The Echappée Aquarium by Sébastien Cordoleani and Vincent Breed

This structure was designed by Sébastien Cordoleani and built by glass artist and craftsman Vincent Breed, to invite fish to “take a breather,” extending the limitations of the usual tank or aquarium.



above two photos © Erick Saillet

The Echappée (or Extension) was created for the show 15 Designers, 15 Artisans held in Saint-Etienne in December 2010. Each pair had about 2 months to meet up, think, design and make the pieces, with only a dimension constraint of 60 x 60 x 60 cm.

above: The aquarium at the

The purpose of this project, initiated by Emilie Colin Garros, Philippine Lemaire and David des Moutis in summer 2010, was to promote a mode of creation based on the proximity and to reflect the possibility of innovation and creation in a framework where the discussion and the transmission of technical and practical knowledge are possible. It has subsequently traveled including a 2011 exhibition at the French boutique Merci during Designer's Days.




above: The aquarium at the Merci Boutique exhibit.

It is made up of a basin from which a water pipe rises into space, beyond the usual physical limits of an aquarium. By overflowing it offers new horizons to the fish and those who contemplate them. The means to achieve this being simply the application of the physical phenomena of surface tension. The bubble is the central element, a technical challenge for the glass-blower who, by blowing out and sucking in air, will give it the appearance of flowing water.

Echappée (Extension) 2005-2010
Prototype
Dimensions : basin : L 60, W 40, H 11 cm / extension : L 40, W 30 x H 40 cm
Material : glass

images courtesy of Sébastien Cordoleani , Domus, and Design Parade – villa Noailles,

100 Diagrams Represent 100 Great Lines From Movies In One Poster.

The most memorable movie quotes, as selected by the American Film Institute, have been turned into 100 simple black and white diagrams by designer Nathan Yau of Flowing Data.



Venn diagrams, pie charts, bar charts, stick figures and other simple glyphs illustrate such well-known line as "We're gonna need a bigger boat." from Spielberg's JAWS to Scorcese's famous line from Taxi Driver, "You Talkin' To Me?"

Below are some of my favorites I cobbled together (out of order) and enlarged for you:




The Famous Movie Quotes Poster is available for purchase as a 24" by 36" poster printed on 80lb cover with a matte finish, signed and hand-numbered.

There's only going to be one printing, so take advantage of the special pre-order price of $19.00 while it lasts. (Shipping February 2014)
Buy it here

Thanks to Fast Co. Design for bringing this to my attention

The Beautifully Twisted Photography of Nikita "Nikitzo" Zolotarev.

Russian born Nikita Zolotarev (aka Nikitzo) is both a make-up artist and commercial photographer who works and lives in Leipzig, Germany. With food, fashion and tabletop work and his credit, it is his stunning ballet and contortionist photos that I find the most compelling.




Zolotarev is best known for the calendars he has shot of world-renowned contortionist Julia Gunthel, who goes by the stage name Zlata. I'm not sure if the two are merely business partners or a couple, but both Nikita and Julia were born in Russia, both now live in Leipzig, he has taken almost all her photos for the past several years, travels with her (she has a son) and together they own and run Zlata Media.

The Telegraph covered her 2012 calendar, The Daily Mail featured her 2013 calendar and HuffPo recently covered her new 2014 Calendar, but I wanted to share with you the best from those as well as some of his lesser known photography.


above: photographer and make-up artist Nikita Zolotarev in his studio

I have chosen some of my favorites from the breadth of his work to share with you so you, too, can marvel at both the flexibility of his models,  and the beauty of his work.




















And although not featuring contorted models, here are some of his other fashion photography:






As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, Nikita is also a make-up artist. Below he is applying the makeup on Julia Gunthel for the cover of her 2014 Zlata Calendar:


The final cover of the 2014 Zlata Calendar by Nikitzo:


You can purchase the 2014 calendar here

all images courtesy of Nikitzo

Car Max Super Bowl "Slow Clap" Ad is Well Done... And Then Done Again With Puppies!

Car Max has released a nice new spot that will air in the upcoming Super Bowl. Then, as a bonus, they then went ahead and recreated it with puppies - claiming that if the Super Bowl has a "puppy version" then why not their ad?



The premise is the same for the two versions: A customer leaves the Car Max lot and during his drive home receives the "slow clap" from everyone he passes. Even the cupid in a front lawn fountain breaks into the sarcastic applause. To add a little pop culture cameo, actor Sean Astin appears in the commercial referencing his role in the 1993 sports tearjerker 'Rudy'.

The Car Max "Slow Clap" spot that airs during the game will only be 30 seconds, but here's the extended version:


As if creating an entertaining spot for the Superbowl weren't enough of a challenge, they then went ahead and recreated it with puppies:

Slow Bark - CarMax "Puppy Version" of Big Game Commercial 2014:


A few more frame comparisons for you- because I had fun making them:




A shout out to Mashable for bringing this to my attention.