national geographic has created a somewhat interactive map tracing mitochondrial and y-chromosome lineages across human history and the globe. mapping time and space is difficult enough; additionally each genetic marker is traced, dated and explained in this elegant mashup. when this many things are contained in a relatively small and intuitive document, it seems like […]
Category Archives: product design
marketing making
only very few companies give an insight into their design and manufacturing processes. maybe this is for secrecy or from ignorance or shame – in any case when someone goes to the trouble to showcase how they make things, it’s pretty neat. hopefully the ease with which we can video- and photo-document nowadays will make […]
Also posted in fabrication
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extreme recycling
there’s almost no such thing as true recycling, because almost all post-consumer materials are re-made into a material of lesser quality (down-cycling). but RE-USE is very easy and allows an material to retain its functionality through multiple product life-cycles. unfortunately, people don’t seem to value re-use as much as they could – until now, when […]
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sexy prosthetics
last weeks’ human 2.0 conference at the media lab was astonishing: hugh herr and john hockenberry banded together to paint a picture of a future where disability can be leveraged as a way to gain super-human capacities. i highly recommend watching the streaming video; both the morning and afternoon broadcasts are available. the most amazing […]
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scrap shoe
patagonia’s DIY mocassins are an amazing product: made from leather scraps, delivered in pieces and it’s up to the buyer to stitch them together using provided thread in the perforated patterns. no wonder it’s only $30!
Also posted in possessed products
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lift-a-building
3 people die per day working construction in the US, most as a result of falls. why not design buildings so that no dangerous work is required of construction workers? when i was passing by this pavilion on miami beach i noticed that to save time, the structure is decorated on the ground and lifted […]
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empathy machine
swamp’s improvised empathetic device is a close cousin of philip k. dick’s empathy machine: a way to stay in contact with humanity’s greater suffering through direct physical empathy – in this case administered by an armband with a needle on a solenoid. the ied pricks you every time a soldier dies in iraq – presumably […]
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touch museum
twice now i have come across touch-based maps for people visiting famous sites to be able to appreciate architectural elements without the use of sight. the miniature of ryoanji temple’s rock garden allows visitors to appreciate the unique and harmonious layout of stones (which is designed so that all are never visible from any one […]
Also posted in perception
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