A brilliant industrial design (IMO) for a slimline UK power plug. The UK plug is an exceptionally chunky and large lump; a real pain in the computer satchel. This video shows what appears to be a manufacturable design that turns it into an elegant device. SLYT. [more inside]
posted by five fresh fish on Nov 4, 2009 - 103 comments

Product Panic - Bruce Sterling on industrial design in the slump.
posted by WPW on Mar 20, 2009 - 20 comments

Grace Jones in chocolate. That isn’t a clever illustration of an assembly line of Grace Jones heads on the cover of her new album, Hurricane. Those are real chocolate Grace Jones heads made from 16 moulds of her head and body.
posted by joeclark on Dec 10, 2008 - 93 comments

Eames Shell Chair - Something of how they get the way they are. Video.
posted by Manhasset on Dec 6, 2008 - 24 comments

If you can make it through the glacially paced intro and can put up with the typically clunky, often laughable and jingoistic fifties-style narration, this 1958 film from Chevrolet, The American Look is worth viewing. Chock full of futuristic telephones, toasters, blenders, office machines, architecture and more, it's a mid-century design lover's dream. The film is visually striking and elegant, and presented in widescreen format. Here's part 2 and part 3. Or see it here in its entirety. [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on May 12, 2008 - 15 comments

Hi-fi spheres, bacon toasters, translated Pravda on demand, and other changes to come in 1975 A.D. [ via Bostworld ]
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Mar 27, 2008 - 18 comments

Pictures of bicycles. And previously. Please be advised, there some pictures of girls that might be considered Not Work-Safe, but mostly just lots and lots of really sexy bicycles.
posted by From Bklyn on Dec 10, 2007 - 38 comments

The birth of a gadget. [Wired]
posted by WPW on Nov 22, 2007 - 6 comments

The son of industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger (creator of the distinct styling of the Apple IIc and subsequent products, as well as founder of frog design) shares memories and photographs (auf Deutsch; Google cache) of Apple's early attempts at an iPhone.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Jul 18, 2007 - 6 comments

"The difference between BJ and AJ, Before and After Jobs, is not the process," [Don Norman] continues. "It is the person. Never before did Apple have such focus and dedication. Apple used to wobble, moving this way and that. No more."
posted by Blazecock Pileon on May 8, 2007 - 26 comments

Best designed stuff of '06. The Industrial Design Excellence Awards. Winners include the 2 second tent, a new coffin and the hover creeper. Want more design? See what shaking in ecodesign, gadgetry, or concept cars. Perhaps you just want to know what's cool or what those crafty Germans are up to. Then again, maybe it's all just too much to handle.
posted by cubby on Jul 2, 2006 - 22 comments

Razzle Dazzle Camouflage
"During World War I, the British and Americans faced a serious threat from German U-boats, which were sinking allied shipping at a dangerous rate. All attempts to camouflage ships at sea had failed, as the appearance of the sea and sky are always changing. Any color scheme that was concealing in one situation was conspicuous in others. A British artist and naval officer, Norman Wilkinson, promoted a new camouflage scheme that was derived from the artistic fashions of the time, particularly cubism. Instead of trying to conceal the ship, it simply broke up its lines and made it more difficult for the U-boat captain to determine the ship's course. The British called this camouflage scheme 'Dazzle Painting.' The Americans called it 'Razzle Dazzle.'"
posted by hall of robots on Nov 4, 2005 - 31 comments

Forget the world for a minute, darlings. It's suppertime. Let's use our fabulously round and colorful dishware from America's premier champion of casual living, the handsome Russel Wright. An artist, industrial designer and marketing genius, Wright was a pioneer in spun aluminum before his innovative American Modern dinnerware (designed for the masses, not the classes) made him a star. Housewives would line up for blocks when a new shipment arrived. Some of his pieces are truly museum-quality. Cooper-Hewitt Museum quality, to be exact. Only 3 weeks left in the exhibition. And if you see Carmen, one of the world's top Russel Wright collectors, do tell her hello.
posted by mediareport on Aug 22, 2002 - 8 comments