Impressive Augmented Reality Allows People To Enter The World of National Geographic.

In an impressive display of augmented reality (video further down in this post), people in a shopping mall in Hungary got a chance to pet a cheetah, play with velociraptors, stand within biting distance of a T-Rex, endure a thunderstorm and walk with an astronaut amongst other exciting experiences via technology from the UK's Appshaker.





Appshaker recently launched a unique way for people to interact with the amazing world of National Geographic Channel's content from around the globe.

Using the principles of augmented reality, people could immerse themselves in different scenes such as dolphins, leopards, the space landings, dinosaurs and more.



Thousands of people interacted with the National Geographic Channel brand in the process as it toured Hungary, with thousands more people sharing snapshots and video on Facebook as a result.




For more information on appshaker, please head to appshaker.co.uk and a huge thank you to Vertigo Digital whom they worked with to create the amazing 3D.

Pin-Up Lamps by Designer Richard Hutten for Brand Van Egmond.

Pin-Up is Richard Hutten's newest lamp for Brand Van Egmond. Guest designer Richard Hutten created this fun and sexy iron lighting sculpture, inspired by people. According to BVE, Richard has always been fascinated by people, especially by people having fun.



This suspension lamp shows its soft sides with its round shapes and female silhouettes and it's fun side with it's glittering interior.



Available in four sizes, three external finishes; black, bronze or white, and your choice of a gold leaf or silver leaf interior.



White:


Black:


Bronze:



interior finishes:




dimensions:
pin-up 40: Ø15.8” x 7.9”h - uses a 1 x E26
pin-up 50: Ø19.7” x 9.8”h - uses a 1 x E26
pin-up 60: Ø23.6” x 11.8”h - uses a 1 x E26
pin-up 70: Ø27.6” x 13.8”h - uses a 1 x E26

pin-up is available in the following finishes:
bronze
bronze with goldleaf inside
bronze with silverleaf inside
black matte
black matte with goldleaf inside
black matte with silverleaf inside
white matte
white matte with goldleaf inside
white matte with silverleaf inside

Buy them here at Unica Home

Richard Hutten:


Brand van Egmond

Two New Modern Architecturally Inspired Dollhouses, The Dylan and the Edward.

Just in time for the holidays when a new dollhouse makes a wonderful gift for children and adults alike, brinca dada, manufacturers and designers of some of the most beautiful modern dollhouses have released two new products. Like their Emerson House and Bennett House, these modern toy houses have been inspired by well-known architects as Richard Neutra and Tadao Ando.

The Dylan House:






Inspired by the minimalist masterpieces of Paul Rudolph and Tadao Ando, Dylan House features a concrete-and-glass feel, but with the breezy openness of a beachfront home. Floor-to-ceiling windows open to allow natural light into the house and play from many angles. The Dylan House has five living spaces on three levels: living room/dining room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and roof patio. Dylan House is created in 3/4” scale. Furniture (shown below) is sold separately.
$139 USD

Specs:
23” x 15” x 16”
Eco-friendly MDF
Non-toxic and lead-free paints

Furniture for the Dylan House:


The Dylan House Furniture set contains twenty-three pieces...enough to fill five living spaces on three levels: living room/dining room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and roof patio. Dylan House is made of durable foamboard and is created in 3/4” scale.



Specs:
Designed by: Michelle Everett
23 pieces
Durable foamboard


Also new is a variation on the Emerson House (about which I have blogged and I actually own), The Edward House:








Inspired by Neutra’s Kaufmann House and Gary Cooper's home designed by A. Quincy Jones, brinca dada’s Edward House features many distinguishing architectural features like glass corners, minimalist cut stone fireplace, and hardwood floors. The Edward House has six rooms including a living room, kitchen, library/office, master bedroom, bathroom and child's bedroom. With its large, open floor plan and floor-to-ceiling windows, the Edward House enjoys year-round sunlight. Finally, the dollhouse is easy on the environment with only eco-friendly woods and non-toxic and lead-free paints. Assembly required.
$349 USD Edward House Ships Dec 5th.

Specs
Designed by: Tim Boyle
25” x 21” x 18”
Scale: 3/4”
Made of eco-friendly woods
Non-toxic and lead-free paints

Both houses and furniture are available for purchase from brinca dada

Bing Brings Back Rankin/ Bass Stop-Motion Rudolph For A Holiday Ad Campaign

above: Microsoft executives Aaron Lilly, left, and Sean Carver, pose with figures from the animated show 'Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.'

On November 23rd, Microsoft's Search Engine, Bing, kicked off the holidays with a new twist on some of the most beloved characters of all-time. Building on the iconic Rankin-Bass production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the stop-motion animated classic that first premiered in 1964, they are introducing a series of new stop-motion animation shorts (all shown in this post) featuring the original characters.


above: a still from one of the four stop-motion animated Bing commercials for Christmas 2011

Produced by Bent Image Labs, the new shorts will appear in select holiday TV programs including holiday specials like “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, “Frosty the Snowman”, and “South Park Christmas”, and in movie trailers for hotly anticipated winter movies, “Arthur Christmas”, “The Muppets”, and “Happy Feet Two.”

Bing Bumble-Less:


“Bumble”, the more beloved name for the Abominable Snow Monster, features the lovable Bumble, who has lost his scary roar. He uses Bing to search for “scary monster” and once inspired by a few Bing Videos, perfects his roar to be appropriately scary again.



Bing Hot Yoga:


Yukon Cornelius becomes exhausted from pulling Hermey and Rudolph on his sled and collapses in the snow. Luckily, Bing helps him find the closest hot yoga studio using Bing Local.



Bing Social Search:


Hermey, Yukon and Bumble are tired of the winter weather and are in dire need of a vacation. Bing Travel saves the day via a “fabulous island resort” search, highlighting Hermey’s friends who have “liked” specific resorts, leading to Bing Travel and the perfect destination.



Bing You Won't Believe This:


Santa and Mrs. Claus get a little crazy in the workshop with bubble wrap, search on Bing Video for bubble wrap how-to’s, and hilarious antics ensue.



Microsoft Corp. licensed the rights to the characters from Rudolph's 47-year-old holiday special after convincing their owners that the Bing commercials would add an endearing chapter to the reindeer's story. The rights to Rudolph and the rest of the cast are owned by the children of Robert L. May, who wrote the story in 1939 while working as a copywriter at the Montgomery Ward department store (May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, later wrote the famous song).

Aaron Lilly, a Microsoft executive who helps conceive Bing's promotions, came up with the idea to build holiday ads around the Rudolph story two years ago. It didn't happen then because the Aflac insurance company had already bought licensing rights to the characters for that holiday season.

Microsoft declined to say how much it's spending on the Rudolph campaign.

Thanks to Sean Carver and Aaron Lilly of the Bing Team for information