tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114994702024-03-08T00:37:45.669+13:00'round design...a warm cup of coffee, good music on the background...
Now let's have a relaxed, informal conversation about design.Fernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.comBlogger444125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-54329997830196697942009-12-08T23:54:00.000+13:002009-12-09T00:04:02.383+13:00Würste und Gesetze"<span style="font-style: italic;">To sleep well at night, one should never see how laws and sausages are made.</span>" - Otto von Bismark<br /><strong><em></em></strong><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://storyofstuff.com/capandtrade/"><strong><em>The Story of Cap & Trade</em></strong> is a fast-paced, fact-filled look at the leading climate solution being discussed at Copenhagen and on Capitol Hill. Host Annie Leonard introduces the energy traders and Wall Street financiers at the heart of this scheme and reveals the "devils in the details" in current cap and trade proposals: free permits to big polluters, fake offsets and distraction from what’s really required to tackle the climate crisis. If you’ve heard about cap and trade, but aren’t sure how it works (or who benefits), this is the film is for you.</a></blockquote></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="295" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pA6FSy6EKrM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pA6FSy6EKrM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="295" width="480"></embed></object><br /></div><br /><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-3333914933370446532009-12-07T23:58:00.005+13:002010-03-17T01:13:46.208+13:00Oberflächlich<div style="text-align: justify;">Well, I just received a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/oliverkray">YouTube contact invitation</a> from <a href="http://www.oliverkray.com/">Oliver Kray</a>, a young designer from Berlin. I watched a couple of his videos, and I have to say that he's doing an interesting job, a little bit 50's retro for my taste, but quite interesting in terms of the finished result.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="265" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RgzkrY1QiEk&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RgzkrY1QiEk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="265" width="320"></embed></object><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Another German wall and façade-designer with extraordinary talent is <a href="http://www.gaedke-tapeten.de/index.htm">Philip Gaedke</a>. My first impression was: "Gosh, I'll have to use <a href="http://www.gaedke-tapeten.de/quietscheentchen/index.htm">something like that</a> on my next <a href="http://www.rasterball.de/web/blumen/blumen.htm">multisensory room</a>". You know, I've never been a fan of superficial textures or any kind of ornament because most of my teachers were influenced by Loos's point of view: "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornament_and_Crime">ornament is a crime</a>". For me, texture should be achieved by the own nature of the materials... but I must admit that <a href="http://www.rasterball.de/web/bgu_frankfurt/index.htm">good graphic design can do wonders</a> and I really admire those results.<br /><br /></div>ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-26544986635051514722009-11-09T01:24:00.004+13:002009-11-09T01:41:42.170+13:00Ecotoys<div style="text-align: justify;">Now that our lives are centered around the offspring, I guess it makes sense to blog about some good and bad baby-product design. Let's start with a nice idea, although I don't have the privilege to have any of these "eco-toys":</div><br /><br /><blockquote><ul><li><i><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ecotronictoys.com/toys_index.html"><img style="margin: 10pt 0pt 15px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_gVa0ej6ZlSUWqoCC5uMSNLdwW7n0Z3unMGI2UMeO4Kp-WUn1IBxNDsE3rD4OGqfj71IFBhIZ-Lj6LOM45Xvxw3c-HRbNZa8ZdiwWYaACZ7xV_dLvAYpC-niQpfKj2D5QlKz/s400/ecotoys.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401710986749922242" border="0" /></a>Fact: there are 900 million batteries used each year in the UK alone and many are in toys.</i></li><li><i>Fact: Only 2% of batteries are currently recycled - the rest end up in landfill sites and are poisoning our planet!</i></li><li><i>Fact: Kids love electronic toys!</i></li><li><i>The problem: How do we give children what they desire but without poisoning our planet?</i></li><li><i>The solution: - <a href="http://www.ecotronictoys.com/index.php">ecotronic toys</a> - batteryless electronic toys! The face of the toy world is about to change forever!</i></li></ul><i></i></blockquote><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The designs are too "retro" style for my taste, but the idea of electronic toys that can be charged with a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamo">dynamo</a> by shaking, twisting or squeezing is brilliant!<br /></div><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-19118003341921980532009-10-28T23:07:00.004+13:002009-10-29T00:20:01.244+13:00Dr. Strangelove<div style="text-align: justify;">Regardless of more than 10 million unique visitors on it's last month of life, <a href="http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=374">Dr. Evil's</a> new partner "mini-me" decided to <a href="http://geocities.yahoo.com/">just kill geocities</a>. I had my <a href="http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Library/5743/index.html">Geocities property</a> before those Yahoos took control. Some of my former students may remember the pages with their drawings. I must admit that I stopped updating those pages about 4 or 5 years ago, but they were still getting at least 30 visitors each month. It's now over.<br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_Qh-VVoiMpisuDnDEVKJmulasmfZuiYUzusJqqwYIct9VLes0RMzjLQIgAfASyZxmcgnLhTB2jvs3X_meoaKRT9Xri0upXzhd19RyfJ3NHzTZEsD9XahPCnE8DEhyphenhyphenAN0ttL0/s1600-h/geocities.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_Qh-VVoiMpisuDnDEVKJmulasmfZuiYUzusJqqwYIct9VLes0RMzjLQIgAfASyZxmcgnLhTB2jvs3X_meoaKRT9Xri0upXzhd19RyfJ3NHzTZEsD9XahPCnE8DEhyphenhyphenAN0ttL0/s400/geocities.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397590671279233858" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Quite interesting questions: <blockquote>"<a href="http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/10/26/rip-geocities-the-old-days-remembered"><i>MySpace isn't exactly at the peak of its popularity, but there are still tons of people who use it. What if they just pulled everything? What if Google bought Facebook and decided to kill it? What if your Tweets vanished? Sure these things seem unlikely now because these services are still fresh. Well, GeoCities was once the "it" thing too.</i></a>"</blockquote> <a href="http://www.geocitiesbailout.com/?t=anon">Wetpaint's bailout plan</a> (<a href="http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/04/30/geocities-users-get-a-bailout-from-wetpaint">via</a>) to "save" some of the lost properties seems like a good option... if only they were not partners with the Evil Empire too.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="265" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JgHSDa2Jwqc&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JgHSDa2Jwqc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="265" width="320"></embed></object><br /></div><br />It's all in their "terms of service"... all those free e-mail, social networks, webhosting, blogs, picture hosting, services have a clause that they can simply just "terminate" the service. It's just that nobody takes that seriously. However, it's even worse to think that t<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_red_button#Symbolism">he new doomsday "big red button on a briefcase"</a> is not to launch nuclear weapons... but a <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10320096-38.html">new executive order from the US president, which allows him to just shut down the internet in case of "emergency"</a>. Better start looking for some webhosting, e-mail and other internet services that are based in Switzerland or something.<br /><br /></div>ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-62032063463402012462009-10-22T00:33:00.003+13:002009-10-22T00:58:52.081+13:00Impaaaactooo !<div style="text-align: justify;">The <a href="http://arquitectura.mty.itesm.mx/2_1.htm">Architecture Student Association of Monterrey Tec (SAARQ)</a> must have been quite busy. They sure did a great job getting all those guest speakers for their <a href="http://www.uno-cien.com/">XIV Congreso Internacional de Arquitectura "Arquitectura de Impacto"</a> which will be held on October 28- 30 at Campus Monterrey. <a href="http://www.uno-cien.com/">More info at 1:100</a>.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDQ7Y6uxHq5x9KadOGFtuKmfv9_2GKepNM4jk1tS25_vlYdx1zli9tuWGHGKgnotnHPw3ym6SHa6MX3eA8VIKjfzFEiJTMOdq7unEbduK8Om4OYlS7H2bO_H5PbVVgQAbk4fv/s1600-h/n117839043646_165.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 108px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDQ7Y6uxHq5x9KadOGFtuKmfv9_2GKepNM4jk1tS25_vlYdx1zli9tuWGHGKgnotnHPw3ym6SHa6MX3eA8VIKjfzFEiJTMOdq7unEbduK8Om4OYlS7H2bO_H5PbVVgQAbk4fv/s400/n117839043646_165.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395019773468447762" border="0" /></a>Daniel Bonilla<br />Colombia<br /><a href="http://www.daniel-bonilla.com/">http://www.daniel-bonilla.com/</a><br /><br />BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group)<br />Denmark<br /><a href="http://www.big.dk/">http://www.big.dk/</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwUXoy5OwbjG0sniVKj0eyyW9oEJa6jYcOEjnM1PyaCb7TbZ9bAnij_-1IYTJChPtCwAIHF9BkyqIclxaZgYnb-5gwEQG_G4_NM99Um-3bmoLOgf6ui_El6wlEqoAZnOMWUcPn/s1600-h/9433_143985382834_503032834_3449241_4776791_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 91px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwUXoy5OwbjG0sniVKj0eyyW9oEJa6jYcOEjnM1PyaCb7TbZ9bAnij_-1IYTJChPtCwAIHF9BkyqIclxaZgYnb-5gwEQG_G4_NM99Um-3bmoLOgf6ui_El6wlEqoAZnOMWUcPn/s400/9433_143985382834_503032834_3449241_4776791_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395019768844748882" border="0" /></a>OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture)<br />Holand<br /><a href="http://www.oma.nl/">http://www.oma.nl/</a><br /><br />Toshiko Mori<br />USA<br /><a href="http://www.tmarch.com/">http://www.tmarch.com/</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuoiMSJzBZ_hEZSZYcwu15jbQpVSpkgVehmEJSHioQK8FSkWoQCUFwyw-t7Es5ZmFDbYTeeYIh2S1R4OwAc7X1r_EkHpqT7u5GGlyQ_s3qc0ShTsN5_yJO2GvP4zL4KEfkH8-_/s1600-h/9433_143985367834_503032834_3449240_7065653_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 90px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuoiMSJzBZ_hEZSZYcwu15jbQpVSpkgVehmEJSHioQK8FSkWoQCUFwyw-t7Es5ZmFDbYTeeYIh2S1R4OwAc7X1r_EkHpqT7u5GGlyQ_s3qc0ShTsN5_yJO2GvP4zL4KEfkH8-_/s400/9433_143985367834_503032834_3449240_7065653_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395019763696473730" border="0" /></a>Sean Godsell<br />Australia<br /><a href="http://www.seangodsell.com/">http://www.seangodsell.com/</a><br /><br />BAK Arquitectos (besonias almeida kruk)<br />Argentina<br /><a href="http://www.bakarquitectos.com.ar/">http://www.bakarquitectos.com.ar/</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxdW3d6V1Mn1KbWomr-JRwIaT5RbpU_hgTfu2trC6igQ73JPOIqv0vFzbnpWNTwQD1zgg-a_QA-ZXqYPYJRb2guvyUO4ZU_kMS8nUpOltwdqFoWV-_vTC2c9U9fT52otjOM22S/s1600-h/9433_143985342834_503032834_3449239_4883838_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 90px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxdW3d6V1Mn1KbWomr-JRwIaT5RbpU_hgTfu2trC6igQ73JPOIqv0vFzbnpWNTwQD1zgg-a_QA-ZXqYPYJRb2guvyUO4ZU_kMS8nUpOltwdqFoWV-_vTC2c9U9fT52otjOM22S/s400/9433_143985342834_503032834_3449239_4883838_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395019762865597714" border="0" /></a>Pezo von Ellrichshausen<br />Chile<br /><a href="http://www.pezo.cl/">http://www.pezo.cl/</a><br /><br />Tezuka Architects<br />Japan<br /><a href="http://www.tezuka-arch.com/">http://www.tezuka-arch.com/</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcUuUCGOplVXCpjMRaMS1h7EBLvnJDwFg8_kmtK4Kn69pNacDJ_xMj6ZAHIeYBWoX1XKWfJnX22LtqaawC9f1g52WrBHF3O4nztvv6sD1Dm08HoUrBmmgJcZMvirSgyfAwIny2/s1600-h/9433_143985327834_503032834_3449238_951869_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 91px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcUuUCGOplVXCpjMRaMS1h7EBLvnJDwFg8_kmtK4Kn69pNacDJ_xMj6ZAHIeYBWoX1XKWfJnX22LtqaawC9f1g52WrBHF3O4nztvv6sD1Dm08HoUrBmmgJcZMvirSgyfAwIny2/s400/9433_143985327834_503032834_3449238_951869_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395019750380039554" border="0" /></a>Dominique Perrault<br />France<br /><a href="http://www.perraultarchitecte.com/">http://www.perraultarchitecte.com/</a><br /><br />Isaac Broid<br />México<br /><a href="http://www.isaacbroid.com/">http://www.isaacbroid.com/</a><br /><br /><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-29655701553763133992009-09-30T00:19:00.005+13:002009-09-30T00:43:08.964+13:00Another reason to visit Guadalajara in October<div style="text-align: justify;">I just received information about this International Congress on Urbanism: <a href="http://www.reinventarlametropoli.org/">"Reinventar la Metropoli"</a> (<a href="http://www.reinventarlametropoli.org/ENG/index2ENG.html">Reinventing the Metropolis</a>) organized by <a href="http://www.coljal.edu.mx/">Colegio de Jalisco</a> in Guadalajara, Mexico Oct 14-16. Entry is free (yes again! free as in free-beer). You just have to register before it is all booked... and bring your own beer, because that one is not actually free.<br /></div><br />Some of the speakers are:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.reinventarlametropoli.org/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 313px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_qOx78yMnQE1TMiBW7j8_xc5dUSvzOOWTLxkf4bNvpuUfsYRjqA8nPJr5TdhXQqE5JwQKcYcoNkls3f7BjBIukkKl76bMMxklfLo1z78ZbXT_2JXeLymnP3WOHOo6lHxFsM3/s400/congreso1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386852559651212466" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.reinventarlametropoli.org/ENG/ponentes2ENG.html">Dra. Judith Rysen</a> (UK), <a href="http://www.fundacion-metropoli.org/">Fundacion Metropoli</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.reinventarlametropoli.org/ENG/ponentesENG.html">Dr. Jordi Borja</a> (Esp), Universida de Oberta de Cataluña<br /><br /><a href="http://www.reinventarlametropoli.org/ENG/ponentesENG.html">Dr. Thomas K. Wright</a> (USA) Regional Plan Association<br /><a href="http://www.reinventarlametropoli.org/ENG/ponentes4ENG.html"><br />Dr. David Amborski</a> (Can) Ryerson University, Toronto<br /><br /><a href="http://www.reinventarlametropoli.org/ENG/ponentes4ENG.html">Dr. Alejandro Echeverri</a> (Col) Medellin<br /><br />Dr. Alfonso Vegara (Esp) <a href="http://www.fundacion-metropoli.org/">Fundacion Metropoli</a><br /><br /><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-77967957392669721652009-09-28T23:04:00.003+13:002009-09-28T23:23:38.581+13:00Choutaim<div style="text-align: justify;">This a great opportunity to showcase your designs for free (Yes, for free!) at the largest design event in Mexico: <a href="http://www.design-fest.com/">designfest 09</a> ... which is like Oktoberfest, I mean, because it will be held next 15-17th October... not because of the beer. Or, you can have the beer or maybe a tequila, while you walk through Expo-Guadalajara. It's up to you.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjco2Xoanw3bqTvJ4wlcWTMXZQGhUtLzPaBADyZO-R3YWBdaz-ROdkY0YgK_JQBMyiDs_VPP7E5a0RwAHopWFNPE7-cIOUj8CwPBNM1WVihDSK77-uX6bBonB8C2IaFBhV1VsKj/s1600-h/pabellones.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjco2Xoanw3bqTvJ4wlcWTMXZQGhUtLzPaBADyZO-R3YWBdaz-ROdkY0YgK_JQBMyiDs_VPP7E5a0RwAHopWFNPE7-cIOUj8CwPBNM1WVihDSK77-uX6bBonB8C2IaFBhV1VsKj/s400/pabellones.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386461065066605330" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, you can send images of your work to: israel@design-fest.com . The organizing committee will decide which projects will be displayed for free (Yes, for free!) on any of the 3 pavilions: furniture, fashion and eco-design. Be quick!<br /></div><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-74171126221694079602009-09-27T23:48:00.002+13:002009-09-28T00:51:14.671+13:00Cocoon wins Electrolux Design Lab09<a href="http://shar.es/1vZqI">Meat and fish maker Cocoon wins Electrolux Design Lab09</a><br /><br />Posted using <a href="http://sharethis.com/">ShareThis</a>Fernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-74839850623940555022009-09-25T22:57:00.013+12:002010-03-17T01:18:31.819+13:00Die Wettbewerbsteilnahmebedingungen<div style="text-align: justify;">Originally the title for this post was: "Die Welthabitat-tanz-lessen-ausdrücken-kunst-musik-produktinnovation-entwicklung-wettbewerbteilnahmenbedingungen" but it messed up the CSS formatting... Well, that's not a true German word... it's not even grammatically correct, but sure it got your attention or you wouldn't be reading this. This time I have several announcements to share, let's start in the same order as the title. First, a photo competition:<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">In support of the University of Auckland’s new partnership with UN-HABITAT (<a href="http://www.unhabitat.org/" target="_blank">www.unhabitat.org</a>), the <a href="http://www.auckland.ac.nz/whd">University will be celebrating World Habitat Day</a> on Monday 5<sup>th</sup> of October. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.auckland.ac.nz/whd"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 251px; height: 95px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg94VHVj36LwVg0br1Npj32ps89wqIJlAu4J7pmPniRNzbYF1Rldw3w3QrdQXIA4W13dhguhaPbyNYBrghWyeP9ucUXwTqIWYfAMgpQP3GZHDhUx9P-dCMKt_0G2IzBdhkALKl3/s400/whd.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385376886778912386" border="0" /></a>World Habitat Day provides us with an opportunity to think about the state of urban settlements at home and around the world. The day aims to increase collective awareness of the human habitat and encourage greater responsibility for its sustainable future. This year’s theme highlights the forces which currently influence the development of the world’s urban settlements, in both developed and developing countries. As the world’s population living in urban areas steadily increases, issues of climate change, poverty, resource depletion, social exclusion, food insecurity and economic instability become more pressing and have the potential to significantly impact on our urban settlements well into the future.In an effort to encourage public participation on this day, the University, with the support of Engineers Without Borders and <a href="http://afh-auckland.org/">Architecture for Humanity</a>, is launching a <a href="http://www.blogger.com/ut/news-events-and-notices/events/template/event_item.jsp?cid=203104">photo competition</a> around this year’s theme, <b>‘Planning Our Urban Future’</b>. Participants of this competition will generate a creative photographic response to the following question:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;">‘What are the challenges to creating a sustainable Auckland?’<br /></div><br />Contestants are invited to submit a photo with a relevant caption or title highlighting the challenges to creating a sustainable Auckland and suggesting a potential solution to make the city and/or region sustainable for our future generations. Some examples might include, but are not limited to, challenges such as – sustainability, waste, poverty, housing shortage, overcrowding, public transport, accessibility, ecology, renewable energy… and so on. I<a href="http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/about/news-events-and-notices/events/template/event_item.jsp?cid=203104">nfo and submittions</a> : worldhabitatday@auckland.ac.nz . (<a href="http://www.auckland.ac.nz/webdav/site/central/shared/about/news-events-notices/events/2009-events/documents/world_habitat_day_2009_photo_competition_guidelines.pdf">download guidelines</a>)<br /></blockquote></div>Then, more or less on the same style, there's a logo competition for an UNESCO initiative called DREAM Centers. (DREAM stands for Dance, Read, Express, Art, Music.)<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.design21sdn.com/competitions/20"></a><blockquote style="font-style: italic;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.design21sdn.com/competitions/20"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 114px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYEiPeGK4AbAS42efQRIZKBxkUrwR5eoRU5xb1l6eTroSqdh6NAH5EEr-ah1-Dy8cNQlF0gUj40wAdDSgcH5RhmH3iYJpxqclgl-QFvMZjdRUjReqwhs2Rnl26JeAK_OeTYTBb/s400/allumonde-ring.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385379170545911298" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.design21sdn.com/competitions/20">This competition calls for a logo that represents the DREAM Center program of the UNESCO/Tribute 21 Fund</a>. The logo is intended to be used on the program's stationery, brochures, and collateral materials including possibly in video clips, on signage and on the web. UNESCO/Tribute 21 DREAM Centers is an arts education program for children – DREAM stands for Dance, Read, Express, Art, Music. The project was inaugurated in 2003 with the goal of providing underprivileged children, especially in post-conflict regions, the opportunities and tools to express themselves creatively. <a href="http://www.design21sdn.com/competitions/20">Submissions until Nov. 17 via the Design 21-Social Design Network</a> only.</blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqU5KCD-e9KWdDCmrFt45kZevPvqbrmDuU3cAkfX5WPC9rJPyVLOKSEXraoKzAg6DtSe8TxWA-7Dx3mDuxqr3CoGnbYQTQihg6x13U8jZQlzq9YfEbkJIaFw6QtM5ic2GpeeA/s1600-h/2009-09-21pdma.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 191px; height: 46px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqU5KCD-e9KWdDCmrFt45kZevPvqbrmDuU3cAkfX5WPC9rJPyVLOKSEXraoKzAg6DtSe8TxWA-7Dx3mDuxqr3CoGnbYQTQihg6x13U8jZQlzq9YfEbkJIaFw6QtM5ic2GpeeA/s400/2009-09-21pdma.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385377522403793218" border="0" /></a>Then, last but not least, there's a PDMA workshop at TEC milenio on new products development, innovation, competitiveness, etc... October 8th, Monterrey, N.L. contact: 01 (81) 10520001, 03, 04 y 05 <a href="mailto:educacioncontinua@tecmilenio.edu.mx" target="_blank">educacioncontinua@tecmilenio.<wbr>edu.mx</a> Lic. Concepción Olivo; Email: <a href="mailto:colivo@tecmilenio.edu.mx" target="_blank">colivo@tecmilenio.edu.mx</a><br /></div><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-39949795731435449382009-09-19T22:36:00.003+12:002009-09-19T22:51:18.134+12:00DesignFest 2009Only 4 weeks until <a href="http://www.design-fest.com/">DesignFest 2009</a>, the largest design event in Mexico, 15-17 October 2009 at Expo Guadalajara.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib5NahVxp2-R3ETPe2qw9IrrHd4vffT6fbUiUE354Sd-0h8yVN71Op_zzBaPOQeJdhaFfOneUcKux-0woPWdI5OXj2KTw7W4dwPk4_3Sw4YoOpp1_EzlAaF5QUqMJ9vSMORRCc/s1600-h/designfest2009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 229px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib5NahVxp2-R3ETPe2qw9IrrHd4vffT6fbUiUE354Sd-0h8yVN71Op_zzBaPOQeJdhaFfOneUcKux-0woPWdI5OXj2KTw7W4dwPk4_3Sw4YoOpp1_EzlAaF5QUqMJ9vSMORRCc/s400/designfest2009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383129066362481042" border="0" /></a>Conferences:<br /><br />1. Alejandro Rodriguez, Diseño Publicitario (México)<br />2. Jorge y Mario de <a href="http://www.animaestudios.com/">Anima Estudio</a>, Diseño Animado (México)<br />3. Anabel, Jorge y Mario de <a href="http://www.triveroquio.com/">Triveroquio</a>, Diseño e ilustración (México)<br />4. Beatriz Nieto, Ediciones Digitales Interactivas (México)<br />5. Luis Eslava, Objetos Extraordinarios (España)<br />6. <a href="http://www.bokebazan.com/pages/proyectos.php">Boke Bazan</a>, La ilustración en Valencia (España)<br />7. <a href="http://www.esrawe.com/">Hector Esrawe</a>, Diseño Industrial e Interiorismo (México)<br />8. Sol Sender, <a href="http://www.logodesignlove.com/obama-08-logo-design-options">Diseño Ganador</a> (EUA)<br />9. <a href="http://www.ximoroca.net/">Ximo Roca</a>, Tendencias en Diseño (España)<br />10. <a href="http://www.bano-lax.com/">Manolo Baño</a>, <a href="http://www.bano-lax.com/dfword/index.html">Diseño para el Mundo Real</a> (España)<br />11. Modesto Granados, Diseño Grafico en la ADCV (España)<br /><br />Workshops:<br /><br />1. Hector Esrawe, Nuevas Rutas<br />2. Anima Estudios, Diseño de Personajes<br />3. Boke Bazan y Modesto Granados, Tu Alma es mi Portada<br />4. Luis Eslava, Me la paso el día Ahorrando<br />5. Mario, Jorge y Anabel, Ilustración: Historias Desplegadas<br />6. Ximo Roca, Sentados sobre Patas<br />7. Manolo Baño, Diseño para el Mundo Real<br /><br />For more information, contact:<br />(33) 1204-0262 y 3124-0379<br />01800-822-0288<br />alejandra@design-fest.com<br /><a href="http://www.design-fest.com/" onmousedown="'UntrustedLink.bootstrap($(this)," target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.design-fest.com</a><br /><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-26549390964403599422009-09-18T23:46:00.005+12:002009-09-19T01:18:39.449+12:00Todos tenemos una historia con Jumex<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://rounddesign.blogspot.com/2007/03/bad-odours-design-2.html">A (very) long time ago</a>, I wrote about <a href="http://www.unilever.co.uk/ourbrands/personalcare/lynx.asp">Unilever's Lynx</a> (axe in some countries) deodorants. They may have very good odd-vertising campaigns, but the smell of their fragrances, the graphic design, and the usability of the "trigger" thingy are terrible! I don't know if it works because it's almost a world wide monopoly and people don't have a choice, or because, well, not everyone has good taste.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="344" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SwDEF-w4rJk&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SwDEF-w4rJk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="420"></embed></object><br /></div><br />I'm sorry I didn't post this earlier... this has been in my "to do list" for quite a while. I just didn't had the excuse (or the time) to do it, but the story of the hijacking of a plane with just a couple of <a href="http://www.jumex.com/index.php">Jumex fruit juice cans</a> is just surreal. Of course, being Mexico, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGsOgYN1Nb0">the jokes and conspiracy theories</a> if it was just a <a href="http://www.jugodeverdad.com.mx/">publicity stunt</a> were immediate. I must admit, that even I did some jokes about that on my facebook status: "<span style="font-style: italic;">it was probably a </span><u style="font-style: italic;">Broccoli</u><span style="font-style: italic;"> juice he used to threat the pilot</span>".<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="255" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AGsOgYN1Nb0&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AGsOgYN1Nb0&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="255" width="420"></embed></object><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTybCvGoGNlpu54-qhdVV8_J5l_0V-oywkNOLqfj4PBBrO54QZtJ2kyvYOAySr_ymeZ71rupXjnMNQ9zvinzSOyV82yfYJdCaORX4CWkJz4SF4ufNUVOJDQ61wKr5JPIsQmCHd/s1600-h/DSC00397.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 193px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTybCvGoGNlpu54-qhdVV8_J5l_0V-oywkNOLqfj4PBBrO54QZtJ2kyvYOAySr_ymeZ71rupXjnMNQ9zvinzSOyV82yfYJdCaORX4CWkJz4SF4ufNUVOJDQ61wKr5JPIsQmCHd/s320/DSC00397.JPG" alt="PZ Cussons - graphite deodorant" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382785461567903074" border="0" /></a>Anyway, can you imagine what would have happened if instead of broccoli juice cans, he would have used these deodorant cans? Not even Jack Bauer, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417148/">Samuel Jackson</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118571/">Harrison Ford</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116253/">Steven Segal</a> or even all of them together could have handled that! I'm glad to have here <a href="http://www.pzcussons.com/">PZ Cussons</a>' <a href="http://www.pzcussons.co.nz/">graphite deodorants</a>, they are just great... not only they smell very nice, the "trigger" thingy is totally ergonomic (shaped so it can be used in any direction with not much effort), and the graphic design is absolutely fantastic! That's exactly how (good) product development should be made. Interesting that "graphite deodorant" <a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4692/is_200602/ai_n17531978/">has an 8.6% market share in New Zealand</a>, with little or no advertising, compared with the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwDEF-w4rJk">constant bombardment of unilever's ads</a>. This also shows that <a href="http://www.pzcussons.com/pzc/about/ourhistory/">brands from so called "developing countries"</a> can offer better products than the much larger "first world" corporations, when they put their minds into it. Good on ya' mates! Now, I don't have to worry about women biting my bums when I ride on a bus, bookworms attacking me at the library, a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9tWZB7OUSU">herd of crazy girls chasing me down mission bay</a>, or transvesti raping me on an elevator! What a relief!<br /></div><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-11810683091504517672009-09-01T21:57:00.009+12:002009-09-02T13:47:20.622+12:00The Evil Empire got IKEA's soul<div style="text-align: justify;">Just <a href="http://www.saabterms.com/SaabiNewsletter/02-09/Saab-i_view.html">a few weeks ago</a>, <a href="http://www.koenigsegg.com/index.php?menu=home">SAAB was recovered</a> from the hands of the amis. Just <a href="http://www.saab.com/global/en/start#/Cars/all-new-9-5/overview/Images/">look at the "all new" 9-5</a> and how <a href="http://www.chevrolet.com/pages/mds/vehicles/allVehicles.do">GM</a> turned it into an abomination! It looks like a <a href="http://www.chevrolet.com/vehicles/2009/impala/overview.do">"pimped" impala</a>. No wonder things were going really bad for GM (and <a href="http://www.saabterms.com/SaabiNewsletter/02-09/Saab-i_view.html">SAAB</a>). Now <a href="http://www.ikea.com/ms/sv_SE/about_ikea/press/index.html">IKEA</a> has slipped into the hands of the Evil Empire (I'm talking about Microsoft, although <a href="http://www.lesluthiers.org/verpersonaje.php?ID=221">King Henry VI</a> would say : "<span style="font-style: italic;">what a coincidence!</span>").<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70078463"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 244px; height: 155px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmcpYdzOmaDhfXma63qb5mvGpd_II9bVYKEEVSwcgXFlRfcp68UdXscG0orlkiT5z5Vm2oUfntCVTeqgUS7XhMEI5cakzt0DTkrbiOmmMbVLtf3_lu7YIk_XQ13Oz5INh4LA8/s320/pello.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376479585685891362" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1919127,00.html">IKEA changed the typeface</a> of <a href="http://onlinecatalog.ikea-usa.com/2010/ikea_catalog/USG/">their catalogue</a> and advertisements to <a href="http://www.fonts.com/findfonts/SearchPage.htm?kid=verdana">Microsoft's Verdana</a> from their long time trusted <a href="http://www.fonts.com/aboutfonts/designerprofiles/robinnicholas.htm">customized</a> <a href="http://www.fonts.com/findfonts/SearchPage.htm?kid=futura">Futura font</a>, which has been part of their <a href="http://www.idsgn.org/posts/ikea-says-goodbye-to-futura/">strong branding</a> for <a href="http://www.idsgn.org/posts/ikea-says-goodbye-to-futura/">more than 50 years</a>. This change has generated a global outcry... a lot more <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=ikea+verdana">tweets for Verdana/IKEA</a> than <a href="http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1919127,00.html">Ted Kenneddy</a>! I don't think they researched <a href="http://www.dexigner.com/graphic/news-g18555.html">the public's reaction</a>, and this could become like the infamous "coca cola classic" story.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-china-ikea25-2009aug25,0,7736661.story"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 284px; height: 165px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYD05nL6Goo8f1eEehMuaZ2iSfWNQuex7WaPT98yJCz2Ge6o7sTSxVXuddDzCADRO8ImuwltSUlxNI6lwAWd4wc3PKjYYmoNuCngWLSx2qgL0Upmef05Hv4fGbw1kR0qqcFw3/s320/IKEA2010-p34-35.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376475090459220434" border="0" /></a>I may be wrong, but I remember that the whole issue with the <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fonts/web.htm">Verdana and Arial</a> typefonts was about copyright. Microsoft had to pay royalties if they wanted to include them in windows. So <a href="http://www.monotypeimaging.com/ProductsServices/TypeDesignerShowcase/MatthewCarter/">they asked for something similar</a> for which they could have all proprietary rights. <a href="http://shortformblog.com/biz/verdana-is-not-a-font-we-repeat-ikea-verdana-is-not-a-font">MS argues that their modified typefaces are more legible on computer screens</a>... it may be true, but it's like comparing pepsi with coca-cola (with all due respect to all albañiles). Verdana would be even worse than a pepsi... probably like "home brand" or RC cola! Can you imagine what would happen to McDonald's if they suddenly decided to change to RC cola just to save a few bucks... they would probably go bankrupt in a week! <a href="http://onlinecatalog.ikea-usa.com/2010/ikea_catalog/USG/">The IKEA Catalog</a> is the 3rd most printed publication in the world after the Bible and Harry Potter, so it is a similar problem with proprietary rights for IKEA, as it was for Microsoft.<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.idsgn.org/posts/ikea-says-goodbye-to-futura/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 91px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJiXgh45JbF_mo1lkLr39aGO7TtTNa9PKgJ-YkPs2WdicuyrbOxEoBbeInfkYYgv4HdiJrmZ10CNc2ffnWLRWgzjYfT41iawVxcH2BDs6fB0BJZoxGKbEFVUQHsBhN663Dclp/s320/IKEA-fontwars.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376474855144892450" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.ikeafans.com/home/ikeas-change-to-verdana-prompts-online-outrage/">“I think it’s safe to say we were surprised by the response,” says IKEA spokeswoman Monika Gocic. In order to avoid expensive licensing costs, in 2001 IKEA abandoned New Century Schoolbook and Futura (which had been in use since 1970) in favor of IKEA Sans, IKEA Serif and IKEA Script which they had had developed for their exclusive use. However, these fonts are not available across all marketing, advertising and information channels, so IKEA was left with inconsistent branding at best.<br /></a><br /><a href="http://www.ikeafans.com/home/ikeas-change-to-verdana-prompts-online-outrage/">IKEA states 3 reasons Verdana is the solution: <strong><br /></strong></a><ul><li><a href="http://www.ikeafans.com/home/ikeas-change-to-verdana-prompts-online-outrage/"><strong>Functional</strong> - Verdana is legible in all media. </a></li><li><a href="http://www.ikeafans.com/home/ikeas-change-to-verdana-prompts-online-outrage/"><strong>Simple</strong> - Verdana is available in all languages.</a></li><li><a href="http://www.ikeafans.com/home/ikeas-change-to-verdana-prompts-online-outrage/"><strong>Cost-Efficient</strong> - Free of charge, Verdana will help IKEA keep costs under control.</a></li></ul></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm sorry Mrs. Gocic, but <a href="http://www.idsgn.org/posts/know-your-type-futura/">replacing something</a> with a cheaper version, will give "<a href="http://shortformblog.com/biz/verdana-is-not-a-font-we-repeat-ikea-verdana-is-not-a-font"><span style="font-style: italic;">cheaper looking</span></a>" results most of the time. Just pay the extra bucks, and send copies of the necessary fonts <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ikeafans.com/home/ikeas-change-to-verdana-prompts-online-outrage/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 243px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgtnQUHNBTRyjndtNZdgXZ_zO9j2DyzHMOP9tnybnkazLuGLF-RxeeFo999dO3ATes1s-DccB70kUHE4tqOs-uqbfq7uQdvWgqcCfF1sFPGxFsdBAyvH3R3bMzzLTknv-fEdEo/s320/va-mejorando.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376477151322160882" border="0" /></a>along with the graphic identity manual to your advertising agencies around the globe. It's not like the company owned by the 3rd richest man on earth can't afford it... or does he?<br /><br />Using the reverse rationale of Microsoft: if they substituded Furura/Helvetica with Verdana/Arial so they could look OK on the old CRT computer screens... it means they are not made for printed media! In fact, they look awful!<br /><br />And for the love of God, get someone who actually speaks spanish to translate (and correctly accentuate) the <a href="http://onlinecatalog.ikea-usa.com/2010/ikea_catalog/USG/">spanish catalogue in the US</a>! Or is it that IKEA can't afford that too?<br /></div><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-58368042824203577142009-08-29T22:13:00.008+12:002009-08-30T01:12:38.411+12:00Hyperreality<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7g1TcOehjgOafBm8LVb93C_y7KQqlhWBMd5o36UKvarw4ox7-H4VnSsg-d4n3AAZG8cxhR9QFrTfnhrhRZNqnvO6eJP8XjZstcda8wdCsZD09hNtaqhq6-gD4ni_tf64r8Yr/s1600-h/edl09_groupshot_lowres-300x212.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 173px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7g1TcOehjgOafBm8LVb93C_y7KQqlhWBMd5o36UKvarw4ox7-H4VnSsg-d4n3AAZG8cxhR9QFrTfnhrhRZNqnvO6eJP8XjZstcda8wdCsZD09hNtaqhq6-gD4ni_tf64r8Yr/s400/edl09_groupshot_lowres-300x212.jpg" alt="electrolux designlab 2009" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375363852529721250" border="0" /></a>The <a href="http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/2009/08/24/top-8-finalists-announced/">eight finalists</a> of this year's <a href="http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/">Electrolux Design Lab</a> are finally announced. They will compete for the first place in the finals, which will take place in <a href="http://www.100percentdesign.co.uk/">London on September 24, 2009, at 100% Design London</a>. Once again, the jury includes a <a href="http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/overview/">wide selection of experts</a> like: Nipa Doshi, furniture designer and co-founder of <a href="http://www.doshilevien.com/">Doshi Levien design studio</a>, David Fisher, Design Director of internationally renowned product design consultancy <a href="http://www.seymourpowell.com/">Seymourpowell</a>, <a href="http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/2009/07/22/interview-with-electrolux-design-lab-jury-member-marisol-manso-cortina/">Marisol Manso Cortina</a>, Manager of the Color Design Group at Nissan Design Europe, and <a href="http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/2009/08/13/interview-with-henrik-otto/">Henrik Otto</a>, Senior Vice President of Global Design at Electrolux.<br /><br />Now. There are several things worth noting. First, we have to remember the brief for this year's competition: Designs for the next 90 years. Having that in mind, I think the students did a great job, despite the <a href="http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/2009/07/07/top-25-best-electrolux-design-lab-%C2%B409-entries/">controversy when the final 25 were announced</a>. All final projects have that touch of futuristic appliances, some may seem like science-fiction, but of course the discussion is not whether they could be manufactured in the coming years or not. This kind of design exercise, is like any other design brief... the twist is that the technological or social system constraints of today's life are not there. The point is to see how far off (or out of the box) the designers can get when they don't have that kind of restrictions. Some are quite timid to step out into the unknown, some were quite brave and literally went out of this world (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/electrolux-design-lab/sets/72157622010502178/"><span style="font-style: italic;">See all 25 finalists on flikr</span></a>).<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="255" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AidyrcjwDQs&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AidyrcjwDQs&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="255" width="420"></embed></object><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">However, strictly on the aesthetic side of the experiment... I don't expect that future appliances would look like "2009 retro style". I mean, they all look contemporary and stylish to today's standards... or probably by Stanley Kubrik's 2001 standards... but I would like to see how the younger generations imagine the styles of the future. For example, the streamlined style was a response in a time when railroads, and automobiles influenced the perception of modern times being too fast. We now consider a trip on a locomotive to be terribly slow, and yet, we still love streamline designs. So, how do we translate the internet, videoconferencing, mobile phones, "speed dating", text message language, fast food... etc. into an aesthetic style? i.e. how do give a specific shape to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperreality">hyperreality</a> or whatever "future reality" that comes next?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX7FOw8e0UEXKAwqH3oD3upBO6mBYDnrFWk09sHbsxoJfejzO9vVhtVefqh9smLlWghWQiRFQllDp06AuEaM6u8v7fxVFMnUqCX_Tmo2tf9JB5EBzfxNGKcAI6NzetX1ft7PZv/s1600-h/melies.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 227px; height: 169px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX7FOw8e0UEXKAwqH3oD3upBO6mBYDnrFWk09sHbsxoJfejzO9vVhtVefqh9smLlWghWQiRFQllDp06AuEaM6u8v7fxVFMnUqCX_Tmo2tf9JB5EBzfxNGKcAI6NzetX1ft7PZv/s400/melies.jpg" alt="Melies" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375363861116921826" border="0" /></a>Do you remember the times of the "multi grain" food in the 80's? Every food was made with whole grains... it was everywhere! I remember it was also the time when the first "recycled paper" came out, and some people said "<span style="font-style: italic;">This is too much! Now even the paper is multigrain!</span>". Well, with all this "environmental revolution", I believe that a new "<span style="font-style: italic;">hippie-environmentally friendly</span>" aesthetic style will emerge with materials that will clearly show traces of being recycled, more ceramics and less plastic surfaces, of course more terracotta and natural colours instead of plain whites. I don't think that future products will carry on the legacy of styles that were used during these times of mass production... I think that probably the shapes will probably look more like artisan hand crafted objects... I don't know, but our vision on the aesthetics of the future, is like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGZilAMKtgA">the legendary vision of Georges Méliès for the flight to the moon</a> was back then, I guess.<br /><br />So, anyway. Here are the eight finalists in no particular order. You can <a href="http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=7F24C137820F54BD">watch the video</a> for each entry and remember to <a href="http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/2009/08/24/top-8-finalists-announced/">vote for your favourite</a> for the "people's choice award":<br /></div><br /><p><strong>1. <em>Cocoon</em></strong> by Rickard Hederstierna, Lund Institute of Technology, Sweden </p><p>Watch video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkioqNv3PgY">Cocoon</a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Intelligent food to save the planet</strong><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkioqNv3PgY"><img style="margin: 5pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 141px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabgxv1GfT4Izv5IgpruHXVAqrO-TeuiNlL1qPZmc7TC9tf63EqGakW6hAe-Auy5fLhWaQnkGYf-IUsZNdYubsnYwfcFJXJxGStftVYJGEtzJ_MfYZgVDtlSBd160CFgmoMoxS/s320/edl09_product_cocoon_lowres-300x211.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375367262196237410" border="0" /></a>“Cocoon” is a sustainable response to the world’s growing population and its desire to consume meat and fish. Similar to heating popcorn in a microwave, Cocoon prepares genetically engineered and prepackaged meat and fish dishes by heating muscle cells identified by radio frequency identification (RFID) signals. The signals detect the specific dish and then suggest the required cooking time. This process uses science to create food, lifting a burden on the planet by reducing the need for further intensive farming and fishing. The negative effects of this process, including the mass transportation of food around the world, clearing of land and distortion of ecosystems, are then negated.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>2. <em>Le Petit Prince</em></strong> by Martin Miklica, Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Watch video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4tfkHRMia0">Le Petit Prince</a></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>One small step for robots, one giant leap for humankind</strong><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4tfkHRMia0"><img style="margin: 5pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 141px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWLIDAPSH1P-Jiya4TZmtGQ5yiqhF2OHgf10zaHcQfRsr62nIgihCiA3aLHDd9avg9JLmmUGtXTXccYhCn_VoWbACR7o82aaAgldLMee3pXcYK4ZWPB32HUZ6OZLqKp5MujcQ/s320/edl09_product_littleprince_lowres-211x300.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375367265482371218" border="0" /></a>“Le Petit Prince” is a robotic greenhouse designed to facilitate the future exploration and population of Mars. Le Petit Prince takes care of a plant it carries inside its glass case, which is mounted on top of its four-legged pod. In search of nutrients to care for the plant, the robot is programmed to intuitively learn the optimal method for this process. It also reports its movements and progress to its fellow greenhouse robots via wireless communication so that they can learn from each other.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>3. <em>Moléculaire</em></strong> by Nico Kläber, Köln International School of Design, Germany</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Watch video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqoO5ArTd44">Moléculaire</a></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Print and eat your food</strong><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqoO5ArTd44"><img style="margin: 5pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqXNT7TP5ecLNaZzXZRyh0Xv4KunR4ADxTJlmW8kWD4yP2BuuTSTGyHoBL3B68xeLonBbF24dQGpYaYgY-QoH741zUYUbau85fy3CWFJiJigU0619pM94ZMQQK21EuVyeFemUg/s320/edl09_feature_moleculaire_lowres-300x211.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375366483735103970" border="0" /></a>Nico Kläber takes the marriage of science and cooking to a new level with “Moléculaire”, the 3D molecular food printer. Moléculaire is influenced by chefs that scientifically and painstakingly experiment with food and food states to surprise and provoke fresh ideas in cooking. Kläber recognizes that this approach, as it currently exists, requires great skill, time and knowledge. The Moléculaire simplifies the process and acts as a computer numerical control (CNC) food printer for both professional and domestic kitchens. It autonomously prepares basic and otherwise difficult to create two and three dimensional parts of meals. It works with a layer by layer printing process using small particles from diverse ingredients. This provides simplicity, accuracy, repeatability and, of course, great tasting food!</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>4. <em>Naturewash</em></strong> by Zhenpeng Li, Zhejiang University, China</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Watch video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDPOzMmiYEA">Naturewash</a></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Washing in the great outdoors</strong><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDPOzMmiYEA"><img style="margin: 5pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ZEWZeXQEVcSrn8dHGWMqmi9c12EG5aXM7bqACfsPtX9fdP368UNcT9x1ujR7HAWfDZjg-aAlx3Ma546Itdj1YELc6OA1WJRGMtpTlTLuZn-WnEUHlJAYwwT-1E_5MkampkLM/s320/edl09_feature_naturewash_lowres-300x211.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375366489700268370" border="0" /></a>“Naturewash” is a waterless washing machine that uses negative ions to wash nano-coated fabrics. Horizontal in shape, the washing machine has three touch screen settings: clean clothes, grass scent and flower scent. A user can lie or sit on Naturewash to clean or refresh the clothes they are wearing. For a more thorough clean, clothes can be placed flat on the washer.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>5. <em>Renew</em></strong> by Louis Filosa, Purdue University, USA</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Watch video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTUtOm_dDgk">Renew</a></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Steam cleaning coming to a wall near you</strong><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTUtOm_dDgk"><img style="margin: 5pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnNDjdpxagolMi0V3cTVJbhmk82igc15hygiC9IbHr0Bk0ArqtlBq_B75RRWVK4zznqquM8Oc3ds7MIRMWy-ulyV-Ae1Fe2u7VcFtJvjy8D4UtrKWdmdZ974uo4zLFU8jrEIX/s320/edl09_feature_renew_lowres-300x211.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375366498305102738" border="0" /></a>“Renew” is a smart steamer that refreshes and cleans clothes. With two steam blades, Renew “blasts” garments clean. An infrared scanner and radio frequency identification (RFID) gather information about a garment from specifically designed clothing tags. Renew is safe to use and disables the steamer if an unidentified object is detected, such as a hand. An OLED touch screen allows the user to interact with Renew and learn about their clothing. At 25% the size of a current washing machine, Renew conserves space and is made of recycled aluminum and glass.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>6. <em>Teleport Fridge</em></strong> by Dulyawat Wongnawa, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Watch video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDJbVL6CgfA">Teleport Fridge</a></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Beam me up… Scottish ham</strong><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDJbVL6CgfA"><img style="margin: 5pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 140px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSWUDD9IZ_0oo2_LuSCgEnVJh_PBobnZtRDlgYwXT4EVx7m3UyeXi51YqPn-OI_pTLLsXxCVRUasBnMLjlfy-pFWfn2_-PYXkaStEz9dmRQUMGwzKecPfc-_ms1qarcPA_mcNp/s320/edl09_feature_teleportfridge_lowres-211x300.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375366502769123362" border="0" /></a>Dulyawat Wongnawa envisions a time when the technologies found in science fiction become reality, specifically teleportation. His concept, “Teleport Fridge”, teleports food, eliminating the time and distance a person has to travel to buy fresh groceries or products from a store or farm. Using touch-screen technology as the interface for the teleportation process, the Teleport Fridge simply teleports food to compartments in its refrigeration and freezer units.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>7. <em>Water Catcher</em></strong> by Penghao Shan, Zhejiang Sci-tech University, China</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Watch video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jOQMy9e70c">Water Catcher</a></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Flying in the rain</strong><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jOQMy9e70c"><img style="margin: 5pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOUQGccJTquSvsefKZor_p04xFZpkTeqICsan8zCFrceeVyc5ONf4a3Iz7x-q2JsmXwowVWdS8m5Yq5aVf_xaJpI_440V_cGa1B9eDoP0eo5IrqbFf08Xw-wsSMuLE1S0SysSI/s320/edl09_product_watercatcher_lowres-300x211.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375367273384474498" border="0" /></a>Penghao Shan has created a product that addresses water shortage. His solution is “Water Catcher”, a flying rain catcher and water purifier. This automated device dispatches small flying balls in the air to catch raindrops. After the raindrops are collected, the balls return to a homing tray that purifies the water for drinking. Once purified, the balls take the drinking water directly to a person to be drunk. The homing tray also reads fingerprints to determine what additives should be added to the water to ensure the drinker optimizes their health.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>8. <em>Bifoliate</em></strong> by Toma Brundzaite, Vilnius Academy of Art, Lithuania</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Watch video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iWsjzoR0B0">Bifoliate</a></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Washing dishes is double the fun</strong><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iWsjzoR0B0"><img style="margin: 5pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNp6gAurFHHCRNcan_tYUY7eQmgk_n_gUL59XF10G8wzwgNiat45imn1brGty2_xweFJ97V7ndwscCM7A-NaWO9-2CCQVF3zMF3ET7G01ZgyjKvXGFScNacFvrFJnJZ43QFAo5/s320/edl09_feature_bifoliate_lowres-300x211.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375366475000415794" border="0" /></a>Putting away clean dishes from the dishwasher is often a tedious job. That’s why Toma Brundzaite has designed “Bifoliate”, a space-saving, wall-mounted double dishwasher that allows the user to put dirty dishes in one compartment and use the other as a shelf for clean dishes. The dishwasher uses ultrasonic wave technology to clean making it more efficient and eco-friendly than today’s dishwashers.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br />ciao<br /></div>Fernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-46688949036668204142009-08-27T00:52:00.004+12:002009-08-27T01:37:30.666+12:00Tapatirojin<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://forogdljapon.com/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEj8RHDDRWj-DGs-czLlNDFFKgoLiPE_fm4qIAqFMe36kb4aFqXJwCzCVIaBVOWNnrn-74MPUtlsrZhGCp5nSV9ryu6Fb_rPs6e5IXVb_mlV7VzGVT7E8TkXcz5H9Jr2_f1oEr/s400/forogdljapon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374265582316223506" border="0" /></a>Still in time, and really glad to invite you to the <a href="http://forogdljapon.com/">4th international design forum in Guadalajara</a>. The event also commemorates the recent launching of <span style="font-style: italic;">Centro Promotor del Diseño Jalisco (DICEN Jalisco)</span>. On this fourth edition, the guest country is Japan... and a dearest friend and colleague will be one of the speakers: Naoko Takeda.<br /></div><br />Venue: ITESM Campus Guadalajara, Mexico.<br />Dates: 10-11 september 2009<br />Contact: silviakuan@cedigraf.com<br />Speakers: <a href="http://www.keitashimizu.com/">Keita Shimuzu</a>, <a href="http://www.modo.com.mx/">Modo</a>, <a href="http://www.qfdlat.com/Casos_Articulos/Un_enfoque_de_los_disenos.pdf">Naoko Takeda</a>, <a href="http://www.eosmexico.com/">Eos Mexico</a>, <a href="http://www.design-ishikawa.jp/">Shiho Masahito</a><br />Cost: $ 450 pesos<br /><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-14447954119793752402009-08-03T21:43:00.007+12:002009-08-03T23:17:37.086+12:00Spookhuis<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKOE7tITtsDLgw4mMA9w6HSFlA4ykw_0zj6yPHrg6p6btri3_gZVCxbjcBXc6g0gccSu4E6jsdQ4AA89amW2dyJNarHMbCpe3wUjL12LEbifUP4qrz1hO16uSPq6De8ZcstoU2/s1600-h/L1030116.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 151px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKOE7tITtsDLgw4mMA9w6HSFlA4ykw_0zj6yPHrg6p6btri3_gZVCxbjcBXc6g0gccSu4E6jsdQ4AA89amW2dyJNarHMbCpe3wUjL12LEbifUP4qrz1hO16uSPq6De8ZcstoU2/s320/L1030116.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365689106803394642" border="0" /></a>Not only the grammys or the oscars get worse every year, not because of the event itself, but because the entries get worse and worse year by year. The <a href="http://www.3news.co.nz/Home-Magazine-showcases-the-best-in-New-Zealand-design/tabid/367/articleID/115048/cat/221/Default.aspx">Home Magazine's annual Home of the Year</a>, and the <a href="http://www.houseoftheyear.co.nz/">Registered Master Builder's Home of the Year</a> awards have the same problem. It may be the recession, but in my opinion is the lack of understanding of what should be the role of architecture in the design of private dwellings. I mean, a shed painted in black is not good architecture... it is just a shed painted in black! Expensive fittings are not good architecture, they are expensive fittings, just like wearing expensive jewelery with sandals.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I love it here... but there are two things that urgently need some improvement: one is the food, the other is architecture and building methods. Maybe both are co-related, places with good cooking usually have nice buildings too. Maybe you need good food in order to think clearly.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL4qj7CoMJggCSB1bRh0dv2MfSkGqea_7tFNAtTkKwK56X_tQ3z2y1UO3daA75myx-oGVXIgFMNlELkAEX05Qk-AIai1ndcSmLuk9mej-jFJwL8L1bdBj9Pgs4pjuMVOCqBDY3/s1600-h/image5HPa.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 237px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL4qj7CoMJggCSB1bRh0dv2MfSkGqea_7tFNAtTkKwK56X_tQ3z2y1UO3daA75myx-oGVXIgFMNlELkAEX05Qk-AIai1ndcSmLuk9mej-jFJwL8L1bdBj9Pgs4pjuMVOCqBDY3/s320/image5HPa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365688855517698674" border="0" /></a>Anyway, I can't even <a href="http://www.3news.co.nz/TVShows/CampbellLive/Competitions/HomeOfTheYearcompetition/tabid/1180/Default.aspx">start to compare any of those houses</a> with the "<a href="http://www.em-estudio.com/">residencia z</a>" designed by one of my former architecture students <a href="http://www.em-estudio.com/">Ivan Esqueda and his brother Francisco</a>. See my point? Well, maybe entry B, the Glendowie House by <a href="http://www.bossleyarchitects.co.nz/">Pete Bossley Architects</a> is not that bad. However, their alteration to the maritime museum as a Tribute to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Blake_%28yachtsman%29">Sir Peter Blake</a> is probably not that successful.<br /><br />My latest frustration with kiwi architecture is in my own backyard... well, to be precise, with our new neighbors! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg653LLPZ5tUraFft7uODuvXnki0IDPxtBhfRVm2PnDTeioWKiQtJX975kkK_scT1iHPYOr1DwtUr-B8NsXL-H0YsjjqiLcl_DRAKURxVMsa8VRMxBL0NJPi7_DAwMCEpoQMJal/s1600-h/L1030188-400x300.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 173px; height: 131px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg653LLPZ5tUraFft7uODuvXnki0IDPxtBhfRVm2PnDTeioWKiQtJX975kkK_scT1iHPYOr1DwtUr-B8NsXL-H0YsjjqiLcl_DRAKURxVMsa8VRMxBL0NJPi7_DAwMCEpoQMJal/s320/L1030188-400x300.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365689500742151538" border="0" /></a>They are living proof that "nacos" exist anywhere. The unit next to us was sold a few months ago, but the girl who was renting the unit stayed until a couple of weeks ago when she moved to London. They soon started with renovations on the interiors... even during weekends until late, to the displeasure of our other neighbor the ex-consul. For me, it was OK, until they started painting the exterior walls with a horrible gray paint. It's not their choice of colour... it's the fact that there are at least two reasons why they shouldn't paint the exterior. First, because it seems they didn't get the consent from the other 3 owners of the building; and second, because it's a terrible thing to do, to paint on a wall finish that shouldn't be painted on.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1siDeKuxLfEZuOXSFgWLk94LABWU2jDqRdt-ULJTn1QikEBiT0NpxUBFJ7BIyxRr0Ec2WwOIr4wRwnBn9P9NQNbebsZjcH13_YfAjRvkSqVp09gL2mNIfc-Gj3lxABQGkYO4/s1600-h/5651_24190891.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 158px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1siDeKuxLfEZuOXSFgWLk94LABWU2jDqRdt-ULJTn1QikEBiT0NpxUBFJ7BIyxRr0Ec2WwOIr4wRwnBn9P9NQNbebsZjcH13_YfAjRvkSqVp09gL2mNIfc-Gj3lxABQGkYO4/s320/5651_24190891.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365692622898578546" border="0" /></a>OK, the building is most certainly not an architectural masterpiece, nor a listed building of any kind. But, it is (or was) a good honest example of state housing architecture of the 60's - 70's. Regardless, one cannot or should not compromise the honesty of a building just like that. If they wanted a 90's apartment, they should have bought a 90's apartment. It's like buying a t-shirt to make alterations, and dye tint that shirt to make it look like an Armani suit! It won't be an Armani suit... it will remain a t-shirt altered to look like an Armani. That's it! My frustration, is that many will consider this renovation to be fantastic... just like the same "nacos" out there, who think that the idea of a flying "cupula" is great! <span style="font-size:85%;">(<span style="font-style: italic;">picture by a friend of one of my former students</span>)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZyXiKb5MARTrhah99xzsjTbkpBWSpfhWaWTHiBCW581g6Y40ugp01ksMYRB4nMueCn6hL-7FfYdlQUyBg9oP0ODrQPzaFhEFckfs7aoNlX65CpuGPdura0HTOtDfwDkMgTE2f/s1600-h/L1030185-400x200.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10pt 0px 0px; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 264px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZyXiKb5MARTrhah99xzsjTbkpBWSpfhWaWTHiBCW581g6Y40ugp01ksMYRB4nMueCn6hL-7FfYdlQUyBg9oP0ODrQPzaFhEFckfs7aoNlX65CpuGPdura0HTOtDfwDkMgTE2f/s320/L1030185-400x200.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365689911416011634" border="0" /></a>At least the old look was honest... now the building has become a freak of nature. And to make things worse (for me) that "rejilla" thingy is crooked! It is at least 5 or 7 cm out of vertical axis. For those who know me, it is really a pain in my retinas (and other body parts) to watch something like that. I just keep my fingers crossed to be out of this building by the end of the month.<br /></div><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-11268990421075078512009-07-07T01:17:00.004+12:002009-07-07T01:26:50.036+12:00Braunpreis<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.premiobraun-mexico.com/"><img style="margin: 8pt 10px 12px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 145px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTEQPGK5THmWbSiTstorPc99RnVdvymXVj_0KlE8fQ979HwrMTUP9M2CzFfHyTM_tlzkjnCyhIrjDlRshyJE3gOrcUIYKdhMFp6u5Zd2eHso0n5-kLma3Ps5IA2DYnOpq_zvHm/s320/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355337360101125426" border="0" /></a>Sorry I didn't post early enough about this... the opening ceremony was just a few days ago, but the exhibition of the selected projects for the <a href="http://www.premiobraun-mexico.com/premiobraun_mx_2009_2.html">Braun Prize 2009 Mexico</a> will be open to the public until July 26th at the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City.<br /></div><br /> Av. Hidalgo No.45<br /> Centro Histórico<br /> Ciudad de México<br /> Tel. 5518 22 66<br /> <a href="mailto:info@premiobraun-mexico.com" target="_blank">info@premiobraun-mexico.com</a><br /> <a href="http://www.premiobraun-mexico.com/" target="_blank">www.premiobraun-mexico.com</a><br /><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-64773688653578805882009-07-05T00:12:00.004+12:002009-07-05T00:29:05.508+12:00Luminocity<div style="text-align: justify;">By popular demand, after his success on last year's <a href="http://www.summercourses.it/">summer courses</a>, an invitation from <a href="http://www.scuoladesign.com/">Scuola Politecnica di Design</a> to enroll in a short workshop with one of the most influential and visionary desginers nowadays: Ross Lovegrove.</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="326" width="334"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/RossLovegrove_2005-embed_high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/RossLovegrove-2005.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=320&vh=240&ap=0&ti=27"><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/RossLovegrove_2005-embed_high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/RossLovegrove-2005.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=320&vh=240&ap=0&ti=27" height="326" width="334"></embed></object><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.summercourses.it/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mbvSNzt1N74cYVKSQJW0j2oDOb6kMOZWHl68Kh49riKEhrwPCyoti3fWBpDmjTaYX1bukbmnjjWRLxksqoKNi1oq4uDNI51WoOUmSZDibn8l0QXMmC7jahLPeLlKkCab8hVR/s320/emailGetAttachment-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354580352973545746" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.summercourses.it/">LUMINOCITY : lighting devices and bright installations for street furniture</a>, with the aim to emphasize various and unusual places of the city. This will be a unique design experience and it will allow participants from all over the world to project and work in strict contact with one of the most innovative designers of the current scene. Beside the workshop there will be the possibility to visit exhibitions and design show-rooms to make the stay in Milan even more exciting.<br /></div><br />Selections are now open.<br /><br />If you are interested and want to apply please send your CV and your portfolio to <a href="mailto:info@scuoladesign.com">info@scuoladesign.com</a>.<br /><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-90833260252449403942009-06-28T22:46:00.005+12:002009-06-29T00:11:36.551+12:00"Nuculear" power is now eco-friendly, yeah right!<div style="text-align: justify;">Now that everyone (including me) is becoming more and more eco-conscious, P.R. is still just a bunch of fallacies to convince people they are <a href="http://media.gm.com/volt/video/index.html?lcid=1246190018332&pageSection=%2Fpages%2Fopen%2Fdefault%2Ffuel%2Felectric.do&siteSpeed=high&BASE=&BrowserDetect.browser=Firefox&BrowserDetect.version=3&BrowserDetect.OS=Mac&THIS=_level0&tf=%5Bobject+Object%5D&videoPath=video%2Fvideo_hd_trailering_final.flv&idIntervalStart=1&onMetricsLoaded=%5Btype+Function%5D&omniTrack=%5Btype+Function%5D&omniturePath=%2FomnitureData%2FOmnitureActionSource.swf&tracerId=VAR%3A%3A+&fileName=video_hd_trailering_final.flv&loadPlayer=%5Btype+Function%5D&createPlayer=%5Btype+Function%5D">doing "<span style="font-style: italic;">the right thing for the environment</span>"</a>, when in fact in some cases it might be just the opposite. Such is the case of the "infamous" <a href="http://www.chevrolet.com/experience/fuel-solutions/electric/">Chevy Volt</a>. The Volt is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi04oOQrYSg">not just ugly</a>! (<span style="font-style: italic;">the <u>only</u> good looking Holden is </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKMcLQ1f4-Y">Amanda Holden</a>), but <a href="http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/228711/electric_cars_in_emissions_shock.html">it's probably even worse</a> in terms of "eco-friendliness" than the good 'ol petrol powered cars. Here's why:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-OX2N8ZoTKbi_bTpECI2j2MKvtboRxZO8mxa2YY-I-7P31_AJ9eLTCTlGNrEGECXj6Sn3TaJ3tUV9ejbL4Sxer_gX4FgaqoFBXGygewjihur7ZXoa15FWwfyzwxnsHBN2OKO/s1600-h/not-eco-friendly-at-all.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-OX2N8ZoTKbi_bTpECI2j2MKvtboRxZO8mxa2YY-I-7P31_AJ9eLTCTlGNrEGECXj6Sn3TaJ3tUV9ejbL4Sxer_gX4FgaqoFBXGygewjihur7ZXoa15FWwfyzwxnsHBN2OKO/s400/not-eco-friendly-at-all.jpg" alt="GM's chevy volt- not eco friendly at all" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352347932181196066" border="0" /></a>According to the small paragraph on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt#Controversies">it's wikipedia entry</a>, regarding "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt#Battery_charging_emissions">battery charging emissions"</a>, the chevy volt <u>will still cause some greenhouse emissions</u>. For starters, after the 40 mile/battery charge, the car will switch to normal gasoline power. Regardless if it's more efficient in that area than other hybrid cars, <a href="http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/228711/electric_cars_in_emissions_shock.html">let's not forget the emissions caused for generating the necessary electricity to charge the batteries</a> overnight. Unless you live in an are where 100% of the electricity comes from hydroelectric power, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt#Battery_charging_emissions">electricity will be generated from a mix of "dirty coal", nuclear power, and other pollutant sources</a>. The most generous figure of a <a href="http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/daily-news/080908-Chevy-Volt-100-mpg-or-48-mpg-/">reduction of 15% CO2 emissions</a>, is <a href="http://www.aceee.org/store/proddetail.cfm?CFID=1941952&CFTOKEN=35186425&ItemID=418&CategoryID=7">based on the USA's power grid</a> which uses a lot, a lot of nuclear power! So, they will be reducing a bit of greenhouse gases, but still generating a lot of nuclear waste! The calculations for Australia show that GM's Volt emissions will be in fact more or less the same as any other hybrid car! So, there's no real advantage at all in my view.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="255" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/z4Plkq6drK4&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/z4Plkq6drK4&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="255" width="420"></embed></object><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Public relations, and propaganda about this "revolutionary" idea, are just an example of brain-washing techniques used by large corporations by bombarding the media with their particular views. I just watched a variation of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4Plkq6drK4">a recent Holden advert showing a pregnant woman buying some Holden baby apparel</a>, and the voice off saying something about Holden (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6V_KLcz6S0">and thus the new GM</a>) saving the planet for future generations... Yeah right!<br /></div><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-88537267489377396402009-06-11T22:16:00.005+12:002009-06-11T22:59:43.056+12:00Ecology.Design.Synergy<a href="http://www.behnisch.com/site_files/Transsolar.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 137px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhbWPjV_KNzj3ec7MJWvMJN7SbS_-NYkwHorsyApusSeLjhOXUUhsythRgqwW2YFEc2Q4SvRAU55Ow4jipKiYoDqbAOAYcoYn8f2b0UifZHq99jHv2RMWDysEGatFs-9uC3F6/s400/aedes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346022372523992274" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.ifa.de/ausstellungen/ausstellungen-im-ausland/architektur/ecologydesignsynergy/">IFA (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen e. V.)</a> and the <a href="http://www.aedes-galerie.de/">Architecture Gallery Aedes</a> are presenting a touring exhibition of collaborative projects by the German architecture firm <a href="http://www.behnisch.de/">Behnisch Architekten</a> and <a href="http://www.transsolar.com/">Transsolar Climate Engineering</a>. There are 5 main themes: <a href="http://www.ifa.de/ausstellungen/ausstellungen-im-ausland/architektur/ecologydesignsynergy/light/">light</a>, <a href="http://www.ifa.de/ausstellungen/ausstellungen-im-ausland/architektur/ecologydesignsynergy/sound/">sound</a>, <a href="http://www.ifa.de/ausstellungen/ausstellungen-im-ausland/architektur/ecologydesignsynergy/temperature/">temperature</a>, <a href="http://www.ifa.de/ausstellungen/ausstellungen-im-ausland/architektur/ecologydesignsynergy/air/">air</a> and <a href="http://www.ifa.de/ausstellungen/ausstellungen-im-ausland/architektur/ecologydesignsynergy/material/">materials</a>; all integrated into a <a href="http://www.ifa.de/ausstellungen/ausstellungen-im-ausland/architektur/ecologydesignsynergy/human-scale/">human scale</a>. Their intention is to highlight that "sustainability" is not a linear quantitative value, but it comprises many dimensions. The exhibition will be touring various cities in Mexico :<br /><br /><ul><li>Monterrey, from 12.06.2009 to 15.08.2009</li></ul><div style="text-align: center;">Today... yes! Today is the opening ceremony at 5:30pm at <a href="http://arquitectura.mty.itesm.mx/">ITESM</a> "Centro Estudiantil"<br /></div><ul><li>Mexico City, from 01.09.2009 to 15.10.2009 at UNAM</li></ul><ul><li>Guadalajara, next year from 15.01.2010 - 15.03.2010 (<span style="font-style: italic;">let me know if someone knows where</span>)</li></ul><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-46325629855458333592009-06-10T22:02:00.008+12:002009-06-11T10:40:54.087+12:00Perez Hilton<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCHqYpzbfwY7GWcoteyjtwtm-OXWjyIdy68j06g_aFpyVIXSF3xuaCFG3rJkmRXvgzF7ZVlbwnIUkEsabIsz5SZEWAIoPlYKGBgEH6b6S9Mh7hwgnSyWwy-7GlZFdvvpcZe3tz/s1600-h/mama+ucha+1928.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCHqYpzbfwY7GWcoteyjtwtm-OXWjyIdy68j06g_aFpyVIXSF3xuaCFG3rJkmRXvgzF7ZVlbwnIUkEsabIsz5SZEWAIoPlYKGBgEH6b6S9Mh7hwgnSyWwy-7GlZFdvvpcZe3tz/s400/mama+ucha+1928.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345675286374177874" border="0" /></a>I had no idea my grandma was a fashion designer... that was a long, long time ago. Of course, like any other design field, there are many categories and levels for fashion. Just like there are cars for different budgets and needs, some are just stylish, some are useful, some are neither. If it was for me, there will only be black or plain colours, and minimal decor... and of course no seasonal styles. But I do understand that would be just me.<br /><br />We have watched some of the <a href="http://www.cwtv.com/shows/americas-next-top-model11">"cycles" of ANTM</a>. Maybe because there's nothing better to watch on a friday evening, maybe because we like the show. I'm guessing that followers of the show watch with different eyes. My father (as a commercial/advertising photographer) hated to take pictures of models, but sometimes he had to do it. I met some top mexican celebrities, and also unknown models that came to my father's studio... and he was right, it is a <a href="http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/Americas/2009/June/Picture-Me-Sheds-Light-on-the-Dark-Side-of-the-Modeling-World.html">very superficial milieu</a>. Anyway, for me, it is fun and interesting to see the photoshoot challenges, hear what the art director is telling the girls, etc. Probably because I've been there, it's actually educational to watch how the model wannabes have to learn about their dream job. Stop! Did I say "learn"?<br /><br />Yes, they have to learn the sometimes sutile, sometimes bold difference between commercial, editorial, men's magazine, high-fashion, etc. Those are totally different markets, so the "design brief" for each one has to be specific for that market. Let's put it in simple words... although the design process of a can-opener and a car, may have similar phases: brief, analysis, drawings, selection, prototyping, etc... they are quite different in how they are actually carried out, for starters: they are quite different products! It's the same story with fashion: there's a design brief determining the target market, the trends and material analysis, etc, etc. So the models should be able to understand and adjust to what the art director wants, they are just (literally) part of the whole picture. They have to be versatile enough to fit into many looks, but they must understand that sometimes their look does not work for a certain job. Anyway, <a href="http://astrology.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/10-reasons-why-americas-next-top-model-is-bad-for-women-humans-462488/">despite any controversy</a> about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America%27s_Next_Top_Model">ANTM</a>, it is quite clear that during the contest, the girls get a lot of preparation to learn at least some basics.<br /><br />Last friday was the <a href="http://www.tv3.co.nz/New-Zealands-Next-Top-Model---Friday-730pm-/tabid/742/articleID/60325/cat/630/Default.aspx">final episode of New Zealand's Next Top Model</a>. We only watched the first, and the last episode in full, and no more than 5 minutes of some episodes in between. I was so disappointed after the first episode... because the selection was terrible. Racist may sound a bit too hard, and they probably put a black girl to avoid remarks like that (however, that's not at all representative of the NZ ethnic mix) They failed to have girls with Chinese, Indian or even Maori ethnicity. I hate "ethnic quotas" in politics, scholarships, or job opportunities, but the <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/image.cfm?c_id=1501119&gal_objectid=10557961&gallery_id=104588">casting selection</a> seemed to me like it was done by only one person, and <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10557961">all girls looked the same (even after their makeover)</a>... as if it was to suit a very specific kind of look. They had octuplets, plus the sisters, plus the black girl. I was obvious that one of the octuplets would win.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="270" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.megavideo.com/v/POEPIH602f05947b48639650260f43228876fc8f"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.megavideo.com/v/POEPIH602f05947b48639650260f43228876fc8f" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="270" width="480"></embed></object><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I mentioned that it is interesting to co-learn on <a href="http://www.antmblog.com/">ANTM</a>, but there was nothing, nothing to learn on <a href="http://www.tv3.co.nz/TVShows/Reality/NewZealandsNextTopModel/tabid/847/Default.aspx">NZNTM</a>. The photographers were terrible, just (look at these examples: <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/nzntm/10476.html">glamour</a> (<span style="font-style: italic;">I probably take better pictures of Sandra</span>), <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/nzntm/10476.html">boxing</a> (<span style="font-style: italic;">the photographer forgot to hide the fog machine</span>), <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/nzntm/3967.html">face paint</a> (<span style="font-style: italic;">looks to me like those you get at a city fair or a children's party and not high fashion at all</span>), <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/nzntm/6763.html">bachellor of the year</a> (<span style="font-style: italic;">the art director was probably somewhere else taking a leak during that photoshoot</span>), <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/nzntm/1419.html">aviation</a> (<span style="font-style: italic;">I'm telling you, they all look exactly the same... </span>) To be fair, there are two decent photoshoots : <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/nzntm/7888.html">emotions</a>, and <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/nzntm/9576.html">beach</a>. The <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/736877">co-host</a> was like they said in a movie: "<span style="font-style: italic;">almost too queer to function</span>", they had no practical advise for the girls... the main host, <a href="http://nzrealitytv.com/2009/03/sara-tetro-nz-next-top-model-host/">Sara Tetro</a>, dressed like a "governess" out of Sound of Music (institutriz) and not like a top model, the camera and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNnX6XRQBec">editing of the program was like the PC movie editing: Horrible</a>! and many, many details that made the programe unwatchable.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0TDJ9RpWRkmuChT4iB0oSLdkiIlLLG8L0GRCU0tGFRUw0A2csqtR6RJQzYrbBDmAG-DpUgamE2_D21mvRxWVCUCR4bIEVs_9x5O3fVStrF3hQgNCG0yUrZM3BJmvyyqGGsad/s1600-h/NZNTMposter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 235px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0TDJ9RpWRkmuChT4iB0oSLdkiIlLLG8L0GRCU0tGFRUw0A2csqtR6RJQzYrbBDmAG-DpUgamE2_D21mvRxWVCUCR4bIEVs_9x5O3fVStrF3hQgNCG0yUrZM3BJmvyyqGGsad/s400/NZNTMposter.jpg" alt="nzntm" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345832141398593410" border="0" /></a>Sara's words when the judges deliberated about the winner: "<span style="font-style: italic;">Fashion is a subjective industry</span>". Well, excuse me, but if she really thinks like that, she shouldn't be hosting and judging... that's a quite ignorant comment. There's nothing subjective about fashion, or about aesthetics, or about art, or about design. People who beleive that, probably heard it throughout their lives, and they just repeat that idea, because they don't know any better. It's like when we refer to something as "is not rocket science" implying that rocket science may be too difficult for any normal mortal to understand. Like I said previously, as any other industry, fashion has many levels, markets, styles, cultures, materials, and elements. It would be difficult to standarize any idea to fit all... in other words, there are sports cars, utility cars, family cars, economic cars, eco cars, SUV's, collection cars... and each went through unique design brief descriptions, different aesthetic choices, different production techniques, different styles. That's why we cannot describe the aesthetic or the functionality of a car with just one example to fit everyone. The same in the fashion industry. So, just because it is complex, or there are many different options, it doesn't mean it is subjective... subjective is a close synonim to arbitrary, and there's nothing arbitrary about any industry when it comes to making money.<br /><br />Oh! I almost forgot to mention that the <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10556808&pnum=0">Top Model's Mansion was previously owned by a Drug Lord</a> and bought later by one of his friends. I'm guessing the "<a href="http://www.topmodelgossip.com/category/other-ntms/mexicos-next-top-model/">Next Mexican Top Model</a>" could be in the so called "<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=es-xl&vid=cb725d4e-9b23-4906-b8d4-0ae05a38e175">Narco Zoologico</a>". Some final thoughts about the world of modelling: read (or watch) about <a href="http://supermodels.nl/saraziff">Sara Ziff</a>'s exposee <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jun/07/sara-ziff-model-picture-me">"Picture Me"</a>, a documentary about the real world of teenage models and "fashion" predators.<br /><br />Next week: The Simpson's HD season, not just "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worst_Episode_Ever">worst episode ever</a>" but "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons#Criticism_of_declining_quality">worst season ever</a>".<br /></div><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-89796934889608921972009-05-25T21:58:00.004+12:002009-05-25T22:50:31.855+12:00Una nueva mirada<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-kWzooi1TWzyn_q6l1QbuS8mKBe6fP3tQvmG00n4UYc8EoTHTnhlTyRRZYay8RpFdJQ9gBMBRPO8IOsUrRIsE-2ELkQ_4ZTxKy5oBzuDSnGJ3e1HqJXPHxAtj_veP9LChVQE/s1600-h/image002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-kWzooi1TWzyn_q6l1QbuS8mKBe6fP3tQvmG00n4UYc8EoTHTnhlTyRRZYay8RpFdJQ9gBMBRPO8IOsUrRIsE-2ELkQ_4ZTxKy5oBzuDSnGJ3e1HqJXPHxAtj_veP9LChVQE/s400/image002.jpg" alt="tina modotti - una nueva mirada" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339706482790825074" border="0" /></a>The Mexican Embassy in NZ (<span style="font-style: italic;">Level 2, AMP Chambers 187 Featherston St, Wellington</span>) is hosting a photographic exhibition by <a href="http://www.comitatotinamodotti.it/">Tina Modotti</a> until June 25th. Modotti is considered a quite important figure in <a href="http://www.geh.org/ar/strip87/htmlsrc3/modotti_sld00001.html">post-revolutionary Mexico</a>: a <a href="http://www.masters-of-photography.com/M/modotti/modotti.html">master photographer</a>, <a href="http://www.masters-of-photography.com/M/modotti/modotti_hammer_sickle_full.html">member of the comunist party</a>, and part of the <a href="http://www.masters-of-photography.com/M/modotti/modotti_may_day_full.html">bohemian</a> and <a href="http://www.modotti.com/">avantgarde scene</a>. She was also a <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0595322/">Hollywood actress</a>, and one of the many <a href="http://www.mamfa.com/artworks/rivera/germination.htm">nude models</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tina_Modotti#Murals_by_Diego_Rivera_in_which_Modotti_can_be_found">(and lovers) of Diego Rivera</a>.<br /></div><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-86734804633279511322009-05-24T13:10:00.003+12:002009-05-24T13:16:43.376+12:0050 diseñadores<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbt1q5Vudl_Ao6PYEaMHZZhf6eGl_pFpQm5WHG5UA78onqtcq8IrkffzIi9hhA01Q9V-JSDh_Vz2wh6r4rbiuJlUiv1seUoGGlIyK1YgEkoOAKVdmUcWN8dMcxSbbAfRy3M1e1/s1600-h/-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 257px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbt1q5Vudl_Ao6PYEaMHZZhf6eGl_pFpQm5WHG5UA78onqtcq8IrkffzIi9hhA01Q9V-JSDh_Vz2wh6r4rbiuJlUiv1seUoGGlIyK1YgEkoOAKVdmUcWN8dMcxSbbAfRy3M1e1/s400/-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339191731620363010" border="0" /></a>Next Wednesday will be the presentation of the book "50 diseñadores de Jalisco" at the Chamber of Commerce of Guadalajara.<br /><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-20953187578310620382009-05-23T00:50:00.003+12:002009-05-23T01:13:40.499+12:00It's time again<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 46px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhtOVF0ucPNtCr4gTSWiyTrWuoWZJ9BBHHnHkXc9aN5MR2KCJRIh1iCXVUvdgdpLrt9ImYvvVTMsfatJhL1RhnmV8tz5gLgdytHj7_eK8dGQKSizhJ6Kda4UXO2hEaKY8dlZW/s200/deslab09.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338635578127140866" border="0" /></a>Entries for <a href="http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/">Electrolux's designlab 09 are still</a> open (until may 31st). This year's brief is "design for the next 90 years": <a href="http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/overview/"><i>Electrolux Design Lab 2009 invites undergraduate and graduate industrial design students around the world to create home appliances that will shape how people prepare and store food, wash clothes, and do dishes over the next nine decades. The design ideas should address key consumer insights such as being adaptive to time and space, provide learning and allow for individualization.</i></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="255" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wS562z_mm8I&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wS562z_mm8I&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="255" width="420"></embed></object><br /></div><br />Be quick<br /><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-77414627066144289742009-05-22T00:01:00.006+12:002009-05-22T00:49:59.633+12:00FL(ego)W<div style="text-align: justify;">I'm still trying to save some mulah to buy the <a href="http://www.fawcetthouse.com/">Fawcett house: $2.4m for the house and 80 acres is a real bargain</a>! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.brickstructures.com./SiteStore.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Hgh_hoRLdoVMcUQa2J9z_8QlM1PJV3MjtrxquyXqa3XWqsfHreF-4T8rN8kQcsieDU5xZtkrc0eG9Lj4yuTpct4nuG2mvupuJQSlWE1plD8-28yfZ5ZPtlJBaRhM4Mb3DNDe/s200/FLegoW.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338257075843366594" border="0" /></a>There are houses here in the neighborhood that are more expensive than that... and they are horrible! Anyway, today I was surprised to learn about the <a href="http://www.prairiemod.com/prairiemod/2009/05/frank-lloyd-wright-lego-sets.html">"Architecture" LEGO sets</a> (<span style="font-style: italic;">Thanks Mr. H.</span>) So I did a quick search on that. The <a href="http://www.brickstructures.com./0ConstructionSets.html">LEGO Architecture sets</a> are a collaboration between The <a href="http://www.lego.com/en-US/architecture/default.aspx?domainredir=lego.com">LEGO Group</a> and Architectural Artist Adam Reed Tucker of <a href="http://www.brickstructures.com/">Brickstructures, Inc</a>. It's a pity that currently there are not any (non-american) buildings on the "architecture" series. A selection from <a href="http://www.pritzkerprize.com/">Pritzker laureates</a>' works would be nice... or we can <a href="http://www.lego.com/eng/info/default.asp">send our suggestions</a> of the <a href="http://www.brickstructures.com./LAFallingwater2.html">most iconic</a> modern buildings around the globe to LEGO. I definitely want all 6 for Christmas anyway!</div><br />ciaoFernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11499470.post-91884111704467822922009-05-14T22:38:00.002+12:002009-05-14T22:52:51.540+12:00X|Media|Lab<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.xmedialab.com/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 179px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGL51K_nOR05-hvLhriNRP2hbTFUuYKSlPfnDvZ4b00xf5b52AgPlO-3CBJkENXHWT-MUJEC0ga1L4Ze0DoDC3usuCVpFkh-Gunxq5t6lEaLUjSPfGbRV6AmX2LfxfZw91_2xB/s320/Picture+3.png" alt="X|Media|Lab" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335630426703605730" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.xmedialab.com/">X|Media|Lab</a> is an intensive two-day creative ideas and business matching environment for selected participants who get to work directly on their own project ideas with a range of the world's best digital media experts, and a <a href="http://www.xmedialab.com/?q=node/275">one-day Keynote Conference</a> that showcases <a href="http://www.xmedialab.com/?q=node/274">all the Mentors</a> as Speakers. Saturday May 23rd - Sunday 24th, 2009 and keynote day : Friday 22nd May, 2009 9.00am – 5.00pm followed by Networking Reception at the Hilton Auckland.</div>Fernando Vallejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05985772491571463988noreply@blogger.com0