at some of the goods and buy them online here). “We’re excited to take the pop-up store to the next level.” Stark took time away from last-minute preparations to answer our seven questions about wooden must-haves, his start in event design, and how he created a “garden of Versailles” out of shredded paper.

1. What are a few of your favorite products in WOOD SHOP?
Oh, I love so, so many of them that it is hard to name one or two, but I am particularly happy with the hand-crocheted paint can and brush pillows, the turned poplar vases, and I do love the “Pining for You” poster/valentine. It’s a fantastic card to send in the mail, and it is also cool to frame and put on a wall. This pieces is the newest in our company tradition of newsprint cards that we have sent to friends and clients over the last couple of years. Those cards have become so popular that they are commonly saved and framed as wall art.

2. You went to art school at RISD. How did you get your start in event design?
Totally by accident! I didn’t even know there was a career called, “event design”! Back in the day, I worked with flowers and a partner, making arrangements for parties to support my fledgling painting career. Over time, I did more and more floral work than painting and got better and better at it. One day we were invited to interview for the job of designing the décor for New York City Opera’s fundraising gala. Carolyn Roehm, a noted florist in her own right, was the chair lady of the evening, and she took one look at our book and said, “Well, there is no question that you make the most beautiful flower arrangements, but this evening is not about flowers at all.”

All of a sudden a light bulb went off! It was a real a-ha moment. The revelation that flowers were not the only decorative tool for a party was mind-blowing. It seems real obvious of course, but at the time, it was radical. Now flowers are just one of the tools in my tool box, and the rest of the world of options is readily at my fingertips.
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Sure to boost compliance in double-blinded clinical trials the world over are these streamlined pill keepers from Sabi, a new company that is looking “to transform life’s small tasks into moments of joy” through lifestyle and wellness products designed by Yves Behar and his Fuseproject team. “We designed the Sabi brand, products, and packaging to express smarter ergonomic functionality, and instill pride of use rather than the stigma of being singled out by daily physical challenges,” says Behar. “I believe Sabi will make sense to an older generation in need of solutions, but also to a younger set of users that simply expect good design everywhere.” Named for the Japanese aesthetic construct (think “wabi-sabi”), the Palo Alto-based company was founded by entrepreneur Assaf Wand, who points to Method, Bang & Olufsen, OXO, and Dyson as brands that inspire him. His idea for Sabi came as he watched his then-pregnant wife struggle to find an easy-to-use and visually appealing prenatal vitamin case. Pill organizers and related accessories (vitamin pulverizers, sleek carafes) comprise the company’s first line of products, Vitality. In the works are Agility, products designed to alleviate the pain and inconvenience of lifting, reaching, and carrying everyday items around the house, as well as Mobility, a line of travel accessories and gadgets that assist in transporting health and wellness essentials. Grab a Sabi Holster ($8.99) and take a chill pill, as the second two lines—including, at long last, a shower caddy that you won’t be ashamed to show houseguests—will debut later this year.

It’s shaping up to be another eventful year for Tom Dixon and his addictive forms. On Friday, the self-taught designer-maker will debut his collection of everyday home accessories and design objects at Maison & Objet in Paris. “Eclectic by Tom Dixon” includes gift-ready goodies made of materials such as copper, marble, cast iron, and wood. But that’s nothing compared to what he’s got in store for Milan Design Week. Come April, Dixon and friends will transform the National Museum of Science and Technology Milan into MOST, a new cultural hub that will showcase the creations and wares of a handpicked group of designers, curators, and companies.

“In a fit of spontaneous madness we decided that the world’s most important meeting place for global design obsessives needed a new epicenter, a space for quiet contemplation or chaotic energy—a platform for the exchange of big ideas,” said Dixon in a statement announcing the project, which kicks off on April 17. “We have created a place where we can demonstrate the new democratization and hyperactive innovation of technology in art, food, fashion, manufacturing, and communication.” His creative partners on the project are Design Miami veteran Ambra Medda and Milan native Martina Mondadori, who is working with TAR Magazine to assemble a slate of lectures and seminars that will take place in the museum’s gorgeous auditorium (pictured). MOST will provide each exhibitor with an individual space within the approximately 400,000-square-foot museum, and there will be an overall exhibition theme. Exhibits of various sizes, positioned inside and outside of the museum, are expected to create a carnival-like environment. Interested in exhibiting? Contact Alice Foster (Alice.Foster@tomdixon.net) for more information and an application.

Over the years, we’ve occasionally poked fun at designers who create a product that’s perhaps just a bit out of the realm of nearly the whole out of humanity. We’re thinking things like Phillippe Starck‘s mega-eco-yacht or Yves Behar‘s $60,000 cell phones. However, both those examples seem to pale in comparison to the joint collaboration between designer Jean-Paul Gaultier and the Dallas-based Dillon Gage Metals: a one-ounce hunk of gold, stamped with a Gaultier design. Granted, yes, an ounce of gold is significantly less expensive than a yacht or a $60,000 cell phone (as of yesterday, an ounce was selling in the $1600-$1700 range), and people with means certainly have been known to spend plenty more on other logo-emblazoned jewelry, clothing and cars, but perhaps we’re most taken aback by this product wearing its idea on its sleeve. At least with clothes or cars or mega-yachts, there is some function there. Other than perhaps an investment, this purely exists for you to show someone that you not only have a big chunk of gold…you have a big chunk of designer gold. But do with this information as you please (including sending us one in thanks for telling you about it). Here’s a description:

One side of the gold bar is engraved with a heart – with Gaultier’s trademark sailor stripe – amid radiating rays, and above that is a banner displaying the name Jean-Paul Gaultier.

And here’s the really fun quote, from the president of the company:

“Never before has a fashion icon designed a gold ingot. The Gaultier bar is a one-of-a-kind, limited-quantity collector’s piece that not only is a great investment but it will also become a a piece of history. The price of gold has risen more than fivefold in the last 10 years, outperforming almost every other investment,” says Terry Hanlon, president of Dillon Gage Metals. “The Gaultier one-ounce bar is the perfect Valentines, birthday or graduation gift for someone special, he adds.

The astounding success of Nicolas Negroponte‘s One Laptop Per Child project’s XO Laptop not only provided more than 2 million children in developing countries with low-cost, easy-to-use computers, but also became one of the most talked about pieces of product design when it was first released, winning its designer, Yves Behar, a bevy of prizes and making him something of a household name. Now, some 6 months after it was originally announced, and with the tech world having embraced tablet computing with open arms, the first images of the follow up to the XO Laptop, the XO-3 tablet have been released. Unlike Apple’s insanely popular iPad, the new tablet, designed again by Behar and his fuseproject team, looks much thicker, which might be a bad thing in the ever-thin-chasing consumer market, but seems like a much sturdier positive when you consider the main user base will be children. Here’s some info on the specifics:

The first impression of the XO-3 is its extreme simplicity. The focus is on the screen, while the surrounding green rubber border provides a safe tactile grip for children’s hands. The back surface has a bumpy texture and integrates a rear-facing camera. The connectors, power switch and speakers are arranged on the bottom edge, facing the user.

The XO-3 tablet uses similar ruggedizing strategies as the original XO laptop: rubber protection, anti-scratch grip textures, and robust construction. The XO-3 takes this protection further by creating an elastomer removable cover, which is flipped from screen cover to back cover. The cover’s arced front surface allows access to ports and buttons, and shields them during transportation to further preserve the hardware. Additionally, the solar cover option can house a solar panel combined with internal batteries for outdoor or indoor charging.

You probably know Allan Chochinov as the core of Core77, the beloved industrial design megasite of which he serves as editor-in-chief. The designer and educator’s latest creation is a new MFA program at the School of Visual Arts in New York. As chair of the MFA in Products of Design, Chochinov has devised the graduate program around a new way of considering the design of artifacts, experiences, sustainability, strategy, business, and point of view. The design star-studded faculty ranges from Paola Antonelli (MoMA) to John Zapolski (Fonderie47). “We have created a program that I feel represents a optimistic, rigorous, and future-forward step in the future of design education,” he says, adding that applications are now being accepted for the inaugural class. “We are looking for all kinds of applicants: the highly-skilled, seeking more meaningful applications; the deeply-knowledgeable, looking for greater scale and impact; the passionate, looking for more rigor and process; and of course the iconoclastic, looking for a home.” In answering our seven questions, Chochinov gives us the full scoop on the program, discusses some of his own career highlights, and proves that unwieldy edibles (or useless machines) make the best gifts.

1. What led you to create the MFA in Products of Design program?
I’ve been teaching design at the college level for 17 years now, and I’m passionate about students, creativity, and point of view. When SVA approached me about creating a new MFA program, it was an incredible opportunity to spend time researching, conceiving, and collaborating on a program that would represent future practice and equip students with the skills and fluencies that the world will demand of them. The program that resulted, I feel, is at the sweet spot of business, making, storytelling, and stewardship. It’s a program that aims to engage, ennoble, and empower. It’s also going to be a ton of fun.

2. What can prospective students expect from the program, in terms of coursework, faculty, and experience?
The program is rigorous but joyful, multi-disciplinary and multi-sensorial. There are no grades. Most of the classes are in the evenings. Several classes happen off-site (the Design Research and Integration class is held at IDEO in SoHo, for example; the Materials Futures class is held at Material ConneXion). Two of the classes are co-mingled with MFA Interaction Design students. There’s our new Visible Futures Lab fabbing space next door, and a city brimming with design making, design thinking, and design doing right outside the door. We’re dedicating a lot of the architecture and curriculum to food and food systems, and we’ve got a faculty comprised of some of the most fascinating, progressive practitioners in design.

3. What’s been the most challenging and/or rewarding aspect of working on the program?
The most challenging aspect has been to clarify this very fuzzy place where I think design needs to be right now. (That last sentence is a bit fuzzy in itself!) Referencing the challenges inherent in designing for systemic, interconnected conditions, faculty member Manuel Toscano remarked to me that “we will need students who are comfortable being uncomfortable.” I think that’s very true. Design is at an incredible moment right now, but the challenges of production, consumption, labor, resilience…these demand a nimble kind of practice.
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In the world of home decor, and thanks to his many collaborations between companies running the gamut from Barney’s to Starbucks, there are few things you wouldn’t be able to purchase that were designed by Jonathan Adler. Now that list has managed to get even smaller, as the Cottonelle brand of toilet paper has announced that Adler has created three designs for them. His work appears not on the tissue itself, but on the “roll covers” which wrap around extra unused rolls. This was not a home product this writer was aware of, nor does needing to artfully present toilet paper rolls make total sense to him, but to each their own. To those for whom it is perfectly clear, Adler’s covers will be available between now and the end of April. Here’s from his statement:

Part of my passion for design is taking everyday objects and turning them into eye-catching conversation pieces and, until now, toilet paper has been a relatively untouched canvas,” said designer Jonathan Adler. “So I was thrilled when Cottonelle approached me to design its spring collection of roll covers.

And here’s the quote wherein he really earned his check:

“When it comes to good design, I believe functionality is key,” Adler added. “These roll covers are a great solution for keeping that extra roll of Cottonelle Clean Care handy and makes it easy to respect the roll that respects you.”