If It's Hip, It's Here (Archives): modern design

Showing posts with label modern design. Show all posts

Modern Caskets For Your Body And Soul. The 2014 Equinox Collection from Camaquen.

I'm not a morbid person, despite having written about modern casket options before. No one really likes to talk about preparing for death, yet it's a realistic inevitability. That said, casket shopping is not unlike any other furniture purchase. You want one that is comfortable, reflects your design and philosophical sensibilities and is well-made without having to, well... sell your soul.

Mono Pendants in Duo, Trio or Quartet offer a unique way to display living things, be them goldfish or succulents. The suspended displays are made in Germany of stainless steel and glass and come in three variations.

above: close up of stainless steel hanging cords and shelf with glass bowl insert bowl

Fill the glass bowls with colorful stones, colored water, sweets, floating candles, cactuses, beta fish or small plants. Or use the glass containers to store of fruit, vegetables or herbs in the kitchen.

The hanging Mono pendants are available in the "trio" with 3 glass inserts (64 centimetres wide), the "duo" with 2 glass inserts (40 centimetres), as or the "quartet" with 4 glass inserts (99 centimeres).

Spring Cleaning! New Orla Kiely Designs For Method.

above image composited by if it's hip, it's here

This Spring, method, the hip San Francisco company that makes cleaning products for the home and personal care is once again collaborating with Irish textile and fashion designer Orla Kiely. Having previously produced limited edition products with the designer, the new spring line features four new graphic patterns from Orla combined with method's iconic bottle designs.

The limited edition collection shown above, said to hit stores next month, includes handwash, dish soap + all - purpose cleaner in a range of delightfully fresh scents.

Orla's previous limited editions for method include the Primrose and Vanilla Chai handwashes which are still available for purchase

Here's a little interview method conducted with Orla regarding this new line:

method: this collection features four new fragrances: tomato vine, white nectarine, honeysuckle and cloudburst. is there one in particular that puts an extra spring in your step?
Orla: I love the idea of tomato vine! it’s that fresh earthy smell you get when you walk into a greenhouse full of tomato plants. so, for me, to re-create this smell for everyday use in my home is just divine!

method: can you share the inspiration behind the patterns you chose for these bottles?
Orla: it’s always fun choosing prints that work with the fragrances. sometimes some of the prints are a more literal match, like our “oval spot” print that is used for tomato vine, whereas cloudburst was more about the color scheme, using sky blue with pops of color. our “multi flower spot” print lent itself perfectly to the honeysuckle fragrance, reminding us of those beautiful summer bunches of honeysuckle blossom. and white nectarine teamed up brilliantly with one of our newer prints called “wallflower spot,” which to us looks like nectarines growing on a tree.

method: what’s your favorite part of the design process?
Orla: it’s always very exciting when a print finally comes to life. after hours of tweaking the color and playing with the scale, it’s wonderful to see the end design really pop.

method: what do you enjoy most about collaborating with other brands?
Orla: we are very picky with who we collaborate with. it is important to me that both brands share a similar sense of fun, quality and integrity, and each share a mutual respect for what the other does. I think only then can it be truly exciting and creative process with an outcome we can all enjoy.

method: both of our brands are over a decade old. how do you keep things fresh year after year?
Orla: it’s so important to mix things up. I like to see new exhibitions and watch classic old films. I love books, both new and old, and have a growing library of fashion, art, architecture and everything in between. I always love to find new references and inspiration each season, and when mixed with what I love it’s always an exciting journey to see what is created.’

images courtesy of method and the dieline.

method
orla kiely

The Three Most Modern Nativity Sets You've Ever Seen.

For the past few years I have been compiling my shopping picks for modern Christmas Decor (including Nativity Sets) on This Next.com.

Unlike the modernization of the original MONOPOLY board game by Hasbro, MONOPOLY REVOLUTION, ONOPO is a conceptual re-imagining of the iconic American board game by visual artist and web designer Matthew Hollet.

above: The ONOPO board. The visual echo between the three Os in the original game title and the groups of three spaces on the board inspired my design. The original game presented plenty of opportunity for distilling the design down to an iconographic system representing its basic mechanics.

In an attempt to simplify and clarify the game system, he removed the thematic metaphors (such as place names) and other non-essential elements. Inspired by abstract strategy games, he then designed a minimal iconographic system which uses as little language as possible.

above: Property cards from ONOPO. All text on the original cards has been translated into an iconographic system. The symbols for different types of spaces were designed so that each of these cards would have a bisected circle centered at the top.

Matt says "I enjoy designing and working with systems, and this project was an exercise in consistency and constraint." The name is partly a reduction of the original and partly an homage to Oulipo, the "workshop for potential literature."

above: Instructional cards and bills from ONOPO. The instructional cards were the most challenging part of the game to translate visually for Matt. One constraint he gave himself was to using the same size board, cards and bills as the original. He thought of the project as a re-skinning of the game rather than a complete redesign. Leaving certain remnants of the original also makes the project easier to understand at a glance. For that same reason,he used mostly similar colours.

descriptions, images and quotes courtesy of Matthew Hollet

If you never saw Hasbro's own modern version of the game, below are some images of Monolopy Revolution Edition which is available to purchase:

Buy MONOPOLY Revolution here

Awesome and Unusual Handmade Christmas Stockings From Etsy Designers Make The Mantel.

Not your usual Christmas Stockings, these three etsy stores sell handmade and unusual designs for the artisan holiday home. Hand-tooled leather with koi, flowers, bees and snowflakes from Moxie and Oliver, Burlap coffee sacks turned into elf stockings available with or without customization from Habitation Boheme and wild and modern patterns and designs for people and pets from Urban Creative.

Last year, West Elm carried some cool modern versions of traditional nutcrackers that I posted on my list of hip christmas decor over at ThisNext, but not this year. But alas, no need to cry because this year CB2 has one of the hippest takes on a traditional nutcracker.

The Inked nutcracker is carved from white pine and painted red, white and black. He is tatted with "Naughty" on his right arm with an intricate montage of skull and candy cross bones. And the word "Nice" scripts his left arm in a cozy scene of fireplace logs and mistletoe.

The man in the big red suit has a permanent place in this nutcracker's heart in the form of "Santa Baby" etched on his chest. "Ho Ho Ho" banner decks out his handle. Cool.

dimensions: 4.75"Wx4.25"Dx16.25"H
details:
• White pine
• Silk screen print and painted details
• Wipe with clean dry cloth
• Made in China

$29.99 buy it here

From Rustic To Radical. Updating An Upstate New York Residence.

Conscientious homeowners Don and Shirley wanted to expand their upstate New York residence without harming the existing trees. Madlab designed an addition that integrated with the old residence and preserved as much of the surrounding landscape as possible. The home more than doubled in size, and playfully juxtaposed new (corrugated metal, composite shingles and radiant floor heating) and old materials (original wood) to achieve the most from a very constrained budget.

Front Entrance, before:

Front Entrance, after:

Front Entry (after):

Rear view of home, before:

Rear, after:

Livingroom (after):

Interior panoramic:

Rear deck (after):

Rear Deck (after):

Outdoor shower (after):

Exterior detail (after):

Interior upstairs (after):

Westside view (after):

Client: Private Owners
Project Type: Single-Family
Size: 2,055 SF
Location: Kerhonkson, NY

Credits
Architects: MADLAB
Consultants: Robert Wolfson, PE
Builder: Matthew Flamhaft

Cool New Countdown Clock Tells The Time And How Many Days Left Until A Special - or Icky- Event.

Mr. Jones Watches has just introduced the Countdown Clock. A nice looking tabletop or wall-mounted clock that not only keeps time, but keeps track of how many days until a special - or in some cases, dreaded, event.

You can choose from 34 different occasions to count down to. Some of the events are quite specific ("birthday," "anniversary," "holiday") while others are deliberately vague ("it's over," "freedom," "the big day"), so only you'll know what you're counting to. You can see the full list of events below.

The way the clock works couldn’t be simpler: you press a button to flip through the different events until you find the one you want to count to. Next you press the day count buttons to set the number of days you want to count to. That’s it! From then on the day count will decrease by one automatically every day. The clock can count down a maximum of 999 days for those who plan their life a long time in advance!

Specifications:
Size of clock: 220mm x 135mm x 50mm (height x width x depth)
Size of packaging box: 260mm x 180mm x 90mm
Case: PVC (CAS 9002-86-2)
Movement: Quartz unjewelled clock movement
Batteries (not included): 1 x AA / 2 x AAA

The full list of countdown events:
Mother's Day
Father's Day
Retirement
School's out
The test
Graduation
Anniversary
Baby's due
The big day
The big night
The party
The move
The delivery
She's back
He's back
They arrive
They're back
The first day
Interview
The meeting
Launch
Freedom
Reunion
It's over
The Date
The big game
A new start
Holiday
Vacation
Christmas
The Holidays
Thanksgiving
Halloween
Birthday