If It's Hip, It's Here (Archives)

Update: Italian Designer Fabio Novembre's Newest Products

In early 2007 I wrote about unusual designer/architect Fabio Novembre and reproduced an interview he did with Icon Magazine. Well, he's been a busy boy since then and 2008 proved to be a prolific year for him that included several lust-worthy items.

His "him" and "her" chairs are made from polyethylene and are available in black, red and white (but not the green). Produced by Casamania.

Above: Her chair in black

Above His chair in white

Above: the designer with his Her chair
Buy them here.

His collection of furniture called Histograms for Meritalia was also introduced this year:

His "slow the flow' water faucets are beautiful:

Above: His organic curving water faucets for rubinetteria stella, 2008

The above faucets are a nice compliment to his bathroom sink, toilet and bidet named the Void System, produced by Flaminia:

His crazy funky Divina sofa is produced in a limited edition by Driade.

The Divina is a reclining female figure built into the leather tufted sofa. Created on a stainless steel frame and stuffed with polyurethane foam.
Buy it here.

He also created this lovely series of 8 silver plated brass trays based on Piazzas (or town squares) in Italy for Driade. below are all the trays in the series which were first shown at the Draide showroom at the Milan furniture fair last April.

100 PIAZZE by Fabio Novembre for Driade

Above: FIRENZE by Fabio Novembre in silver plate L. 25,4 P. 34,5 H. 10,2

Above: LUCCA by Fabio Novembre in silver plate L. 25 P. 35 H. 10

Above: MILANO by Fabio Novembre in silver plate L. 38,2 P. 43 H. 11,7

Above: PALMANOVA by Fabio Novembre in silver plate L. 58,5 P. 67 H. 10,5

Above: ROMA by Fabio Novembre in silver plate L. 29 P. 34 H. 13,8

Above: TORINO by Fabio Novembre in silver plate L. 35 P. 65,5 H. 8,7

Above: VENARIA REALE by Fabio Novembre, in silver plate L. 29 P. 36,8 H. 8,8

Above: VIGEVANO by Fabio Novembre, in silver plate L. 20,8 P. 55 H. 13
The pieces are available for purchase here , here and here.

Above: designer/architect Fabio Novembre.

His website
His blog

Be sure to see my other post on him which shows several of his unusual pieces and interiors as well as a great interview. Read it here.

Gentlemen, Start Your Jewelry: Sterling Rings Cast From Car Keys.

VW:

Mustang:

Mercury:

Chrysler:

Chevrolet:

Cadillac:

From Keil Mead. $90.00 apiece.
Buy them here.

Designing The 2008 Olympic Pictograms & Pictures of Years Past

Above Left: Inscriptions on the Gui bronze vessels, Above Right: Pictograms of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
Photo and graphic courtesy of ARCOG

Graphic designers had to consider how to create a look that represented China, but also how to design images that would be attractive to an international audience, ARCOG (the Art Research Center for the Olympic Games) deputy director Hang Hai explains.

Above: Wang Min, Design Director of the 2008 Beijing Olympics

"We had to walk the line between East and West in the design process," Wang Min, the dean of the school of design at CAFA, explains.

"What we had to bear in mind is not to turn the Beijing Olympic Games entirely into a celebration of Chinese culture. It needed to have a global feel."

Above: Designers working at the Art Research Center for the Olympic Games
Photo and graphic courtesy of ARCOG

The team designed simple but aesthetic patterns, based on jingwen, the script found on 2,000-year-old bronze carvings to represent 35 different Olympic sports and 20 Paralympic sports displayed in "pictograms".

"The images are a distinct form of traditional Chinese art, revealing the concept of gangrou bingji, or coupling hardness and softness," Hang says, "It is like doing taichi, even though the movement is slow and peaceful, it requires a certain strength."

Above: the final pictograms

Unlike commercial design companies, the atmosphere at ARCOG is less high pressured and more academic. Many staff like to address their team leaders as "teacher" rather than "boss".

Hang expresses his appreciation for all the ARCOG team members. "There is no need to push hard on my students. As artists, they will throw themselves entirely into the artwork."

Some 200 CAFA undergraduate and postgraduate students signed up for Olympic-related graphic design projects, but many of them quit or a few found jobs upon graduation. For most, the design process -complicated by the inordinate attention focused on the Beijing Olympics - proved to be too tedious to bear, according to Hang. That is why there are only 20 full time designers on the team, he adds.

The study of graphic design has risen dramatically in the country. In the past decade, the number of design schools and programs has grown to more than 1,000.

Pictograms from some past Summer Olympics:

And some winter Olympic pictograms of years past:

Olympic Torch, Cauldron, Stand and Relay Lantern: Design, Facts and Images

The Beijing Olympic Torch boasts strong Chinese characteristics, and showcases Chinese design and technical capabilities. It embodies the concepts of a Green Olympics, a High-tech Olympics and the People's Olympics.

The Key Facts about the Torch

The torch is 72 centimetres high, weighs 985 grams and is made of aluminum. The torch is of a curved surface form, with etching and anodizing being used during its production. A torch can usually keep burning for approximately 15 minutes in conditions where the flame is 25 to 30 centimetres high in a windless environment.

The torch has been produced to withstand winds of up to 65 kilometres per hour and to stay alight in rain up to 50mm an hour. The flame can be identified and photographed in sunshine and areas of extreme brightness. The fuel is propane which is in accordance with environmental guidelines. The material of its form is recyclable.

The Artistic and Technical Features of the Torch
The torch of the Beijing Olympic Games has a very strong Chinese flavor. It demonstrates the artistic and technical level of China. It also conveys the message of a Green Olympics, a High-tech Olympics and the People's Olympics.

The shape of the paper scroll and the lucky clouds graphic, expresses the idea of harmony. Its stable burning technique and adaptability to the environment have reached a new technical level. The torch of the Beijing Olympic Games is designed, researched and produced in China. BOCOG owns all intellectual property rights.

Above: Lenovo designers in Beijing working on the torch

The Fuel for the Torch
Under the concept of a Green Olympics, environmental protection was a key element listed in the invitation documents to the design companies, by BOCOG. The fuel of the torch is propane, which is a common fuel which also comes with a low price. It is composed of carbon and hydrogen. No material, except carbon dioxide and water remain after the burning, eliminating any risk of pollution.

The Burning System
Its stable burning technique and adaptability to the environment have reached a new technical level. It can stay alight in severe weather conditions such as strong wind, rain, snow, hail, etc. The flame can also be identified in sunshine and areas of extreme brightness so as to satisfy the requirements of capturing photographic images and video footage.

The Olympic Cauldron

The Olympic cauldron plays a major role in the Olympic Torch Relay. The lighting of the Olympic cauldron symbolizes the end of the Olympic Torch Relay and the beginning of the Olympic celebration.

The Olympic cauldron stands 130 centimeters high, symbolizing the 130-day duration of the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay. The cauldron plate is 29 centimeters deep, symbolizing the 29th Olympiad. The cauldron post is 112 centimeters tall, symbolizing the 112 years that have passed between the staging of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and the 2008 Olympic Games.

The Beijing Olympic cauldron is based on the concept of a "round heaven and square earth" and takes after a typical cauldron from the Chinese Bronze Age. The cauldron shares with the torch and lantern the design element of the "lucky cloud."

Above: The Cloud design

The 56 "lucky clouds" hollowed out of the curved plate of the Olympic cauldron symbolize well wishes to the world from the 56 ethnic groups in China. The base of the cauldron has four legs with eight faces, symbolizing that the Beijing Olympic Games welcomes friends from all directions across the world.

The Torch Relay lantern

The Torch Relay lantern will be used to store the Olympic flame. Its main purposes will be to receive the Olympic flame kindled in Olympia, to light the Olympic torch and to exhibit the sacred flame.

The inspiration for the original design of the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay lantern comes from the traditional lanterns used inside ancient Chinese palaces. The silver luster of the lantern coupled with crystal-clear glass serve as a foil to the flame and communicates the Olympic flame's sanctity and purity.

The Torch stand

The torch stand is used to display and support the torch, and its design borrows from the architectural styles of the Han and Tang dynasties. The base design of the torch stand shows "lucky clouds" drifting away, as if gently calling out to the torch.